LOCAL PRESS

Djuric: After 18 hours of talks, we reached important agreements (RTS)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that the Belgrade and Pristina teams reached an agreement after 18, 5 hours of talks. “I think that we reached a good result for our country and our people in Kosovo and Metohija, and I think that this effort that we had invested is really worth for all those energies invested and we can really be satisfied, I repeat, and I wish Serbia a good morning from Brussels,” Djuric said this morning. Four topics were tabled and four solutions were reached. First of all on the announced ban for residents with Serbian documents. “Serbian IDs will be normally used, as in the past, meaning there will be no blockade, or any obstacles,” says Djuric. As of Monday, 25 April, trucks transporting hazardous cargo will be crossing again the administrative line. Brussels also abolished Pristina’s ban for entrance of Serbian officials. They also agreed on the manner for voting at the Sunday elections. “We reached agreement on holding elections according to the same model as in 2014, along with OSCE presence that will guarantee regularity and safety at the elections,” said Djuric. According to the previous agreement, the voting will take place on Sunday, 24 April, at 90 polling stations in the province.

Drecun: Serbian delegation defended state interests in Brussels (RTS)

The Chairperson of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun stresses that he expected that the agreements with Pristina will be reached, because the Serbian delegation defended state interests, adding that they will insist on further normalization of relations. “According to my information, the Pristina delegation behaved inappropriately and made a series of insults and even open threats at the Serbian delegation, intended to force them to give up on some solutions, which would have been to the detriment of our interests,” Drecun told the morning RTS news. The Serbian delegation received EU’s support which resulted in a big diplomatic victory and the defense interests of the Serbian people, and a status-neutral solution.

Asked whether these agreements will now be implemented on the ground, he said they would, because Serbia’s firm stance is clear, and Pristina has started to suffer great pressure from Brussels and Washington as it imposes artificial obstacles. Drecun added that Marko Djuric would travel to Kosovo tomorrow to see whether what has been agreed is being implemented, and as soon as on Monday whether the agreement on the passage of trucks is being implemented. “In the coming period Pristina will try to neutralize that negative effect and come out with a proposal of their solutions. It remains to be seen how dedicated they will be,” said Drecun.

Explaining the problems of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO), Drecun says he expects that the situation will change, and that Pristina cannot find reasons for blocking the ZSO. “We will insist on the ZSO, because the Serbian nation recognized it as a way for reconciliation and a future without hatred. It still remains for the Albanian majority population to recognize this,” said Drecun.

DSS-Dveri announces deputy office in Kosovska Mitrovica (Tanjug/RTS)

Representatives of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS)-Dveri coalition have announced the opening of a deputy office in Kosovska Mitrovica following the 24 April elections that should deal with problems of citizens about which the Serbian parliament should be informed so they could be resolved. The DSS-Dveri Serbian MP candidate Slavisa Ristic says that the Office of deputies is necessary over accumulated problems unknown to the broader public in Serbia, because institutions that should be resolving these problems have not been operating over the past several years in northern Kosovo and Metohija. Ristic says that the Serbian institutions have been either abolished or will be abolished, such as the judiciary, police, local self-governments, and this is why the people do not have institutions where they can resolve concrete problems. Calling citizens to turnout in high numbers at the upcoming elections on 24 April, Ristic assesses that there will be victory of this nation if they vote freely at these elections. Serbian deputy candidate Marko Jaksic says that there is agreement in the DSS for Ristic to be proposed as the Serbian parliament deputy speaker.

Vulin: EU-Turkey deal not working (Tanjug)

The EU-Turkey deal is not working to a scope it has been agreed on both sides, Serbian Minister of Social Policy Aleksandar Vulin voiced concern on Tuesday. “The agreement is being implemented, but I am concerned over Turkey’s announcements that the agreement will be suspended, or that both sides have not met the obligations,” Vulin told reporters in Belgrade, replying to the question concerning its repercussions for Serbia. As far as migrants are concerned, Serbia fulfills its obligations under international and national law, he said. “All migrants in our territory are offered assistance and have the right to use reception centers. We cannot either open or close borders, but we will behave in the same way as we have done so far,” Vulin said.

