LOCAL PRESS

Vucic begins consultations on new government (RTS/Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister-designate Aleksandar Vucic started today consultations on the new government with a meeting with officials of the Socialist Party of Serbia -United Serbia (SPS-JS) coalition in the parliament building. Vucic and his aide Ivica Kojic met with SPS-JS leaders Ivica Dacic and Dragan Markovic. Dacic said following talks that it was in Serbia’s best interest to continue cooperation with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). He told the press in the Serbian parliament that they discussed the program of the future government, but not the ministries. “We discussed potential cooperation. I reiterated the stand of our coalition that we had examined at our party organs the basis of the program of the future government, that we supported this and that we will also give proposals on the topics that concern the profiles of our parties that are left-wing,” said Dacic. Markovic also stated that the topic of talks was not ministries, but Serbia’s future, and that stability is required for the arrival of investors and that the SPS-JS coalition will contribute to this stability.

Maja Gojkovic re-elected parliament speaker (Beta)

Maja Gojkovic, a senior official of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), was re-elected on Monday as the parliament speaker, the duty that she performed over the last couple of years. After a whole day of turbulent and heated debates in the parliament, 159 MPs voted for Gojkovic, who was the only candidate for the post, whereas 73 MPs voted against and one abstained from voting. A total of 233 MPs in the 250-seat parliament took part in the vote that was conducted by a public roll-call that lasted more than an hour. The MPs from the tickets of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ), the Party for Democratic Action (PVD), the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the United Serbia (JS) voted for the re-election of Gojkovic. The MPs of the Democratic Party (DS), the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), the Enough Is Enough (DJB) movement, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Social Democratic Party (SDS), the Dveri Movement, the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and the League of Social Democrats Vojvodina (LSV) were against it. Gojkovic, after being elected, promised that she would justify trust and equally treat all the MPs, regardless of which parties they were members and whether they voted for or against her reelection.

Six vice-presidents, general-secretary of the Serbian parliament elected (Tanjug)

The Serbian parliament elected six vice-presidents, while the candidate of the Enough Movement Jasmina Nikolic didn’t receive MPs’ support. After the voting for vice-presidents, the following were elected:  Veroljub Arsic (SNS), Vladimir Marinkovic (SDPS), Konstantin Arsenovic (PUPS), Djordje Milicevic (SPS), Vjerica Radeta (SRS) and Gordana Comic (DS).

The Serbian parliament appointed Svetislava Bulajic as the parliament’s secretary-general. She was the LDP MP between 2012 and 2014, and last year she was Serbian government’s candidate for the secretary-general of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE.
Gojkovic: Working summer in parliament (RTS)

Serbian parliament speaker Maja Gojkovic told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that her reelection is a great honor, noting that deputies who voted in favor complimented her, because they obviously thought she worked well in the past two years. She added that the process of constituting the parliament will now continue by electing working bodies, and pointed out that one deputy president post remained vacant, and that agreement will be reached in the coming period on which parliamentary group will fill it.  Gojkovic’s seventh deputy was not elected on Monday because Enough is Enough Movement voted against although an agreement was previously reached for the Assembly to have seven deputy presidents, and for one to come from the ranks of that party. Gojkovic said that everyone was confused to see Enough is Enough vote against, and wondered if this was a way for them to show they don’t want cooperation and sticking to what has been agreed. Asked whether the entire work to form a government in parliament will be completed next week, Gojkovic said it all depended on Aleksandar Vucic, describing the deadlines as broad. “When he is ready come out before the Serbian public and before parliament, he will announce to the public and parliament the composition of the government,” said Gojkovic and added that the prime minister-designate will also announce the objectives of his future government. She noted that if there were to be changes regarding the ministries, the parliament would first have to pass amendments to laws on government and ministries, and that Serbia’s new government would be elected after that. Gojkovic announced a working summer for members of the parliament, adding that a big job lies ahead of them.

