Dacic: Serbia opposes Kosovo army (Tanjug)

Serbia is interested in peace and stability in Kosovo and Metohija, but it opposes the formation of a Kosovo army and this topic should be discussed at the level of the UN Security Council, said Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic. Responding to the questions of the participants of the 88^th NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rose-Roth seminar, with the topic “Serbia, Western Balkans and Euro-Atlantic Community”, he pointed out that Serbia opposes the formation of a Kosovo army as this is not in accordance with UNSCR 1244. “This may have certain security implications in the region because when the war was over in Kosovo it was envisaged that the only armed forces in Kosovo are international forces, i.e. KFOR,” said Dacic. He recalled that during the signing of the Brussels agreement, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, former Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaqi and former EU high representative Catherine Ashton and he personally visited NATO headquarters where their representatives gave them guarantees that there will be no armed formations of the Albanians in the north of Kosovo without KFOR’s consent. “This is a complicated matter and we think this should be discussed at the level of the UN Security Council. This (formation of a Kosovo army) is not wanted since it is considered that it has nothing more to do with the matter and that this is an independent matter governed by the government in Pristina. This is a topic on which there are disagreements,” said Dacic and reiterated that Serbia is interested in peace and stability in Kosovo and Metohija and resumption of the dialogue with Pristina.

 

Dacic: Chapter 35 most difficult chapter (Tanjug)

Minister Dacic said that the most difficult chapter on Serbia’s EU path is Chapter 35 on Kosovo which also covers the implementation of the Brussels agreement on normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations. The problem lies in the fact that Chapter 35 has not been sufficiently defined, Dacic said replying to the questions by participants of the 88^th NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rose-Roth seminar. He noted that Serbia would not be able to open other negotiating chapters unless it first tackles Chapter 35 on Kosovo and Chapters 23 and 24 on the judiciary, security and fundamental rights. Dacic said that Serbia is ready to open talks on Chapter 32 concerning financial control, but certain countries like Germany maintain that other chapters cannot be opened unless Chapters 23, 24 and 25 are tackled first. Unlike other countries, Serbia has a specific negotiating path, Dacic said. He noted that the country can be a champion of European values but without progress in the talks with Pristina, there can be no progress in the European negotiations either, adding this is the reality that the country has to face.
Dacic, Gentiloni: Belgrade-Pristina talks are key for Serbia’s EU integrations (Tanjug)
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said after a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni that the Serbia’s progress in EU integration would depend on whether there was any progress in the talks with Pristina. Serbia will fulfil everything stated in the Brussels agreement and involved in the implementation plan, but it cannot be held responsible if someone sets new requirements, Dacic remarked. He informed Gentiloni that the screenings for all the chapters of the accession talks with the EU had been completed, adding that Serbia was therefore ready to open the chapters. “This is not about a political assessment by the EU members as to whether the political conditions needed to make such a decision have been met. Germany thinks that no other chapters can be opened until Chapter 35 is, which is the one related to Kosovo,” he said. Gentiloni stated that Italy is certain that Serbia’s European integration process should go a step further and added that all conditions have been met for the European Commission (EC) to adopt a decision to open negotiating chapters in the months to come. “We cannot delay the process because Serbia has taken on all the obligations and is working on their fulfilment,” Gentiloni told a joint news conference with Dacic, and expressed the belief that all conditions have been met for the EC to adopt the decision to open the chapters in the months to come.

 

 

Odalovic: Possible condition to Serbia to extradite Seselj (RTS)

The Secretary General of the Serbian Foreign Ministry Veljko Odalovic told the morning broadcast of Radio and Television of Serbia that it is not good that Serbia is delivered demands and obligations for which it is absolutely not to be blamed or responsible. He assesses that this is irresponsible because Seselj was released for humanitarian reasons that haven’t stopped and that the best commentary was given by the former spokesperson of the ICTY Florence Hartman who said that The Hague is “to be blamed for the circus” that had been created. On the occasion of the

decision of the Appeals Chamber of the ICTY, Odalovic points out that the ICTY was formed in a manner contrary to the rules, that it is an “ad hoc” court that showed that it was not up to the task. He points out that the decision to return Seselj to The Hague was brought at a moment when Serbia was devoted to reforms, stabilization of the overall situation, improvement of standards and normalization of relations with the world and when it was receiving a completely different position on the world map. “At issue is something in which we didn’t take part,” said Odalovic. Recalling that Seselj went to The Hague on his own, Odalovic assessed that Serbia was faced with demands when it absolutely didn’t deserve this.