McAllister to visit Serbia on election day (Tanjug/Blic)

European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister will visit the country on the day of the 24 April early parliamentary elections, his office has confirmed to Tanjug. McAllister will be in Belgrade on election day, accompanied by the EU ambassador to Serbia, Michael Davenport, McAllister’s spokesman Moritz Duetemeyer said. McAllister will also visit a polling station, Duetemeyer said. The visit is significant in terms of his post, because the impressions about the election process in Serbia, to be conveyed to Germany and the European Parliament, will depend on him, Blic reported. While in Serbia, McAllister will also meet with several state officials, including Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic, the paper reported.

PACE to observe elections in Serbia (Tanjug)

An 18-member delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will be in Serbia on April 22-25 to observe the conduct of the early parliamentary elections in the country, the PACE said in a release on Tuesday. The PACE delegation will be led by Ukrainian member Volodymyr Ariev. They are joining observers from the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). Prior to the holding of the elections in Serbia on 24 April, the PACE delegation will meet with representatives of the parliamentary groups in the Serbian parliament, the Republic Electoral Commission, the media and NGOs. A member of the Venice Commission – the Council of Europe’s group of independent legal experts – will provide legal support during the visit, the PACE release said. In a declaration dated 6 April, the PACE pre-electoral delegation stressed that “the legal framework for parliamentary elections provides an overall sound basis for the conduct of democratic elections, in line with Council of Europe commitments, if applied in good faith”.

Bujanovac and Presevo: More voters than inhabitants (Beta)

The number of eligible voters in the municipalities of Bujanovac and Presevo exceeds the official number of inhabitants in these municipalities in southern Serbia. According to the data of the commission of international and domestic experts that determined last year the number of inhabitants in the Presevo and Bujanovac municipalities after the Albanians in these two municipalities boycotted the census in 2011, a total of 67,900 inhabitants live in these two municipalities. These data indicate that Bujanovac has around 38,300 inhabitants and Presevo has around 29,600. At the same time, according to the data of municipal electoral commissions, there are a total of 79,688 eligible voters in Presevo and Bujanovac. According to the data of the municipal electoral commission, 42,288 voters are registered for the 24 April elections in the Bujanovac municipality, which has officially 38,300 inhabitants, i.e. there are 3,988 more people registered than Bujanovac municipality’s official population. According to the data of the municipal electoral commission, the Presevo municipality, with 29,600 inhabitants, has 37,400 registered voters, i.e. 7,800 more people on the electoral roll than Presevo municipality’s population. Apart from the fact that there was no census in the Presevo and Bujanovac municipalities and that the number of inhabitants has been estimated based on internationally envisaged parameters, the difference in the number of inhabitants and registered voters is also influenced by the fact that a high percentage of inhabitants of these municipalities resides abroad but are still registered on electoral rolls.

REGIONAL PRESS

Reaching a solution to population census ASAP (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik and Head of EU Delegation to B&H Lars-Gunnar Wigemark agreed on Tuesday that reaching a solution to population census and Coordination mechanism related issues ASAP would be necessary. Chairman of the SNSD Caucus in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of B&H, Stasa Kosarac, has strongly condemned the “dangerous political games that senior officials of the SDA, especially Minister of Civil Affairs in the B&H Council of Ministers, Adil Osmanovic, play concerning the results of the population census in B&H”. Deputy Speaker of the RS Assembly, Nenad Stevandic, believes that RS is obliged to publish the results of the population census regardless of whether the results for the entire B&H will be published or not. Wigemark believes it is high time to publish results of the population census in B&H, given that it was conducted three years ago, and called the ones involved in this process to solve the remaining problems and not to misuse the census for solving national and other issues.

Dispute regarding the survival of 9 January as the Day of RS (Srna)

Head of the SNSD Caucus in the RS Assembly, Radovan Viskovic, said Tuesday he disagreed with the position of NDP Vice-President Zdravko Krsmanovic that the decision of the B&H Constitutional Court on the unconstitutionality of 9 January as the RS Day should be respected. The NDP denies in a Tuesday press release that the party and its vice-president Zdravko Krsmanovic have in any way challenged the definitive survival of January 9 as the Day of RS for which they have been accused. Head of the PDP Caucus in the RS Assembly, Miroslav Brckalo, is surprised by the position of NDP Vice-President Zdravko Krsmanovic that the decision of the B&H Constitutional Court on the unconstitutionality of 9 January as the RS Day should be respected. MP Adam Sukalo of the Progressive Party says every MP is entitled to their political opinion, and that the political parties have signed a statement regarding the Republic Day.