Ristic: Gojkovic violated Constitution and laws by refusing to slate local elections on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija (New Serbian Political Thought)

Serbian MP of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Slavisa Ristic reiterated that the DSS will not support Maja Gojkovic to become Serbian parliament speaker because she has violated laws of this country by ignoring the Constitution when it comes to Kosovo and Metohija. “She directly violated Article 86 and 87 of the law on local self-government, which define her obligation to slate local elections in the municipalities Leposavic, Kosovska Mitrovica and Zubin Potok, when the local self-governments were disbanded in these municipalities. We blame her because she had not proceeded according to the petition of Kosovo residents to slate local elections in these municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija. Elections define the jurisdiction of the parliament and its speaker, and her function has the role to control the government. She hasn’t done anything to prevent the government from implementing the non-constitutional Brussels agreement, to prevent the government from giving up from Kosovo and Metohija. Gojkovic violated the Constitution and instead of respecting her obligation, instead of protecting Serbia’s interests, she protected the interests of the so-called ‘republic of Kosovo’.”

Vucic: Freedom must be accompanied by responsibility (Tanjug/RTS/Beta)

The freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion is the most significant freedom in contemporary humanity, but it is often abused, which is why it needs to be accompanied by responsibility, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said Monday. That freedom is frequently used rightly, but also abused, especially for political purposes, Vucic said at a Belgrade conference marking the national day of Sweden. Absolute freedom cannot exist, Vucic said, adding that there can only be freedom that is accompanied by a certain type of responsibility, which he said is non-existent in Serbia. It would be good if we learned from Sweden about freedom, and even more so, about responsibility, Vucic said, adding that the Serbian constitution guarantees freedom of expression. It is important to build an openness of discussion and debate in society without depriving others of their rights, irrespective of differences in opinions, he said. Speaking about media freedoms, Vucic said that Serbia has passed the best laws pursuant to the positions of the Venice Commission.

Dacic receives Eichhorst (Tanjug/RTS)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on Monday received Angelina Eichhorst, Director for Western Europe, Western Balkans and Turkey at the European External Action Service. Dacic expressed gratitude to officials of EU institutions for their partnership in Serbia’s EU accession process, as well as the hope that the EU integration process will continue in the period ahead, giving a strong impetus to Serbia’s future government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Eichhorst noted that she expects the new government to continue on the European path of the previous governments, in particular in the wake of progress in the talks on negotiation Chapters 23 and 24. She also expressed the hope that the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue will resume after the formation of the government and that there will be concrete progress in the discussions. She particularly praised the way Serbia handled the migrant crisis and the measures it took to take in refugees from war-stricken territories, the statement said.

Stankovic, Sadiku visit Presevo, Bujanovac on the same day (Beta)

The Head of the Coordinating body for Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja Zoran Stankovic and

Kosovo liaison officer in Belgrade Valdet Sadiku on 6 June had separate meetings with local authorities in Presevo and Bujanovac, to discuss economic problems and the political and security situation. Newly elected Bujanovac Mayor Saip Kamberi had separate meetings with Stankovic and Sadiku, while Bujanovac municipal council chairman and National Council of Albanians leader, Jonuz Musliu, talked only with Sadiku. After the meeting, Kamberi and Stankovic, at a news conference, announced the Coordinating body’s further support to the Bujanovac municipality, the continuation of projects that have been launched, and start-up subsidies to local entrepreneurs. In a statement to BETA, Musliu said that in the meeting with Sadiku, it was agreed that the Kosovo government should pay more attention to the Albanians in the Presevo Valley. Musliu further said that it would be the job of the state secretary in the Local Government Ministry, whose representative was also present at the meetings with Presevo and Bujanovac officials on 6 June.

REGIONAL PRESS

Population census continues to be the main issue (Srna)

The Association of Serbs from B&H in Serbia called on Serb representatives in the B&H institutions to resign from their offices and join the politics of Republika Srpska (RS) in case the B&H bodies verify the illegal population census. Meanwhile the members of the Executive Board of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) have expressed a single position that RS should not and must not give the legitimacy to, as they say, speculative and fraudulent B&H population census. The Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic reiterated in Sarajevo that the B&H Council of Ministers has no authority to change the decision of Director of the Agency for Statistics of B&H Velimir Jukic about the single program for processing the data of population, households and dwellings census that took place in B&H in 2013. The B&H Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Mirko Sarovic believes that the legal basis, respectively the legality of the decision by Velimir Jukic on the single program for data processing may be contested on several grounds.

B&H Council of Ministers reached a conclusion confirming the commitment on implementing the Reform Agenda (Srna)

The B&H Council of Ministers yesterday reached a conclusion confirming the commitment to the implementation of measures of the Reform Agenda and supporting the continuation of activities related to planned and coordinated strengthening of efficiency and modernization of public administration at all administrative levels in B&H, in order to meet standards and principles of “good management” as a generally accepted concept in all administrative democratic systems. Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic expects the protocol between B&H and the EU on adaptation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) to be initialed by the end of the month.

