LOCAL PRESS

 

Dacic receives Zarif (Tanjug)

Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic met with UNMIK Head Farid Zarif, on the eve of a regular UN SC session on Kosovo. They discussed the work of UNMIK from January to April, with special emphasis on the forthcoming EULEX reconfiguration. Dacic pointed to the significance of UNMIK’s work in Kosovo and Metohija, based on UNSCR 1244, as the only guarantor of the status neutrality of the international presence in the southern province.

 

Dacic: Talks with the EU and dialogue with Pristina are Serbia’s priorities (Tanjug)

The Serbian government’s priorities include EU accession talks, dialogue with Pristina and cooperation with key international partners, said Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic in a lecture on the foreign policy focus he gave to students of the Vienna Diplomatic Academy, who are visiting Balkan countries. He said the main objectives also included good relations in the region and the building of a modern Serbia, which respects the international law. The opening of EU accession talks is our historic chance and our key strategic goal, said Dacic. He repeated that the Serbian government was ready to complete EU accession talks by the end of its term in 2018, in which case Serbia could become a full-fledged EU member-state in 2020.

 

Pavicevic: Serbs should obey Belgrade’s recommendation on elections (Beta)

Serbian government liaison officer in Pristina Dejan Pavicevic said in Kosovska Mitrovica that Serbs in the province should obey the advice of official Belgrade regarding the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Kosovo and Metohija on 8 June. My message is that the Kosovo Serbs should obey the Serbian government whatever it says and that we should all try to be united and pursue the state policy, said Pavicevic. He discussed shortages in medicines in Kosovska Mitrovica with the heads of the Medical Centre there.

 

Serbian MPs agree that Kosovo Serbs should take part in Kosovo elections (RTS)

All the Serbian MPs share the same view regarding the participation of Serbs in Kosovo parliamentary elections on June 8 – they believe that it is important that Serbs participate in those elections and, if possible, within a single ticket. They also agreed that the Serbian government as well should present a unified stand on that issue as soon as possible. The chair of the Parliamentary Committee for Kosovo Milovan Drecun, said that Serb participation would strengthen their position and influence in the province and that they should take part within a single election ticket and his opinion is shared by MP whips.

 

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Vucic: It is time for trust and cooperation (Fena)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said in Sarajevo that he has arrived as a friend and a representative of a country that respects the territorial integrity of B&H, but also the Republika Srpska (RS), and who wishes to build trust and much better relations. I hope B&H does the same. There does not need to be much love, but there needs to be respect and esteem. You have that on the Serbian side. That is the most honest thing Serbia can do, and also what Serbia wants from Bosnia,” he told a press conference after talks with the Chair of the B&H Council of Ministers Vjekoslav Bevanda. Responding to allegations in the press, Vucic was quick to clear all doubts about how Sarajevo became the destination of his first visit. “No one has made me come. I have read various made-up stories about this, but I am the one making the decisions. That is a message to those who think that Europeans or Turkey were working on this visit,” Vucic said. “The talks were held in an atmosphere of deep respect, without complexes and with a series of concrete propositions. We are neighbors. That is a fact and no one can change that. I was taught and brought up to believe that neighbors are always the closest. We should look forward. That has to be the priority. We should have fair and clean relations,” Bevanda said at a joint news conference with Vucic. He stressed he had talked with Vucic on the issue of borders and succession and the priorities included economic cooperation between the two countries. “The fact that we share a border poses an advantage. Trade is on the rise, but it can be a lot higher," he believes. He said he had not been surprised by Vucic’s choice of Sarajevo being the destination of his first visit abroad as Serbian prime minister. “I was delighted, and those who were surprised or unpleasantly surprised should think about themselves,” he stated. Bevanda says Vucic’s visit allows him to continue building good relations in the region, adding that he insists on that. Responding to media speculation that mediators were necessary to arrange their meeting, Bevanda said the meeting had been arranged directly, without any mediators.

Vucic meets Komsic and Radmanovic (RTRS)

“Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic visiting Sarajevo is a signal that Serbia wants to take its relations with B&H to a higher level,” said Croat member of the B&H Presidency Zeljko Komsic. “Most politicians and even members of the public welcome the visit by the Serbian Prime Minister,” Komsic told the Radio and Television of RS (RTRS). Komsic noted that B&H has some open issues with Serbia, such as the border and property rights, but stressed that persons who hold state offices have an obligation to look into the future. Serb member of the B&H Presidency Nebojsa Radmanovic said that Vucic’s visit contributes to further promotion of the two countries’ relations, noting that Vucic is not the first prime minister of Serbia to come to B&H. “I think that now is a time when our relations can only improve,” said Radmanovic, adding that there are reasons for any Serbian PM to visit B&H, where Serbs are a constituent nation. “All those in Belgrade who stand on their dignity will continue to come and show due care for everyone in B&H, including, of course, the Serbs. I am certain that the special and parallel ties between Serbia and the RS will continue to be strong and rise even further, and that in the coming period Prime Minister Vucic will also visit the RS,” said Radmanovic.

 

Dodik: Adamant in defending Dayton Agreement (Nezavisne novine) 

The Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik said in Banja Luka that the RS is adamant in defending the letter of the Dayton Peace Agreement. “We are adamant in building the RS within the competencies stipulated in the B&H Constitution and the Dayton Agreement. We do not accept any transfer of powers to the B&H level which would be to the detriment of the RS, and we want to show that the competencies seized earlier must be restored to us,” Dodik told reporters. According to him, everything that exists in the RS speaks of the firm conviction of the people that the RS must survive. “There were many more elements in favor of the RS’ disappearance, but the strong will of the people for its survival was dominant. No one should doubt the strengthening of the RS and its survival,” Dodik said. He stressed that B&H ignores itself if it ignores the rights the RS has in keeping with the Dayton Agreement and the Constitution. “We want to say without hesitation that we are in B&H, but within the framework of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Everything beyond this was forcibly taken and had not our approval,” Dodik said

 

Cvijanovic: Everyone should benefit from Vucic’s visit to Sarajevo (Srna) 

The Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic said that today’s visit to Sarajevo by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic is quite a normal activity in the spirit of developing good relations and cooperation, from which absolutely everyone should benefit. She said that this visit in no way impacts on the good relations between Belgrade and Banja Luka, and added that this will not be the first visit, since high-ranking Serbian officials have visited both Sarajevo and Banja Luka before. “It is of extreme importance for such visits to be realized. They are in the spirit of good regional cooperation and good relations between people who used to live together in the same system. This means that they shared political, economic and all other hardships, but also the good things of such a life that existed, which means that there exists understanding among us,” Cvijanovic said. The Prime Minister said that she sees Vucic’s visit as a really positive step forward. “I think that these are things that must occur in the region. Banja Luka of course benefits much from everything Serbia is doing. We are always gladdened by everything good that is happening in Serbia and by everything Serbia is undertaking internationally,” Cvijanovic said.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Serbian PM rules out union with Bosnian Serb Republic (Anatolia News Agency, 12 May 2014)

Vucic denies recent media stories that claim the program of the Serbian Progressive Party includes references to a unified Serbia and Bosnian Serb Republic

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic vehemently denied claims that the program of his Serbian Progressive Party included references to a merger with Bosnian Serb Republic, or Republika Srpska.

Addressing some news stories in Bosnian media ahead of his first official visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina after taking oath as Serbia's prime minister on April 28, the Serbian Progressive Party leader said Monday that he did not even want to make a comment on these claims.

"We have a 'white book' that includes government's planned actions, and there has never been such a reference in this book, he said, referring to the party's programme.

The Bosnian Serb Republic is one of the two entities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbian politicians' occasional references to "independence" and "joining Serbia" are often a cause of tension in the country.

Vucic together with his coalition parties won nearly 48 percent of the votes in March 16’s general elections in Serbia.

Serbian PM's Bosnia Trip Will Highlight Economic Ties (BIRN, 13 May 2014)

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will pay his first official visit abroad to Sarajevo on Tuesday, aiming to foster economic and political ties with the neighboring country.

Two weeks after Vucic took office as Prime Minister on April 27, he will pay a one-day visit to Sarajevo on Tuesday where he is due to meet Vjekoslav Bevanda, head of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and members of the country's Presidency.

Ahead of the trip, Vucic cited three reasons why he had chosen Bosnia for his first official visit abroad.

"Bosnia is Serbia's major trade partner, one-and-a-half million Serbs live there and Serbia wants regional stability," Vucic said.

Nebojsa Radmanovic, the Serbian member of Bosnia's three-man presidency, said ahead of the visit that the two countries should intensify economic relations.

"Relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are important, as Serbia is our third most important economic partner," Radmanovic said.

During the visit, Vucic is also due to visit the Serbian Orthodox cathedral in Sarajevo and speak to believers. He is also set to visit the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque and the old centre of the city known as Bascarsija.

Analyst Dusan Janjic said Vucic was right to choose a regional country for his first foreign visit.

"It says that Serbia will respect Dayton [the 1995 Peace Accord that ended the Bosnian war] and will cooperate with Sarajevo, and not, as has been the case until now, primarily with Banja Luka," Janjic told Radio Free Europe.

He was referring to Serbia's close ties to the mainly Serbian entity in Bosnia, Republika Srpska.

The former Democratic Party-led government in Serbia from 2008 to 2012 nurtured close ties with Republika Srpska whose president, Milorad Dodik, openly backed Democrat leader Boris Tadic in the presidential race in Serbia in May 2012.

 

Turkey to continue its support of Bosnia (Anadolu Agency, 12 May 2014)

Turkey's President has said that the West and Bosnia Herzegovina, itself, should do all that is possible for the successful integration of Bosnia into institutions such as NATO

ANKARA – Turkey will continue its close cooperation with Bosnia for the successful development of the country as stability in Bosnia is a top priority for Turkey, according to President Abdullah Gul after a meeting in Turkey's capital with the Bosnia's president.

Gul, referring to recent riots in Bosnia due to unemployment and socio-economic issues, said “It is an urgent need to find a solution to the people of Bosnia Herzegovinian problems,” during a joint press conference with Bosnia Herzegovinian President Bakir Izetbegovic.

Therefore Gul added that “We are happy to see that Turkey’s 100 million euro soft-loan credit start to create positive results in Bosnia Herzegovinian economy.”

Izetbegovic welcomed Turkey’s economic aid saying it will especially help the country’s agricultural development.

A memorandum of understanding on railways has also been signed between Turkish and Bosnia Herzegovinian presidents.

 

Serbia aims to pass measures to boost economy, analysts say savings needed (Reuters, by Ivana Sekularac, 12 May 2014)

BELGRADE - Serbia plans to adopt measures this week including subsidies for commercial corporate loans and tax relief for new job hires to revive the economy and help reduce unemployment, the prime minister said on Monday.

Analysts immediately warned that without rigorous saving efforts possibly including pension cuts, the proposed measures risked further inflating the Balkan country's budget deficit, now seen at 7.1 percent of national output.

Centre-right Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic met heads of major commercial banks on Monday to discuss the government's plan to allocate 60 million euros to banks to cover the cost to them of offering lower interest rates to corporate borrowers.

"We hope that in that way the banks will be able to place up to 1.2 billion euros (in loans) to companies," Vucic said at the start of the meeting.

Vucic, who took power last month, will later on Monday meet foreign investors and local corporate leaders to discuss steps to reduce unemployment, currently around 20 percent.

To encourage investment, the government may pay health insurance and pension contributions for 7 out of 10 new workers hired by companies, the prime minister said on Sunday.

The package, to be sent to parliament on Thursday, will also include measures to boost construction and provide cheaper housing mostly for civil servants, Vucic said.

Vucic has pledged root-and-branch reform of the bloated public sector, which employs nearly 800,000 people, to secure a financing deal with the International Monetary Fund.

The government is forecasting 1 percent economic growth this year, but analysts say the economy could stagnate as fiscal consolidation may hamper domestic demand.

Milojko Arsic, a lecturer at Belgrade's Economics Faculty, said subsidies for commercial loans would bring more liquidity to the business sector, where non-performing loans now make up 30 percent of all loans. But he cautioned:

"To secure the funds for subsidies, the government will have to make additional savings to keep the deficit within its forecast. I personally think it will be difficult to achieve (the savings) without a pension cut," he said.

A 10 percent cut in public sector wages will be implemented as of July, and the government said it will decide in October whether it needs to cut pensions as well.

The EU candidate country has kept more than 100 indebted state-owned companies on life support since 2000 via hefty subsidies, resulting in the public debt climbing to 63 percent of national output.

But it will have to cut state support to those companies, which employ 60,000 people, to get a budget-support loan from the World Bank and to secure an IMF deal. (Editing by Zoran Radosavljevic and Hugh Lawson)

 

Belgrade, Moscow confirm South Stream pipeline plans (New Europe, 12 May 2014)

Russia and Serbia reiterated their support for the €15.5-billion South Stream pipeline designed to cut Russia’s dependence on the Ukrainian transit system.

GAZPROM

On 6 May, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic said their countries were ready to build the South Stream natural gas pipeline to Europe and confirmed that Moscow and Belgrade had a common view on the Ukrainian crisis.

“The talks confirmed the mutual desire to strengthen bilateral ties and press on with large-scale bilateral projects in the trade, economic and investment spheres, including the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on its webpage, following the meeting between Lavrov and Dacic on the sidelines of the Council of Europe’s Ministers Committee.

“We were pleased to note a certain proximity and even coincidence of … viewpoints that Moscow and Belgrade share with regard to the key issues on the European and global agenda. Particular attention was paid to the situation in the Balkans and in Ukraine,” the statement added. Russia annually pumps about 100 billion cubic metres of gas to European countries via Ukraine, which makes up 80% of its total gas supplies to Europe. The €15.5-billion South Stream pipeline is designed to cut Russia’s dependence on the Ukrainian transit system.

Meanwhile, Serbia’s President Tomislav Nikolic said he was interested in intensifying work on South Stream. “This is a project which should ensure Serbia’s long-term energy security and enable substantial progress in the national economy,” Nikolic said on 6 May at a meeting with the speaker of Russia’s State Duma Sergei Naryshkin, who was on a two-day visit to Serbia. Nikolic and Naryshkin “expressed satisfaction with the level of co-operation between Serbia and Russia, particularly with respect to joint economic projects,” the Serbian president’s press service said.

“Russia has a correct understanding of Serbia’s position on the Ukraine crisis,” Nikolic said. Russia also understood Serbia’s willingness to become an EU member, since the 28-country bloc was the most significant trade partner for Russia as well, the press service quoted Naryshkin as saying.

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said it would announce the final South Stream route in summer. Gazprom is considering three routes for the project: through Bulgaria to Serbia, Hungary and Austria; through Bulgaria to Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria and Italy; or through Bulgaria and Greece to the south of Italy, according to RIA Novosti.

Two weeks ago, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak claimed that there was a certain restraint on the part of European Commission against the construction of South Stream.