Croatia to comply with request of B&H in connection to Peljesac Bridge (Fena/Hina)

The requests of B&H on the unimpeded access to the open sea when it comes to the construction of the Peljesac Bridge will be respected, confirmed today to reporters in Sarajevo Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia Oleg Butkovic after the meeting with Deputy Minister of Communications and Transport of B&H Sasa Dalipagic. The Peljesac Bridge is Croatia’s most important project and it will most definitely be built, however, the bridge will in no way undermine B&H’s interests, the visiting Croatian Transport Minister Oleg Butkovic and B&H’s Transport Deputy Minister Sasa Dalipagic said in Sarajevo on Tuesday. The bridge between the peninsula of Peljesac and the mainland should connect the southernmost Croatia with the rest of the country. The B&H coastal strip of Neum cuts off the southernmost Croatian territory from the rest of Croatia. With its admission to the European Union, Croatia had to apply EU regulations at its border crossings, including the passage through the Neum section. B&H’s authorities have insisted that the future bridge will not prevent B&H from having access to international waters. Deputy Transport Minister Dalipagic said today that the Peljesac Bridge was not disputable. “There is no conflict. This is a matter to be decided by professionals and not by politics,” he said. Minister Butkovic said that the future bridge would not hamper B&H’s access to the high seas.

Grabar-Kitarovic tells UN Seselj acquittal dangerous precedent (Hina)

President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday in which she says that the ICTY’s acquittal of Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj is a dangerous precedent for armed conflicts in which there was an attempt to reach military objectives through genocide and ethnic cleansing, and that it has a negative impact on reconciliation in South East Europe, the president’s office said on Tuesday. The President says she is completely aware that the ICTY’s trial chamber is independent in its proceedings and decision making and that this is a first instance judgment, rendered by a majority vote of the three-member trial chamber and subject to the final assessment of the Appeals Chamber. She warns Ban about the possible damaging effects of the 31 March decision handed down in Seselj’s absence, saying she is “deeply disappointed and concerned” with it. “Nevertheless, Mr. Secretary-General, it is completely clear that this judgment is not only contrary to the foundations and purpose of the ICTY, which was established in 1993 pursuant to the UN Security Council Resolution 827, but is also deeply damaging to the process of establishing lasting reconciliation, as well as national and religious tolerance in the area of South East Europe,” Grabar-Kitarovic said. The letter was also forwarded to UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft and UN Security Council President Liu Jieyi. It will also be forwarded to UN member states as a General Assembly and Security Council document. European Union and NATO ambassadors to Croatia were notified about the letter at the president’s office. In the letter, she says the acquittal caused consternation among Croatia’s general public, and consequently a deep disappointment with the ICTY, which in this case proved to be “obviously nonresistant to the abuse of international public and criminal law. Furthermore, it will have a negative impact on peace, reconciliation and good neighborly relations in the broader area of South East Europe and all crisis areas of the world. This first instance trial chamber judgment has deeply shaken the trust in the ICTY and the reasons why it was established by the UN Security Council.” During the war and the open aggression against Croatia in 1991, Croatia strongly supported and welcomed the establishment of the ICTY and from the very beginning emphasized its special importance and has cooperated with it sincerely and actively, the president wrote. The ICTY and its work is of great significance for the overall development of international criminal justice, she wrote, adding, “This kind of a judgment sets a negative precedent whose consequences can go beyond the framework of the ICTY itself and contaminate the overall perception of the global public about the significance, scope and purpose of international criminal law.”

Croatian MPs against Prime Minister’s support for Vesna Pusic because her position that Croatia committed aggression against B&H during the 90s (Vecernji list)

