LOCAL PRESS

Djuric: Serbia continues to support Trepca (Tanjug)

Serbia will continue to support the Mining-Metallurgical company Trepca, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said. “It is our obligation to, by political, legal and all other measures, enable Trepca to continue to function, which has also been confirmed by the government’s decision,” Djuric told journalists in Belgrade. This, for the time being, does not imply financial aid to the company, since Trepca – or rather that part of it which is controlled by the Serbia – “is entirely capable of fulfilling its obligations,” he said. Trepca is functioning, producing and exporting and we should expect that it should continue to do so in the following months, he continued. “The workers are working, they are coming to work. For the time being everything is normal, but we are still preparing for the worst, we are not sitting idly,” he said.

Even in the conditions of complete blockade, Trepca can continue production for a while, said Djuric, citing information which he received from Trepca’s management.

Office for Kosovo and Political Science faculty sign cooperation agreement (Beta)

The Belgrade Faculty of Political Science and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija signed a cooperation agreement to provide students with training and, possibly, a job at the Office. The agreement was signed by the dean of the Faculty Dragan Simic and the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric. Simic and Djuric concluded that in order to look after Serbia’s interests in Kosovo and Metohija, it is necessary to expand the role of academic and intellectual elites, especially the generations still in the education system.

Djuric: Government to answer MP questions regarding Kosovo (Politika/Tanjug)

Serbian MPs will most probably be able to receive answers from government members regarding Kosovo and Metohija, Djuric said. “As far as I have been informed, the government will be answering on Thursday numerous questions, most of which, as I heard, will concern Kosovo,” said Djuric.

DSS municipal boards in Kosovo and Metohija leave party (RTS/Tanjug)

The provincial board of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) for Kosovo and Metohija has announced that all municipal boards in the province have left the party over the dissensions in the party. The statement reads that the DSS in Kosovo and Metohija no longer has a single municipal board, whereby the provincial board is also stopping with its work, bearing in mind that its members have been delegated, together with the president, from municipal boards.

McAllister: Success in dialogue significant for both sides (Tanjug)

For both Belgrade and Pristina, progress on the EU path primarily depends on the normalization of relations between them, says European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister.

Overall progress is required, but the individual contribution of each side will be analysed as well, McAllister told Tanjug. The normalization means that both sides must comply with their rights and obligations and that they must not block each other’s path toward the EU, he said. One side must not be consciously blocking the other and, should that be the case, the responsibility will be analyzed in detail, he said. Kosovo, too, has set off on the path of EU accession – pursued by the Union as a process parallel to Serbia’s accession – and further progress depends on the normalization of relations with Belgrade, McAllister said.

“Not yet” for Muamer Zukorlic’s university (Politika)

The National Council of Higher Education has unanimously decided that the International University in Novi Pazar cannot enroll students in any of the 17 study programs in basic, masters and doctorate studies, except the English language. The National Council was deciding yesterday on the case of the University of Muamer Zukorlic, the Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Education, who appealed the previous decisions on the rejection of the Commission for Accreditation. The arguments for rejecting the appeals are the unresolved issue of residence of professors who are foreign citizens, as well as a number of professors who received their doctorates precisely at this university that has no accreditation.

Ferhat Dinosa first Montenegrin ambassador to Kosovo (RTS)

The first Montenegrin Ambassador in Pristina Ferhat Dinosa presented his credentials to Kosovo President Hashim Tachi, who said he was pleased that Montenegro upgraded its diplomatic representation in Kosovo to ambassadorial level, RTS reports. “We will work on deepening cooperation between the two countries and promoting peace, stability, cooperation and good neighborhood relation, as well as the EU and NATO integration for the whole region,” Dinosa said at the presenting credentials ceremony. Tachi’s office stated that “Kosovo and Montenegro had excellent neighborly relations”. “Montenegro made a fair decision when it recognized Kosovo and it continues to support Kosovo in all international organizations and forums despite the pressures against it. We thank you for that,” Tachi said.

KLA court to be located in Hague, Dutch MPs confirm (Tanjug/B92)

The lower house of the Dutch parliament has passed a proposal submitted by the country’s Foreign Ministry regarding the seat of the KLA court. Tanjug reported this on Tuesday quoting Pristina-based Albanian language newspaper Kosova Sot. According to this, the seat of the court that will deal with the crimes committed by the former KLA will be in The Hague. Officials of the Dutch MFA said the court’s initial mandate will be five years, while the length of time it will operate will depend on the number of the accused. During this time, the Dutch authorities will be able to issue arrest warrants for anyone who escapes the detention unit in Holland, the Pristina daily said.

REGIONAL PRESS

B&H CEC amends its decision on publication of final results of local elections (Nezavisne)

At the session in Sarajevo on Monday, the B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) amended its decision on publication of final results of the local elections in B&H. The amendments refer to the results defined after recount of ballots from 52 polling stations in 26 constituencies, which was completed in Sarajevo on Sunday. B&H CEC has not yet decided on repeating of the elections in Stolac. B&H CEC will wait for rulings of the B&H Court in order to confirm the final election results, because the appeal process is underway. According to the published B&H CEC’s decision, mayoral candidate in Bijeljina Mico Micic has officially won 30,703 votes, while his opponent Zlatko Maksimovic won 29,922 votes. The coalition of non-governmental organizations ‘Pod lupom’ stated that that the recount results will not change the outcome of the elections. B&H CEC also ordered recount of ballots from one polling station in Knezevo/Skender Vakuf and one polling station in Posusje Municipality. The B&H Court told the daily that this institution had received one complaint from Velika Kladusa-based Labor Party and the one filed by legal representative of candidate for Head of Srebrenica Municipality Camil Durakovic. The Court did not specify when the decision on these complaints is expected.

Cvijanovic: National Assembly – cornerstone of RS (Srna)

The National Assembly of Republika Srpska represents the cornerstone of the formation and further development of entity institutions, i.e. Republika Srpska itself, Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic said on Monday. “Republika Srpska’s quarter-century would not have been possible if it weren’t for the concerned and courageous people, who acted as members of the parliament and did everything that was necessary at the time,” Cvijanovic told reporters in Banja Luka after a formal session of the National Assembly marking 25 years of operation and existence of the entity parliament. Marking the quarter-of-a-century lifetime of the entity’s highest legislative body is a step in RS’ development as well as a step in the improvement of the National Assembly’s operation, the PM pointed out. “The fact that here sit the MPs elected by the will of the people proves the importance of this institution,” said Cvijanovic, adding that marking the parliament’s 25th anniversary was an important day for RS. Cvijanovic told Srna she was happy with the collaboration between the National Assembly and government. “I consider the cooperation good. Its results include numerous regulations, laws and enactments which show Srpska’s full institutional capacity to regulate the area we live in, adhering to all the required standards,” said the Prime Minister. “Its worth lies in the fact that it provides co-existence and equality for all its citizens,” stressed Cvijanovic.  “One quarter of a century is an important fact in Republika Srpska’s life and I am certain that in the years to come it will build its capacity and that our citizens will become more aware of the importance of what we have – Republika Srpska,” she said.

The RS National Assembly held a formal session in Banja Luka on Monday to mark its 25th anniversary. In attendance were entity President Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic, member of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic, entity ministers, RS representatives in the B&H state institutions, deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia, and former speakers of the RS National Assembly, representatives of judicial institutions and constitutional court, Serbian Orthodox Church and other religious communities, and diplomatic corps in B&H.

Before deciding on the government, minority parties will define their own requirements (CDM)

At a meeting in Podgorica, the representatives of the Bosniak Party (BS), the Croatian Civic Initiative (HGI) and the Albanians Resolute coalition discussed a common platform that will contain political demands, in accordance with their political programs and principles. “We agreed at the meeting to establish a joint working group which is to work on minority parties’ common platform in the coming days. At the same time, each party or coalition will also work on defining separate documents that will contain specific political demands, as an integral part of this process”, it was said in a joint statement. Only after defining these common and specific documents, representatives of the parties will start negotiating on the parliamentary majority, they said. The meeting in Podgorica, in the BS premises, was attended by: on behalf of the Bosniak Party – Vice Presidents Osman Nurkovic and Kemal Purisic, political director Suljo Mustafic and future MP Ervin Ibrahimovic; on behalf of the Albanians Resolute coalition – the President and Vice President of Forca Nazif Cungu and Genci Nimanbegu, the President of the Albanian Alternative Gjergj Camaj and President of DUA Mehmet Zenka: on behalf of HGI – president Marija Vucinovic and the first candidate on the HGI electoral register Adrian Vuksanovic.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Newcomers Threaten Old Albanian Parties in Macedonia (BIRN, by Semra Musai, 25 October 2016)

Polls in Macedonia showing growing support among ethnic Albanians for newly formed parties could deliver surprises in December’s general election, observers say.

Skopje

A recent opinion poll conducted in Macedonia suggests that the two old-established ethnic Albanian parties could face a serious challenge in the December 11 general elections.

“Newly formed Albanian non-parliamentary parties, divided into two blocs, have gained much support because what they offer differs from what the DUI [the Democratic Union for Integration] and DPA [the Democratic Party of Albanians] have been offering for years,” political analyst Xhelal Neziri told BIRN. The opinion poll, published by the Institute for Policy Research and Good Governance, a think tank, on Sunday, showed that the DUI, which has held power in coalition governments since 2008, is still the most popular party on the Albanian political scene with the support of 13.4 per cent of voters. However, a newly formed anti-establishment party, Besa, is running very close to the DUI with the support of 10.2 per cent of the voters. Another newly formed party, DPA – Movement for Reforms, is also breathing down the neck of the old DPA, with a difference of only 1.3 per cent in the polls. Neziri said that although opinion polls in Macedonia are not always relevant and do not always predict elections results, because they are often used for propaganda purposes, surprises could happen. “Ethnic Albanians had a low turnout in previous elections because of their dissatisfaction with the two parties [the DUI and DPA],” Neziri said. Macedonia’s main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, SDSM, is also seriously courting ethnic Albanian voters in the next elections, which is a novelty. Political parties in Macedonia are traditionally divided sharply into ethnic camps. “The offers of the non-parliamentary parties and of the SDSM as well could result in a higher turnout among Albanians in these elections and bring surprising results,” Neziri observed. Two new coalition blocs made up of non-parliamentary ethnic Albanian parties will be competing alongside the DUI and DPA in December. One unites the LR PDSH, Uniteti, and the RDK of Vesel Memedi. Besa and the RDK, led by Fadil Zendeli, have formed a second coalition. Nevertheless, there is clearly everything to play for. The polls show that nearly 55 per cent of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia have not yet decided how to vote, or whether to vote at all. Albanians make up about a quarter of the population of Macedonia.

Five more countries, including Ukraine, join EU’s anti-Russia sanctions (Interfax, 25 October 2016)

Ukraine, Montenegro, Albania, Norway, and Liechtenstein have joined the anti-Russian sanctions that were extended by the Council of the European Union until March 15, 2017, as restrictive measures for undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. “The Candidate Countries Montenegro and Albania, and the EFTA [European Free Trade Association] countries Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine align themselves with this Council Decision,” High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini’s declaration reads. “They will ensure that their national policies conform to this Council decision,” the declaration reads. The European Union takes note of this commitment and welcomes it. The Council on September 15, 2016, extended the existing measures until March 15, 2017, having simultaneously amended the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures as set out in the Annex to Decision 2014/145/CFSP. In September 2016, the Council of the European Union extended the sanctions against 146 individuals and 37 organizations for another six months.