 

Vulin: Seselj needed by The Hague as constant threat (RTS)

Serbian Minister for Labor Aleksandar Vulin has told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that when the leader of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) Vojislav Seselj was released he had predicted in advance that the ICTY would request his return and that he hoped that the worst possible scenario for Serbia would be prevented. “It wasn’t difficult to guess and predict this scenario. I hope that Seselj will be smart enough to realize that not a single drop of Serbian blood is worth what we are discussing now and that the scenario of violence on the Belgrade streets will be avoided,” said Vulin. He notes that the government has not received any official letter and that any further decision will be only the one passed by the Serbian government. He says that when he was listening to the speech of Prime Minister Vucic on the occasion of the 16^th anniversary of the NATO bombardment he knew immediately that Serbia will be punished somehow. He says this is the way to punish the Serbian Prime Minister who is fighting for Serbia and that this is a response to Vucic’s sentence – you will not make us quarrel with Russia and that he is conducting a Serbian policy. Vulin recalls that Serbia has been requesting for 12 years now a verdict for the SRS leader, but that The Hague needs a policy and possibility to constantly manipulate with Seselj, and to use him as a factor of destabilization of Serbia and as a constant threat. He points out that ICTY’s decision to return Seselj to The Hague is also an attempt to slow down some other processes. “The negotiations with Pristina are not at all easy and simple as it seems in the public and the Serbian Prime Minister has a clear stand and he is able to loudly state that something that is not in accordance with the Serbian interests cannot pass,” said Vulin, adding that he fears what the ICTY decision can cause.

 

Toma Fila: ICTY decision aimed at destabilization of Serbia (Beta)

Attorney Toma Fila opines that the decision of the Appeals Chamber of the ICTY on returning Seselj to detention is unusual and aimed at destabilization of the state. He recalls that if Seselj is not arrested immediately, the case would reach the UN Security Council that could introduce some form of sanctions to Serbia. “The decision is very unusual, since instead of altering the decision on the release, the Appeals Chamber orders the first instance court to alter its decision and bring Seselj to The Hague, and then to schedule a trial in order to present the stands,” Fila told Beta. According to him, the goal of such decision is diversion, i.e. destabilization of Serbia through organization of rallies and eventual conflicts. “But, I believe that the Serbs are smarter and that this will not occur,” said Fila. He explains that procedure requires that when the order of the first instance court reaches the government in Serbia, they must immediately proceed according to the order and arrest Seselj. “This doesn’t mean the same day, but if they wait more than three days, then the Security Council will be alarmed and it can ultimately order sanctions to be imposed.

 

Vejvoda: Implementation of Brussels agreement in the interest of the Belgrade authorities (TVB92)

“Implementing the Brussels agreement is in the interest of both the authorities in Belgrade and Pristina, and over the past ten years they have been told that Europe does not want a new Cyprus, says Ivan Vejvoda, vice-president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. For Pristina, getting the Stability and Association Agreement depends on the implementation of the Brussels agreement, as does for Belgrade the opening of the first chapters in the accession talks with the EU, Vejvoda told TVB92. Belgrade and Pristina understand that they cannot go forward without implementation of the agreement on normalization of relations and results - its implementation - should be expected, Vejvoda said.

