LOCAL PRESS

Berlin: Opening of Chapter 35 only when all obligations are fulfilled (Politika)

The ambassadors of Western countries that recognized independence of Kosovo adhere to the formulation that there are no new conditions that Serbia should fulfill regarding the southern Serbian province in order to make progress on the EU path. On the other side, the public cannot compare whether there are new conditions, since the government had never announced specifically what are Serbia’s concrete obligations deriving from the Brussels agreement, and the technical agreements that are occasionally taking place in Brussels away from the public eye. Even the MPs haven’t received an answer to this question when they posed it to government members in the Serbian parliament. It could be heard only unofficially that an agreement was made in Brussels “not to publish details while they are working on harmonization of the agreement”, so that the media can make lists of tasks only based on speculations what could be Serbia’s “tasks”. On the occasion of the reports by Novosti on 11 new conditions for opening the first negotiating chapters, the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport told TVN1 that there are no new conditions, and that no new requests are at issue, but the implementation of obligations from the Brussels agreement. The German Embassy released a statement yesterday, clearly stating that Germany will give consent for the opening of Chapter 35 only when the obligations deriving from the Brussels agreement are fully implemented and when Serbia clearly voices readiness to resume the dialogue with Pristina. It is stressed that the Serbian government has been long aware of these expectations and that it is important to continue a high-level political dialogue as soon as possible and contribute to faster closing of the gaps in the implementation of the agreement on normalization of relations reached in April 2013. Politika couldn’t receive an answer in the Office for Kosovo and Metohija what exactly are these gaps in the implementation of the Brussels agreement. The Head of the Serbian team for EU negotiations Tanja Miscevic showed yesterday that members of governments know exactly what Belgrade’s obligations are by stressing that “we have a tendency to forget things that we accept”. Saying that we are constantly repeating that the main condition for normalization or resumption of talks, both in Belgrade and in Pristina, is monitoring everything that was agreed with the Brussels agreement, Miscevic stressed that “when this is listed now, then it comes as a surprise to people, but it shouldn’t”. The Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun says that the statements that there are no new requests are good news. Asked what he sees as good here, Drecun says that it is good that is seen that Serbia’s interests in the implementation of the Brussels agreement and continuation of the normalization of relations are identical to those of Germany and the EU. He views this problem from the standpoint that the vital interest of Serbia and the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija is to urgently intensify the process of normalization of relations, to place on the agenda new issues and to reach a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible. Asked what Brussels’ specific warning is when it requests full implementation of the agreement, Drecun says that perhaps they have in mind the local administration and civil protection. “In order to completely stop with the payments to people who have been working in Serb municipalities, the Union of Serb Municipalities should be formed so we can transfer these people there in order to keep their jobs. If they have objections to the fact that we haven’t completely dismantled the Serb municipalities in the sense that some people are probably still receiving salaries, then one must first ask when the Union of Serb Municipalities will be formed, and this depends from Pristina,” said Drecun. Former state secretary in the ministry for Kosovo and Metohija and analyst Dusan Prorokovic believes that there are new requests. He opines that the request related to the construction of solid facilities at the administrative line, instead of prefabricated, is one of them. “If secret agreements are at issue, then it would be good if they would inform us about it. This is only one phase in the never-ending process, even if Serbia formally recognizes Kosovo and allows UN membership, this will not end, it will continue with lawsuits for genocide, war reparations, requests for division of property, which has also been announced from Pristina,” recalled Prorokovic and warned that these are all stones in the mosaic that make up the legally binding agreement.

Dikovic and KFOR commander discuss security (Tanjug)

Serbian Army Chief of Staff Ljubisa Dikovic met yesterday in Nis with the KFOR Commander Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, the Serbian Ministry of Defense said. This is the first official meeting between the two general since Figliuolo assumed office as the KFOR Commander in Kosovo and Metohija in September 2014. They discussed the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija and along the administrative line, the cooperation between the Serbian Army and KFOR so far and the directions of their future cooperation. This was a high-level meeting of the joint commission for implementation of the Military-technical agreement comprising the KFOR Command commission and the commission of representatives of Serbian security forces, and which are being held on a regular basis on various levels since 1999 and their aim is to ensure successful fulfillment of the Military-technical agreement. The agreement was signed in Kumanovo on 9 June 1999, and it put an end to the NATO war against Serbia. The Serbian army and police withdrew from Kosovo and Metohija, which created the conditions for adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and constitution of the UN Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK) in the southern Serbian province.

Serbian soldiers join UNIFIL Italian contingent (Tanjug)

Thirty-three members of the Serbian Armed Forces departed for Lebanon on Thursday to join the Italian contingent of the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission, the Italian Embassy in Belgrade released in a statement. Major General Marco Bertolini, commander of the Italian Joint Operations Headquarters and head of Italy’s peacekeeping operations, and Italian Ambassador to Serbia Giuseppe Manzo, saw off the Serbian unit on Thursday that departed from Batajnica Airport.
Thirty-three Serbian soldiers, who specialize in protection, will operate under the auspices of the Italian command of Sector West of the United Nations in Lebanon on the basis of a memorandum of understanding, which was signed in Rome on Wednesday by Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti and Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic, during the meeting of the two countries’ Prime Ministers Matteo Renzi and Aleksandar Vucic. The Serbian soldiers’ participation in the Italian contingent was envisaged by an agreement on cooperation between Italy and Serbia in the field of defense, which was also confirmed in recent weeks with a visit to Belgrade by Chief of Defense of Italy Admiral Binelli Mantelli and Secretary General of Defense and National Armaments Director Enzo Stefanini. During his visit to Belgrade, Major General Bertolini visited the General Staff Headquarters, reads the statement by the Italian Embassy.

OKS condemns IOC decision (RTS)

The Olympic Committee of Serbia (OKS) on Thursday condemned in the strongest terms the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to grant full membership to the unilaterally declared Republic of Kosovo, thus setting a precedent as this is not a member of the United Nations. Members of the OKS Executive Board concluded that the OKS has done everything within its power and in due time and successfully blocked Kosovo's IOC membership over the past five years, protecting the provisions of the Olympic Charter. “From 1996 to this day, Art. 30 of the Olympic Charter has defined a country's international recognition in a way that implies UN membership. This time, it was interpreted as being recognized by the majority of the international community, i.e. 108 out of 193 UN member states,” the OKS said in a release.

Scandal in Kosovo Assembly: Minister Jablanovic didn’t sign the oath (KoSSev)

The Head of the Serb (Srpska) List and the newly appointed Minister for Returns and Communities in the Kosovo government Aleksandar Jablanovic didn’t sign the oath on the document with the symbols of the Republic of Kosovo for the new government whose member he is. He took the received document and closed it, without signing it, which is punishable according to the Constitution, Article 95. that states: “Government members, after signing the oath before the deputies in the Assembly, are obliged to sign the same,” Top Channel reports. Jabalanovic’s move is contrary to the Rules of Procedure, Article 29, which deals with the election of the prime minister and government, item 6 of this Article states: “Following elections, members of the government and assembly take an oath. The oath must be conducted according to the law of the Republic of Kosovo”.

Serbia to recognize Kosovo before joining the EU (NIN, by Vladan Krstic)

The youngest minister in Austria and the youngest foreign minister in the history of the EU, Sebastian Kurz, tells exclusively for NIN that Serbia, if it wants to become a full-fledged member of the EU, will have to first resolve the problem of Kosovo, and he doesn’t exclude the possibility that, at the moment when it is already near membership, it will have to distance itself from Russia and adopt Brussels’ joint foreign policy stands. Even though big fuss was raised in the region over the performance of the leader of the Serbian Radical Party Vojislav Seselj after his release from The Hague Tribunal, Kurz is not worried with this, explaining that nationalism in Serbia is an “outdated ideology”. When he was elected as the Austrian head of diplomacy, Kurz chose precisely Belgrade as the destination of his first official visit, where his host was the then Serbian prime minister Ivica Dacic. Since taking office, the young minister clearly stated that one of his priorities is for the Western Balkan countries to become part of “the European family”.

Austria was among the first countries that recognized independence of Kosovo, while all officials in Belgrade claim that they will never do the same. Will the EU demand, before Serbia joins the EU, the Serbian authorities to recognize Kosovo as an independent state?

“It is not in the interest of the EU to accept into full-fledged membership members that are in conflict with neighboring countries, because this would imply ‘import’ of instability in the EU. Hence, before Serbia joins the EU, full normalization of relations is necessary, which would be also confirmed with a legally binding document, and the EU is prepared to assist and facilitate this process.”

Is it true that the EU supports the Serbian government primarily over the readiness to sign the Brussels agreement?

“The EU has always supported pro-European aspirations of the Serbian people, regardless of the ruling party. But, the dialogue with Pristina, which was launched by the previous government, and the current one deepened it, is, by all means, one of the key elements for Serbia’s progress on the EU path.”

If it were up to you, how would the relations between Serbia and Kosovo look in the future?

“In the future we would like to see full normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo as neighbors who, regardless of the difficulties from the past, cooperate not only bilaterally, but also regionally and within the EU.”

How do you comment in that sense the incident before the interruption of the match between Serbia and Albania, as well as the very unusual atmosphere at the press conference of Serbian and Albanian prime ministers, when Edi Rama proceeded contrary good diplomatic practice and said that Kosovo is an independent state for Albania and that Serbia must accept this as a fact?

“It is important that the prime ministers of the two countries met after all this time. That is why the visit was a positive signal. I am sure that many more positive steps will follow.”