LOCAL PRESS

 

Brnabic submits request to CEFTA (Beta)

 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic informed the citizens of Serbia on Tuesday evening that on behalf of the government, and in accordance with the CEFTA agreement, she sent a formal request to the Secretariat of this institution for direct consultations within the joint committee.

Brnabic explained to reporters in the government of Serbia that from Wednesday, from receipt of the request, the CEFTA Secretariat has a deadline of 90 calendar days to solve the problem that Pristina made by direct and unequivocal breach of agreements in direct consultations. She announced that unless a joint consultation or a problem is resolved within the next 90 days, Serbia will initiate proceedings before the Arbitral Tribunal in accordance with the CEFTA agreement. According to Brnabic, the request was sent to the CEFTA Secretariat, but also to UNMIK as the signatory for the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija and to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. As a party that fully respects and has always respected the agreement rightly we expect the prompt reaction of the Secretariat and UNMIK mission. We promise to all our citizens and international partners that we will continue to fight against violations of international treaties and agreements by all legal mechanisms, respecting international law and European values, she said. She noted that Serbia will not be tricked and will not introduce countermeasures, and will continue to work with partners in the region, primarily with Bosnia-Herzegovina (B&H), which is also affected by unreasonable measures of Pristina. We will do our best to get things back to normal in order to avoid a predominantly humanitarian crisis and any further discrimination against the Serbian people, Brnabic stressed. Brnabic also announced that the government will report to citizens on all further steps that Serbia will take.

 

Vucic to Mondoloni: Dialogue with Pristina when it abolishes taxes (FoNet)

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told French Ambassador to Serbia Frederic Mondoloni that Belgrade is prepared to continue the dialogue with Pristina as soon as it abolishes the 100 percent taxes on goods from Serbia. Vucic said that Pristina’s decisions which increase the risk of escalating the conflict and endanger the peace and stability of the region are unacceptable, adding that there have to be rules and respect for the other side in every dialogue, a press release from the president’s cabinet quoted him as saying. “Serbia did not break any agreement unlike Pristina which did not meet any of its obligations under the Brussels Agreement,” Vucic said.

Ambassador Mondoloni is quoted as welcoming Serbia’s approach in the current crisis in relations with Pristina. He said that France is in support of continuing the dialogue.

 

Dacic, Crnadak: Serbia, B&H will not introduce counter-measures against Pristina (Beta)

 

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and B&H Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak condemned the authorities in Pristina for imposing customs duties on goods from Serbia and B&H. At a joint press conference in Belgrade, Dacic said that he and Minister Crnadak discussed the most current issues and problems in the region, primarily about the unreasonable decisions of the Pristina authorities. He said that it is pointless to talk about regional cooperation, while those decisions are in effect. This cannot even be defined as an economic nor as a political measure, this is a clear message of a hostile attitude towards Serbia and B&H, he assessed. According to Dacic, it is a flagrant violation of the CEFTA agreement and the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) by Kosovo. Their SAA says they have an obligation to adhere to the CEFTA agreement, Dacic said, strongly condemning statements by Albanian officials where the politics of the Great Albania is evident. It is clear that Pristina does not fulfill the Brussels Agreement, and that there is no clear intention of Kosovo to agree with Serbia, he stressed, with the view that it is pointless to talk further about regional cooperation, since it also implies a common economic space. Crnadak also estimated that charges are an unfriendly message, adding that Serbia and B&H agree that these measures are unacceptable, but that they will not go with the countermeasures and seek further deterioration of the atmosphere. Dacic and Crnadak welcomed statements from Brussels and the United States on the decision of Pristina, but they pointed out that these statements have no effect at this time.

 

Dacic: Enough with games, put pressure on Pristina (Tanjug)

 

Without a stronger international pressure on Pristina, the taxes for Serbian goods will not soon be lifted, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic says. He says he does not expect a quick reaction to a request Belgrade has sent to the CEFTA Secretariat for direct consultations within the Joint Committee. “We did everything that was envisaged by that agreement. We formally submitted the request, but without the strong international pressure of those who created them and sponsor them, I do not believe that the measures will be removed quickly,” Dacic said in response to questions from the journalists after a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart.  He suggested that Serbia will not take any measures that would allow some to put us on the same level as Pristina.