Despite Prime Minister’s statement, Vesna Pusic’s candidacy for UN Secretary General does not seem to have support of everybody in the ruling coalition. Member of Parliament Pero Coric (HSP AS) began collecting signatures of protest against the candidacy of Vesna Pusic to be Secretary General of the United Nations. According to sources, so far he has collected 18 signatures among MPs, including several MPs from HDZ and MOST. Coric expects to collect between 20 and 30 signatures which will then be sent to the government and the UN Security Council, reports Vecernji list. “Having heard the statement of Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic that the government was supporting the candidacy of Vesna Pusic, I wanted to demonstrate that we do not accept it. HSP AS has not been consulted and asked whether we supported her candidacy. I would not support her to be president of a tenants association, let alone the UN Secretary General,” said Coric who added that the Prime Minister should be more careful with such statements. He said that they had not found any written record that the government had formally decided to support Pusic. His initiative was signed by Miodrag Demo (BM 365) and Mirko Raskovic, a representative of the Serb minority. Ivica Misic (MOST) also signed it, but his party colleague Robert Podolnjak, who is Deputy Speaker of Parliament, said he did not intend to do it. “MOST has not debated this issue and therefore we only have what the government announced about it. I do not know whether anyone from MOST has signed it. I personally have not signed anything and I do not intend to,” said Podolnjak. His party colleague Miro Bulj, however, argues that MOST has a joint position on the candidacy of Vesna Pusic and that they do not consider her as the best choice for that position, because she accused Croatia of aggression against B&H during the 1990s. The initiative was also signed by several HDZ MPs. Pedja Grbin (SDP) said that MPs who signed the initiative “do not know what they are doing”. “I think that the candidacy of Vesna Pusic is good for Croatia because it is an opportunity that we present our politicians and positions at such an important place. I think that Prime Minister Oreskovic showed that, from time to time, he can act as a Prime Minister and not as a puppet in someone’s hands,” said Grbin. “We cannot take away the candidacy from her, since she took advantage of the legal vacuum and was nominated by caretaker government led by Zoran Milanovic. But, in this way, we are depriving her of legitimacy and legality. If the government stands behind her, then we will not be part of this government or they can throw us out,” said Coric.

Positive Montenegro’s main board unanimously adopted the draft agreement on fair elections (CDM)

Positive Montenegro’s main board unanimously adopted the draft agreement on creating conditions for free and fair elections. “Bearing in mind the fact that PCG’s plan has been fully accepted by the government and partly even implemented by appointing the head of the Police Division with the consent of the special prosecutor, the main board has adopted the draft agreement on creating conditions for free and fair elections”, the party announced. At the board’s session, it has been pointed out that the party provided a strong impetus to democratic changes and creating conditions for free and democratic elections by its plan to overcome the political crisis, which was adopted at the session on 24 January as a condition to support an open government. “The main board is sure that PCG would be a key factor of the future fundamental changes in the Montenegrin society, because during its relatively short existence it showed that, after 27 years, it is possible to carry out a peaceful and non-violent transition of power by leading a responsible policy towards the state and people”, reads the statement. The main board also concluded that PCG’s support to an open government provided an immeasurable positive contribution to the preservation of peace and stability of the country which is a prerequisite for further Euro-Atlantic path of Montenegro.

DF announcing continuous protests because of the new government (CDM)

Democratic front will, on the eve before the meeting of the parliament on which the new cabinet of Milo Djukanovic will be voted in, start with continuous protests as a strong and unique message that we’re staying consistent with the idea of forming a transitional government which will not be led by the current Prime Minister. “Announced joining of the unauthorized opposition to the cabinet of Milo Djukanovic and any form of accepting or signing the agreement will be legitimization of political corruption and betrayal of the interests of Montenegrin citizens who want free and fair elections. That is why DF categorically denies the invitation by EU ambassador Mitja Drobnic to sign the so called political agreement, and we condemn his behavior as a strong interference with internal politics of Montenegro, by which he is officially taking sides with Milo Djukanovic. Also, we would like to remind mister Drobnic of the year of 2008 when he was invited to Washington as a Slovenian diplomat where he was ordered in one of the CIA secretary’s office that Slovenia must recognize Kosovo’s independence”, it was said from DF.  “Unfortunately, we’re afraid that Mitja Drobnic will be remembered as the diplomat who always came to the rescue of Milo Djukanovic and his satellites, continuously trying to suppress any resistance to the dictatorship of the regime”, it was said from DF. DF is calling its opposition colleagues ones again to reject the pact with Djukanovic under the orders from a certain number of ambassadors. “Because by choosing Djukanovic as an ally, instead of DF and its own people, besides becoming permanently compromised, they are also claiming responsibility as accessories in another planned electoral theft this autumn. Because all political subjects from (still) opposition are promising to accept the results of the elections that the current prime minister will organize and control, and by this also accept responsibility to implement catastrophic policies of DPS. Our duty is to protect the interests of citizens by all available democratic means in order to stop these anti-Montenegrin intentions of Milo Djukanovic”, it was concluded by DF.