 

DSS, Dveri: Military neutrality is undermined (Radio Belgrade)

By signing the Agreement on Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) of cooperation between Serbia and NATO, Serbia is violating the position of military neutrality, the leaders of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Sanda Raskovic Ivic and the Dveri Movement Vladan Glisic wrote in an open letter to the state leadership. They recalled that Serbia in its history has never participated in military campaigns against Russia. This form of cooperation between Serbia and NATO is envisaged by “the infamous law adopted last May by the US Congress entitled Act on

Prevention of Russian Aggression, said Raskovic and Glisic. According to this law, US President Barack Obama is under the obligation to “ensure within a year inter-action between the US Army and armed forces of the Eastern European countries that are not NATO members, including Serbia, it is stated in the letter. It is clear to everyone that the signing of the IPAP, whereby Serbia voluntarily cedes its territory, air space and infrastructure to NATO forces, places Serbia in the anti-Russian military coalition at a moment when a war against Russia has been practically declared with the Act on Prevention of Russian Aggression, reads the letter. The DSS and Dveri request a return to the Constitution, law and Serbian history, and the Serbian authorities to demand compensation for material damage caused by the 78-day relentless bombardment, which has been estimated at over $100billion. NATO can’t be committed for the incalculable harm to 2,500 killed and 12,500 wounded of our compatriots. The DSS and Dveri leaders sent the open letter to the Serbian president, prime minister and parliament speaker.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Cavara made decision on appointment of new FB&H Government (Nezavisne)

The President of the Federation of B&H (FB&H) Marinko Cavara made the decision on the appointment of the FB&H government which also contains the necessary signatures of consent of two vice presidents of B&H - Melika Mahmutbegovic and Milan Dunovic. The Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives of the FB&H Sasa Mitrovic told reporters that the session of this House will be called at 16 hours where the FB&H government will be appointed.

Last week, Zeljko Komsic, the leader of the DF, conditioned the formation of the Federation government, saying that the Vice President will NOT sign the decision on the appointment of the FB&H government, until the Council of Ministers is formed.

 

Majkic: B&H does not fulfill any of the requirements for NATO membership (Srna)

The SNSD member in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of B&H Dusanka Majkic said today in Belgrade that B&H currently does not fulfill any of the conditions for NATO membership. “B&H has not been able to solve the basic reasons for the conflict in 1991. So we need to look, listen and then make a political decision, and previously ask the people who live there what they thought about it,” said Majkic for Srna. Majkic, who attends the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rose-Roth seminar, noted at the Serbian parliament that the opinion of the people in Serbia and the RS about NATO is known and that “the great sensitivity with which the Serbian people regard NATO is specific and must be respected”. She reminded that only the RS and Serbia were bombed and that only those locals are still dying from the effects of the bombing, and that very young children are being diagnosed with cancer.

“So, no one can resent us because our feelings in regard to NATO are different from other people, who rejoiced while the bombs were falling,” said Majkic. She stressed that this region, which is, as she reminded, often a subject to various conflicts, is still not peaceful.

 

Kosarac: We will be a strong opposition to an illegal Council of Ministers (Srna)

The Chairman of the SNSD Caucus in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of B&H Stasa Kosarac told Srna that the SNSD will be a strong and uncompromising opposition to an illegal B&H Council of Ministers, which is supposed to be elected today. “Months of political circus directed by Bakir Izetbegovic and Zeljko Komsic, supported by Mladen Bosic and some of the international officials, will be concluded today, with the obvious and multiple violations of the law. This will be illegally appointed Council of Ministers and we will regard it accordingly,” said Kosarac. He expressed the fear that the SDA and the DF will try to take advantage of the loyalty and weakness of its coalition partners from the RS and, under the facade of alleged European reforms, tried to continue the process of transferring the jurisdictions from the entity and cantonal level to the B&H level. “The SDS, PDP and NDP are the weakest links in the coalition that will form the government, which Bakir Izetbegovic and Zeljko Komsic will certainly try to take advantage of. The public in the RS needs to know that Denis Zvizdic announced in his expose the creation of 11 new institutions at the state level, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which he explicitly mentions in this expose" said Kosarac. He warned that Izetbegovic and Komsic are trying to carry out violence against the Dayton Constitution in the fields of economy, energy, transportation, banking, ecology, education, culture and sports, in which B&H has no jurisdiction. “Zvizdic also announced the adoption of 10 new laws and the adoption of 15 new plans and strategies that have no grounds in the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These are the tasks that Mladen Bosic, Mladen Ivanic and Dragan Cavic will have to implement, if they want to preserve the positions that they got in the joint institutions,” said Kosarac. He stressed that the following period will be a period of serious political struggle for the preservation of the Dayton Constitution, jurisdictions and the RS’s interests. “The SDS, PDP and NDP are announcing from Sarajevo, that they will, together with Izetbegovic and Komsic, attack the institutions of RS. The SNSD has the answer to such politic, it will protect the RS just like it did in the past eight years,” concluded Kosarac.