“We expect them to stop playing some games that we all know are not true - that now someone can’t influence Pristina. They can,” he said. Dacic added said that he never heard of somebody introduced taxes on goods of 100 percent, since what that really says is that they don't want to trade. He also said that it was good that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reacted by asking Pristina to abolish the tax, and added: “But let’s see how it all ends now.”

 

Djuric: They wanted 100% tax, they got 100% reaction (Prva TV/B92)

 

Serbs from Kosovo have had a noose put around their necks and that is why the mayors of the four municipalities resigned, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has stated, adding he will be fully satisfied only once Pristina’s discriminatory measures have been abolished. “Thaci and Haradinaj like to play those ‘good cop, bad cop’ games, but as our people would put it, it’s all flour from the same sack. They wanted 100 percent taxes, 100 percent noose, and they got 100 percent reaction,” Djuric told TV Prva. According to him, people should understand that this is an obvious violation of the right of Serbs to survival, because bread, milk is being taken from them. “They tried to transfer responsibility for the murder of Oliver Ivanovic to the Serbs, and now they know there is no evidence,” Djuric said, adding that Pristina’s plan to blame Serbs for the murder had failed, and what now remained for them was to psychologically reverse and in that way exert pressure. “Serbs are united, there are no longer division between them. They now speak with one voice, and that voice is saying, we do not accept discrimination,” Djuric said.

 

Kocijancic gives no explanation about provocative measures (Tanjug)

 

Commenting on an earlier statement that actions, measures and statements that can be understood as provocative and insulting were deeply concerning and not contributing to normalization of relations, European Commission spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said Tuesday it did not solely refer to Pristina’s decision to introduce taxes on Serbian goods, but to a "broader context" she did not elaborate upon. She neither confirmed nor denied that such measures included the taxes imposed by Pristina, which the EU has condemned as violation of the Central European Free Trade Agreement and the Stabilization and Association Agreement.

 

Dacic thanks Egypt for not further improving relations with Kosovo (RTS)

 

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic thanked Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt Sameh Hassan Shoukry for the fact that Egypt does not want to further improve relations with Kosovo. Dacic told reporters after meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister held in the Palace of Serbia that Egypt, after recognizing the independence of Kosovo that the former government had done in that country, made some sort of frozen relationship. He said he discussed with the Egyptian minister how to bring the relations of the two countries back to a satisfactory level, because Egypt and the former Yugoslavia were the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement, and they shared many common interests and wanted to help each other.

According to Dacic, they agreed to hold a meeting of the Mixed Economic Cooperation Committee of the two countries in the first half of next year, in order to improve economic cooperation, as the level of trade exchange over the last year was only $70 million. Shoukry said that the goal of Egypt is to improve bilateral relations with Serbia – from economy to education.

I hope that this will be initiated by the Mixed Committee, said Shoukry, who is co-chairman of the body together with Dacic.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Inaugural session of Federation of B&H HoR held (N1)

 

Tuesday's inaugural session of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives (HoR) was marked by quarrels, recesses and accusations. Representatives of several political parties who continued the inaugural session of the Federation of B&H HoR in the afternoon elected SDP B&H's Elvir Karajbic as Speaker of the Federation of B&H HoR with 52 votes in favor. Karajbic was elected during the part of the inaugural session of the Federation of B&H HoR which was not attended by representatives of SDA, coalition of parties led by HDZ B&H, Labor Party and coalition led by HDZ 1990, who left the session after representatives were handed certificates and after they were sworn in. On the other hand, a group of representatives gathered around SDP B&H asked for the leadership of the Federation of B&H HoR to be elected at the inaugural session. SDP B&H's Damir Masic asked outgoing Speaker of the B&H HoR Edin Music (SDA) why he interrupted Tuesday's session, telling him that he is ignoring the parliamentary majority which wanted to continue the session. "You are raping democracy. What you are doing was not recorded in parliamentary democracy. When you do not have majority, you apply force and then you wonder why no one wants to form anything with you. Precisely because of these and such things" Masic told Music. After his election, Karajbic reiterated that his election is both legal and legitimate and that 52 representatives are behind it. Karajbic also said that he does not expect blockades neither from SDA nor from HDZ B&H, as well as that he does not believe this story will continue before the Constitutional Court. Karajbic stressed that he expects the next session of the Federation of B&H HoR to be held already next week. "The HoR always had one Speaker and two Deputy Speakers. I see no reason why it should not have them again. However, this is only a matter of agreement among representatives, i.e. political options that make the current majority of 52 representatives. Who will be Speaker and Deputy Speakers in the future is a matter of agreement of political options that will make up the parliamentary majority in the future," Karajbic said. N1 noted that immediately after he was elected Federation of B&H HoR speaker Karajbic interrupted the session, saying that he does not have proposals for two Deputy Speakers of the Federation of B&H HoR.

