LOCAL PRESS

 

Vucic: We will have to prepare action plan for refugees (Tanjug)

The adoption of the law in Hungary to introduce sanctions for everyone who crosses the country's border constitutes an additional problem for Serbia as it will have to draw up its own action plan, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said in Kanjiza, northern Serbia. After visiting the center for migrant accommodation, Vucic replied to the questions of reporters in Subotica and said that he conferred with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban concerning the continuation of the two countries' cooperation and their good relations, as well as the problems they are facing and the wall Hungary put up on the border with Serbia. He said that the Hungarian prime minister informed him that their law to sanction refugees entering the country’s territory would enter into force on September 15. This constitutes another problem for us and now we have to prepare our action plan, the Serbian prime minister said and once more underscored that he believes the problem of migrants is a European problem which calls for a comprehensive European solution.

 

China doesn’t want Pristina in UNESCO (Novosti)

According to Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, with whom Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic met yesterday, Belgrade can count on Beijing’s vote against Pristina’s admission to UNESCO. This political support is very significant, having in mind that the Chinese representative is presiding over the 37^th General Conference of this organization, where they will be deciding on Kosovo’s request. President Nikolic pointed out Serbia’s commitment to EU integration, stressing that we are completely ready for full-fledged EU membership. “However, if recognition of Kosovo and Metohija appears as a condition on this path, it will be an insurmountable obstacle. We are also faced with attempts of the Pristina administration to declare the Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo as their own. If Pristina becomes an UNESCO member, the Serbian cultural heritage will be completely destroyed.” Keqiang responded that Beijing understands Serbia’s efforts to preserve its territory, people and cultural heritage.

 

Three points of persuasion (Politika, op-ed by Slobodan Samardzic, former minister for Kosovo-Metohija)

The Union of Serb Municipalities received only what derives from the Kosovo Constitution based on Ahtisaari’s plan

Official reactions on the occasion of the signing of the agreement on the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) – one of the four agreements recently reached – are directed at three points of persuasion: firstly, a ZSO, as the foundation of the life of Serbs in Kosovo, has been created; secondly, the ZSO has significant features of an autonomy; and thirdly, the ZSO has strong institutional links with Serbia. We will show that none of these points has basis in the agreement and that, precisely because of this, the tactic has been chosen of persuading the domestic public into fiction that have three mentioned features.

Before that, we need to note: this agreement has derived from the so-called First Brussels agreement (19 April 2013), whose first points are devoted precisely to the ZSO. Points 2 and 4 are of special importance here. They state that guarantees for the ZSO had been given in the valid laws and Constitution (Kosovo, understandably), and that its jurisdictions are contained in “full supervision” in the spheres of economic development, education, health care, urban and rural planning. It was clear to everyone that the Serb-majority municipalities were handed over to the so-called independent Kosovo, which was confirmed by all latter events, ending with the last four agreements. The entire activity of the Serbian authorities after accepting the first agreement was to get from such defined ZSO at least some bearable legal framework for the life of Serbs in an independent Kosovo and to present this as a status neutral matter.

Now, when we also received a special agreement on the ZSO, we can once again say that there is nothing of that in what officials, at the helm with the Prime Minister, are trying to persuade the domestic public. Let us start from the beginning.

Firstly, the agreement itself should be accepted by the Kosovo government with a decree, which falls under the review of the Constitutional Court (point 2). Further steps of establishing the ZSO imply the adoption of its statute, whose draft will be submitted by the management team (I suppose of the ZSO, because this is not specified) to the “high level dialogue” within four months. This opens up the possibility of vetting the draft by the Kosovo Ministry for Local Self-Administration. Then consent of the “high level dialogue” will be required, and finally, a definitive vetting of the Constitutional Court (point 21). Only when all these steps are made, one may say that the ZSO has been established and that it can act. Having in mind the stand of the Albanian authorities, the opposition and public opinion on this enterprise, we can assume what obstacles will be placed in all phases of this complicated procedure. It is a clear conclusion that there was no place for triumphalism of the Serbian government officials. Simply, the ZSO was not established last week in Brussels, and when will it be, we do not know.