Posa: Montenegro in NATO by May 2017 (RTCG)

Montenegro is to wait for full membership in NATO no later than May 2017, although it is likely that it is a matter of months, said Hungarian Ambassador Krisztian Posa in Bijelo Polje at the forum which was held in Bijelo Polje within the framework of NATO Info day. The Hungarian ambassador pointed out the historical experience of his country after the Second World War and the Hungarian path to European and Euro-Atlantic integration. In this context, Posa compared the experience and Montenegro and concluded that full integration into NATO and the EU was only real path to a secure future for a country like ours. He added that it was a way to ensure not only the stability of the country, but the entire region and Europe. National Coordinator for NATO Vesko Garcevic said that the fact Montenegro would sign a protocol on accession on 19 May was significant because it would take place just two days before the 10th anniversary of restoration of Montenegro’s independence. He pointed to the importance of the position in which Montenegro is currently in, which will further consolidate and prove that this process is unambiguous and irreversible. He explained what the membership meant in political, economic and security terms. Vice President of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje Abaz Kujovic said that the main objective of NATO was lasting peace and stability in the member states and the protection of common fundamental values ​​– democracy, human freedoms, welfare, peace and stability and the rule of law. Representatives of both ruling coalition and opposition political parties, as well as representatives of the NGO sector participated in the debate, which provided the possibility to clarify the dilemma over the issue of a referendum on NATO, as well as issues related to the rights and obligations of Montenegro arising from the membership, as well as other topical issues related to the process of Euro-Atlantic integration in an open dialogue.

Vienna negotiations: Zaev’s supporters lay down conditions, he keeps quiet (Telegraf.mk)

The smaller parties and civic organizations, on behalf of SDSM leader Zoran Zaev, have laid down the conditions under which he can go to Vienna to negotiate. By doing so, they breach the agreement that is supposed to end the political crisis in Macedonia. NGOs, activists, satellite-parties, are demanding Zaev via social media not to attend the negotiations that are necessary to put an end to the political crisis, if the issue for elections is negotiated at all. Surprisingly, their demands are not even part of the Przino Agreement, for example, forming a special court, seizing the protests, even resignation of President Ivanov. The most absurd of their demands is a certain kind of a transitional government, although the current one, led by PM Emil Dimitriev, is exactly like that, and its goal is organizing the elections. Ivon Velickovski’s Liberal Party demands minimum conditions for negotiations in Vienna, and that is seizing the protests of VMRO-DPMNE, withdrawal of President Ivanov’s abolition declaration, as well as his resignation, forming a so-called ‘concentration government’ (a government in which all parties, large, and small, participate, and is formed in case of state of emergency, with the consensus of all political parties), as well as conducting a census. Zaev, on the other hand, has not yet stated whether he will participate in the negotiations in Vienna, as well as DPA’s Menduh Thaci. Contrary to them, Nikola Gruevski and Ali Ahmeti said that they accept the proposal for negotiations Friday, together with Commissioner Johannes Hahn, and the three MEPs. The EU has already stated that the goal of the negotiations in Vienna is not a new agreement, but rather a salvation, abidance and implementation of the current Przino Agreement, and exit from the political crisis in Macedonia.

Council of Europe’s Secretary General urges parties to respect przino agreement (Telegraf.mk)

Council of Europe Secretary­ General, Thorbjorn Jagland, urged Wednesday all parties in Macedonia to respect the Przino Agreement by holding elections in which everyone can take part. Jagland was quizzed by Pierre­-Yves le Borgn, French member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, over the recent pardoning of more than 50 people by President Gjorge Ivanov. The French MP said the decision went against the July agreement, posed a threat to the 5 June elections and Macedonia’s Euro­-Atlantic path. Jagland said he was surprised when learning about the Macedonian President’s decision. “We are closely monitoring developments on the ground. From what we understand, an agreement was reached over investigating certain affairs, along with organization of elections,” he said. According to the Secretary General, many things have changed, calling all parties to respect the agreement. “It seems to me that many things have changed. I urge all parties to abide by the agreement’s provisions, including efficient organization of elections in which everyone can take part,” underlined Jagland.

