LOCAL PRESS

Vucic: I am concerned because I know Albanians are not doing this themselves (RTS)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that he is very concerned with the latest events in Kosovo and Metohija, because, as he says, he knows how this all went up until 2003. “At the time we had a harmonized story ‘standards before status’. Standards have not existed then just as they don’t at present. Some click, trigger for giving so-called independence were riots and unrests. I am concerned with all this because I know that they are not doing all this alone,” he says. The statements by the Albanians are scary, he says, adding that he concerned the absolute silence of the international community. “They (Albanians) tell Europe and the world in the face ‘we are not interested in the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO), we are not interested in the Brussels agreement’. They don’t want to implement what is an international agreement, while the international community that is the guarantor is being silent and is not interested,” says the President.

I am asking the people in the international community to pay attention to this, adds Vucic. He recalls that several attacks against the Serbs have occurred up until 5 May: “Serb Dejan Slavic was arrested without any reason, Zvezda football team was banned to play, the Markovic family was attacked, the premises belonging to Dragisa Mitrovic were set on fire, the ambulance in Suvi Do was stoned, Serbs near Petric were attacked, the draft statute of Trepca was adopted, the Matkovic family was attacked, Boris Malagurski was banned entrance,” warns the President.

I presented the Brussels agreement before every European official, says Vucic, noting they have nothing to say. “They sit, stand, whatever, look at the ceiling and this is that,” says Vucic.

He says the people will have they say in the resolution of the Kosovo issue, and one of the manners will quite certainly be the referendum as well. He says that enormous energy and effort have been invested in order to resolve the problem, and not to survive the day in power as others had been spending days in order to become rich. “We are not hiding anything from the people in Serbia. What do hide? Do they now know how we behaved stupidly in 2008 when they declared independence? What we have to hide? We are fighting to gain something for Serbia. Once we have something, we will present it to the people,” notes Vucic. When it comes to the Mirdita, Dobar dan Festival, he says: “I have a difficult debate with my older son on this issue and I said what I thought. I think that we demonstrated the difference with which we should not brag about before the international community. Citizens should be proud. While they are stoning and beating those who are visiting their churches, we are letting them,” says Vucic. He says this is an indicator of Serbia’s democratic capacity and the best indicator that our country has become a normal country. ‘You have an image that some people came to protest, we are not afraid to hear whoever’s arguments, it is not a problem that they had said some ugly things about me and the Serbian leadership, both sides that took part, both the Serbs and the Albanians,” said Vucic, adding this is the difference between us and them, because those who have the support of the Western world are attacking children and babies.

Dacic: Fight to keep current format of UN Kosovo sessions ahead (Tanjug/B92)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic says a fight is ahead of Serbia in August to maintain the current format of UN Security Council sessions on Kosovo. Speaking at the Serbian parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, Dacic said that in the past six months his ministry worked to preserve the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, EU integrations, and enhance cooperation with regional countries. According to him, Kosovo’s intention is to end the mandate of UNMIK in that territory, and to hold fewer, or abolish UN Security Council sessions on Kosovo. “That is unacceptable to us. We will see how further discussion on this will develop. In May, there was no problem, however in August, the presiding country is the UK and it is very likely they will raise these issues. A fight around this lies ahead,” Dacic said. He added that the latest developments in Kosovo and Metohija show that the UNMIK mission should remain in the undiminished format and that Kosovo should continue to be discussed regularly at the sessions of the UN Security Council.

Djuric: No announcements about resumption of dialogue (Tanjug)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said Thursday there were no announcements about a resumption of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and that Belgrade was ready for discussions conducted in a serious way. If a resumption is announced, we will be ready for discussions, but in a serious way and with people who are ready to implement agreements, Djuric told reporters.

Dacic, Stefanovic on preventing Kosovo from joining Interpol (Beta)

Serbian Foreign and Interior Ministers Ivica Dacic and Nebojsa Stefanovic met on 31 May to discuss strengthening joint efforts to prevent Kosovo from joining Interpol. The Foreign Ministry said that Dacic and Stefanovic had arranged further steps and strategic directions for coordinated action in this area of exceptional importance in the context of defending Serbia’s interests with regard to Kosovo and Metohija. “A readiness was stressed for continuing the maximum mobilization of available capacities for the purpose of opposing unilateral attempts of so-called

‘Kosovo’, to, contrary to the UN Charter and Security Council Resolution 1244, as well as the

statutory documents and resolutions of Interpol itself, gain membership in this organization,” a statement said. The ministries agreed on intense coordination in using international police cooperation instruments and engaging Serbia’s network of diplomatic and consular missions in representing Belgrade’s stances on the negative effects of Kosovo’s possible membership in Interpol. The Foreign Ministry announced that Dacic, Stefanovic and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic had met and that they had arranged concrete proposals for enhancing the model of visa liberalization, in accordance with the legal regulations that regulate this question.