Leaders of SDA, HDZ and SBB negotiating about Mostar (Nap.ba)

In the building of the B&H Presidency leaders of the SDA, HDZ and SBB Bakir Izetbegovic, Dragan Covic and Fahrudin Radoncic had a meeting which started at 2 p.m., and the main topic of discussion was the issue of local elections in the city of Mostar. As Radoncic announced last week, the experts and representatives of the parties in Mostar attended the meeting, where they tried to reach an agreement in order for elections to be held in Mostar. Citizens of Mostar have not elected local government since 2008. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court of B&H issued a decision according to which the election rule for entry in the City Council of Mostar is unconstitutional.

Disciplinary action against the prosecutor in Fahrudin Radoncic case (Patria)

Arben Murtezic, Chief Disciplinary Prosecutor of the Office for Disciplinary Counsel confirmed for Patria that a disciplinary action has been taken against Dubravko Campara, prosecutor of the B&H Prosecutor’s office by filing a disciplinary complaint by this Office and following an investigation based on complaints by lawyer Vasvija Vidovic as legal representative of Fahrudin Radoncic. “Disciplinary complaint has been filed after it was established that there was sufficient evidence that prosecutor Campara made a disciplinary violation in accordance with the legislation on High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council B&H, by making inappropriate comments during his telephone conversation with Azra Saric, which was publicly revealed by media. The comments were evaluated “inappropriate for a bearer of a prosecutor function”. According to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, such behavior of a prosecutor of Prosecutor’s Office caused that reputation of prosecutor’s function has been damaged and confidence of citizens and public has been brought in question, as well as credibility and impartiality of prosecutor’s office, which is a disciplinary violation according to the Article 57, point 23. Arben Murtezic also informs that other complaints filed with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel against prosecutor Campara have been dismissed following the investigation, due to the lack of evidence. Murtezic added that filing a disciplinary complaint will not affect the ongoing court proceedings at courts and prosecutor’s offices in B&H. Further disciplinary action will be conducted before disciplinary commission of High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council in accordance with its legislation.

HDZ: Karamarko is huge burden for government and HDZ, motion for no-confidence vote underway (Hina)

Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic reiterated on Tuesday that First Deputy Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Tomislav Karamarko was a huge burden for the government and the HDZ. “I respect the HDZ as a party, but as I have said before, Mr Karamarko is a huge burden for this government, and even for the HDZ, and I am confident that the HDZ will make the right decision,” Oreskovic told the press while leaving the government headquarters. “This is a battle for Croatia. I heard Mr Karamarko and his statement. My message is very clear: I received confidence in the Croatian parliament and am not afraid to ask for its confidence again,” he added, without specifying whose confidence he enjoyed.  The First Deputy Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Tomislav Karamarko said on Tuesday that the HDZ should be respected and that he was sure that his party would secure the support of the required number of lawmakers (at least 76) to form a new government. Addressing a news conference, Karamarko said that he wanted to see that HDZ is respected by Oreskovic and the Bridge (party). Asked by reporters if the HDZ would have enough support from lawmakers to vote no confidence in Oreskovic, the HDZ chief said that he called on all who think that the current performance (of the government) was not good to help halt this trend. Asked about a snap election, Karamarko said that the HDZ was ready for the early election, although his party considered this to be the last option. However, he seemed reserved to the elections, insisting that Croatia should not lose six more months before the next early elections. Karamarko also ruled out reporters’ speculations that the ongoing situation had caused a rift in the HDZ. Chairman of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) parliamentary group Ivan Suker on Tuesday confirmed that a motion for a vote of no-confidence in Tihomir Oreskovic would be put into parliamentary procedure today and that all lawmakers in the HDZ-led Patriotic Coalition group who were in Zagreb had signed the motion. “We’ve collected the signatures of all those who were in Zagreb and some colleagues are yet to come. At the moment we have about 40 signatures,” Suker told reporters after the parliamentary group had met and added that the motion would be put into parliamentary procedure today already. When the HDZ club’s meeting ended, no-one of HDZ lawmakers wished to make any statement to the press, however, about twenty minutes later the party’s secretary-general Domagoj Ivan Milosevic together with Suker faced the press to make an official statement. Asked whether they had a new prime-minister designate, Suker said that the only topic today was Oreskovic’s impeachment. “When that is resolved, we will move onto the next topic,” he said. Milosevic commented on the party’s Varazdin branch which had called for Tomislav Karamarko’s resignation saying that some people in HDZ at the local level do not recognize the severity of the current political moment. “As far as I am informed, they had a semi-private meeting and I expect their resignations,” he said. Asked about the possibility of Milosevic being the prime minister-designate in a government reshuffle, he said that he had not heard any such thing. Reporters were interested to hear about an alleged meeting between HDZ’s Miro Kovac with Bridge ministers and that he had offered them the option of going ahead with someone else from HDZ as a possible prime minister-designate but that this proposal was rejected. “We’re not talking about a prime minister-designate, today we are exclusively dealing with Oreskovic’s impeachment,” Milosevic said.

