Belgrade DMH 191113

LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: Coordinated performance of Serbia and Russia in the UN (Tanjug/Beta)

“We have agreed on coordinated performance in the UN regarding issues of mutual interest,” Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said in New York, after talks with the Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin. “The Russian Federation fully supports Serbia’s stands on Kosovo and those views are reflected in our opposition to UNMIK changing its capacity and efforts aimed at having UNMIK, KFOR and EULEX remain in Kosovo as long as possible and at having the investigation into human organ trafficking completed,” Dacic stated. He said he had informed Churkin about the talks between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels and the issues with it its implementation. “I informed him about the local elections in Kosovo, and then about Serbia’s stand that the talks in Brussels should be neutral in terms of status did not affect the opinion that Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence should not be recognized,” Dacic said.

Odalovic: Great victory achieved on Sunday (RTS)

The Secretary General of the Serbian Government Veljko Odalovic has told the morning broadcast of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that great victory was achieved on Sunday at the repeated elections in northern Kosovska Mitrovica. He says the government will support the candidate of the Serbian (Srpska) Civic Initiative Krstimir Pantic in the second round of elections. Odalovic says the dilemma was resolved on Sunday as to whether the mayor of Kosovska Mitrovica could be someone who is not from the Serb community. He assessed that conditions were created on Sunday for everybody to use their right to vote but that the problem occurred when someone collected voting boxes and material and took it to Kosovo Polje for counting. He considers this is an unjustified move because the voting ends and counting is performed at the polling station and this cast a shadow on that process, whereby candidates are rightly asking why this occurred. He hopes Pantic will enter the second round and that everything will be regular, adding it would be correct for Pantic to win since this list was supported throughout Kosovo and Metohija. Odalovic adds that conditions have been created for northern Kosovska Mitrovica to be the centre of all events that concern the Serb community, i.e. the main administrative, university and healthcare centre.

Vulin: We got rid of the greatest fear (RTS)

“The Serbian Government has lost its greatest fear regarding Kosovska Mitrovica, that someone the people that do not want would become the mayor,” Serbian Minister without Portfolio in charge of Kosovo and Metohija Aleksandar Vulin told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS). Vulin thanked Kosovska Mitrovica residents for choosing to vote in the repeated elections, adding he expected a high turnout in the second round on 1 December. The people listened to their government and sent a message to the international community that the authority of the Serbian Government should not be underestimated, Vulin said. The decision by the OSCE to take the voting boxes after elections to Kosovo Polje and count the votes there was incomprehensible. Vulin he expected the local government to form with a Serb mayor at its head, adding that it would be good to wait for an explanation from the EU as to why it had been necessary to take the boxes to Kosovo Polje.

Stefanovic meets with RS MPs (Beta)

Serbian parliament Speaker Nebojsa Stefanovic had talks in Belgrade with the Republika Srpska (RS) MPs on EU integrations, expressing satisfaction with the improvement of bilateral parliamentary relations and the concretization of the Cooperation Protocol. He pointed to the importance of cooperation of the working bodies of the two assemblies, which especially refers to priorities such as reforms and the EU integrations process, with a view to raising the standard and quality of the life of citizens. RS MPs said Serbia was becoming a regional leader in EU integrations and that Serbia’s experience in that process was essential for the RS.

Simic: Hearing in The Hague is not good news (Radio Serbia, by Jelica Tapuskovic)

Political science professor and international relations expert Predrag Simic told Radio Serbia that the forthcoming hearing in relation to the mutual genocide lawsuits of Serbia and Croatia before the International Court of Justice is not good news for either country, as this will inevitably lead to cooling of relations. The main hearing before the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Croatian charges and Serbia’s countercharges for genocide is scheduled for 3 March 2014, with President of the International Court of Justice Peter Tomka of Slovakia to preside over the trial chamber. Although the hearing has been scheduled, it could still be cancelled, even when the hearing begins. Whether this will happen depends on Croatia. Professor Simic said the lawsuits were expected to be withdrawn, as there was an announcement to that effect as well as the political will, but it did not happen which shows that there has been a setback in the normalization of relations between the two countries. Our source says that most experts in international law believe that neither case has a good chance of success, especially after the debacle of the trial held based on the B&H lawsuit against Yugoslavia and Serbia. It will be interesting, he says, to see the arguments of both sides and views of international jurists who will eventually have to decide both cases.
“Relations between Serbia and Croatia have significantly progressed, but obviously not enough to get this key issue off the agenda. I believe there will be plenty of tension in terms of arguments the two parties will present and it will certainly open up old wounds. The mere announcement of possible prosecution witnesses – in this case, witnesses for Croatia, because some Serbian citizens will be called as witnesses - has caused quite a stir and there will be a lot of tension when discussing the most painful issues related to war, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and all that we have been through. These tensions will affect the public and lead to some cooling in relations,” Simic said.

As a rule, the hearing will last about a month and during that time all witnesses will be heard and cross-examined. At the same time, the legal representatives of Serbia and Croatia will give their closing arguments. Croatia filed the genocide lawsuit against Serbia in 1999, and the Court declared itself competent in 2008. Two years later, Serbia filed a countersuit against Croatia for genocide against the Serbs during the 1991-1995 war. Since then, the two countries have been exchanging briefs that with the new evidence, responding to charges of the opposing party, submitting witness statements.

The Serbian legal team includes William Schabas, professor at the prominent Dutch and British universities, Andreas Zimmermann, Director of the Walther-Schucking Institute for International Law, who was also in the Serbian team in the case Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Serbia before the same court, lawyers Wayne Jordash and Novak Lukic. The team is headed by Sasa Obradovic, who led the Serbian team in the case Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Serbia and is considered one of the great connoisseurs of the Court of Justice. The names of the witnesses in this case are protected before the hearing to ensure their safety.

REGIONAL PRESS

Issue of equality of B&H peoples separate from Sejdic-Finci issue (Fena)

SDA leader Sulejman Tihic, who is also the vice president of the House of Peoples of B&H, met in Sarajevo with Ambassador Peter Sorensen, the EU Special Representative in B&H.

“In regard to military property, for the SDA nothing is controversial anymore. A political agreement was signed about it, there is an international agreement on succession of property of the former Yugoslavia that defined the newly-arisen countries as the legal inheritors of the property of the former unified country, and we have the ruling of the B&H Constitutional Court as well. The responsibility is exclusively on those who do not wish to respect anything from this and block the complete process,” said Tihic. As a SDA statement reads, some are trying to use the Sejdic-Finci ruling for other political goals, and this is the fundamental problem. “There is no doubt that the equality of peoples and citizens in our country must be ensured, but this process must be divided from the Sejdic-Finci case,” the statement reads.

Venice Commission representatives in FB&H parliament (Oslobodjenje)

Representatives of the Venice Commission reiterated at a meeting with the B&H Federation parliament representatives reiterated their willingness to help in the process of constitutional reform. According to the vice president of the Venice Commission Kaarlo Tuori, the need for changes to the B&H Federation Constitution has been shown since 2005. “At the Federation level we showed several specific issues that should be resolved in the framework of this reform. In our report from 2005, we stressed that the principle of citizenship on account of the ethnic principle should be strengthened; at the same time we showed that there are difficulties when it comes to strengthening that principle. Also important is the issue of administrative rationalization, as well as strengthening responsibilities at the Federation level, especially on legislative questions. We stressed the need to clarify relations in the executive, between the Presidency and the B&H Federation government. We are pleased that some of these issues are being resolved in the current process. We believe that constitutional reform at the Federation level will open up and have an influence on constitutional reform at the state level,” said Tuori. Fehim Skaljic, chair of the House of Representatives of the B&H Federation parliament, said that all participants in yesterday’s meeting pointed to the need for reforms to the constitution with the aim of reaching and securing equality of the constitutive peoples and the others, to build a modern, rationally organized system that coordinates vertically and functions, to build a constitution to the standard of European demands that B&H citizens are seeking on the European path. “Especially emphasized was the importance that is placed on adopting a constitution in this phase of the democratic process in B&H with full legitimacy, which assumes a constitution in parliament, debate among citizens and peoples, political subjects, and expert teams, in order that equality of all proposals comes to a solution that would enable the end of these weaknesses that are today hindering development,” said Skaljic. He announced the holding of a thematic session of the House of Representatives in December, at which they would consider a pre-draft of the new constitution, and everyone in the meantime has received proposals from which the draft of the new constitution will be drawn. Skaljic believes that this process of constitutional reform should be realized by the end of April 2014, when B&H enters the electoral race before the general elections.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Serbia-EU accession talks depend on Kosovo, Füle says (Independent Balkan News Agency, by Milos Mitrovic, 18 November 2013)

Framework for Serbia-EU accession negotiations would be “definitely adopted” within a month and after that the talks would start, European Union enlargement commissioner Stefan Füle said in the interview for Belgrade’s daily “Vecernje novosti”.

Füle stressed that the negotiations would be highly interdependent with the process of the normalizing relations between Belgrade and Priština.

Talking on the future accession talks, Füle said that the rule of law and especially judiciary reform and anti-corruption struggle would be among the “key issues”. In this regard, EU commissioner emphasized that “very active process had already been launched by analytical reviewing of the negotiation chapters 23 and 24”.

“Additionally, Serbia will have to be entirely engaged in comprehensive reforms in public administration, including both its capacity and the management of the public finances. Improving capacity of the local self-governance is very important too, because the majority of future EU policies – in ecology for instance – will be implemented in the local administration, Füle said.

When asked whether the Kosovo issue would be the priority in accession negotiations, Füle emphasized that the normalization of the relations between Belgrade and Priština would be closely tied with the Serbian membership talks “in accordance with the conclusion of the European Council which have been adopted in June”.

Füle alluded to EU summit recommendation from 28 June which has suggested the accession talks with Serbia to start “at the latest in January 2014”. The full implementation of the Brussels agreement between Belgrade and Priština, which had been initialed in April, was imposed as the precondition for the accession talks.

“Appropriate level of the normalization of the relations with Kosovo should be gradually reached in order that both sides would continue their path toward the EU, without blocking each other”, EU commissioner rendered.