More intensive political dialogue with Caribbean states (Beta)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic assessed on Thursday during the talks with Secretary-General of the Association of Caribbean States June Soomer that the Republic of Serbia, by signing the Agreement on Cooperation with this association, has shown readiness to further develop friendly relations with traditional partners in Latin America and to establish a more intensive political dialogue and cooperation with the Caribbean states. Brnabic underlined that she expects that in the forthcoming period a program of cooperation will be defined and the modalities of Serbia’s inclusion in the concrete projects of this organization will be examined. She added that she is first and foremost interested in strengthening cultural ties and cooperation in the field of education, adding that Serbia will consider granting scholarships to a number of students from the Caribbean countries. She took the opportunity to express gratitude to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean who showed a principled stance regarding the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and supported Serbia in defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state. After the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation with Secretary-General Soomer, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic assessed that it is an important step and the basis for improving cooperation with the countries from this region. At a joint press conference after signing the agreement, Dacic said that Soomer’s visit was very important, historical and vital, bearing in mind friendly relations and support on the international field.
He stressed that Serbia has many years of friendly relations with the Caribbean countries, but that these relations are not sufficiently developed and that our country is not sufficiently present in that part of the world. That is why we signed a framework agreement in order to create a legal basis for cooperation, Dacic said, recalling that it is an association that has existed for 25 years and that it gathers 25 countries. Soomer said that apart from the 25 member countries of the Association, there are also 10 associated members and stated that this group of countries is diverse and that there are smaller but also large states like Mexico.

Joksimovic: New EU chapters if Belgrade-Pristina talks resume in June (Danas)

A possible meeting between Kosovo and Serbian presidents by 25 June could help Belgrade open new chapters in its accession talks with Brussels. Serbian Minister for EU Integration Jadranka Joksimovic told Danas she would present the country’s activities thus far regarding the Chapters 23 and 24 related to the rule of law, next week. Joksimovic said that the decision on some new chapters depended on a general attitude toward the enlargement to the Western Balkans and on some technical details. She added that it would be positive if we open three chapters, but if there are two, that will anyway be significant progress for Serbia in its European integration process.

Albanians assault Serb priest, his wife and children (Blic/Tanjug)

Serbian Orthodox priest Sevan Markovic and his family – his wife and 4-year-old twins – on Thursday came under attack on a road in the village of Zac in Kosovo. Markovic described the incident for the daily Blic, saying that the family was traveling toward Osojane, on their way back from the Patriarchate of Pec. “It was seven o’clock in the morning. There was a van parked in the middle of the road, with doors open, in Zac. Next to it a man stood spilling water – so the road was blocked. I stopped and asked them to at least shut the van’s doors so that we could pass. At that point it didn’t even occur to me that this was a roadblock set up for me, for my family,” he said. Those blocking the road – members of the ethnic Albanian Kelmendi family – did not move the van. The priest then tried to drive around them, but there was no room. “I opened the window and they moved toward us. They saw I was in clerical clothing and I thought they wanted to apologize for the blockade. I, too, wanted to get out of the car, to say everything was fine. And just as I opened the door, one of them kicked it back as hard as he could. They charged toward us. They started kicking the car and glass shattered. The children started crying,” Markovic recounted the ordeal. The priest, who in the past served in several churches in Kosovo and Metohija, speaks a little Albanian – so he said he understood what one of about a dozen Albanians who assaulted them shouted as he ran into a nearby yard, and according to him, it was, “Kalash! (short for Kalashnikov rifle) Kalash! Kalash! Give me the Kalash.” As the Kelmendis had at this point all gathered around the car, in that way freeing up a portion of the road, the priest accelerated the car and managed to drive past the barricade. The case was immediately reported to the Kosovo police, Blic writes. The daily added that the Kelmendis have dozens of criminal complaints filed against them – and although they are “very well known” to the Kosovo police for weapons and drugs, they remain free. It was members of this family who in 2010 fired shots at Serb returnees in the village of Zac. Stevan Markovic also came under attack earlier in the week, when Albanians threw stones at internally displaced Serb and returnees who were visiting a destroyed church in the village of Petric. “They attacked us, but I didn’t want to stop the prayer,” the priest said of the incident in Petric.

Serbian fact-checking portal investigates President (Istinomer)

The Istinomer fact-checking portal said that more than 90 percent of the statements made by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during his first year in office were untrue. Just nine percent of the 33 statements assessed were true, the portal, which is part of the International Fact-Checking Network, said, adding that the president fulfilled just one of his promises in that period and failed to fulfil five others. Two of his statements were deemed to be inconsistent. Vucic’s claim that Serbia would have more kilometers of highway than Croatia in 2017 was not true because official data shows that Serbia has the same length of highways as its neighbor did in 2003 and needs 550 more kilometers just to catch up, Istinomer said. The Serbian President said that the Serbian economy is growing at a rate higher than the European average when the country had a growth rate almost half that of the average in European Union member states. He also claimed that Serbia had the highest growth rate in the Western Balkans but Croatia, Albanian and Kosovo reported higher rates, the portal said. Vucic said on several occasions that Serbia’s public debt was at the level of 77 percent of the GDP when he took over as Prime Minister in 2014 when the public debt was in fact 62.5 percent of the GDP and reached the level of 70 percent at the end of that year. Vucic was also wrong to say that average salaries stood at 356 Euro when he took office when they were actually at the level of 386 Euro in 2014. The Serbian President said that Belgrade airport reported annual profits of just 130,000 Euro before he came to power but those profits were reported for 2013 when Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) was in power, Istinomer said. Vucic also promised that Belgrade Mayor Sinisa Mali would resign in 2017 as demanded following the destruction of houses in the Savamala neighborhood but Mali remained in his post and was recently appointed Finance Minister.

REGIONAL PRESS

Zvizdic expects swift reaction of Serbian authorities to Dodik’s statement on uniting RS and Serbia (FTV)

Chairman of B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) Denis Zvizdic reacted on Thursday to Wednesday’s statement of Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik, who said that the RS and Serbia should end up united in a state community in this century. Zvizdic called on Dodik and everyone else who dreams of changing the borders and of new divisions to stop dreaming and to accept the reality. According to Zvizdic, the reality is that architecture of the Western Balkans is complete. He stressed that everyone should remain committed to the Euro-Atlantic integration and regional cooperation as the most important foreign policy goals of B&H. Zvizdic also commented the candidacy of SNSD leader Milorad Dodik for the position of the Serb member of the B&H Presidency in the October elections and he called that a “complete paradox” that a man that denies the very existence of B&H as a state, wishes to sit in its Presidency. Zvizdic said that Dodik’s dream of uniting the RS and Serbia will never come true and Zvizdic’s message to Dodik is for him to focus on issues of the B&H citizens and to work on resolving them in the future. Zvizdic said that he also expects a swift reaction of the Serbian authorities to Dodik’s statement on uniting the RS and Serbia and that he expects Serbia to condemn such rhetoric.

US Embassy, OHR reject Dodik’s claims about secession of RS from B&H (Dvevni avaz)

The US Embassy to B&H and the Office of the High Representative (OHR) reacted to a statement of Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik about secession of the RS and joining Serbia, and stated on Thursday for the daily that B&H is an internationally recognized country, whose sovereignty and territorial integrity are guaranteed by the General Framework Peace Agreement. The US Embassy pointed out that the Dayton Peace Agreement clearly states the entities and their competences only exist as a part of internal organization of B&H. “Status of B&H as a state is not an issue of someone’s opinion, as that is the fact established by the international law,” stated the Embassy. The OHR said that regardless of the attempts to change the facts, the entities do not have a right to secession.

B&H CC does not put Law on Criminal Procedure out of force (Hayat/N1/ATV)

The Constitutional Court (CC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) held a session in Sarajevo on Thursday. B&H CC decided not to put out of force the constitutional provisions of the Law on Criminal Procedure of B&H and the Law on Intelligence and Security Agency (OSA) of B&H, because B&H parliamentarians have failed to pass amendments to these two laws. Therefore, application of disputable provisions of the two laws will continue. Experts and judges of the B&H CC earlier assessed that abolishment of the disputed provisions of the Law on Criminal Procedure of B&H could jeopardize many proceedings conducted before courts in B&H.