 

RS quickly formed government and started adopting reform laws (Srna)

At a meeting with the Principal Deputy High Representative to B&H David Robinson, the RS President Milorad Dodik said that the RS quickly formed a government after the B&H general elections and started adopting a number of reform laws which are a practical response to recommendations of the European Commission. Dodik said that conditions for B&H to get an EU candidate status are now more demanding than before, and reminded Robinson of previous conditions the EU put before B&H, as well as of a proactive role the RS played the whole time in the process of meeting these conditions. Dodik reiterated that he feels that all conditions have been met for abolishing the Office of the High Representative (OHR) and that he does not see a point for it to stay in B&H any longer. Regarding the issue of real property, Dodik told Robinson that the RS will not agree to a separate resolution of the issue of military and other property in B&H, and reminded of a number of previous agreements that were reached on this issue, but which have never been fully implemented, says a press release from the office of the RS President. “We can discuss all problems with the OHR,” Dodik said and stressed that every interventionism is absolutely unacceptable for the RS, including that from the OHR. At a meeting with the David Robinson, the RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic said that the RS government is still the only executive authority formed after the elections in B&H which also adopted key documents – the Economic Policy and Budget for 2015. Cvijanovic said that the RS demonstrated a clear commitment to reform processes and an active role in the European integration process, and added that the RS government will in the coming period continue to implement activities and measures aimed at improving the business environment and creating conditions for economic growth. Cvijanovic and Robinson exchanged opinions about the economic and political situation in the RS and B&H. They also discussed security challenges facing B&H, particularly in the fight against terrorism, the government PR Office said in a press release.

 

Preparations for joint government session discussed (Srna)

The Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic and Serbian Ambassador to B&H Stanimir Vukicevic exchanged views Monday on the preparations for the next joint session of the RS and Serbian governments, where the possibilities of joint appearance on third markets will be discussed. Joint sessions of the two governments are held under the Agreement on Special and Parallel Relations. During the meeting, Cvijanovic and Vukicevic spoke about the current political and economic topics in the RS and the region, the process of European integration, improvement of economic cooperation, and the reforms that the Srpska Government launched this year. The meeting was also attended by the Serbian Consul General in B&H Vladimir Nikolic, the government PR office said in a press release.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Serbia PM: Seselj Being Used to Punish Belgrade (BIRN, by Gordana Andric, 31 March 2015)