Serbian activists are front-runners of opposition protests in Skopje (Telegraf.mk)

Serbian activists are the main organizers of the opposition protests in Skopje. They are the regular front-runners of the protest crowd and they give out clear commands which others have to follow. “Come on with the whistles” or “Louder Now” were phrases that they were yelling out Monday at the protest that ended with demonstrators throwing paint-balls at the Culture Ministry building and all over Skopje’s Triumph Gate. Telegraph.mk noticed that the protest is anything but spontaneous. The Serbian organizers looked like they had an enormous experience with events such as these and they hold the control in their hands. The activists in question are people in the forties, who have established good cooperation with the local groups. Aside from partaking in the protests, they have been hired to write obscene graffiti throughout the city. A photograph of the city’s center emerged Monday on social media, portraying a graffiti next to Mother Teresa’s monument that states “VMRO-DPMNE never again”. Their presence in Skopje can further be noticed through the abundance of cars with Serbian license plates which are scouring the city for new areas where protests can be held. Most of these activists took part in Serbia’s protests when Slobodan Milosevic was taken down from power. Their style of protesting is almost identical to that in Serbia, with the carrying of red flags and clenching their fist, which is a symbol of the ‘Resistance’ movement, as well as the constant singing of the song Bella Ciao. The presence of these ‘imported’ demonstrators is unsurprising if the fact that SDSM uses a Serbian PR agency is taken into consideration, while Canvas, a subsidiary Soros company that specializes in violent protests, constantly holds lectures in Macedonia.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Serbian prime minister plans new privatization push after election (Reuters, by Aleksandar Vasovic, 20 April 2016)

NOVI PAZAR, SERBIA

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic plans a new push to privatize loss-making state firms if he wins Sunday’s election and will do everything needed to secure IMF approval for his economic policies, he told Reuters in an interview. Polls indicate Vucic will secure a new four-year term in the general election, called two years early after the conservative leader said he needed a fresh mandate to pursue reforms and to complete recently started talks on joining the European Union. The International Monetary Fund, in its last review in February of Serbia’s compliance with the terms of a 1.2 billion euro ($1.3 billion) loan, praised Belgrade’s economic program but said big challenges remained to reduce the over-staffed public sector and restructure loss-making state firms. Vucic said that, if his Progressive Party is re-elected, it would press ahead with reforms of state-owned companies. “The situation is somewhat better but not enough. We also want to complete the process of privatization, speed up (private) investments and above all to spur the entrepreneurial spirit of the people,” he said. Vucic said he would do everything needed for a positive outcome when the IMF returns for its next review after the election.

“Without a positive IMF review it would be very difficult for me to be the prime minister,” he said, speaking at the 12th century Djurdjevi Stupovi monastery in southwestern Serbia during a break in campaigning. Vucic’s attempts to privatize large state companies, many of which have bloated payrolls and big debts, met little success until this week when China’s Hebei Iron & Steel agreed to buy a loss-making Serbian steel mill. In December, Serbia rejected as too low all offers for a majority stake in telecoms provider Telekom Srbija, a decision Vucic later said he regretted. The three big state firms that are leading candidates for privatization or downsizing are Telekom, the RTB Bor copper mining and smelting complex and the Resavica coal mine. The government wants to avoid potentially heavy job losses. “Telekom will be much easier (to tackle) than RTB Bor and Resavica, but we will be fighting for Bor and Resavica,” Vucic said.

“Resavica will be toughest to tackle. RTB Bor will not be easy but I believe we can manage this and I believe RTB Bor can be a very successful company and that we will manage to salvage and keep most of the workers in Resavica,” he said. Vucic said he will fight resurgent ultra-nationalist parties if they get in to parliament on Sunday. “That would not be the greatest news for the country because I am afraid that some would want to present us in the future as European or global lepers. That’s the last thing Serbia needs,” said Vucic, who broke with former nationalist colleagues in 2008 to adopt pro-EU policies.