Media commented that judges of the B&H CC obviously decided to avoid the situation in which they would be responsible for legal chaos that would be caused by the decision to put the disputed stipulations of the abovementioned law out of force.

Zvizdic: Members of international community in B&H only address issues they believe to be of key importance for B&H’s future (FTV)

Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) Denis Zvizdic asked if he can come to understand those that create procedural obstacles in the B&H Parliament for adoption of any amendments to the Law on Criminal Procedure, said that he cannot understand their reasons, because all B&H officials should work on preserving internal and international credibility of B&H’s judiciary, i.e. the capacities of the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H and the Court of B&H, so that the current and future cases are adequately processed. He added that this would be a good basis for B&H’s fight against organized crime, terrorism and corruption. “Just because of the fact that the proposed law did not respect the international standards and norms, and the fact that a ‘legal vacuum’ would be created, i.e. the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H and the Court of B&H would lose their instruments and jurisdictions in the fight against crime and corruption, I did not give my consent for the adoption of such a law on the B&H CoM session. That was also confirmed by the issued statement of the OSCE, OHR (Office of the High Representative) and several accredited embassies in B&H. But, on the other hand, there is a proposal of that law in the B&H Parliament that respects the international standards and we all expected that the proposal would be adopted. That would have led to implementation of the ruling rendered by the CC B&H,” said Zvizdic. On Wednesday, the Embassies of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the Office of the High Representative (OHR) and OSCE Mission to B&H issued a joint statement saying that they are “deeply concerned about the evident lack of genuine interest by HDZ B&H and SNSD in implementing the decision of the B&H Constitutional Court on the B&H Criminal Procedure Code (CPC)”. Zvizdic said that this joint statement only shows how important and serious this issue is and resolving it is of outmost importance. “The international community rarely addresses current issues in B&H in such an explicit, precise and, primarily, a very professional way. They only address the issues they believe to be of key importance for B&H’s future and the future development of relations within B&H. Besides the EU path of B&H, NATO path, economic development, the rule of law is one of the most important priorities. That is why their focus was put on this issue,” said Zvizdic.

HDZ B&H’s Kristo rejects statement of embassies, OHR and OSCE (Glas Srpske)

Deputy President of HDZ B&H Borjana Kristo rejected the statement jointly issued by the OHR, OSCE and ambassadors of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom, in which they accused HDZ B&H and SNSD of being responsible for failure to adopt changes to the Law on Criminal Procedure of B&H, as groundless. “Current situation is the consequence of international community’s decisions. What else to expect from certain embassies than to stand behind their decisions. They do not care about B&H or about the country functioning as the legal state. Nothing is being done in B&H, some are just looking for someone to blame instead, and those who are looking for culprits are the same ones who believe that by doing so, they are doing something good for B&H”, said Kristo.

Mektic and Ferguson on failure to amend Law on OSA and Law on Criminal Procedure (ATV)

B&H Minister of Security Dragan Mektic met with UK Ambassador to B&H Edward Ferguson on Thursday. The two officials expressed concern over failure of B&H lawmakers to adopt necessary amendments to B&H Law on Criminal Procedure and the Law on the Intelligence-Security Agency (OSA) of B&H. They assed that there is a serious risk for B&H to become “a black hole for organized crime” if its bodies are prevented to implement special investigation activities due to failure to amend the Law on Criminal Procedure.

Covic: Plan B has not been entirely fulfilled (Nezavisne)

Croat member of the B&H Presidency and HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic said that the plan B was to have all Croat parties participate jointly in the elections. “We have not entirely fulfilled this plan, because HDZ 1990 and HRS will participate (in the elections) independently. We have gathered eight parties which will participate in the elections together with HDZ B&H”, said Covic. HDZ B&H leader said that they do not want dispersion of votes at the state level, and – as an example – mentioned the case of Bosniak political scene, saying that at least two parties, DF and Our Party, will try to use Bosniak votes to get hold of Croat political positions. “Whoever is Croat People’s Assembly (HNS) parties’ candidate for member of the Presidency, will definitely win the elections. That is the plan B”, Covic said, adding that concept C is also possible. He concluded that election victory is the primary goal, after which the authority will be formed with representatives of Bosniak and Serb political parties. Covic reiterated that the story about changes to the Election Law of B&H is over, at least when it comes to state-level institutions in charge of making decisions about the issue.

SDP B&H and A-SDA to support to Becirovic’s candidacy for post of Bosniak member of B&H Presidency (TV1)

SDP B&H leader Nermin Niksic and A-SDA leader Nermin Ogresevic signed an agreement on Thursday on support to SDP B&H’s candidate for the post of the Bosniak member of B&H Presidency Denis Becirovic. Niksic pointed out that A-SDA’s support to Becirovic shows how worthy Becirovic is of this candidacy. Niksic expressed confidence that Becirovic will win the elections as a candidate supported by a wider group of political parties. The SDP B&H leader announced that SDP B&H will soon sign more agreements with other political parties. Ogresevic assessed that Becirovic would represent B&H and its citizens in a quality manner. Ogresevic underlined that this is not the first time A-SDA is cooperating with SDP B&H, so this agreement comes as no surprise. “We feel satisfied and encouraged to have such a candidate, an opportunity to support such a candidate. He is certainly the best candidate out there,” Ogresevic noted. DF condemned an agreement signed by SDP and A-SDA. “Finally, some things have become absolutely clear, namely that SDP has chosen a party that is not left-wing or civic instead of announced coalition and joint participation of all left-wing parties,” stated DF and noted they would not be surprised if SDP signed a coalition agreement with other parties who are as far away from the left-wing as possible. Also, the party stated they now understand why SDP has refused to even consider their proposal for the coalition.

Civic Initiative gathers enough signatures for election law referendum (Hina)

“The People Decide” civil initiative on Thursday revealed the number of signatures it had collected for the holding of a referendum on changes to the election system, announcing it would forward the signatures to parliament in about ten days. For the first question, the civic association collected 397,024 signatures, association’s representative Zvonimir Troskot said at a news conference organized outside the national parliament on Thursday. The first question refers to the general regulations of the election system, the optimum election threshold, etc, while the second question was: Do you want the Constitution to include article under which ethnic minority representatives decide on all issues from the jurisdiction on the national parliament, except on confidence vote in government and the state budget? The signature collection campaign started on 13 May and ended on 27 May. At least 10% of the electorate or 374,740 voters have to sign a petition for a referendum for it to be called. Troskot on Thursday dismissed accusations that the association continued to collect signatures after the deadline expired.

Prime Minister calls possible referendums “irresponsible” (Hina)

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic commented on Thursday on the announcement which “The People Decide” civil initiative, namely that their petition had enough signatures for a referendum to be called, saying that the authorities need to verify if the signatures were collected properly and whether it was done in accordance with the Constitution. “It needs to be verified whether the proposed referendum questions are in line with the Constitution,” Prime Minister said. “This type of questions, which reduce minority rights through a referendum, completely miss the point, they are irresponsible,” Plenkovic said. “In my opinion, any kind of infringement into the rights of minority rights goes against the Croatian Constitution, and I do not see how that could be decided on a referendum” he said.

Zaev: Name solution to be acceptable for all ethnic communities (MIA)

I am convinced that the possible name solution will be acceptable for all ethnic communities. I have not consulted all of them, but if a name solution is reached, it will be acceptable for all ethnic communities, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Thursday. Zaev said that details are very important in a negotiating process, but without crossing the red lines, so that Macedonia achieves its strategic goals of NATO membership invitation and EU accession talks date. “A name solution will make this attainable. A name solution eliminates all obstacles for a NATO invitation. Therefore, I try to be cautious, share information when possible, even to the smaller opposition parties, regardless of their ethnicity, because I believe these issues require a national consensus,” said Zaev. According to him, DUI is fully briefed on the course of the talks, but SDSM also has ethnic Albanians within its membership who are part of the parliament.

“Both myself and FM Dimitrov want the possible agreement to be acceptable to all ethnic communities. we share the same homeland, we were all born and live here,” said Zaev.

He urged everyone to use caution when giving statements, because Macedonia’s future is at stake. “I believe we can all contribute to the solutions, resulting in removal of the injustice imposed on our country regarding its NATO and EU membership aspirations,” underlined PM Zaev.

Dimitrov briefs President Ivanov on pace of name negotiations (MIA)

President Gjorge Ivanov and Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov discussed Thursday on the latest developments related to Skopje-Athens negotiations on settling the name issue. Dimitrov briefed Ivanov on the pace of the name talks without presenting any written document, the President’s Office said in a press release. “The entire negotiating process looks like a private agreement between Prime Ministers Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras for which there is no national consensus in Macedonia. I do not accept a solution to the name issue for overall use or erga omnes,’ Ivanov said after the meeting. Any international agreement, Ivanov said, should be signed in line with Macedonia’s Constitution, not to stipulate its revision. A settlement of the name dispute with Greece requires a leadership and the highest level of responsibility of all political stakeholders, Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov said Thursday after meeting President Gjorge Ivanov. “For (resolving) this rather complex issue related to the difference over name, which has been pulling us down and hampering our future for many years, leadership and the highest level of responsibility from all political stakeholders are needed. If we find a way to close this problem by preserving our identity and dignity, we will all be together on the right side of history,” Dimitrov said.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Europe needs Balkans and Balkans need Europe, says Albania PM (EurActiv, by Cecile Barbiere, 31 May 2018)

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama calls for clearer enlargement prospects for the Western Balkans, saying it would be a “huge mistake” for the EU not to continue its engagement with the countries in the region.

French President Emmanuel Macron has made cautious declarations on the future of the Western Balkans in the European Union, what do you think of these declarations?

I already have had the opportunity to meet with President Macron, in Paris and Sofia. During these meetings, we discussed several different subjects such as the future of the Balkans and Albania, the reform of the European Union, etc.

I have said this for several months now, Albania is moving into a new phase. We received a clear recommendation from the European Commission to open negotiations, and I think we should start these negotiations, as we have worked hard to get here. This does not mean immediate accession, the aim is not to join today, but we will work to become a member within the years to come.

Speaking of becoming a member in the years to come, what do you think would be an appropriate accession date for Albania and the rest of the Western Balkans?

I don’t think it’s reasonable to set a deadline. I fully agree with Macron in that first we need to reform the EU before further enlargement.

A prior strengthening of relations is entirely legitimate, and I believe it is right. But the only thing that needs to be harmonised is a parallel strengthening of relations with the Balkans. The EU needs to give us the instruments to strengthen relations. Negotiations on accession were made to be a tool for stronger relations.

Overcoming a decade of enlargement fatigue, the European Commission launched its long-awaited Western Balkans strategy on Tuesday (6 February), aiming to inject new momentum into EU integration and speed up the homework the six countries need to do before joining the bloc.

What risks could arise from an accession procedure for Albania, and more broadly for the Western Balkans?

I don’t believe in stopping negotiations. At the same time, I am convinced that closer relations to the EU are not only beneficial to the Balkans but also to Europe. Europe needs the Balkans to the same extent that the Balkans need Europe, to address security concerns, territorial cohesion and border control.

Leaving the Balkans aside would amount to creating a grey area in the middle of Europe, which could end up under foreign influence. And this would obviously not benefit Europe.

Does public opinion still support Albania’s accession to the European Union, or has there been a drop in public support?

No, there has been no decline in the support for Albania’s EU accession, we have no anti-European party and no communist party. Albania is a country with Muslims and Christians, but the religion that unites us is Europe.

A statement about a potential union between Albania and Kosovo, by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, has angered officials in Belgrade, who have asked Brussels to take a stand on the issue. EURACTIV Serbia reports.

Albania could be the first country with a Muslim majority to join the EU.  Does the religious factor have any effect on negotiations at a time when several European countries profess anti-Islamic views?

Albanian Muslims are the most pro-Europe and pro-NATO Muslims there are. They hold the exact same views on Europe, Nato etc as European Christians.

What do you expect from the next European Summit in June and the London Summit on the Balkans in July?

Firstly, I believe the June Summit is very important and that the July summit will greatly depend on the outcome of the first one, which is held under the initiative of the Berlin Process. We want to open negotiations in June.

While Albania is about to negotiate its accession to the European Union, what do you think of the UK’s choice of leaving the EU?

You know, when a person wants to get married, they don’t understand those who want to get a divorce, this sums up how we feel.

Turkey’s accession is currently at a stalemate but negotiations are still ongoing. Do you think that this lack of clarity could, in turn, compromise negotiations with the Western Balkans?

We know that that there is a very specific background to Turkey’s accession process. What has always been very clear to me in this process is the lack of clarity. Everything needs to be said clearly during the accession procedure – saying yes and thinking no did not help negotiations. Europe has made mistakes in the past, and it would be a huge mistake not to continue the work with countries in the Balkans.