Serb minority MP says not participating in talks on government reshuffle, but contact exists (Hina)

Milorad Pupovac, a parliamentary deputy of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), said on Monday that he was not participating in talks with the HDZ on a government reshuffle, but he admitted that there has been contact with different sides. “We are not taking part in talks on a government reshuffle but talks are under way within our own circle as to what to do in the current circumstances,” Pupovac told Hina. Asked if HDZ leader Tomislav Karamarko or any other HDZ official had contacted him regarding that topic, Pupovac said: “There is communication and it will probably continue, and I said what I had to say.” Roma minority MP Veljko Kajtazi said that he had not been approached lately or in the past six months by anyone from the ruling majority even though he had warned on several occasions of the need to cooperate in implementing the national strategy for the Roma community. “I am not satisfied with the government’s work so far, and as for regrouping and other topics that have been discussed lately, my position will be in line with the position of the ethnic minority caucus,” said Kajtazi. Representatives of other ethnic minorities said that there was no news for the time being and that the minority caucus would hold a meeting this week.

DUI leader meets US and EU ambassadors (Telegraf.mk)

Current situation in the country, political crisis and how to overcome it were the topic of discussion at Monday’s meeting between DUI President Ali Ahmeti and ambassadors of the US and EU in Macedonia, Jess Baily and Aivo Orav. At the meeting held in the United States Embassy, DUI informed, leader Ahmeti asked President Gjorge Ivanov without a delay to completely withdraw the decision for abolition, and State Election Commission to complete its work with precision, according to the law and without mutual obstruction. “Speaking about the reforms, DUI leader reiterated that the Skopje agreement is functioning, while the legal obligations arising from this agreement should be adopted with broad consensus,” DUI said.

Ivanov: I decided to rescind all pardons (Telegraf.mk)

President Gjorge Ivanov said he had decided to annul the remaining decisions for abolition which were adopted on 12 April. “Ten days have passed since the annulment of the decisions to pardon – immunity from prosecution without conducting a procedure for a total of twenty-two politically exposed persons. Since then, the other individuals, according to the legal changes had the opportunity to submit personal requests for annulment of their decisions to pardon. However, despite the declarative announcements of some of them in the public to do so, so far none of those pardoned have filed a request for the annulment of the decision to pardon,” Ivanov said in a written statement. In these ten days, Ivanov added, we have seen various interpretations of this decision on the polarized political scene and attempts to score petty daily – political points with this decision for which I’m still confident that it will contribute to the national reconciliation and offer a way out of the political crisis in the country. “Because of this, I decided to annul the remaining decisions to pardon who I adopted on 12 April. Finally, once again I remind you that unlike on April 12, today we have a new reality in Macedonia. In terms of the external threats and security risks, we have functioning institutions that can cope with the challenges,” President Ivanov said in a written statement.

VMRO-DPMNE’s reaction to Ivanov’s decision for complete rescinding of pardons (Telegraf.mk)

VMRO-DPMNE welcomes the decision of President Gjorge Ivanov to fully use the opportunity provided by the Law Amending the Law on Pardons, the party said. “Over the past 10 days it became apparent that neither Zoran Zaev, nor the husband of the vice president of SDSM Radmila Sekerinska, and the other defendants in the case ‘Coup’ intend personally to demand the withdrawal of pardons. With the decision of the President, these people, with the exception of Zoran Zaev, will face the law as all other citizens. With it will become clear the entire construction of Zoran Zaev against party members and activists of VMRO-DPMNE,” the statement of VMRO-DPMNE reads. VMRO-DPMNE says that they were the first party which emerged publicly stating that the decision to pardon is not in accordance with their policies. “Now SDSM remains the only party that is led by a person abolished for a crime of EUR 8 million, and Zoran Zaev is the only politician who thanks to his predecessor in the party, Branko Crvenkovski is exempt from criminal prosecution,” VMRO-DPMNE said in the statement.

Ultimatum and vandalism: “Colorful Revolution” completely paints Macedonia square (Telegraf.mk)

“Colorful Revolution”, supported by SDSM, on Monday continued to destroy the square “Macedonia” and the monuments in the city. Opposition supporters threw paint on the square and with rollers spread the red color over the entire surface of the square. Citizens who walked through the city center could not pass through the square, so they had to bypass on the secondary streets. Besides the square, SDSM on Monday continued with their traditional targets for destruction – government and parliament, all under the watchful eye of the leader Zoran Zaev, who led the protests. “Colorful” opposition on behalf of the SDSM set new ultimatums which basically require a government without elections. Opposition party SDSM required forming a special unit in the Criminal Court, which will deal with the cases of the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Constitutional Court to declare as incompetent for the SPO and the formation of a transitional government. SDSM even set a deadline until when their request to be met, otherwise they it will take more radical measures.

Impeachment decision failed: Committee conclusions to be published on 13 June (Telegraf.mk)

The committee aimed at assessing the legal grounds of the proposal to launch proceedings on determining President Gjorge Ivanov’s liability in regards to his general abolition decision concluded Monday, with six votes for and four votes against, that the impeachment proposal by the opposition is unfounded. VMRO-DPMNE MPs voted for, while SDSM and DUI’s MPs voted against. Regardless of the Committee’s decision, the impeachment initiative will be looked into at a parliament session on 13 June.

About 2mn migrants might arrive on Macedonia’s southern border if Turkey is further angered by migrant deal (MIA)

If the European Union does not respect the migrant deal with Turkey, the Balkan will be under threat of a 2 million migrant surge. The situation from 2 months ago when thousands of migrants were arriving from the Aegean Sea into Greece, and from there into Macedonia, might occur again this summer or early fall, humanitarians familiar with the circumstances predict. According to them, Macedonia must be prepared for such a scenario in terms of accommodation capacities in both reception centers in Gevgelija and Tabanovce, where there is a small number of stranded migrants after the shutdown of the Balkan route. “Unless Turkey and the EU come to terms, a second wave of migrants and refugees is inevitable,” Jasmin Rexhepi from NGO Legis said. For a long time now, Turkey has been unhappy with how the deal with the EU has been working out. The deal was supposed to stop the migrant inflow to western European countries. The problems are mostly in relation to the funds Ankara has been receiving from the EU, which have been arriving quite late. Another problem is the relocation of the refugees in EU countries. So far, only about 100 refugees have left Turkey for the EU, which is a minimal number. European countries are not keen on admitting refugees and find ways to avoid the obligation. This has angered Turkish authorities, who threatened that they will let through Syrian, Afghani and Iraqi refugees into Greece. It is well known that almost all of the EU countries, such as Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia made it clear that they will not be admitting any more refugees, which means that Macedonia and Serbia will again bear the whole refugee and migrant burden, since Greece will want to quickly get rid of them.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Serbia, everybody’s darling, burning candle at both ends (Deutsche Welle, 6 June 2016)

Serbia is engaging in military exercises with Russia and NATO, closer relations with the EU and trading with the Eurasian Union. Serbia is sitting between two chairs. But is that the smart tactic?

Helicopters, paratroopers, generals with serious faces and countless cameras all around – whenever the Serbian army holds joint exercises with Russian troops, it’s no small event. Planned for this year are an anti-terrorism exercise called “The Slavic Brotherhood” in Serbia and a joint flight training in Russia. That the Serbian infantry also regularly participates in maneuvers by NATO countries, though, is announced less loudly in the Balkan country. Three such exercises last year on the Hohenfeld military training grounds in Germany received only passing mention from major Serbian media. Experts are divided on whether the procedure is a sign of wisdom on the part of Serbian leadership – or a lack of any long-term strategy. In conservative strongman Aleksandar Vučić, an authoritarian premier prevails in Belgrade – and one who can boast of experience in such a double game. The nationalist agitator of the ’90s is now the European Union supporter and reformer held up as an EU model due to his pragmatic relationship with the former southern province of Kosovo. But after elections, he first flew to Moscow to hear Putin’s opinion. And in April, his Progressive Party defended their absolute majority with the help of some tiny, Kremlin-friendly parties.

Smart or schizophrenic?

“Participation in both sides’ military exercises is actually a kind of guarantee that there’s no definitive opting for either side,” said Belgrade-based EU and business expert Professor Mihailo Crnobrnja. It is a sentiment that leaders, too, never tire of repeating: the country could not and would not compromise cooperation with Russia, nor with the West. Serbia must instead – as President Nikolić has put it – be “a house with two doors”. But such a house is susceptible to strong gusts of wind, says Jelena Milic, director of the Centre for Euro-Atlantic Studies, a Belgrade think tank. She sees the fact that Serbian soldiers participate in exercises with both sides as schizophrenic: “At this moment, troops from NATO countries are concentrating in Eastern Europe, in response to Moscow’s aggressive behavior in Ukraine and the threat to the Baltic states. Serbia’s position of sitting between two chairs in such a tense atmosphere shows that the country is in no way sovereign and has not articulated its interests,” Milić told DW.

Nothing against cooperation, but…

“In principle, cooperation with Russia, including in the military field, does not conflict with EU membership” – so goes the official stance. However, as an EU candidate, Serbia has increasingly been obliged to adapt its security policy to that of Brussels. Moreover, Germany’s ruling grand coalition has also retained in the coalition agreement that it will “actively pursue” pre-accession steps of the Western Balkan countries to the EU and NATO. But in a DW interview, Professor Crnobrnja referred to speculation about a possible NATO accession by Serbia as pure utopia because memories are still fresh of the bombing of Serbia in 1999 following the Kosovo war. At that time, hundreds of civilians died; smashed buildings can still be seen in Belgrade today. Nearly two-thirds of Serbs are still categorically against NATO membership. “I would be very surprised if the mood were to change in the foreseeable future. In bookies’ language, the odds are twenty-to-one against NATO,” says Crnobrnja.

European or Eurasian Union?

Last week, Russian state media spread a message that deepened Serbia’s midterm position: Serbia is soon to join the duty-free trade zone of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). A Serbian Minister confirmed the information and added that Serbia hopes that the move will open up new markets, in particular, for Serbian-produced Fiat cars, chicken and cheese. The Serbian press approves: “Putin approves negotiations,” announced the pro-government daily Politik, while Večernje novosti heralded: “Serbian goods for 180 million customers!” On its Serbian site, the Russian news portal Sputnik even recommended the EAWU as an alternative to the EU. According to Jelena Milić, however, the two unions are by no means in the same league: “The Eurasian Union regulates trade only, and does not deal with values, human rights and the rule of law.” Serbia intends to meet all of Brussels’ criteria by no later than 2020 in order to garner a green light for EU accession, but Crnobrnja considers this timetable too ambitious. “The interim is likely to last longer – and Belgrade is trying to exploit that.” In that spirit, Crnobrnja cites an old Serbian proverb that goes: “The supple lamb suckles on two mothers”.

The Masks have Fallen in Serbian House of Cards (European Western Balkans, 7 June 2016)

Last Wednesday 15,000 Serbian citizens protested against the illegal demolition of several sites on the Belgrade riverbank in the Savamala district’s Hercegovačka Street. The buildings in Hercegovačka Street were demolished during the election night between April 24-25 in order to pave the way for the controversial Belgrade Waterfront project. Although the direct perpetrators of the demolition project breached several constitutionally guaranteed rights, including the inviolability of physical and mental integrity, right to freedom and security, and peaceful tenure of a person’s own property and other property rights acquired by the law, the response of Serbian authorities turned out to be even more shocking.

The Belgrade Waterfront, labeled as a project of national importance by the Serbian government, is an approximately 2,7 billion Euro investment into a brownfield part of Belgrade aiming to transform it into upscale apartment blocks and shopping centers on the riverbank. The project itself remains contested not only by local architectural associations concerned with the viability of foreseen mega-construction, but also by citizens who bring into question the lack of transparency in a controversial joint venture contract between the government of the Republic of Serbia and a private company from the United Arab Emirates.

Indeed, upon a closer inspection of the contract it can be observed that the foreign investor is obliged to invest roughly 150 million, with a 150 million loan, so just above 10% of the project’s costs, while securing the ownership of 68% of equity.

