LOCAL PRESS

 

Vucic: Pristina’s only goal to take over Northern Kosovo in whatever way possible (Beta)

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the sole objective of the authorities in Pristina was to take over the north of the territory in whatever way possible. “That is the essence. They know that there are no Serbs in Stimlje, in Suva Reka; that there are 300 in Orahovac and around 400 in Velika Hoca. Their only goal is to take over the north of Kosovo, so that they can physically take Gazivode. I told representatives of the international community, and them, too a million times that that will not pass and I will repeat this as many times more,” Vucic told reporters in Belgrade. Vucic said that the law on Trepca is on the table again, and that everything that Pristina was doing had to do with the north of Kosovo. “All of it, like the intimidating harassment of Marko Djuric, has to do only with bringing their troops to northern Kosovo. This is their only dream. According to our agreement with NATO, they do not have the right to enter the north with their security forces without the consent of local Serbs and NATO’s permission, but despite that they have twice already intruded upon the north with heavy weaponry under false pretenses,” Vucic said. He said that Kosovo Albanians were growing increasingly nervous, because, he said, they think they have the right to take over the north according to the right given to them by the Americans and others, who bombed Serbia.

 

Vucic and Ivanic discuss situation in region (Tanjug)

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met today with the Serb member of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic, with whom he discussed bilateral relations, the situation in region. Vucic stressed that Serbia will always respect the Dayton Peace Agreement and the jointly voiced will of all three constituent peoples in B&H – Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats. He stressed that Serbia is committed to improving relations with B&H, both political and economic. “Good-neighborly relations are of vital importance for the Serb people in Republika Srpska and B&H, as well as for the Bosniaks and Croats in B&H, but also for peace and stability in the region,” the President’s Press Service quoted Vucic as having said.

 

Kuburovic, Bramertz meet in New York (Beta)

 

Serbian Justice Minister Nela Kuburovic met with UN criminal tribunal prosecutor Serge Brammertz at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday. Brammertz, formerly chief prosecutor at The Hague Tribunal (ICTY) for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, now holds the same position at the ICTY successor court the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT). He is in New York to present a regular report on the MICT to the Security Council.  According to a statement released in Belgrade, Brammertz lent support to the adopting and implementation of Serbia’s National Strategy for the processing of war crimes and a Prosecution Strategy. He is reported to have said that the capabilities of the Serbian war crimes prosecution need to be reinforced.  Brammertz and Kuburovic said good regional cooperation is needed to efficiently process war crimes. The Serbian Justice Minister said that cooperation between Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina is “at a good level”, adding that the Serbian judiciary has recognized some sentences passed by courts in Bosnia.  She said that the war crimes prosecution will get more prosecutors this summer and that the Judiciary Academy will start training for war crimes cases by the end of the year.

 

Djuric: Pristina’s refusal dangerous and irresponsible (RTS)

 

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric had told RTS that Pristina’s refusal of the dialogue is dangerous and irresponsible, just as the denial of the assumed obligations. The stands of Kosovo politicians that can be heard over the past days are opposed to the idea of the dialogue and a way to a dead end. The main negotiator of Pristina is uttering words to which nobody reacts, yet many would have to react. He openly and publicly says that Pristina has no intention to implement assumed obligations and thus proves that the authorities in Pristina think that everything is permitted to them, says Djuric. “President Vucic has warned several months ago, precisely during the time when Arifi and his bosses were swearing they would be implementing the agreement on the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO), that they don’t intend to do this. It took a very short time to see how much Pristina’s intentions were insincere, and claims false,” said Djuric.

 

Djuric urges Tanzania to reconsider recognition of Kosovo as independent (Beta)

 

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric met with a Tanzanian delegation during a visit to Moscow, appealing to the authorities in the eastern African state to reconsider an earlier decision to recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo. Sharing the expectation that bilateral cooperation between Serbia and Tanzania would be raised to the top political level, Djuric referred to a long history of cooperation and friendship, underlining shared interest in restoring the high-quality relationship the two states once had. The summit in Moscow, attended by more than 80 delegations, was an opportunity to exchange opinions with different states, and to promote Serbia’s view of the Kosovo issue.

 

Spain requests to be included Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (Blic/RTV)

 

At a meeting of the EU External Action Service, Spain and some other states, namely the members of the so-called Visegrad Group, consisting of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, submitted the request to take part in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. These countries protested for not being included in the process of the dialogue. The daily sources said the remarks included the lack of transparency and that, due to their exclusion from the process, they had an impression that the team work on drafting a legally binding document on the normalization of relations was hasty and secret.

 

Albanians harass Serb children in school playground (B92)

 

A group of Albanians on Tuesday insulted and threatened Serb children in a school playground in Suvi Do, near the town of Lipljan, b92.net has learned. Our reporter said that the Albanians in question "showed the children the middle finger and uttered obscenities in Albanian and English" - telling them also that there was "no place for them in Kosovo, as it was Albanian territory." The Albanians then used crowbars to demolish two doors on the school building. The children called their parents, who reported the incident to the Kosovo police. The Albanians fled the scene in a black vehicle. The children were ten-year-olds who were "visibly distressed," the school's headmaster, Bratislav Djedovic, said after the incident. The information service of the municipality of Gracanica said they learned that the police soon after detained four Albanian men, up to 20 years of age - all of them, according to a statement, hailing from the vicinity of Gracanica. However, the Kosovo police issued a statement of its own, and assessed that the incident had no "inter-ethnic" background. Each such act is criminal, regardless of who commits it, they said. This was the second similar incident in a week - it took place after a group of Albanians charged against Serb children playing in a village playground in Staro Gracko.

A number of incidents, in some cases resulting in injuries, has occurred lately in Kosovo and Metohija, when Albanians attacked Serbs, including children. On Tuesday, the Kosovo government expressed its concern, and condemned what they termed to be "inter-ethnic incidents."

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Representatives of international community encourage B&H politicians to continue negotiations regarding B&H Election Law (TV1)

 

Representatives of the international community stated after the meeting with leaders of B&H political parties held in Sarajevo on Tuesday, that there is a lot of work ahead but that they encourage politicians to continue negotiations regarding the Election Law of B&H. US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer deemed Tuesday's meeting as good, adding that he is convinced things are progressing in the right direction. Palmer also stated that Washington is concerned because of the election reform in B&H. "To be honest, these are very complex issues, not only political issues, but technical as well. At the moment, we do not want to go into details as to which things were discussed in terms of further steps. We are making sure these talks are being held in a positive atmosphere and that everyone agrees that an agreement should be reached," Palmer underlined. EEAS Director for Western Europe, Western Balkans and Turkey Angelina Eichhorst conveyed Brussels' message to B&H, according to which it is necessary to solve all burning issues in B&H and see B&H on its European path committed to reforms. "I believe that today (Tuesday) we saw not only commitment to find solutions, but also to take responsibility for the next steps. It is a good moment. The region of the Western Balkans is a priority for the EU and I believe that the solution can be found," Eichhorst stressed. US Ambassador to B&H Maureen Cormack stressed that B&H is one of the priorities for Brussels, urging B&H political leaders to continue holding meetings regarding the Election Law of B&H in the coming weeks. "Whatever solution is found, it needs to be a domestic one, and we remain committed to helping you," Ambassador Cormack emphasized. Head of the EU Delegation (EUD) to B&H Lars-Gunnar Wigemark stressed that B&H political leaders need to focus on how to implement the decision of the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H in Ljubic case related to the election of delegates to the FB&H House of Peoples (HoP). "They have started focusing on that which is good news," Ambassador Wigemark said. Representatives of the international community said that they are convinced that concrete solutions will be found in the coming period and that those solutions will enable the implementation of October elections in B&H.

 

PIC SB convenes two-day session with Election Law of B&H on agenda (TV1)

 

A two-day session of the Political Directors of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) Steering Board started in Sarajevo on Tuesday. PIC Political Directors will discuss the situation in B&H, but also issues related to the upcoming general elections in B&H. On Tuesday, representatives of the B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) informed PIC Steering Board Ambassadors about preparations for the upcoming general elections in B&H. B&H CEC President Irena Hadziabdic said that they mostly talked about the challenges that B&H CEC might face during preparations of the upcoming general elections. “Discussions are confidential and I cannot reveal any information to you”, briefly stated German Ambassador to B&H Christiane Hohmann, after the meeting.

 

B&H HoP rejects technical amendments to B&H Election Law (TV1)

 

The House of Peoples (HoP) of B&H rejected on Tuesday the technical amendments to the B&H Election Law put forward by the House of Representatives (HoR) of B&H. Namely, the HoP confirmed the opinion of the Constitutional-Legal Commission which failed to support the principles of the proposed amendments to the B&H Election Law, which stipulate optical scanning of ballots, introduction of video surveillance at polling stations and fingerprinting of voters. Delegate of the Croat Caucus in the B&H HoP Martin Raguz said that friendly countries are offering to help B&H improve its election process in the technical sense. "Let us make some progress and let us not sweep this law under the rug again and miss this opportunity," Raguz underlined. Raguz stressed that he is not claiming that the proposed amendments to the B&H Election Law are ideal. "There are perhaps radical moves in it, but certain things could be introduced which will start restoring the trust of people in fair and democratic elections and that is the basis for the future of every serious country," Raguz said. Speaker of the B&H HoP Ognjen Tadic stressed that this law is currently dead and cannot be brought back to life. "If we vote against the (Constitutional-Legal) Commission's opinion, that is another month, and then the Commission again gives a negative opinion and another 15 or twenty days would pass until that opinion reaches us, and we would already be at the end of September and we would do nothing," Tadic underlined.

 

Covic: Position of embassies, OHR and OSCE has nothing to do with reality (BHT1)

 

HDZ B&H President Dragan Covic addressed a letter to embassies of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the OHR and OSCE, dismissing as inappropriate their earlier accusation that he is the main culprit for the lack of interest for implementation of the B&H Constitutional Court’s ruling regarding the B&H Law on Criminal Procedure. Covic wrote: “I wish to point out that I was unpleasantly surprised by this communication and its contents, for which I claim most responsibly that they have nothing to do with reality. The process of preparing the amendments to this law for the purpose of implementing the concerned decision of the Constitutional Court of B&H is in no way different from other similar processes having their own precisely defined methodological and institutional order of priority. The preparation of the proposed amendments to the law involved the participation of an interdepartmental working group composed of a number of renowned experts, representatives of relevant institutions from different levels, who are very well acquainted with the subject matter, but also fully aware of all standards, both professional and those devised in terms of upholding the rule of law and protecting the fundamental human rights, which is the basis of what is actually ordered under the Constitutional Court’s decision.” The letter further states: “I am convinced that there is no room for any free and arbitrary assessments by way of which the main responsibility is sought to be shifted to the field of action of political parties in a totally unjustified way. I feel obliged to inform you that your statements, which are based on incomplete information, unnecessarily contribute to creating a negative perception within the general public, while at the same time you participate beyond all standards in the politicization of an important intrastate issue in the pre-election campaign, as a result of which you become part of it, which is highly absurd.”

 

OHR: Covic’s actions re Criminal Procedure Code confirm fears of international community (Oslobodjenje)

 

The Office of the High Representative (OHR) commented an open letter sent by HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic to the representatives of the international community in B&H, and stated for the daily that “HDZ B&H voted against the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code in accordance with the international standards in the House of Peoples of B&H”. “That only confirms concern of the international community with regards to the approach of HDZ BiH to this issue,” stated the OHR. The German Embassy to B&H refused to comment the letter, and it briefly stated that a joint statement of several embassies published on May 30 is their only comment. The US Embassy to B&H also stated that the joint press release from May 30 is the only comment they are going to give, because it represents a stance of the international community.

 

Border demarcation deal finally enters into force (CDM)

 

The agreement on border demarcation between Montenegro and Kosovo yesterday entered into force. According to the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kosovo Ambassador to Montenegro Skender Durmishi on 4 June submitted a note verbale to the General Director of the International Legal Affairs Directorate, Tatjana Raspopovic, informing her that Kosovo finally solved internal procedures for adoption of the Agreement on border demarcation between Montenegro and Kosovo, signed in Vienna, on 26 August 2015. Under Article 12 of this Agreement, date of submitting Kosovo note verbale to Montenegro represents date the Agreement enters into force, given both sides fulfilled their internal legal procedures.

 

NATO starts air patrols over Montenegro (CDM)

 

Fighter jets of the Air Force of Italy and the Air Force of Greece started regular patrolling of Montegro’s airspace as of 5 June. Montenegro joined the Alliance in June 2017 and as it doesn’t have adequate equipment and capacity to protect its airspace, it will receive support from Allies in the field of airspace protection. “NATO allies Italy and Greece will patrol over Montenegro’s airspace, but the fighter aircraft will continue to be based in their home countries, taking to the skies when necessary,” NATO announced. They also pointed out that air policing is not a response to any specific threat, but rather the way NATO provides security for its members.

Based on NATO regulations, air forces of Allies must have at least two fighter aircraft on 24/7 readiness, and at any given moment. Members states lacking these requirements are entitled to seek multinational solutions to guard their airspace.

 

Zaev again urges Ivanov to sign language law (MIA)

 

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev again urged Tuesday President Gjorge Ivanov to sign the Law on the Use of Languages and enable the continual functionality of democracy in the society. Zaev told reporters at the sidelines of a conference of Network 23+ that he tried to motivate President Ivanov at several meetings to sign the language, because the Parliament is otherwise blocked.

"He is sending a message that the President can decide whenever he wants and for whatever law to use the so-called 'pocket veto'. This is not a functional democracy. The responsibility is too big," added Zaev. He said competent institutions such as the Constitutional Court should be consulted, but also the Venice Commission. "The Constitutional Court says what is constitutional and what is not. If there is something problematic, it can be changed," said Zaev and added that if certain laws aim to increase certain rights, then the country can facilitate its EU accession process.

 

Zaev on conversation with Tsipras: Matter of days (MIA)

 

The telephone conversation between the PMs of Macedonia and Greece is a matter of days, since the required circumstances are currently created, said Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on Tuesday.

Regarding the statement of Greek FM Nikos Kotzias that proposals Northern, Upper and New Macedonia are the names being discussed, PM Zaev said he believed the process is nearing a happy ending. "Let's not rush with details, circumstances are still created so that the telephone conversation materializes. It is a matter of days. Once it takes place, the citizens will be informed about its content," Zaev told reporters at the sidelines of the final conference of project Network 23*. He also failed to comment on whether talks involve creative solution Krusevo Macedonia, Modern Macedonia and European Macedonia, as stated by DUI MP Artan Grubi on Monday.

"The issue is sensitive and I will remain cautious. I want these days to be ones of successful completion of the process. We will share the information once all details are agreed. The issue is sensitive for us, it is sensitive for Greece too," stressed Zaev and added that citizens would eventually have a say at a referendum.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Deal for Macedonia Name? High Treason, Some Greeks Say (The New York Times, by Niki Kitsantonis, 5 June 2018)

 

THESSALONIKI, Greece — To understand how deeply the name Macedonia is embedded in the Greek psyche, look no further than Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki. It’s the capital of the northern region of Macedonia, the historical center of a long-running feud with the neighboring country of Macedonia, whose claim to the name is the focus of United Nations-mediated negotiations. In Thessaloniki, there is a Greek Ministry for Macedonia. The international airport carries the name Macedonia. The city has a university and research institute with the same name. And the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle in Thessaloniki holds in its curated halls the troubled history of the region. The dispute is so contentious that when Thessaloniki’s liberal mayor, Yiannis Boutaris, used the name Macedonia in a visit to Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, in November, he was promptly branded a traitor on social media. He also came under fire for suggesting that Thessaloniki’s airport could drop the name Macedonia and for speaking of “three Macedonias” — one in Greece, one in Bulgaria and one in the neighboring Balkan country. (There’s no evidence that the Macedonia dispute prompted the brutal beating that the 75-year-old mayor, known for his liberalism and outspoken views, endured from a far-right mob during a ceremony last month to commemorate the World War I genocide of Pontic Greeks by Turkish forces.) Last week, the national federation of Macedonian cultural associations sued Greece’s foreign minister, Nikos Kotzias, on a charge of high treason over his handling of the name talks with Skopje. Such extreme reactions are limited, but there are few signs that ordinary Greeks are willing to share the name Macedonia with the nation that declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 under the name the Republic of Macedonia.

Thousands of supporters of Macedonia’s main opposition party, known as VMRO-DPMNE, rallied in Skopje on Saturday, protesting any proposed changes to the country’s name. Rallies are also planned for Wednesday in 13 cities across the Greek region of Macedonia, with the support of local mayors and bishops. The strained relations between the two countries are symbolized by the frosty ties between the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle in Thessaloniki and one in Skopje with the same name. But Vasileios Nikoltsios, curator of the museum in Thessaloniki, is firm. “The Macedonian identity is my identity; it’s my grandfather’s identity,” he said. “Skopje was not even part of ancient Macedonia.” The Skopje museum opened in 2011, nearly three decades after the one in Thessaloniki. Its website says it “symbolizes the fundamental aspiration and longing of the Macedonians for their freedom.” Mr. Nikoltsios, a retired colonel and prolific collector, is not impressed. He called that project “a museum of propaganda.” To Greeks, their Balkan neighbor’s fight for the right to use the name looks suspiciously like territorial aspirations over the northern Greek region. They have protested again and again, with nearly a million people taking to the streets of Thessaloniki in 1992 and tens of thousands demonstrating this year there and in Athens. For Macedonia, which joined the United Nations in 1993 as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the fight holds the key to the future. Resolving the dispute would open the door to greater prosperity and stability through membership in the European Union and NATO, which Greece has used its veto to block until a solution is found. The authorities in Skopje have also stressed the importance of a solution to secure “the dignity and identity” of Macedonia’s people. Despite the differences, a solution may be closer than it has been in decades. Talks between Athens, the Greek capital, and Skopje have edged forward in recent weeks amid hopes by Western governments that a breakthrough could allow Macedonia to join international alliances that they say could stabilize the Western Balkans. The nation’s prime ministers had been expected to discuss a draft agreement reached by their foreign ministers to finalize a deal before a European Union summit meeting on June 28. However, a discussion of legal and technical aspects of a potential deal “are progressing with great difficulty,” according to a Greek government official on Friday, who told reporters the chances of deal in the coming days were receding. In response, an official in Skopje was quoted by the news agency IBNA as describing the Greek comments as speculation. On Sunday, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev of Macedonia said he was “optimistic” and expected an agreement to be announced “very soon.” Last Wednesday, he said that any deal would be put to a referendum in the fall. He spoke after his Greek counterpart, Alexis Tsipras, said that increased cooperation between Greece and Balkan countries would thwart aspirations by countries like Turkey for dominance in the region.

But there is strong opposition to a compromise in Greece. Panos Kammenos, the Greek defense minister and Mr. Tsipras’s right-wing coalition partner, has said his party would not support a solution that allowed the Balkan nation to continue using the name Macedonia, and he declared, “The Skopjans are living with the myth of Macedonia.” But some question whether Mr. Kammenos would risk political turmoil at a critical moment for Greece, which is set to exit its third international bailout in August. Recent surveys in Greece on the issue indicate that opposition has eased, with about half of those polled objecting to letting the nation of Macedonia continue using the name, compared with 8 out of 10 earlier this year. Greeks are apparently more concerned about potential irredentism by Turkey, a traditional foe, amid a recent deterioration in bilateral ties, surveys suggest. Still, for Greeks, besides stoking fears about potential threats to the nation’s territory, the Macedonia dispute touches on issues of identity, culture and history.

The Greek region of Macedonia was the center of the kingdom of Alexander the Great, the ancient Greek warrior king. The region was carved up after the Balkan wars in the early 20th century after decades of fighting among Turks, Greeks, Serbs and Bulgarians, with about half the territory becoming part of Greece and most of the rest going to Serbia and Bulgaria. Slavs who identify themselves as ethnic Macedonians had long pressed for a separate state. Greek fears about a renewed territorial threat resurfaced with the breakup of Yugoslavia and have resurged amid hints of a compromise in the name talks. Mr. Nikoltsios, the curator, dreads a name change. “The Skopjans won’t stop at the name; that will just whet their appetite for territorial claims,” he fretted. “I’m worried for my children and grandchildren.” Michalis Patsikas, one of the organizers of the rallies planned for Wednesday, said: “A Macedonian is a Greek. There can’t be a Macedonian who is not Greek.” Any deal should be put to a referendum, he added. “They weren’t elected to negotiate a name change,” he said of Mr. Tsipras’s coalition government. “They have to ask the people.” He said that a deal including the name Macedonia for Greece’s neighbor would be a “national betrayal” and a “falsification of history.” He predicted it would also be “a spark in the powder keg of the Balkans.” As for Mr. Boutaris, the mayor of Thessaloniki, he said on Friday that he was “completely indifferent” to the accusations of his detractors, whom he described as “ignorant” and victims of “a tragic political exploitation” of the name dispute over past decades. “They are not stealing our name,” he said of Macedonians. “We are the ones asking them to change theirs.”

 

Turkey's growing influence in the Balkans has profound implications for the Middle East (The National, by Faisal Al Yafai, 5 June 2018)

 

The influence that Turkey gains in the Balkans gives it greater leverage with the European Union – and thus weakens Europe’s leverage over Turkey’s policy in other areas, such as in Syria, writes Faisal Al Yafai.

In the middle of May, leaders of six Balkan nations made the short trip to Sofia in Bulgaria to meet the heads of every European Union country. The six – Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – are all hoping to join the bloc at some point but the EU has repeatedly put off accession talks. The summit in Sofia was the first time for 15 years that such a meeting had taken place and it ended in disappointment. Three days later, another suitor went to the Balkans and he went bearing gifts. Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seeking re-election at the end of this month, held a campaign rally in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, drawing thousands of Turkish citizens from neighbouring countries. He did not go empty-handed. While there, his government agreed to fund a $3.5 billion highway connecting the capital cities of Bosnia and neighbouring Serbia. It is not only Bosnia and Serbia that have benefited from Turkey's investment largesse. Airports in Kosovo, banks in Albania, factories in Macedonia and roads, schools and mosques across the region are owned by or have been built with Turkish money. Not a single one of the six Balkan countries that went to meet EU leaders has not been courted by Ankara. That investment, along with Ottoman-era links and a feeling of disenchantment with a Europe that is keen to keep its doors closed, is buying Turkey a lot of influence in the Balkans and that influence, in turn, buys more leverage with the European Union – which gives Turkey even more freedom to conduct its foreign policy in the Middle East without impediment. Turkey’s burgeoning investment and concomitant soft power has not gone unnoticed. Weeks before the EU summit, France’s Emmanuel Macron told the European Parliament he did not want “a Balkans that turns toward Turkey or Russia” but went on to suggest the EU needed serious reform before those countries could join. Apparent proof of this influence happened at the end of March, when six Turkish nationals were arrested in Kosovo and immediately deported home, where they were wanted in connection with the 2016 coup that Turkey has blamed on the Gulen movement. It was the sort of story that barely merits a mention in the international press but the diplomatic fallout was serious: so incensed was the Kosovan prime minister by the arrests that he fired both the interior minister and the head of the secret service before calling Brussels and Washington to apologise and explain. Within the EU, it was seen as the direct consequence of Turkey’s expanding ties with a Balkan country placing Turkish priorities ahead of the rule of law and EU interests. The difficulty for the EU is that is does not know how to counter Turkey's influence. The EU summit was an attempt to make peace with the six and draw them back into Europe's orbit but the truth is that the EU, with one of its biggest members leaving and facing rising nationalism, cannot do much. The summit could not even agree to let two of the countries open talks, much less set a date for those talks. Fifteen years ago, the EU declared "the future of the Balkans is within the EU". Now even that aspiration is too much. The Balkan countries are still outwardly committed to joining the EU. But in Turkey – despite serious historic disagreements – they have found an ally. Ankara, after all, is on the same path, reforming with the promise of joining the European Union, enduring high-handed lectures from Europeans, even as the possibility of membership seems to recede into the distance. When Mr Erdogan speaks, it is with the authority of a brother country that has endured the same humiliations as the Balkans but has met the EU from a position of strength. Seen from the Middle East, Turkey's increased interests in the Balkans can appear merely part of the usual geopolitical contest for influence. But what happens in the Balkans has profound implications for the Middle East. The influence that Turkey gains in the Balkans gives it greater leverage with the European Union – and thus weakens Europe’s leverage over Turkey’s policy in other areas, such as in Syria. Recall that, in 2015, during the peak of the migrant flows out of Syria into Europe, it was via Turkey and then through the western Balkans that the majority travelled. Turkey's influence in that region has vast security implications for Europe, especially as long as the Syrian civil war rages. So interconnected is the region that Europe may be more willing to give Turkey a free hand in Syria to avoid Ankara stirring up trouble in the Balkans. With so many outside powers jockeying for position inside Syrian territory, any extra leverage that a player such as Turkey can gain will help. Mr Erdogan is certainly betting that the gifts he bears to Bosnia will come back to him via Syria.