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said the Hague Tribunal’s decision to release Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj and then recall him to custody was intended to undermine his government. Vucic said on Monday that Seselj was being used by unnamed opponents outside the country in an attempt to “shake up” his administration and undermine the policies of his ruling Progressive Party. The Hague Tribunal on Monday ordered war crimes defendant Seselj, who was temporarily released for cancer treatment in November last year, to return to custody in the Netherlands ahead of the verdict in his trial. Seselj has said he has no intention of returning to The Hague and has challenged Vucic’s government to send him back by force and threatened to stage street protests. Vucic suggested however that the Seselj affair was a bid to punish EU candidate country Serbia for not falling into line with Brussels’ foreign policy on Russia over the Ukraine crisis and to maintain friendly ties with Moscow. “When they do not like what Serbia is doing, the fact it has its own stance, that it won’t impose sanctions [on Russia], that it wants to be a friend with everyone – they release him [Seselj] from the box and wait for us to get scared,” Vucic wrote in Serbian newspaper Politika. “When we continue without fear to conduct sovereign policies, when I just go out and say that we will never forget one victim of the NATO bombing [of Yugoslavia in 1999], they put him back in the box and again wait for us to get scared,” he continued. Vucic, a former senior member of Seselj’s party, said that there was “no law nor justice” in the Hague Tribunal’s decision, but only “wrongful attempts to punish the Serbian government and its policy”. Vucic and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic formed the currently ruling Progressive Party after breaking away from Seselj’s Radicals in 2008. They had previously led the Radicals after Seselj surrendered to the UN-backed war crimes court in The Hague in 2003. Serbian labour minister Aleksandar Vulin also said on Monday that Seselj was being used as “a way to punish the Prime Minister, who is fighting for Serbia”. “This is a response to his statement ‘You will not estrange us from Russia’,” Vulin told reporters. The decision to recall Seselj to custody was welcomed by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic however. “It is clear that he was responsible for war crimes, that he is a war criminal and that his place is in The Hague,” Grabar Kitarovic said. Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said meanwhile that he did not want to pre-judge the verdict in Seselj’s trial but said he was one of the people most responsible for the war in the former Yugoslavia. “This is a fact and it will not be changed by a single court ruling. I do not know if I can say to him [Seselj], as a man, ‘I wish you all the best”, but I think that for some things he should be held responsible,” Milanovic said. The appeals chamber at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia said on Monday that Seselj’s statements since his return to Belgrade last November, insisting that he would not return to the UN-backed court for the verdict in his trial, “eroded the essential pre-conditions for provisional release”. The merits of a further provisional release could be discussed, but only after Seselj is back in the Tribunal’s detention unit, it added. Seselj reacted defiantly to the announcement, challenging Serbia’s leaders to force him to go back. “Let’s see how [Serbian Prime Minister] Aleksandar Vucic and [President] Tomislav Nikolic will arrest me now,” Seselj told the Vecernje Novosti newspaper. Seselj is on trial for wartime crimes in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia. The verdict in his case was scheduled for October 2013, but was postponed after one of the judges in the trial was removed for alleged bias. The new judge is expected to take until at least the end of June 2015 to familiarise himself with details of the case, causing yet another delay in the marathon trial.

 

Report: 3,000 Jihadists Have Made Home in Europe’s Balkans (Breitbart, by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D., 30 March 2015)

ROME, Italy– Islamist Black flags are waving in Bosnia, just a step away from Italy and far nearer than neighboring Libya. A “potential candidate country” for the European Union, Bosnia shares a long, unguarded border with Croatia, an EU member since 2013. Estimates place some 3,000 Salafist extremists in the heart of the Balkans, near the border between Bosnia and Croatia, not counting the many who have already enlisted in the “holy war” in Syria and Iraq. The Balkans are an area of particular concern to the Italian government, because of their geographical proximity and historic ties to radical Islam. Last week, Italian special forces executed the final stage of a counterterrorist operation known as “Balkan Connection,” breaking up an ISIS terrorist cell in northern Italy involving connections to Albania. Two Albanians—38-year-old Alban Elezi and his nephew Elvis—have been charged with recruiting militants for international terrorism along the Balkan route, while the third, Elmadhi Halili, a twenty-year-old Italian citizen of Moroccan origin, is being held for spreading propaganda for the purpose of abetting international terrorism, after publishing a 64-page pro-Caliphate document on the internet. “Bosnia is no exception to the threat of foreign jihadi militants,” said Roger Corrias, the Italian Ambassador in Sarajevo. Official state estimates speak of 160 Bosnians traveling to the Middle East to join the Islamic State, with US estimates decidedly higher at 340. “Geographical proximity, a fragile rule of law and a deep economic crisis are elements in Bosnia that call for double attention,” said Corrias. “The Italian Government is aware of it and acts on two levels: security and European prospects for the country.” In the former Serbian village of Osve, lost in the hills of central Bosnia, a black flag flies emblazoned with the shahada, or Muslim profession of faith. The flag is very similar in appearance to those of Al Nusra Front, the offshoot of Al Qaeda operating in Syria and Lebanon. There a man laments the death of his son, a suicide bomber in Iraq. “I am not happy over the loss of my son, but his death came about by the will of Allah,” Hamdo Fojnica explained to the Italian daily Il Giornale. His 23-year-old son Emrah, with nom de guerre Khattab, blew himself up in Iraq. His father admits: “It is terrible to lose a child, but if Allah decides that his two brothers should also go to Syria I couldn’t say no.” Europe has never taken root in Gornja Maoca, the most prominent Salafi enclave in eastern Bosnia. In early February, the symbol of the Caliphate began to be seen here and there, and then disappeared. Now black flags with the scimitar and shahada can be seen waving atop houses and mosques. From these simple houses among the remote forests have come the likes of Nusret Imamovic, one of the foreign leaders among the Al Qaeda ranks listed as a “global terrorist” by the United States. Gornja Maoca was also home to Mevlid Jaarevic, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison after shooting up the US embassy in Sarajevo with a Kalashnikov in 2011. “I am convinced that they will conquer Rome,” said Esad Hecimovic, a journalist from Sarajevo and expert in Islamic extremism. “You don’t understand that the real danger is closer than Libya. The threat does not just affect Bosnia, but also Italy and Europe,” he said. The area of Velika Kladusa in Western Bosnia was the stronghold of the Islamist preacher Bilal Bosnic, who ended up behind bars last September for incitement and recruitment for jihad. One of Bosnic’s young wives, wearing a full veil, declared: “I have nothing to say but that you should embrace Islam. My husband is in jail unjustly. We live for Allah and we are ready to die for him.” A few miles from his home, in a remote area of Bosanska Bojna, Bosnic bought an 8-acre plot of land to build a majid, or Salafi prayer center. The prosecutor in Sarajevo found that in the course of two years, 200 thousand dollars had arrived from a mysterious benefactor in Qatar.