 

Inaugural session of B&H HoR scheduled for 6 December (RTRS)

 

Member of the Collegium of the B&H House of Representatives (HoR) Borjana Kristo confirmed for RTRS that the inaugural session of the B&H HoR will be held on 6 December. Namely, on Tuesday the Collegium of the current convocation of the B&H HoR, in the second attempt, agreed the date for the inaugural session of the new convocation of the B&H HoR. According to RTRS, currently it is certain that at least nine representatives from Republika Srpska (RS) will be part of the parliamentary majority at the B&H level, but it is completely uncertain who from the Federation of B&H will be a partner to parties from the RS for formation of the authorities at the B&H level. Newly-elected representative of 'Ujedinjena Srpska' (United Srpska) in the B&H HoR Nenad Stevandic said that they will not do what was done to them via the Alliance for Changes (SzP), i.e. delegitimization of the will of the people. "Let them form the authorities in accordance with the will of the people in the Federation of B&H," Stevandic underlined.

 

Covic: Since B&H CC’s decision was not implemented, results of elections cannot be implemented either (Hayat)

 

A session of the Presidency of the Croat People’s Assembly (HNS) was held on Tuesday. Among other things, members of HNS Presidency discussed implementation of results of recently held elections, as well as preparations for the upcoming session of the HNS Assembly. It was concluded at this session that no one will be allowed to remove legitimate representatives of Croat people from authorities. Also, members of the Presidency underlined that parties gathered around the HNS will participate jointly in implementation of results of General Elections 2018. Following the session, President of the HNS and leader of HDZ B&H Dragan Covic said that considering the fact that the B&H Constitutional Court’s (CC) decision disputing some regulations of the Election Law of B&H was not implemented, prerequisites for implementation of results of General Elections 2018 have not been fulfilled. Covic explained that the HNS established a team that will deal with changes of the Election Law. Covic underlined that decision of the B&H CEC can be implemented only by the Parliament of B&H. He went on to say that it is a goal of the HNS to prepare quality amendments to the Election Law so that the decision of B&H CC (Passed upon motion filed by Bozo Ljubic) can be implemented. Talking about their possible partners in new B&H authorities, Covic said that every political subject prepared to recognize B&H as a community of three constituent peoples and other citizens can be their political partner, as well as those who have capacity to be legitimate representatives of Bosniak people. “They will be our partners and nothing else. This will not be coalition. It will be partnership grounded on a clear program - the EU path of B&H,” explained Covic.

 

Govedarica says that SDS will support Dodik if he invokes VNI (BN TV)

 

At Tuesday’s session of the SDS Presidency in Istocno Sarajevo, the leader of SDS Vukota Govedarica informed the Presidency about consultations he had with the RS Prime Minister-designate Radovan Viskovic. Govedarica underlined that he informed Viskovic that SDS will be opposition party in upcoming period. He also said that Viskovic was informed that SDS MPs in the RS National Assembly (NA) will support decisions of Serb member of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik in case he invokes protection of Vital National Interest (VNI) in work of the Presidency of B&H. In a statement for media, the leader of SDS stressed that the Presidency of this party rejected the initiative to summon an extraordinary session of SDS Assembly. He explained that some of 137 delegates in SDS Assembly who submitted the initiative to organize the extraordinary session withdrew their request. Govedarica stressed that as the leader of this party he will decide when the next session of SDS Assembly will be held, adding that the next session will be a regular one, and not extraordinary. “At this session we will discuss the current situation in SDS, as well as future activities of this party,” explained Govedarica. He also said that the Presidency of SDS proposed Mladen Bosic as SDS’ candidate for delegate in B&H House of Peoples (HoP), while he was nominated for SDS’s delegate in the RS Council of Peoples (CoP).

 

Komsic and Dzaferovic comment Dodik’s announcement about engagement of RS MoI as his protection detail (TV1)

 

Chairman of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik, and members of his Cabinet received death threats over display of Republika Srpska (RS) flag in Presidency building. He said that the only police he trusts is the RS Police and only members of the RS Ministry of Interior (RS MoI) can be engaged in protecting him, wherever he goes. Dodik’s statement regarding engagement of RS MoI as his protection detail was commented by Bosniak and Croat member of the B&H Presidency, Sefik Dzaferovic and Zeljko Komsic. The two called upon respecting the laws, as they are the same for all three Presidency members. Dzaferovic said that this is not a quarrel between him and Dodik, or between Komsic and Dodik, this is simply an issue Dodik has with the law. “It is not important what we want or need, the important thing is what is stated in the law. The laws determine the way that we should all act, especially those that fill the highest state positions. What applies to me and Mister Dzaferovic, also applies to Mister Dodik and that is it,” said Komsic.

 

Ambassador Ivantsov advocates abolition of OHR (ATV/Srna)

 

Russian Ambassador to B&H Petr Ivantsov said for Srna that it is time to start thinking about the closing of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in B&H. “This is not only a stance of the RS, but Croats in B&H support this as well. This issue is gaining more and more support within society in B&H. We believe that this process should get support, considering that B&H is sovereign and independent. Foreign protectorate is something that should become the past”. He noted that all aspects of politics in B&H currently regard the formation of authorities and expressed content by the fact that institutions in the RS have been formed or are in the process of formation. “We are aware that institutions in the RS are functional. We would like to underline high level of cooperation between parties in the RS and forming of a strong, broad ruling coalition. We hope that opposition parties will constructively participate in decision-making process for decisions which are vital for RS interests,” said Ivantsov. He said that Russia positively observes the beginning of authority formation at B&H level, and he extended his best wishes to the Presidency of B&H, noting that he is convinced that their work will be based on principles of the Dayton Agreement. The Ambassador expressed regret because of “aggressive campaign led” against B&H Central Election Commission: “We expressed regret that certain number of media, where some are even financed from abroad, as well as certain political actors, tried to score points by discrediting B&H CEC. This was an attempt to discredit and undermine trust of citizens in B&H CEC. This is dangerous and counter-productive”. The Ambassador reminded that B&H CEC is the only institution mentioned by the Dayton Peace Agreement, adding that no proofs were presented for any of the allegations regarding violation of rules during the election campaign. He called on all parties and participants of elections to withhold from exerting pressure over B&H CEC and to allow this institution to complete its job. “We fully support their independence, we trust they are doing a good job,” said Ambassador.

As for reform of electoral legislation, Ambassador believes that this should happen only after full establishing of institutions, based on existing recommendations of international and local institutions.

 

Program of celebration of 9 January adopted (Srna)

 

A solemn parade at the Krajina Square in Banja Luka, a solemn academy at the Borik Sports Hall and a reception at the government’s Administrative Center in Banja Luka will be central events of the celebration of 9 January, RS Day, concluded the Committee for the Celebration of RS Day at a session held yesterday. The program of celebration of 9 January 2019, includes receptions with the RS President, the laying of wreaths at monuments to fallen soldiers of the RS Army and soldiers of the People’s Liberation War, at the Memorial Ossuary, at the monument to Banja Luka babies, and at the monument to former RS President Milan Jelic. Decorations will be presented to meritorious institutions and individuals and a session of the RS Senate will also be held, says a press release from the Office of the RS President. The Day of RS will be marked in all towns and municipalities in RS and representative offices abroad. A cultural-artistic program will be held in Banja Luka on 9 January. The RS Day will also be celebrated in Brcko District. RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic presided over the Committee which adopted a program and a financial plan for the celebration.

 

Zaev will not run for President (Nezavisen vesnik)

 

Zaev will not run for President Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Tuesday he did not intend to run for President at next year’s elections. Zaev told reporters on the sidelines of the regional forum for the Istanbul Convention that he would rather complete the full PM term. “I believe we should complete the full term, give the economy a chance, give reforms a chance. Macedonia finally deserves a full term,” said Zaev. “Responsibility to the citizens and my views is that a mandate should be finished, given a chance for the economy, a chance for the reforms, in the whole process, finally Macedonia deserves one full mandate,” Zaev said and also expressed belief there are a number of better presidential candidates than himself.

 

Parliament lifts immunity for former PM Gruevski (Nezavisen vesnik)

 

Macedonia’s parliament stripped Tuesday the ex-Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski of his MP immunity by 62 votes in favor. Earlier in the day, the Parliament’s Committee on Rules of Procedure and Mandatory-Immunity Issues endorsed the court’s motions for stripping of Gruevski of parliamentary immunity, as he fled from Macedonia after being sentenced to two years in prison on corruption-related charges and was granted political asylum in Hungary.

Committee chairman Pavle Bogoevski voiced disappointment from the fact that the Macedonian system failed to ensure Gruevski’s serving of the two-year prison sentence in case Tank.

He urged for responsibility and an outcome of the investigation over Gruevski’s escape from justice Gruevski is indicted in other four criminal cases. The MPs of opposition VMRO-DPMNE did not attend the session.

 

Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, important for region's European future (ADN)

 

President of the Republic, Ilir Meta, received in a special meeting the Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and at the same time Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miro Cerar. The Head of the State praised the very good relations between the two countries, which in nearly three decades have developed very steadily. According to him, the intensification of these visits is a clear expression of the common will to bring these relationships to an even higher level, both at the bilateral level and at the regional and multilateral level. During the discussion, it was emphasized that the continuation of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia on achieving a stable agreement and the normalization of relations between the two countries is of vital importance for the European future of the region. Both interlocutors shared the same view on the need to strengthen regional cooperation, in the spirit of the Brdo-Brijuni Process and the Berlin Process, as well as intensification of internal reforms, for the successful pursuit of the integration process and the future of the region in the European Union.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Serbia-Kosovo Dialogue: Where the EU Went Wrong (BIRN, by Tena Prelec, 28 November 2018)

 

The EU began 2018 vowing to focus on strengthening the rule of law in the Balkans – but attempts to speed up an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo overshadowed this and helped raise tensions to a worrying level.

With a multi-front crisis between Belgrade and Pristina in full swing, and with the EU spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, saying that there is no timeline set for the next encounter between the two sides in Brussels, many are starting to wonder whether the dialogue is now effectively dead. In other words, whether the European Union is still interested in this issue.