The initiative ‘Ne Da(vi)mo Beograd’ (literally Let’s not drawn Belgrade, but also an allusion to We will not give up on Belgrade) has been pointing to numerous flaws and controversies of the ongoing project for over a year. However, it was not before the above-mentioned events of the election night that the initiative had seen its first major success.

The flattening of several family-owned businesses and a restaurant in Hercegovačka Street took place in the middle of the night. According to witnesses, this was done by people armed with baseball bats, wearing masks and using unmarked cars and excavators, who locked eyewitnesses in a hangar and confiscated their mobile phones and ID cards. In the aftermath of the event, one of the witnesses  died in hospital, while some of the oppositional political parties demanded an urgent probe into his death amidst the report of his medical mistreatment.

What was probably most shocking was the complete lack of response by the Belgrade police that has purposely declined numerous calls made by the assaulted citizens to investigate events in Hercegovačka Street. Therefore, in a report published by the Serbian Ombudsperson, Saša Janković, the police was accused of being complicit in the incident.

The government controlled media remained silent over the incident thus failing to inform Serbian citizens on the night where group of masked thugs de facto suspended state’s sovereignty over a part of its territory.

This is why Serbia’s Public Information Commissioner, Rodoljub Šabić called on Belgrade authorities to explain what happened, but the Mayor Siniša Mali denied knowing anything about the incident, while the president of the Belgrade’s municipal assembly, Nikola Nikodijević, questioned whether it even happened. The same day the Commissioner Šabić received threatening messages for demanding that the case should to be investigated.

The failure of the state to protect constitutionally guaranteed rights of its citizens, the government’s shady business deals, the media cover-up of the incident, threats against independent state institutions and finally even open mocking of some public officials seem to have crossed the red line.

In response the grass-root initiative ‘Ne Da(vi)mo Beograd’ staged a massive rally in Belgrade under the title ‘The Masks have Fallen’, demanding the resignations of a number of state officials, including the Police Minister, Nebojša Stefanović, the Mayor of Belgrade, Siniša Mali, the acting Belgrade police chief, Vladimir Rebić, the Communal Police chief, Nikola Ristić, and the President of the City Assembly, Nikola Nikodijević. As a symbolic response to the masked demolition men, some of the protesters came with improvised masks on their heads.

But more importantly, the protestors have publically revealed traditional top-down power structures in the Serbian House of Cards, whereby the government seems to be at liberty to influence reforms through a set of clientilistic networks, informal practices and/or methods of more or less open pressure. At the same time, by gathering more people at the political protests than any oppositional party in the last ten years, the protestors have sent a strong message to the opposition that it is no longer the only credible contender to the political power, at least in Belgrade. Powerful message has been sent also to the EU. With its traditional focus on the smart design of formal institutions, the EU had for years observed the trees and not the whole forest when it comes to the rule of law and democracy development in Serbia. In the future, the EU will have to work more closely with local civil society on monitoring the state of democracy in candidate countries. And finally, the echo of Belgrade protests is already heard in Novi Sad, where 5,000 citizens gathered protesting the politically orchestrated staff dismissal at the RTVojvodina, a provincial public broadcaster.

Before finally giving up to the public pressure, and promising that the state will investigate into the incident no matter how unpleasant the consequences might be for the ruling elite, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić has branded the masked men from Savamala as complete. With their actions, these people have indeed hindered the government’s efforts to open up EU membership negotiations on Chapters dealing with the rule of law and judiciary. They have also undermined citizens’ fragile trust into Serbian state institutions.

But this is probably not what Prime Minister Vučić had in mind when he called these men idiots. Their fault is the fact that they have bluntly disposed the informal way of rule of the Serbian regime. Their nocturnal stunt has brought into the daylight clandestine connections between the state officials, government control media, police, and masked thugs. It is more likely that for Prime Minister these men are complete idiots because they have started a snowball effect.

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Dr. Marko Kmezić is Lecturer and Senior Researcher at the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, Austria. He studied law at the Universities of Belgrade (Serbia) and Graz (Austria) and European Integration and Regionalism at the University of Graz. Between 2006 and 2008, he worked at the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights. He is the author of “Europeanization by Rule of Law Implementation in the Western Balkans”, and co-editor of Stagnation and Drift in the Western Balkans. He is also a BiEPAG blog editor.

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