($1 = 0.8799 euros)

(Editing by Adrian Croft/Jeremy Gaunt)

Copper King Becomes Money Pit as Serbs Face End of State Economy (Bloomberg, by Gordana Filipovic, Michael Winfrey, 20 April 2016)

•           Premier Vucic plans to overhaul economy after April 24 ballot

•           Program to sell budget-draining state companies threatens jobs

Miners at Serbia’s state-owned RTB Bor’s copper pit are worried. Their equipment is crumbling, the workforce has been diminished and it costs them more to produce the metal than they can sell it for. “Some of our machines are older than our oldest workers,” Vlada Stefanovic, a union leader, said Thursday from his office near the huge canyon’s rose-colored terraces, carved by years of mining in the mountainous region four hours from the capital, Belgrade. “If we had five new trucks, one dredge and a drill, there would be more work for all of us.” That’s probably not going to happen. Bor, once the pride of Socialist Yugoslavia, is at the center of a struggle to retool a $38 billion economy that missed out on the transformation that has lifted living standards in much of former communist eastern Europe. Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, seeking re-election on April 24, has promised the International Monetary Fund he will sell, shut down or restructure around 500 state companies that drain as much as $1 billion from the budget a year as he readies Serbia for European Union membership by 2020. “Serbia is probably the last country in Europe to make these reforms that other countries did two or three decades ago,” Milojko Arsic, the head of the Foundation for the Advancement of Economics in Belgrade, said by phone. “It will certainly be unpopular.” A former ally of late President Slobodan Milosevic, who led Serbia in the wars that tore Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s, Vucic is set for a decisive victory in the Sunday election. He is winning despite pledges to undertake reforms that may wipe out tens of thousands of jobs and crush local economies in places like Bor, where four-fifths of the town’s 35,000 people depend on the mine’s operation for their livelihood. Vucic’s Progressive Party had 50.9 percent support at the start of the month, compared with 12.3 percent for the second-placed Socialists, according to an April 3-10 poll by Belgrade-based Faktor Plus. The yield on Serbia’s dollar bonds maturing in 2021 fell one basis point to 4.581 percent at 4:04 p.m. in Belgrade on Tuesday, the lowest in a week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The dinar traded little changed at 122.9391 against the euro, after the central bank intervened in the market for second straight trading session to prop up the currency.

Playing Catchup

Like leaders in other former Yugoslav republics including EU members Slovenia and Croatia, Vucic is trying to help Serbia catch up to richer ex-Communist countries after years of political foot-dragging and public opposition to economic change. He’s up against resurgent nationalist candidates, including acquitted war-crimes suspect Vojislav Seselj, who advocates shunning the EU and rekindling closer ties with Russia. The EU accounts for almost 69 percent of Serbia’s exports and 63.3 percent of its imports. It also accounted for 83 percent of all foreign investments in Serbia last year, with the trading bloc’s members investing 1.5 billion euros in the country in 2015, according to data provided by the National Bank of Serbia. Vucic has held on to his popularity even after raising taxes and cutting public wages and pensions, which narrowed Serbia’s fiscal deficit by almost a half to 3.7 percent of annual output last year. He’s also made some progress in thinning out state companies, selling 44 of them for 50 million euros ($56 million). This month, he announced the sale of unprofitable steelmaker Zelezara Smederevo, which was due to receive $34 million in state aid, to China’s Hebei Iron & Steel for 46 million euros.

Needed Overhaul

Bor, which has already suffered two failed sale attempts, is not likely to receive such an offer and will go bankrupt without an overhaul, the World Bank said in November. After a workforce reduction by three-quarters to about 5,000, a failed revitalization program by the Washington-based lender, and the installation of a $251 million smelter, it’s still producing copper at about $5,000 a ton, above the market price of about $4,828 on Monday. The company lost 2.4 billion dinars ($22 million) in 2014, and last year it submitted a plan to restructure its 700 million euros in debt. “This is going to be a hard year, especially in the context of downsizing the public sector, where thousands will be fired,” said Deanie Jensen, an emerging-markets economist at ING Groep NV in London.

Protecting Jobs

Still, Vucic has vowed to keep Bor afloat. He’s declared it and 16 other companies strategic enterprises to protect them from creditors as the government tries to turn them around. His cabinet has set aside 6 billion dinars ($55 million) this year to help workers whose jobs will be eliminated there and at other state companies, according to the Economy Ministry.

That will be expensive, with the cost of assisting the 11 biggest state companies estimated at around 200 million euros, according to the Fiscal Council, an independent body tasked with watching public finances. While low by western standards, average salaries of 60,000 dinars a month ($550) are nearly a third higher than the national average. Bor is now asking many of its workforce to accept voluntary buyouts to cut costs, but many know that taking them will mean more pain. “People are frightened,” said Jelka Gvozednovic, a 63-year-old housewife as she bought vegetables near the sprawling mining complex. “There’s no alternative in Bor. They are done if they lose their jobs.”

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