Secondly, nothing in the text of the agreement refers to any kind of autonomy that is being, allegedly, created with this document. Its second part (goals and not competencies) lists the affairs of the ZSO and the manner of their performance. In order to assess the feature of competencies disposed by some public authority unit (central, regional or local) it is not only important to know its affairs, but also the manner in which it performs them. The ZSO, as the first agreement notes and the agreement on the ZSO repeats, has “full supervision” over affairs of economic development, education, health care, urban and rural planning (point 4, under b, c, d, and e). This means that the ZSO will not pass laws in these spheres – this will be done by the Kosovo Assembly, it will neither pass decrees for implementing these laws – this will be done by the Kosovo government, but it will monitor how these laws and bylaws are implemented in Serb-majority municipalities. The ZSO will not only not have legal jurisdiction, that was requested by the Serbian President in his famous platform and that was accepted by the Serbian parliament in its even more famous resolution (January 2013), but it will not even have executive jurisdiction, which is an unrealized goal of our negotiating team. What the ZSO “received” here only derives from the Kosovo Constitution based on once discarded Ahtisaari’s plan.

Thirdly, the agreement doesn’t envisage any institutional link between Serbia and the ZSO. The first agreement doesn’t mention either Serbia or Resolution 1244. (So much for the “tough battle” that was conducted in Brussels at the time). The agreement on the ZSO mentions Serbia only in the part “Budget and support”, at the very end of a long list of sources of financing of the ZSO after domestic and foreign associations and organizations (point 17 from a to d). Not one letter specifies in what way Serbia will assist the ZSO, but it is quite clear that this will be based on the laws of Kosovo, just as everything had been agreed on the occasion of the first Brussels agreement. An almost euphoric success on the strong link between Serbia and the ZSO will turn into a type of link that is practiced with all Serb minorities in neighboring states.

No one should doubt that Serbian officials knew all this when they were signing the first Brussels agreement. Otherwise, they would not have accepted the document that establishes everything under the explicit condition of compliance with the Constitution and laws of Kosovo. The dispute that is being conducted at the technical and political negotiations is essentially absurd. Serbia is working very hard for the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija to receive what the Constitution and laws of Kosovo guarantee them, while the Albanians are avoiding this by violating their constitutional and legal obligations. Serbia here has certain, though not complete, support of the EU. Official Serbia wants to give up Kosovo and Metohija, but the Albanians are not allowing this with their irrational stand that the Serbs have nothing to do here. It turns out that in this tragicomic absurdity the Europeans are having the greatest torment. Their main problem is how to persuade the Albanians to obey their law, which is also the result of force and violence. Now Serbia should help Europe again.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Novalic: Government of FB&H is not in a crisis (klix.ba)

The FB&H Prime Minister Fadil Novalic said yesterday that there is no crisis in the FB&H government, because it has all technical conditions for an intensive work which it is conducting, but that there is a crisis of the parliamentary majority in the FB&H. He added that coalition partners are working on that issue. Novalic announced the re-balance of the entity budget in the next 15 days, primarily because of the approval of 20 million BAM for a stimulus of the first employment until the New Year. He explained that those 20 million will be ensured through certain savings. He confirmed that there is a “shortfall“ of 200 million BAM in the entity budget because, the funds from the International Monetary  Fund were not withdrawn, and they were planned by the budget frame. He emphasized that incomes from collected taxes are a bit more favorable, which is relaxing the situation, but, as he emphasized, they are negotiating about finding a necessary funds.

 

Cvijanovic: Agenda aligned with economic policy (Srna)

The main guidelines of the Reform Agenda have been aligned with the Economic Policy and the Republika Srpska (RS) government has already initiated the reforms that aim to boost the economy, says the RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic. She stressed the importance of harmonizing certain solutions with the government of the Federation of B&H (FB&H) so as to establish greater efficiency in key areas. During a meeting with Joyce Anelay, the British Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and Minister of State at the Foreign Office, and Edward Ferguson, the British Ambassador to B&H, Cvijanovic underlined her absolute commitment to the continuation of the European integration process. The RS Prime Minister said that in order for B&H to be successful in the integration process, the establishment of an efficient coordination mechanism is vital, fully respecting the constitutional competences of all government levels, the PM media office said in a press release. The meeting that was also attended by the FB&H Prime Minister Fadil Novalic addressed overall reform processes that entity governments are implementing in accordance with their competences.  The collocutors said they were pleased about the entry into force of the Stabilization and Association Agreement and the recent adoption of the Reform Agenda for B&H 2015-2018, which paves the way for B&H’s quicker movement on the EU path. The RS and FB&H prime ministers informed Ms. Anelay of the plans for the Reform Agenda implementation and other economic and political topics. Ms. Anelay said it was encouraging to see the two PMs’ constructive engagement on implementing reforms and solving outstanding differences and issues. “We would like to see such approach in the quick implementation of the agreed reform agenda because there is no time to waste. The Reform Agenda is a set of demanding reforms that are necessary for the stabilization of the B&H economy, creation of new opportunities and B&H’s progress on its path to EU membership. We expect to see all sides working on the implementation of the agreed, necessary socio-economic reforms,” Baroness Anelay said.

 

U.S. supports reform processes in B&H (Oslobodjenje)

Denis Zvizdic, Chair of the Council of Ministers, welcomed Hoyt Yee, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, and Ambassador Maureen Cormack, the Council of Ministers said in a statement. Chairman Zvizdic informed his guests of the current economic and political situation in B&H, saying that the goals of the Council of Ministers are economic development, the rule of law, and stability for B&H. At the meeting he stressed the importance of the European and NATO path, emphasizing that a reform agenda that was a condition for a stable and functional country and very important for B&H on the path to the EU was adopted. Secretary Yee praised the visible progress achieved by the Council of Ministers in a very short period of time. He said that the U.S. supports reform processes in B&H and stressed that the chance that the EU has offered B&H to activate the Stabilization and Association Agreement should be used. He also greeted the intensive cooperation with countries of the region and welcomed the adoption of the reform agenda and labor law in the Federation, stressing that this will enable a strengthening of the economy, a more dynamic labor market, and open an approach to new grants and credit. Chairman Zvizdic said that activation of the Membership Action Plan for NATO is one of the key priorities, because it means internal and external stability for B&H, which is an important precondition for the arrival of foreign investors, the statement reads.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Association of Kosovar Serbs is a necessary compromise in Kosovo (Turkish Weekly Journal, by Elton Tota, 3 September 2015)

For 16 years in a row, Kosovo couldn’t manage to integrate the north of the country

I would be more eager to talk and write about other topics that concern our country, but this is what we have on the table. Patriots and traitors are discerned by good decisions and bad decisions. For 16 years in a row, Kosovo couldn’t manage to integrate the north of the country. Independence was proclaimed based on the borders that Kosovo had in 1974, but its sovereignty could not be exerted in the northern part of Iber river. There are four communes there, Northern Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zubin Potok and Zvecan. Everything used to occur in these communes, but nothing was based on the laws of the Republic of Kosovo. While we had declared independence throughout the entire territory of the country, Serb communes had set up barricades. They continued to have their civil protection, the guards on the bridge and Serb police that patrolled the streets. There was only one segment of cooperation, that of fuel contraband and other goods between Serb and Albanian traffickers and this situation used to be convenient for them. It’s even convenient for them today, because there were many who got rich through these dirty businesses. In other words, we could not manage to integrate them in the institutional, political and economic life of the country. We managed to integrate the northern part and the Serbs of Kosovo through dialogue. Through dialogue, we managed to put Kosovo’s customs officials in the northern custom points, in order for Kosovo police to act throughout the territory, to dismantle Civil Protection, in order for Kosovo to have its own telephone country code, to have its own energy borders and also to have the Association as a form of organization for Serb communes, where they are offered the possibility to solve many of their problems, but in the framework of the Constitution and laws of Kosovo. We would all agree that it would be better without an Association. All communes of Kosovo would act in a single association, without dividing them into Serb communes and Albanian communes. At the end of the day, some Serb communes have functioned as part of the existing communes of Kosovo, without any problem, but they were not communes in the north. We must also admit that during these years, we have not managed to integrate our country. Thus, instead of spreading fear and panic from this association, let us treat it as a way of integrating minorities, especially the Serb minority, as a form of making our multi ethnic country work, as a form of a European democracy and as an opportunity of communication and trust. What’s important is for us to communicate together and come to terms with the fact that this country belongs to all of those who live here and no ethnic group decides the rights of the other groups. We are a democratic country”.

 

Serbia, China both make great sacrifices in World Anti-Fascist War: president (Xinhua, 3 September 2015)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said Tuesday that both China and Serbia were both victims of the World War II (WWII) and made tremendous sacrifices in the fight against fascism.

The Serbian leader came to China for the commemorative activities and military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and said he is confident that China's V-Day parade will be a success. "I could see on TV how China prepares for the commemoration ... I'm also very pleased that one unit of the Serbian guard will also participate in the parade," he said ahead of the Sept. 3 parade. The president said he was very happy to be with the Chinese to mark the events and the very part that he wants to see in Thursday's parade is the Chinese soldiers.

He said that he would like to see "how well-trained the soldiers will be and what formation they will walk." The Serbian leader also praised China's contribution in promoting the peaceful development in the international community, adding that China now plays an important role on the global stage and its rise benefits the whole world. He also said history should not be getting in the way for cooperation between countries and Japan and Germany should participate in China's commemorating activities for the 70th anniversary of the victory of WWII. "Everyone cooperates nowadays, China, Serbia, Germany. What ended 70 years ago should be no obstacle to today's cooperation," he told Xinhua. In addition, the Serbian president said he is very pleased about the bilateral relations. Though separated by thousands of miles, but the friendship between the two peoples are profound. The Serbian leader welcomed Chinese investment in his country, saying Serbia has a customs-free market, skilled workforce, among others. "I would like the Chinese investors to build factories and thereby make permanent link with Serbia. I think this is the best form of cooperation," he said. Currently, thanks to the "Belt and Road" initiative put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping, China-Serbia relations have come to a new high, said Nikolic. "The idea about the new Silk Road has resulted in the agreement concerning the Belgrade-Budapest railroad. President Xi and I had additional conversations about this project and how Serbia could participate in the investment this time," he said. Serbian side is preparing for the leaders' meeting of China and Central and Eastern European countries which is expected to take place in China later this year, Nikolic said, noting that prime minister Alexsandar Vucic will lead a delegation for the meeting. In the end, the Serbian president expressed his gratitude for China's help during his country's flood in 2014.

 

Bosnia Entity PMs Pledge to Unite on Reforms (BIRN, by Srecko Latal, 3 September 2015)

The premiers of Bosnia's normally quarreling entities have met to coordinate reforms amidst a deepening political and economic crisis

In an unusual sign of cooperation, the Prime Minister of Bosnia's Federation entity, Fadil Novalic, and his counterpart in Republika Srpska, Zeljka Cvijanovic, met to pledge to work together on reforms aimed at speeding up Bosnia's EU accession. The two premiers held a joint meeting with Joyce Anelay, Britain's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, in Banja Luka on Wednesday. “We want to harmonize regulations as far as possible, or at least bring them closer in cases where the harmonization is impossible due to the different constitutional structures and competences,” a statement quoted Cvijanovic as saying said. "This is a new page in the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina and we have to dedicate ourselves to the harmonization of the regulations and endorsement of capital growth through investments,” the same statement cited Novalic as saying. The two leaders told the media that the meeting discussed Bosnia's new coordinating mechanism for EU projects, which has been blocked for years by political strife, as well as other details of the country's reform agenda. The two premiers also pledged to work jointly on the preparation of new financial arrangements with the IMF and the World Bank, which have been blocked since last year due to the logjam on other reforms. On Wednesday, the two premiers also chaired a session of shareholders' assembly of the state power transmission company, Transco, which is co-owned by both entities, and agreed on the distribution of company's 1.4 million euro profits from 2014. Experts attribute the sudden warming in relations between the two entity governments to awareness of the worsening economic and social situation across Bosnia and a potential liquidity crisis caused by blocked funding from the IMF, the EU and the World Bank. Both premiers on Tuesday denied that their entities were in crisis but admitted they had problems with growing budget deficits. Because of this, both entity budgets will now be rebalanced - in the Federation in the next few weeks and in Republika Srpska later this year. Despite the apparently improving relations with the Federation, the Republika Srpska government is set to go ahead with organizing a controversial referendum in October on the authority of the state judiciary and the Office of the High Representative, OHR. At the same time, the ruling coalition in the Federation has effectively collapsed. Repeated attempts by the main parties to obtain support from smaller parties in the Federation parliament failed earlier this week. "The Premier lives outside reality: the parliamentary majority has collapsed yet Novalic claims the Federation government is not in crisis," the Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz opined on Thursday.