 

Montenegro soccer fans blamed for violence in Euro qualifier (Reuters, 28 March 2015)

Match against Russia was abandoned after flare, missile hit Russian players

Montenegrin soccer fans who keep causing trouble and forced Friday's Euro 2016 qualifier against Russia to be abandoned are hypocrites and barbarians, the general secretary of the Adriatic republic's football association said. The Group G match ended midway through the second half after two outbursts of violence, the first 25 seconds after kick off when a home fan hit Russia keeper Igor Akinfeev with a flare in the head. The match in Podgorica, Montenegro, resumed after a 33-minute delay but following fighting between rival fans during halftime and another 18-minute delay for the second half to begin, more trouble erupted. German referee Deniz Aytekin called the game off in the 67th minute after Russian midfielder Dmitri Kombarov was hit with a missile from the terraces, following a scuffle between players on the touchline. "These fans sing 'Montenegro we love you' but throw flares, insult rivals and cause all sorts of incidents every time they turn up and that's outright hypocrisy," general secretary Momir Djurdjevac told reporters after the ugly scenes in the stadium.

'Complete disaster'

"We have left the impression of barbarians and this is a complete disaster. It seems we don't deserve to have a nation, a soccer team or a berth in a major tournament. "As far as I am concerned the game should not have continued after the first-minute incident. We can only thank God that no one was seriously hurt." Akinfeev was taken to hospital with a concussion and neck burns, undergoing a brain scan and a number of other tests. Montenegrin media also reported a charged atmosphere in Podgorica several hours before kick-off with riot police deployed in numbers to separate rival fans congregating in the city centre. UEFA said it would wait for reports from the match delegate and the referee before opening disciplinary proceedings and Djurdjevac acknowledged any punishment would be suitable. "We will in all likelihood pay a hefty fine and say goodbye to a major tournament but what scares me is that this can happen again and someone must step forward and say, 'Enough.'" "Who wants to play for the national team under such circumstances? "These players have a big dream and it's to qualify with our tiny nation for a major tournament but we are going nowhere."