He reiterated that “EU does not demand Serbia to recognize Kosovo”.

On journalist’s remark “how it was possible EU to start Stabilization and Association (SAA) process with Priština”, given the fact that Kosovo was not internationally recognized as a state, Füle said that “opportunities for the EU to conclude international agreements have not been limited to internationally recognized states”. He explained that EU, with regard to international agreements, does comply with international public law. According to Füle, launching SAA process with Priština did not jeopardized EU’s neutrality status with regard to Kosovo.

Serbia's 2020 EU deadline attainable, experts say (SETimes, by Igor Jovanovic, 18 November 2013)

As Belgrade hopes for EU integration by 2020, the price of reforms could be an obstacle.

Serbian authorities have set 2020 as the deadline for the country's EU accession, but there may be challenges on the way including reform financing and the Kosovo issue, officials and experts said.

"We do not hide the fact that our goal is for Serbia to become a full member of the EU in 2020, and we will accomplish that task," Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said in late October.

Maja Poznatov, from the web portal EurActiv, which covers European affairs and integration, told SETimes the government has undertaken an ambitious plan.

"The deadline is somewhat realistic. It took Croatia six to seven years to negotiate with the EU, too. However, Serbia is strained by the issue of Kosovo, a major political question that will appear during the talks," Poznatov said.

The EU wants Belgrade and Pristina to continue negotiations on improving their relations. That is the top political condition for both countries on their paths to the EU.

Over the course of talks with the EU, candidate countries negotiate 35 chapters that include areas in need of reform. It is expected that the first chapters opened in Serbia's accession process will be those pertaining to the judiciary and human rights.

The start of negotiations between Serbia and the EU could happen as early as January if Belgrade meets all the terms, including dismantling Serbia's parallel institutions in northern Kosovo and establishing the Serbian municipalities association.

In a recent interview with CNN, Finance Minister Lazar Krstic said joining the EU by 2020 is achievable because the state has made so much progress on reforms during the past year.

"We have to take many steps toward the EU by 2020. The most important one is the fight against corruption and improvement of the relations with the neighbouring countries, as well as strengthening the financial and economic situation in the country," Krstic said.

Poznatov said Serbia has well-trained people for negotiations with the EU, but the legislation to be adopted and applied is extensive.

"Moreover, one should have in mind the events in the EU itself, as its current priority is the economy rather than the admission of new members," she said.

The matter of the price of reforms Brussels requires is also going to be a hurdle, officials said.

"I expect that the biggest challenge on our way to full membership of the EU will be the budget, i.e. the financial capacity for implementing the reforms of the society, which we are doing for ourselves," Minister for European Integration Branko Ruzic said on October 30th.

Belgrade has no specific estimate of how much money it will need for all reforms, but it is expected to be in the in billions of euros. The money for reforms will be provided by the Serbian budget, loans from international financial institutions, bilateral agreements and EU pre-accession funds.

Ognjen Miric, deputy director of the government's European Integration Office, told SETimes that harmonisation with European standards in the field of environmental protection by 2020 will cost Serbia about 10 billion euros.

Serbia plans for the Guarantee Fund to gradually replace the current role of the Development Fund (Balkans.com Business News Correspondent, 19 November 2013)

Measures undertaken by the Government of Serbia to stabilize public finances, create the conditions to revive economic activities and attract new investments, should yield results in 2014 already. Therefore, the next year's budget envisages allocations for new mechanisms of incentives, as well as social programs. Thus, most of the amount allocated to the Ministry of Economy is intended for the operation of three funds: the Transition, the Guarantee, and the Investment funds.

A prerequisite for more productive activities is to solve a problem of enterprises in the process of restructuring that are a huge burden on public finances, and a significant one for the functioning of the entire economy . Therefore, the resolution of their status is a priority for the line ministry. The fate of 153 enterprises in the process of restructuring will be settled by mid 2014, by which time it will be known which will go bankrupt and which will be acquired by new owners. In companies that are not privatized, the employees will lose their jobs, but the state is prepared to help. Therefore, the Transition Fund is being established and funded with 20 billion dinars from the state budget. According to Serbia's Minister of Economy Sasa Radulovic, these funds are intended to cover all the claims of the workers of the companies. The state will pay for the back wages and cover the costs of the remaining years of service and severance. The Transition Fund will buy receivables from employees, which will make up for the revenue from privatization when the company is sold.

It is planned for Serbia's Guarantee Fund to gradually replace the current role of the Development Fund, whose actions did not yield good results. The Development Fund will be reformed, because of the loan worth 2 billion euros, which was approved by this institution, about 60% is uncollectible, and payment of another 20% is late. The remaining part of the loan is disbursed in the previous year and is expected to be returned by the due date.

The Investment Fund has access to about 36 million euros, intended for development of small and medium-sized enterprises. However, the state is not prepared to invest directly in companies, but the goal is to encourage the establishment of private funds to finance innovative projects and IT industry. The idea is that the funds from the state budget make up 20 to 40% of the investment, while the rest has to be private capital. It is expected that on this basis the sector could attract investments amounting to some 150 million euros, which will be a strong incentive for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.