It is my contention that, if anything, the EU has shown too much interest in this issue, in that it has forcefully pushed it into the foreground of the accession negotiations, to the clear detriment of the whole process. The clearest example of this was a discussion held in Alpbach in Austria in August 2018, when the idea of a land swap between Kosovo and Serbia was first mooted (without enlightening the public with full details of how it would work in practice - something that has not changed since). The panel discussion, in which I participated as one of the speakers, was entitled ‘New Perspectives for EU Enlargement’ and it was supposed to deal with three thematic blocks (I’m quoting from the brief): 1) “Is the EU’s enlargement policy still working?”, 2) “The ‘elephant in the room’: the rule of law and growing authoritarianism”, and 3) “Migration and demography”. None of these topics was touched upon by any of the four presidents (Aleksandar Vucic, Hashim Thaci, Borut Pahor and Alexander Van der Bellen), nor by EU commissioner Johannes Hahn. Instead, the focus was entirely put onto the idea of changing borders, with a heated discussion on whether modifying borders along ethnic lines was a viable way of solving a frozen conflict, or whether it would ignite new ones. From the promise of discussing ‘new perspectives’ for the region, we had reverted to talking about an idea that was throwing us back to the 1990s, and to conveniently avoiding unresolved discussions about what actually burdens most of the people in the region - endemic corruption, the lack of meritocracy, the repression of dissent, and the ensuing haemorrhage of citizens migrating to Western Europe and beyond. But this is not how the year started for EU enlargement. In February 2018, the European Commission published what is, in my view, its bravest and most cleared-eyed enlargement strategy to date. In it, the European Commission recognised the need for a true enlargement perspective but also for a more uncompromising approach, by placing the strengthening of the rule of law as the foremost item on the agenda and stating that “the countries show clear elements of state capture, including links with organised crime and corruption at all levels of government and administration, as well as a strong entanglement of public and private interests”. Unluckily, the February announcement has not, as yet, been followed by clear measures to implement what was aspired to. In the second half of the year, those intentions seemed all but forgotten, and all that mattered was taking advantage of a short “window of opportunity”. This change in tack is regrettable and it raises serious questions of whether those in charge of the EU’s enlargement policy were prioritising headline-grabbing successes over the real long-term prosperity of the region. The abandonment of a long-pursued narrative of maintaining multi-ethnicity in the Balkans in favour of realpolitik has, predictably, caused a storm among the public in the region and abroad, while also failing to get all the key geopolitical actors on the same page. Notably, the idea seems to have been a non-starter for Germany, whose alleged staunch opposition behind the scenes would have certainly weighed in not making the plan proceed further. But while EU enlargement soul-searching is bad enough, the escalation that ensued in Serbia and in Kosovo is a much more serious matter. It started in September, when Aleksandar Vucic visited Mitrovica for a speech that was, on the whole, aimed at preparing Kosovo Serbs for a compromise, but during which it was as-if-accidentally slipped in that Milosevic was “a great leader” who had “good intentions”. Thaci followed with a rare visit to the Serb-dominated area in northern Kosovo. Predictably, references to a ‘new Balkan war’ were quick to materialise. Fast forward to November, we have - among other spats - a trade war in response to Serbia’s Interpol block, the insinuation that Kosovo has faked seven to eight country recognitions, and the allegation that Vucic is being undermined (by ‘the West’) because he is too hard on Kosovo. Is the intention really to provoke war? While that is doubtful (I, for one, do not think it is), it is clear that raising tensions plays into the hands of those who either want a quick solution, or are happy to keep instability to maintain an iron-fisted approach. In interpreting the developments, it is useful to keep in mind that any statement regarding Kosovo is carefully vetted and thought through by the Serbian leadership, as communication-wise this is issue number one (Suzana Vasiljevic, the media advisor to the president, said as much in a rare public appearance this September). And as usual, pictures - such as this one and this one - speak a thousand words. Tensions are palpable now. Many Kosovars support the tariff hike as a retaliation against Serbia; Serbs feel that the West is on Kosovo’s side. In both countries, there is a widespread sentiment that the EU has let them down: after a decade arguing for multi-ethnicity, EU bureaucrats are now seen as backtracking on their words while propping up strongmen, and dangling the carrot of enlargement without ever giving anything concrete back (the promised - and not fulfilled - visa liberalisation with Kosovo being a case in point). This sentiment is not limited to the citizenry at large, but is also felt quite strongly by most politicians opposed to the border deal in both Kosovo and Serbia. Where to, then, with the dialogue? In a forthcoming policy brief, my BiEPAG colleagues and I argue that there is a need for a fresh start, commencing with a more inclusive approach, less focused on quick wins and more on building mutual trust for a long-term solution. For this to occur, we may well need to rethink the Kosovo issue as a prerequisite for the EU accession process, and see it rather as a coronation of the (ideally) slow but enduring transformative power of EU conditionality. In other words, the focus on governance issues, as announced in the European Commission's February 2018 report, was the right one: it’s a pity that it got lost along the way. The fallout set in motion by this excessive focus on quick, forceful, and top-down solutions risks causing more trouble than it promised to solve.

Tena Prelec is a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Sussex and a Research Associate at LSEE-Research on South Eastern Europe, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science.

The opinions expressed in the Comment section are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIRN.