LOCAL PRESS

Djuric: We are prepared for dialogue but are not giving up property (Tanjug)

Serbia is always prepared for dialogue, but not for giving up its property, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric told journalists in Brussels following another round of the technical negotiations with Pristina. Djuric held a meeting this morning with representatives of 28 EU member states and EU institutions’ representatives at the Mission of the Republic of Serbia with the EU. He presented on this occasion Serbia’s stand regarding Trepca, the law on strategic investments, but also the manner in which Serb representatives are treated in Kosovo institutions. “Our policy remains the policy of talks, but it will never be a policy of burying our head in the sand, making ungrounded concessions and rotten compromises to the expense of the interests of the Serbs. The Belgrade and Pristina delegations are continuing in Brussels talks on mutual recognition of diplomas. At the same time, the Belgrade delegation announced that it will also pose the question of Telekom to EU representatives, i.e. whether Pristina is prepared for compromises. The Belgrade delegation explains that Serbian always accepts talks, but not the “take or it leave it” principle.

Pristina refuses talks on Trepca (RTS/Beta)

The Serbian side insisted in Wednesday’s new round of the dialogue in Brussels with Pristina on the issue of the Trepca mining complex but the Kosovo side once again refused to discuss it, Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) reported. The dialogue continued on Wednesday at technical level following a breakdown in the talks on telecommunications and tensions in relations between Belgrade and Pristina. The Belgrade delegation, headed by Marko Djuric, discussed Trepca with EU representatives and said that “the current trend in the dialogue does not contribute to a normalization of relations and the resolving of practical issues,” the report said. EU diplomatic sources said that there was no change in the EU negotiating position for Chapter 35, about monitoring the dialogue and normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, because that would require the consent of all EU members. The officials said that there was thus no proof for the reports of the media in Serbia, about the stand having been incorporated into the EU position that the Community of Serb Municipalities would only start operating when the work of the “parallel institutions of Serbia in Kosovo” had ceased. They maintained that the stand of Pristina could in no way be incorporated into the stand of the EU for Chapter 35, and reiterated that, at this moment, it was crucial that the two sides take the important steps in the implementation of the agreement, which also applied to Pristina in the context of the Community of Serb Municipalities. The Belgrade delegation believes that the European mediators were doing little to make Pristina honor what had been accomplished through dialogue, which also influences the prevailing opinion among the public in Serbia that Belgrade should suspend the dialogue, while only a little more than 40 percent of the citizens believe that Serbia should join the EU. The diplomats in Brussels have said that the agreements telecommunication, freedom of movement and recognition of diplomas should be implemented.

Russian planes to take off from Nis to Aleppo in the evening (Politika)

Two Russian transport planes with humanitarian aid, which Serbia is sending to Aleppo, will take off this evening from Nis, Politika learns. Vucic confirmed that Serbia will be included in the aid operation to this second-largest Syrian city. He said there was no political angle in that.

He told reporters that the Serbian government would send aid to anyone in the world who asked for it, adding that he saw no problems in helping the hungry people. “I do not understand what the political issue is about in the context of blankets, medicines, flour and sugar. You ask for it and we will send it. We would send it to anyone in the world. We have no problems in helping the hungry people,” Vucic said.

Dacic: Unacceptable EU pressures over Russia (Novosti)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic made a statement, assessing that “absolutely unacceptable pressures are exerted on Serbia in order to, to say it diplomatically, harmonize its foreign policy with the EU’s, and to say it in Serbian – the country to impose sanctions on Russia too.” “Many big Western countries appear in the international forums as the members of the so-called friends of Kosovo group whereas at the same time we are supposed to impose sanctions on friends of Serbia. We want good relations with everybody, but we should not work against ourselves,” Dacic said in a written statement regarding “making noise” about sending humanitarian aid to Syria. “Who can be bothered by 84 pieces of underwear, 2.000 blankets and 661 kilograms of washing powder? We help the people of Syria, as we have helped the others, and just as we will send humanitarian aid to Syria if somebody else suggests us to do so. This intimidating Serbia will not do any longer,” Dacic said.

Djordjevic: Cooperation with UN for further reforms (Tanjug/Beta)

Cooperation with the UN and its specialized agencies and bodies has been of great significance for furthering the reform process, which is especially important for Serbia’s progress towards EU membership, noted Serbian Defense Minister Zoran Djordjevic at a meeting with UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Serbia Irena Vojackova Sollorano.

The framework of the development partnership for the period until 2020 was presented in order to define future cooperation, a statement said. They also noted that the cooperation of the Defense Ministry with UNDP and UN Women was invaluable for implementing the National Action Plan for the UN SC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in Serbia. Preparations for the new National Action Plan, which will be implemented 2016-2020, are under way.

Djordjevic said in Belgrade, on Oct. 19 that Sweden had disposed of 161 tons of napalm powder that used to be in Serbia thanks to support from the United Nations Development Program.

Djordjevic thanked Vojackova-Sollorano for support in executing the Conventional Ammunition Stockpile Management Program, launched in 2011, under which the napalm dust had been destroyed. He stressed that the program had yielded significant results, singling out “the disposal of white phosphorous munitions and its phased transfer to a destruction site in Spain, and the modernization of the capacities of the Technical and Maintenance Bureau in Kragujevac.” Serbia established the CASM program with partners from the U.N. and OSCE in 2011, with the aim of ensuring sustainable regional stability, curbing ammunition proliferation by reducing stockpiles and the safe disposal of surplus, it was announced after the meeting.

REGIONAL PRESS

Cvijanovic: RS Assembly should pass final proposal of Coordination Mechanism (RTRS)

RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic stated on Wednesday evening that, when it comes to fulfilling of European obligations, the final proposal of the Coordination Mechanism on EU matters allows cooperation between different levels of authority in accordance with their constitutional competencies, adding that the Government of the RS urged the RS Assembly to pass this document in the forthcoming period. According to Cvijanovic, establishment of an efficient and functional system of coordination is necessary for a country’s path towards the EU, adding that it is also of crucial importance for complex countries with different levels of authority and with different constitutional responsibilities when it comes to fulfillment of European requirements and implementation of necessary reforms. She reminded that the process of defining this system in B&H was marked by various manipulations by political Sarajevo and by irresponsible behavior of Serb representatives in the joint institutions. However, she expressed her satisfaction over the fact that the final agreement on the Coordination Mechanism was reached and that the most important condition for functioning and interaction of various levels of the authority has been met in terms of operability. “Coordination Mechanism is important, not only for B&H’s path towards the EU, but also for the communication between different levels of authority within this country,” she concluded.

B&H CEC fails to discuss elections in Srebrenica and Stolac (N1)

The Central Election Commission of B&H (B&H CEC) held a session in Sarajevo on Wednesday, but failed to discuss the election process in Stolac and Srebrenica. Instead, the members of B&H CEC imposed pecuniary penalties to three political parties for violating the pre-election campaign code of conduct. They also discussed a number of appeals because of irregularities during this year’s local elections, which were filed by several political subjects. However, some 20 appeals were rejected as unfounded due to the lack of sufficient evidence.

SDA to demand recount of Srebrenica votes (Fena)

SDA confirmed that this party will file an appeal to B&H CEC because of violations of the Election Law of B&H and it announced that it will demand a recount of votes in Srebrenica. Commenting on the issue, President of the Main Board of SDA Halid Genjac stated that B&H CEC violated the Election Law of B&H since it shortened the deadline for delivery of ballots via mail and thus jeopardized the integrity of the election process.

Moore: Democracy must be returned to Stolac (TV1)

Head of the OSCE Mission to B&H Jonathan Moore stated in Banja Luka on Wednesday that citizens of Stolac lost democracy on 2 October and it must be returned to them as soon as possible. He stressed that the elections were not even held in Stolac and the election process was terminated, so the CEC) of B&H needs to decide in the upcoming days on when the elections in Stolac will be repeated. Moore said that he hopes this will be possible in the nearest future and expressed regret that Stolac Municipality is divided, noting that this must be changed.

Bosniaks to consults with HGI and Forca (Mina)

The Bosniak Party (BS), Croat Civic Initiative (HGI) and Albanian list Forca will commence on Monday official consultations on a joint negotiating platform with which the three parties will participate in further negotiations with other political representatives, BS leader Rafet Husovic told Mina. He recalls that the minority political union of the three parties was established in 2012. “This union operated well in parliament and other institutions, through harmonized decisions and joint stands on many important issues, which is a good foundation for us to continue cooperation in the future period. We will request much higher degree of openness of institutions towards Bosniak-Muslims, increase of representation in the executive power, state administration, judiciary, prosecution, police and local services, as well the public broadcasting service. We will encourage further regional cooperation and good-neighborly relations that are, along with EU and NATO integration, the priorities of the state policy,” said Husovic.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Western Balkans need to tackle energy poverty – SEE SEP (SeeNews, 19 October 2016)

TIRANA (Albania) – Western Balkans governments should adopt measurable definitions and monitoring criteria of energy poverty and vulnerable groups, organisations from the South East Europe Sustainable Energy Policy (SEE SEP) programme said in a new report. Western Balkans have to undertake detailed analysis of the problem of energy poverty and to ensure publicly available data on energy expenditures and living conditions, the group of civil society organisations said in a report presented last week at the annual Parliamentary Plenum organised by the Energy Community in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Financial support, such as compensation and support for paying the energy bills should be used as a measure after all cost-effective energy efficiency options have been implemented,” the report, entitled Energy Poverty in Southeast Europe: Surviving the Cold, concludes. “It should not be the first measure as it does not contribute to overall improvement of quality of life and it does not promote rational energy use.” The organisations said that national governments need to introduce energy efficiency and energy saving measures, to stimulate the replacement of household appliances and inefficient heating systems, to distribute interest-free loans for deep renovation, and to establish low energy consumption requirements for all new social housing. The Western Balkan countries face serious difficulties in the energy sector as a result of their turbulent history which led to infrastructural damage and stagnation or decline of national economies.The situation is additionally complicated by the inefficiency of the buildings, household appliances and the heating systems, according to the report. Electricity production in the region originates mostly from coal-fired power plants, whose operation leads to pollution of the environment and causes health problems. The shift to a liberalised energy market and the high reliance on imports leads to increased energy prices in the region, the report said. The process of liberalisation is not a problem by itself, but it has to be implemented with adequate protection mechanisms to enable smooth transition, the report said. Significant investment in energy efficiency is needed in order to prevent vulnerable groups from being pushed into energy poverty. Energy poverty, in general terms, represents the inability of a household to secure adequate amounts of energy in the home. It is difficult to define what ‘adequate amounts of energy’ means but according to a standard 21 degrees Celsius in the living rooms is an optimal temperature. According to the report, people who receive social welfare benefits, single-parent households and pensioners are more likely to be energy poor. “Without funds available to invest in energy efficiency of their dwellings, to improve their heating systems, or to buy new household appliances, poor households are forced to give up on aspects of their basic living standards – decreasing living space in winter, turning down the thermostat, using inadequate heating, washing, cooking, lighting and in warmer climates, cooling services,” the report concluded. “Many of those affected by energy poverty in the Western Balkans are forced to deal with the ‘heat or eat’.” Overall, 833 households in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia were visited. “With the EU unable to provide a definitive solution or at least clear guidance how to fight this problem, it should be in the interest of governments of the most affected countries, those in SEE, to take their own initiative and lead by example as this is the only way to provide a sustainable, healthy and economically stable future for their citizens,” the report suggested. According to the report, inadequate access to energy is a common issue in Albania, where 20.7% of the population does not have an adequate heating and 11.2% of the connected households are late with paying their electricity bills. More than half of the families visited in Bosnia and Herzegovina live in dwellings older than 36 years with partial or no insulation and inefficient windows. 40% of the visited households used coal for heating, while 46% of them reported the occurrence of draught through windows and doors which means high energy losses. More than a quarter of the Croatian households pay their bill late, whereas some 13% of the population lives in households with leaky roofs, damp walls, floors or foundations. About 10% of people live in households which are unable to maintain adequate warmth during the coldest months. In Kosovo, one of the poorest countries in Europe with GDP per capita about one-tenth that of EU-levels, most households use either wood or electricity for heating. Unreliable electricity supply and inability to cope with increasing energy costs make many households shift to wood fuel which in the nearest future will lead to serious deforestation of the country.  Some 40% of Macedonian homes have no thermal insulation at all. Most of the families (47%) use wood fuel to keep their homes warm in winter months. In Montenegro, some 68% of households use electricity for heating, whereas the other main source of heating is wood, both being inefficient and costly. According to the report, energy poverty in Serbia can be attributed mainly to lack of resources and lack of adequate information.

Albania, Macedonia and Bosnia are more corrupted than Kosovo (Albeu.com, 19 October 2016)

Albania, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are listed as countries more corrupted than Kosovo. These findings emerge from a research project funded by the European Union and implemented by the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD), headquartered in Bulgaria, who days ago presented all findings in Washington, reports lajmi.net. In this research, 50% of Albanian citizens have stated that they have been asked bribes, while 40% stated that they have paid a bribe to perform any work. After Albania, ranks Macedonia. The ratio in this country is 30 to 29 percent. Bosnia and Herzegovina did not come out very well in this research. About 33% of respondents stated they have been asked to pay money of give gifts, while 28% stated that they have bribed people. Kosovo is ranked fourth with a ratio of 27% and 22 percent. Even Bulgaria, which is a member of the European Union has problems with corruption. About 24% of Bulgarian citizens have been asked to give bribes while 22% said they have given money.