Russia files protest

Montenegro, who have never qualified for a World Cup or a European Championship as an independent nation, are level with the Russians on five points from four games. Austria leads the group with 13 points from five games, followed by Sweden on nine from the same number of matches. Earlier this season in another Euro qualifier match, an incident involving a drone with a political banner sparked a brawl on the pitch between Serbia and Albania players. UEFA president Michel Platini said there's a troubling trend of nationalism, extremism and hooliganism propping up at recent matches. Meanwhile, Russian Football Union president Nikolai Tolstykh said in a statement that his organization would file a protest to UEFA and that "in our view, it should be a technical defeat for Montenegro."

He added that Friday's match should have been abandoned following the attack on Akinfeev.

With files from The Associated Press

 

EU broadens accession talks with Montenegro (EurActiv/AFP, 31 March 2015)

The European Union announced that it was broadening its negotiations with Montenegro on EU membership on Monday (30 March), even though the 28-nation bloc has frozen expansion over the next five years. Both sides agreed to start talks on taxation and external affairs as part of the wide-ranging negotiations, the European Council, which represents the member states, said in a statement. With the two new chapters, the EU and Montenegro are now negotiating 18 out of 35 chapters, it said (see background). On taxation, the council urged Podgorica to "make significant progress" toward alignment with the EU in the areas of value-added tax, excise duties and direct taxation. Montenegro was also asked to follow Brussels' example on foreign policy. The tiny southeastern European country has already followed the EU's diplomatic lead on the Ukraine crisis, applying economic sanctions against Russia -- something neighbouring Serbia, also an aspiring EU member, has not done. The EU said that it would hold a conference on Montenegro's membership bid in June, in order to "take the process forward". Podgorica began accession talks with the EU in 2012. The negotiations have been held up by Montenegro's delay in establishing an independent judiciary, as well as its fight against organised crime and corruption. In July, Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU would freeze expansion over the next five years, stating that the bloc "needs to mark a pause in its enlargement process, so that we can consolidate what has been done with 28 members". The European Union had grown rapidly from 15 to 28 member states in the previous 10 years, with the former Communist countries of eastern Europe joining en masse in 2004. With the exception of Turkey, Montenegro is the only country with which the EU is conducting accession negotiation talks. Serbia is expected to launch similar talks some time in 2015, depending on the implementation of an agreement to normalise relations with Kosovo.

 

Political crisis in Macedonia hampers country’s bid to join EU (AFP, 30 March 2015)

The government filed a complaint against opposition leader Zoran Zaev (above) and several other people for espionage and violence against officials in January, but Zaev rejected the allegations and in turn accused the government of wiretapping at least 20,000 people. Bitter exchanges between Macedonia's government and the opposition, including wiretapping and claims of million-euro bribes, have pushed the Balkan state into a deep crisis that could further hamper its already stalled bid for membership in the European Union. Since the beginning of the year, conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's government and the centre-left opposition have communicated only through the public exchanges of accusations. The crisis has not only undermined Macedonia's already weak institutions, but it has also sparked concerns in the 28-nation EU, which the country is seeking to join. "It is a dangerous political game that causes disastrous collateral damage. The already fragile institutions are further weakened and passions ignite," political analyst Biljana Vankovska said. As soon as the crisis started Brussels voiced alarm over the "deterioration of political dialogue" in the former Yugoslav republic and called for a thorough investigation. In January, the government filed a complaint against opposition leader Zoran Zaev and several other people for espionage and violence against officials. Zaev rejected the allegations and in turn accused the government of wiretapping at least 20,000 people, including politicians, journalists and religious leaders. On Thursday, he also accused Gruevski of accepting a €20 million (HK$168.55 million) bribe from Chinese firms to grant them concessions to build motorways. Zaev heads the centre-left opposition Social Democrats (SDSM), which have been boycotting parliament for almost a year, alleging electoral fraud in April 2014 polls. Zaev has called on the prime minister to resign his post, form an interim government and to organise "fair and democratic" early elections. The country has been governed in a delicate power-sharing deal between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians since the end of a seven-month conflict in 2001 between the country's armed forces and ethnic Albanian rebels. Macedonia obtained EU candidate status in 2005.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Macedonia's bid to join the EU hurt by crisis

 

 

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Media summaries are produced for the internal use of the United Nations Office in Belgrade, UNMIK and UNHQ. The contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership.