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LOCAL PRESS

 

Vulin: Brussels agreement means return of Serbs to Kosovo and Metohija (TV Pink)

Serbian Minister without Portfolio in charge of Kosovo and Metohija Aleksandar Vulin has stated that the Brussels agreement means return of the Serbs to Kosovo and Metohija and rejected accusations from the Democratic Party that the Serbian Government had given up Kosovo for the sake of receiving the start date for EU negotiations. Vulin told TV Pink that at issue are attempts to stultify that agreement and make of it something that it in fact isn’t, even though this agreement means return of the Serbs to Kosovo and Metohija. Receiving the start date for Serbia’s EU negotiations with the EU is a historical event, stressed Vulin.

 

Drecun: Formation of Union of Serb Municipalities as soon as possible (RTS)

The Union of Serb Municipalities must be formed and must assume its defined competencies as soon as possible, said the chair of the Serbian parliament’s Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun. The Union is essential for the improvement of the quality of life and position of Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija and also for the better positioning of Serbia in its southern province, said Drecun.

Ruzic: Serbia not to face any unpleasant surprises on 21 January (Beta)

Serbian Minister in charge of EU Integrations Branko Ruzic said he did not expect any unpleasant surprises at the first Serbia-EU inter-governmental conference on 21 January. A negotiating framework would be announced by that time and the goal is to open six chapters by the end of the year, he said.

 

No agreement between EU and Serbs on holding sessions (Tanjug)

Representatives of local self-governments in northern Kosovo did not manage to agree with EU officials on Friday about the protocol and schedule inaugural sessions of the four municipalities in the northern part of the province. Leposavic Mayor Dragan Jablanovic told Tanjug that EU officials requested that invitations for inaugural sessions of the municipalities of Leposavic, Zvecan, Zubin Potok and northern Mitrovica bear the state symbols of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, which they refused. “Now they are requesting that, besides on invitations for a session, the logo of the Republic of Kosovo and the designation ‘Government of Kosovo’ is also put in the text of the oath of office that councilors and future mayors should take. Our stand is that the documents should be status-neutral and bear no symbol of Kosovo,” Jablanovic said.
EU officials are expected to give an answer in relation to the issue by Monday, and inaugural sessions of the north Kosovo municipalities will most likely be held on January 9-10 when the deadline expires, he added. The closed-door meeting between EU officials and representatives of local-self governments in northern Kosovo-Metohija was held in Kosovska Mitrovica on Friday. The meeting was also attended by members of the Management Team and the Serbian government’s liaison officer in Pristina Dejan Pavicevic.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Dodik: Refusal to accept RS leads to rejection of B&H (Oslobodjenje)

The Republika Srpska (RS) is even today prepared to accept B&H, but Bosniak refusal to accept the RS shows that it is even absurd to say it, said the RS President Milorad Dodik. He says that Bosniaks should not then wonder that people from the RS do not want to accept B&H. Dodik says that not even in previous years did Bosniak delegates in the RS parliament and the Council of Peoples respond to the reception that he organized as entity prime minister, nor at the RS Day celebration. “However, now we see some new methods, to distribute various content to certain addresses, and I myself received them,” said Dodik, noting that he rejects such behavior, because it doesn’t contribute to understanding. “The RS is legitimate and legal and part of the constitutional order of B&H. The RS is internationally accepted and recognized through the Dayton Accord and any challenge in such a way is proof of an attack on its constitution and significance. It should not surprise anyone that tendencies to not see the RS in B&H are strengthening in the RS.” He added that the RS accepts the constitutional order of B&H, but there is a question, he says, of time and will to support it. If, he says, there is desire to build some unity or activity, everyone must accept everything that is legal and legitimate, and there is no doubt of this in the RS. He said that the RS respects state representatives, as did Ivo Sanader.
Dodik in a statement to reporters in Banja Luka expressed satisfaction with the statement by the Serbian Patriarch Irinej that he would come to Banja Luka on 9 January, where he would deliver a holy liturgy on the occasion of the RS Day and its patron St. Stephen. On that day, representatives of the state and government of Serbia will come to Banja Luka, along with all those who, as he says, are invited and if they want to come.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Macedonia, Serbia Mull Sharing Overseas Embassies (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 6 January 2014)

The Macedonian government has said it is considering Serbia's idea of sharing embassies in far-flung locations with neighbouring countries to save money.

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski confirmed that Skopje had already discussed the idea with some nearby states like Turkey, Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro.

“Our diplomatic missions will stay apart. But for the sake of saving finances on rents, the idea is to give away space [to other countries] where we have more than is needed and for others to do the same where they have extra room,” Gruevski told media.

“That way we would have embassies or diplomatic establishments in places where we currently do not have any, or we would cut expenses by using someone else’s space,” he said.

The embassy-sharing idea was first mooted during the new year holidays by Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Maric.

Maric told Serbian newspaper Novosti that Belgrade had already pitched the proposal to neighbouring capitals and that it was interested in sharing space in more distant locations like Asia, Latin America or Africa.

However, neither Skopje nor Belgrade have said when more concrete action to realise the idea might be expected.

However both have said that they got the idea from existing examples. Maric pointed out that 15 Latin American countries have put their embassies in Japan under one roof to save money.

 

Kosovo: EU Demands Will Set Agenda (BIRN, by Edona Peci, 6 January 2014)

General elections, the completion of an SAA agreement with the EU the establishment of an Association of Serbian Municipalities, and the future of EULEX will dominate the year.

Kosovo enters 2014 with new local governments in 38 municipalities across the country, nine of which will be run by candidates of the Belgrade-backed list “Srpska”.

They were elected mayors at the end of 2013 in local elections that laid the ground for the establishment of an autonomous Serbian Association of Municipalities, due to be formed this year.

The Association, which will have broad powers, will include four mainly Serbian northern municipalities of North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan and Zubin Potok.

A precondition for the formation of the association is the abolition of Serbian government-funded “parallel’ institutions the north, which have run matters there since the end of the Kosovo conflict in 1999.

It remains unclear under what statute the Association will operate. Officials in Belgrade want it to be in line with Serbian laws, while authorities in Pristina say the association should resemble a non-governmental organization.

The agreement on forming the association is in line with the EU-brokered deal on “normalizing” relations between Pristina and Belgrade reached in Brussels on April 19, 2013.

Options and obstacles

Following conclusion of the “historic” April deal on normalizing relations, the EU Council authorised the opening of negotiations for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement, SAA, between the EU and Kosovo in June.

The EU aims to complete SAA negotiations with Kosovo in the spring of 2014, and sign the agreement by this coming summer.

By then, Kosovo will have to fulfill certain key criteria set out by the EU in the Enlargement Strategy Paper.

“Particular attention should be paid to tackling organised crime and corruption, pursuing judicial and public administration reforms, ensuring the rights of persons belonging to minorities – including the Roma - and addressing trade issues”, the paper read.

“Kosovo needs to urgently address unemployment and the structural weaknesses that affect its labour market,” the paper added.

Although officials in Pristina claim that the SAA agreement will not differ from any of the others signed with countries in the region, it remains unclear how the SAA will be signed.

This is because five EU member states, Slovakia, Spain, Romania, Greece and Cyprus, do not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Kosovo will have to deliver also on criteria if it wants to secure visa liberalization with the European Union.

This means repatriating failed asylum seekers, their re-integration, issuing biometric travel documents, improved border management and fighting organized crime and corruption.

Kosovo is the only country in the Western Balkan that has remained outside the visa-free travel system with the European Union’s Schengen area.

Future of EULEX

The coming year will also be important for the future of the European rule of law mission, known as EULEX.

Despite disagreements within the EU on the status of Kosovo, the EU agreed to deploy the mission in the country in 2008, tasking it with mentoring, monitoring and advising the Kosovo authorities on police, customs and courts issues.

The mission has executive powers in the fields of war crimes, corruption and organized crime, but the authorities in Pristina claim they are now ready to assume all or most of these responsibilities.

“Kosovo has sufficient capacities to govern itself and exercise law and order, just like the other countries in the region,” Hajredin Kuci, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, said in September 2013.

With an annual budget of around 111 million euro, the mission is the largest deployed by the EU.

In 2012, the EU announced that it would extend EULEX’s mandate for another two years, until June 14, 2014.

The mission was, however, meantime downsized by about 25 per cent to around 2,250 staff members.

It remains unclear how it will operate after its current mandate expires in mid-summer.

General elections

Electoral reform is another key criterion affecting Kosovo’s prospects of European integration.

“Kosovo needs to finalise the electoral reform process that was launched in 2011,” the last EU Progress Report for Kosovo published in October 2013 said.

“It needs to ensure that the legal framework for elections better reflects best practice in the EU and that implementation is in line with international standards,” it added.

Politicians in Kosovo will have to complete reforms in this area before general elections can be held later this year.

It remains to be seen what the turnout in the parliamentary elections will be.

The local elections in autumn 2013 showed that Prime Minister Hashim Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, was losing the support of voters.

After the November 3 polls and the December 1 run-offs, the PDK lost power in five municipalities: South Mitrovica, Lipjan/Lipljan, Ferizaj/Orahovac, Viti/Vitna and Malisheva/Malisevo, which it had governed since 2009.

Meanwhile, the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, won two more municipalities than it controlled in the last mandate.

The opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, of Ramush Haradinaj, was also weakened after the local elections. It lost its main stronghold, Peja/Pec, and three other municipalities that it had governed since 2009.

Experts said the same swing shown in the local elections was likely to be reflected in the 2014 parliamentary elections, posing a challenge to Thaci’s continuing dominance of the political stage.

Economic growth

Authorities in Pristina and international financial organizations expect 2014 to be a year of economic growth for Kosovo.

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, which predicted 2.5 per cent growth in Kosovo in 2013, has said it expects growth to reach 4 per cent next year.

In a report published in December, meanwhile, the World Bank also predicted growth of 4 per cent, far higher than growth in regional countries. Serbia is expected to grow by only 1 per cent, and Macedonia by 3 per cent.

 

Bosnia offers 28 police to UN mission in S. Sudan (World Bulletin, 4 January 2014)

BiH responded affirmatively to the call from the United Nations to urgently dispatch additional peacekeepers to South Sudan, according to the reports

World Bulletin/News Desk

Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Security offered an additional 28 police officer contingent from all police agencies in BiH, who have already gone through the necessary training and after voluntary reporting are prepared to go on this mission,” the ministry said in a statement.

The UN Security Council recently requested an increase in the number of peacekeepers after a worsening of the security situation in South Sudan.

At the moment the BiH contingent in South Sudan numbers 35 officers, and on Saturday another six will join them, the Bosnia Times reported.

When the additional contingent from BiH of 28 officers is received, this will constitute thus far the largest police mission from BiH in peacekeeping operations.

 

Was Croatia's European Face only a Mask? (EUinside, by Adelina Marini, 5 January 2014)

In 2013, Croatia has become the 28th member state of the European Union. Another country from the torn by centuries' long conflicts Balkans. Another one that had to open a new page in its history. Instead of a review of that highly dynamic and interesting year, we offer you herewith a translation of excerpts from the speech [in Croatian language] of Croatia's President Ivo Josipovic* on the occasion of the Christmas and New Year holidays. A speech that makes the most complete review of the year and which can serve as food for thought in Bulgaria, too:

2013 was the year of achieving the big goal, the year of hope, but also the year of disappointment. During the past year we realized one of the biggest generational goals. Croatia has become the 28th EU member state. We still remember the pride and satisfaction we felt on July 1st. We enjoyed when others from the big union of the European peoples and states comprehended that we are a democratic, progressing and a European nation in all aspects. It was good to hear praises and congratulations not only by representatives of the EU nations, but also by neighbors of ours who are still not in the Union, but are on their way to become.

Then we told ourselves why do we want to become part of the European family. We belong to Europe because of our identity and because of our aspirations, our values, like peace, democracy and human rights, life of quality and good perspective. But we also told ourselves what we expect from membership. We want more freedom, security, solidarity and economic growth. We want to take advantage of the possibilities we have at our disposal, to develop quicker. That July 1st, at least for a moment, in the peak of the night, when we crossed the EU's threshold, looked as if all our ideals about Europe were closer, one hand away, that we only had to reach out and they would turn into a part of our life. We thought the unity, knowledge and persistence we invested in the negotiations to convince Europe that we are part of it are here to stay forever. We also believed that Croatia's beautiful face is our genuine and only face. We hoped that the democracy and human rights we achieved, the implemented reforms and readiness to join the market competition in the first European league guarantee our success and grant us the right to hope that it can only be better than what was before.

But today, almost six months since our European celebration, we see that it is not precisely so. Often hope gives way to doubt, but also to disappointment. Instead of that beautiful European face from the beginning of July, today in the mirror we see a face that is wrinkled by problems. Instead of the unity we had at the EU's entry, we have a society that is bitten by conflicts of various ideologies and intolerance to those who think, live, pray, write and speak differently. Instead of the desired economic soaring, the economy continues to sink in recession, companies and jobs disappear. People live harder and harder. Instead of a society where we reach out to each other out of solidarity, many are abandoned, poor and hopeless.

And I cannot but ask myself whether that beautiful European face of ours was not only a mask and our membership only a part in a mask ball in the EU? Have we really adopted the European democratic values or have we deceived ourselves that we respect the rights of humans and minorities? And don't we use the democratic institutions to achieve undemocratic goals? Did we pretend that we respect every person and give them an equal chance in our homeland? Have we thought whether we are capable of participating in the market competition according to the European rules and did we pretend that we believe in our capabilities and ambition to bring life to the economy, to create jobs, to make our families and society richer and happier? Finally, did we really believe in a Croatia as a knowledge-based society, in justice and solidarity, did we really believe in a European Croatia?

Many are disappointed that, here, we see that, other, face. We see a picture of a society that is stagnating economically and, maybe, is going backwards, a country where the necessary reforms have not been implemented, in which the public sector is excessively huge and inefficient, which spends more than it earns. The private sector, too, did not achieve the desired results, not only the guilty inefficient and irrational state. The unemployment is growing, investments and new firms are a few, we are more and more indebted. The social state is stumbling under the pressure of misfortunes and poverty. Many are disappointed with reason because the spirit of the political, national, religious and other exceptionalities and radicalism are here again, poisoning our souls, especially the souls of the young, with hatred and exceptionality.

As if we have lost our optimism and the energy we need to exit the crisis, the small progress and, finally, the victory of the human European values. A country like ours should know where extremism and intolerance lead to. We had a tragic 20th century and we do not want this to happen again in the same or a similar way. The politics of hatred, flirting with fascism and totalitarianism is a temptation not only for us, but for many countries and even for established democracies in the EU.

But when we are frightened that hopelessness has won, that we are irreversibly on the path of regress, let us remember the path Croatia walked in only some twenty years. Twenty years are a huge part of the life of a man, but for the lives of states, for history, it is just a moment. And in this moment we established a new state thanks to the soldiers, our heroes, who fought for its freedom, we have built democratic institutions. Croatia became a member of the most important international organizations and is recognized as a state that contributes to world peace and the cultural heritage of humanity. Fellow citizens of ours in the past year have achieved supreme results in science, culture and sports. Contrary to the global crisis, we have tens of companies that tell us that the Croatian economy can be successful even on demanding markets. Let me congratulate all who covered themselves and the homeland with success.

Excellent results that many people of ours achieved in contrast to the crisis, that give our society that most important spice of all without which there is no success - OPTIMISM and a proof that through innovation, hard work and knowledge a lot can be achieved and even the most. That is why, let us lift our heads, let us accept the problems and our weaknesses as a temporary deviation from the positive development of our history! Let us tell ourselves: we can! We can defeat the crisis. Our institutions of power and democratic institutions will and must defeat the travails and poverty. Politics must rise above opportunism and fear of reforms, it has to understand that there is no time for new compromises. The rational solutions in the financial and economic policy, attracting investments, the organization of the state authority, but also the reforms of the local and regional governance cannot wait.

The justice we opened the doors to with many prosecutions of those who are suspected of power abuse has still not won. There is no justice without social justice, without solidarity and equal chances for all in studying, employment, income, progress and, most of all, without equal chances for the young. The youth unemployment and lack of perspective that threatens them is one of the most important generators of the economic, political and social crisis. Europe's success and our nation's, too, depends to a large extent on whether we will succeed to secure support for the young. There is no justice without clear criteria when, how and how much should be helped to those of us who, due to illness, age, invalidity, poverty and unemployment, are incapable of providing for themselves.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, I believe in Croatia, our citizens, our institutions, I believe in our capability to find an answer to the crisis and return our society on the positive path. I know that Croatia is a society that will know how to defend democracy, freedom and the rights of all people, especially those who are a minority in society. We all bear responsibility for success, but most of all those who the people gave their confidence to at the elections to govern our state at all levels. Christmas and New Year are holidays that remind us of humanity, of the need to be human to each other, not wolves, they are an opportunity to purge our souls with nobility and love for the others.

The holidays are here to remind us of our duties and responsibilities we have in our social roles as well, as members of our families, friends, workers and servants, entrepreneurs, activities in all areas of human activity, as politicians and bearers of governing and power functions. But, most of all, we have to remember our duties we have as people - first and foremost our duty to respect the others, but ourselves, too. Not to content with small expectations, goals or achievements. To remember that one is in this world to do great things, among which peace, love and friendship are the biggest. Not to walk small under the stars is a duty for all of us.

*Ivo Josipovic is a president of the Republic of Croatia since 2010 when he was elected from the list of the Social-Democratic Party, led by current Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic. He was born in 1957 and is a lawyer by education. He is a specialist in penal law, international penal law, war crimes, international courts, human rights, fight against corruption and organised crime. He was a chairman of the parliamentary committee on the conflict of interest. He is known for his hobby as a music composer. He is the politician who enjoys the highest public support, according to opinion polls. He has an active account on Facebook.