LOCAL PRESS

 

No concrete progress in Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (Tanjug)

This week’s round of the technical dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina ended in Brussels Thursday without concrete progress. Addressed over two days of discussions were implementation of agreements on vehicle registration plates and university degrees and other topics that are part of the dialogue, the Belgrade delegation said. It said the Serbian side had initiated, and insisted on, a discussion on the issues of property and forming the Community of Serb Municipalities. The delegation said it had presented to EU officials all argumentation regarding usurpations of property, and the fact that Serb support for continuing the dialogue would drastically decline without implementation of agreements that were in the interest of the Serb community. Belgrade’s negotiating team welcomed the continuation of the dialogue despite a lack of concrete progress.

 

Agreement on stickers (Politika)

The Belgrade and Pristina delegations agreed the technical details of the implementation of the agreement on usage of Kosovo license plates. This agreement should enter into force on 15 November and it implies covering status parts on license plates of both sides with stickers. This regime should replace the regime of so-called test license plates. Both sides agreed that citizens will not pay for stickers and that the Kosovo and Serbian institutions should cover the printing costs.

 

Vucic: Serbia on EU path (Tanjug)

“Serbia is on its European path; this is Serbia's strategic objective and mission. Serbia will not impose sanctions against Russia. Period,” Vucic told Tanjug which states „that Brussels declared on the same day that Serbia has to adjust its politicy towards Moscow with that of the European Union, and that Moscow stated that Serbia will lose economic privileges in its relations with Russia”. Vucic commented Russia's stance with the following words: „All right, Serbs, we hear that you are on the path to Europe, but consider what we can offer you and consider some negative aspects of that path. (...) Quite simply, in Moscow, they count on the great popularity that Russia and Russians enjoy in Serbia and I understand this as a political move, but at the present time, this does not change and cannot change and will not change Serbia's politics”.

Vucic said he believes the country will never have to face the choice of whether to introduce sanctions against Russia or become a formal member of the EU. „Around 85 percent of our trade goes to the EU and the region. People should know that. But Russians are also very important to us and any underestimation or lack of understanding for that fact would not bring any good for our country,” he said.

 

Davenport: EU continuing to play its role in dialogue (Tanjug)

The Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is continuing and the EU is continuing to play its role in it, the Head of the EU Delegation to Belgrade Michael Davenport said. The delegations of Belgrade and Pristina have been in Brussels to discuss concrete implementation of several aspects of the Brussels agreement and other agreements in the dialogue, he told reporters. Speaking about Serbia’s EU accession talks, Davenport said the European Commission had made its recommendations on opening new chapters in the talks, in particular, Chapter 5 on public procurements. The European Commission has made its recommendation, now it is up to the member states to make a decision, Davenport said.

 

Nikolic: Sanctions have no effect (Beta/Tanjug)

Introduction of sanctions to friendly countries would not have any effect, but it would only make the position of the most endangered levels of society worse, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said on Thursday. “Our intention to become a full member of EU is sincere, but we are continuously presented with conditions for this wish. If we would introduce sanctions to our sincere friends, this would not make us any new friends, but we would also lose great support in international relations, aside of friendship,” Nikolic said, according to the announcement from the President’s cabinet, during his meeting with the deputy Prime Minister of Namibia and Foreign Minister Netumbo Nandi Ndaitwah. Serbia was “an example of implementation of double standards in international relations and we are facing conditions that are not valid for the others. If five EU countries have no consequences for not recognizing Kosovo, why would Serbia suffer consequences because it cannot recognize the independence,” Nikolic asked.

Nikolic also thanked Namibia’s leaders for non-recognition of Kosovo and the support in UNESCO for preserving the Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo.

 

Dacic: Serbia has nothing to do with developments in Montenegro (RTV)

Serbia has nothing to do with the case of arrests of its citizens, including former Gendarmerie commander Bratislav Dikic, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic declared on Thursday.

“We will protect the interests of our citizens abroad. Serbia has nothing to do with all that and it is in our interest to resolve this,” Dacic told Radio and Television of Vojvodina (RTV). He said that Serbia, in accordance with diplomatic practice, addressed the institutions in Montenegro, but he did not know the current status of Dikic on Thursday and whether his movement is monitored.

“The last information I had was that he was seriously ill,” said Dacic.

 

Vucic congratulates Plenkovic on appointment as Croatian Prime Minister (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic congratulated Andrej Plenkovic on the appointment on the duty of Croatian Prime Minister. “I sincerely congratulate your appointment on the duty of Croatian Prime Minister. I hope that you and Croatian government would contribute to good-neighbor relations, well-being and prosperous future of our two countries with your work,” the congratulation stated. “You will have a sincere partner for achieving such goal in Serbian government and me personally, since our cooperation is a significant basis for peace and stability in the region, as well as promotion of common European values,” Vucic stated.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Djukanovic: We will do everything to bring the case of terrorist attempt to an end (CDM)

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said that everything in accordance with statutory powers would be done to bring the case involving 20 Serbian nationals suspected of terrorism to an end. “Discussing the operation of identifying and prosecuting persons who are reasonably suspected to have committed criminal offenses of creating criminal organization and terrorist attempt at the 175th cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, the Government of Montenegro adopted conclusion calling on the competent state bodies to bring the case to an end in a professional manner as soon as possible and thereby ensure the protection of Montenegro and its national interests. The PM pointed out that he would do everything in accordance with statutory powers to bring this case to an end”, it was stated after the cabinet meeting. It was also said that the report on the government’s work program implementation for the third quarter of 2016. On that occasion, it was said that 80.9% of the plan had been implemented in the first three quarters, which was a great result, particularly bearing in mind that the result was achieved in the circumstances of the parliamentary elections. In the context of the European agenda, the government adopted the third quarterly report on the implementation of obligations under the 2016-2018 Program of Montenegro’s Accession to the European Union, as well as the information on the final measures for closing negotiations in Chapter 30 - External Relations, with the Action Plan for the remaining preparations in terms of adjusting legislation and international agreements with the acquis and improving the administrative and control capacity to ensure full implementation and enforcement of the acquis in this chapter after the accession.

 

Markovic: We expect swift government formation because we have a stable majority (CDM)

Parliamentary elections in Montenegro were fair, free and democratic. Therefore we expect swift government formation, since there is a stable majority for it, said Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister for political system, internal and foreign policy Dusko Markovic at a meeting with the director for Western Europe, the West Balkans and Turkey at European External Action Service (EEAS) Angelina Eichhorst, the government stated. Markovic pointed out that the arrest of 20 Serbian nationals suspected of terrorism was done in accordance with the law. Markovic said that the conditions for holding fair and free elections were provided through the work of the government electoral trust, despite the strong political and economic pressure from abroad. Commenting on the arrest of 20 Serbian nationals suspected of creating a criminal organization and attempting a terrorist act, and on temporarily shutting down Viber and Whats Up applications, he said that “everything was done in accordance with professional and regulatory rules and standards”. Markovic pointed out that there were no legal or political grounds for non-recognition of the election results. The officials agreed that it was necessary to quickly and efficiently provide an institutional response to the objections to the electoral process on election day. Markovic emphasized that the pro-Western forces, which had won the most of votes, were ready for dialogue with the opposition and that government’s door was open to all who share the vision of a stable, European and Euro-Atlantic Montenegro.

 

Stojanovic remains the head of Police Directorate, the government did not accept Danilovic’s proposal (CDM)

The government did not accept Montenegrin Interior Minister Goran Danilovic’s proposal to dismiss the head of Police Directorate Slavko Stojanovic, the government’s public relations department stated. The government approved the conclusion of the Human Resources and Administration Commission, according to which “the proposal does not contain any of the statutory grounds for dismissal”.  Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister Milorad Vujovic and Ministers Goran Danilovic, Budimir Mugosa and Boris Maric voted against the adoption of this conclusion, whereas Minister Rasko Konjevic abstained from voting. Danilovic had earlier required the dismissal of part of the Police Directorate managing officials including Stojanovic, due to the murder of convict Dalibor Djuric.

 

Covic: Neither authorities at B&H level nor authorities at FB&H level are functioning (TV1)

Croat member of the Presidency of B&H and leader of HDZ B&H Dragan Covic stated in Mostar on Thursday that Wednesday’s session of the House of Representatives (HoR) of B&H showed that the coalition at the state level is not functioning “Yesterday's (Wednesday's) example best shows that we cannot improvise when it comes to serious issues. We cannot allow for the public to see in practice that authorities are not functioning. Yesterday (Wednesday), everyone could see that in practice,” Covic underlined. Asked whether there will be a reshuffle of authorities at the level of B&H and the FB&H, Covic said that as far as HDZ B&H is concerned, there will be no changes. “I will meet with Dodik in Banja Luka on Friday. We will also meet with representatives of all parties who are part of the authorities at the B&H level, after Izetbegovic returns from Iran,” Covic announced.

 

Dodik: SNSD will not join state authorities (Vecernji List)

RS President Milorad Dodik was asked to comment, among other issues, whether SNSD will join the state level authorities. Dodik replied it will not, arguing that SDA and the Alliance for Changes (SzP) must bear responsibility for their bad policies. “(…) This is the collapse of the international project called Alliance for Changes led by SDS. The people said they do not want them”, said Dodik. Asked to comment on recent statement of US Ambassador to B&H Maureen Cormack that she will met him (Dodik) in case he respects B&H, Dodik said ‘we’ have no reason to be against the biggest global power, arguing “this is about issues that regard dignity”. Dodik went on to say that everything can be solved if issues in B&H are to be resolved by the three sides, without outside interferences, adding that the foreigners destroyed the political potential of the Croats. The RS President further said he gets phone calls from Sarajevo all the time, even from most influential embassies, “who do not hide that the main problem is Bosniak-Serb relations, and that the Croats are a solved problem”. In this context Dodik went on to say that the Croat issue has not been resolved, especially in terms of positioning of the Croats in the FB&H. “I did not change my position even when they offered me to have dialogue with Bosniak representatives at the expense of Croats (…)”, added Dodik.

 

B&H CEC rejects 25 requests for recount of ballots (RTRS/Dnevni avaz)

B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) held a session in Sarajevo on Thursday. On this occasion, CEC rejected 25 requests for recount of ballots at certain polling stations with the explanation that the requests are incomplete or filed by unauthorized persons. However, CEC announced that they will consider the claims from those requests and, in case there is basis for recount, recount will be ordered upon official duty. CEC rejected as unfounded the four complaints of Movement ‘Successful Srpska’, one of which will be forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H and which refers to the election process in the area of Bijeljina.

B&H CEC positively responded to the request by the Coalition ‘Together for Srebrenica’ and SNSD regarding the delivery of election material from five polling stations in Srebrenica Municipality. This decision also positively responded to the request for the CEC’s explanation why the ballots from those five polling stations were recounted.

 

SDA, Durakovic file complaints with B&H CEC demanding recount of ballots in Srebrenica (N1)

Independent candidate for Head of Srebrenica Municipality Camil Durakovic, supported by pro-Bosnian political bloc, addressed a press conference in Sarajevo on Thursday. Namely, on the last day of the deadline for submission of complaints on the election process, Durakovic and his legal team submitted a complaint against the election process in Srebrenica and requested recount of votes for Srebrenica, while B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) also received complaints by the parties that supported Durakovic’s candidacy. According to Durakovic, CEC is the main culprit for “electoral engineering” in Srebrenica due to – as he assessed – ignoring irregularities in the election process. Durakovic presented a series of accusations directed against CEC and noted there has been violation of the Election Law of B&H for which he decided to appeal to the Appellate Division of the Court of B&H. Durakovic claims there was electoral engineering in Srebrenica and that many people in Srebrenica voted without having adequate documents, which were supposed to be issued in B&H. Durakovic added that the number of those people is around 700, or perhaps it even exceeds that number. Durakovic considers that CEC’s rules of procedure are not in line with the Election Law of B&H, referring to the issue of CEC’s decision not to count the disputable 2,000 votes that came from abroad. Durakovic stressed that there was election theft with regard to B&H Diaspora in that case and said that Diaspora were deprived of their democratic right to vote. Durakovic also singled out numerous examples for which he claims to be incidents, which includes the claim that RS special police units temporarily controlled the election materials from Srebrenica. Commenting on the work of CEC, Durakovic stated: “We could have noticed that part of CEC really does not work objectively but rather on political basis. We know that members coming from rank of Serb and Croat people literally outvoted members from Bosniak people and others on the matter of counting the arrived mail – valid mail. Unfortunately, I am afraid that decisions as they adopted them are not objective.”

 

Niksic and Radoncic file appeals related to elections in Srebrenica (TV1)

Leader of SDP B&H Nermin Niksic said on Thursday that SDP B&H submitted an appeal related to the elections in Srebrenica to the Central Election Commission (CEC) of B&H. “We gave our word that we will provide all legal assistance both to Camil Durakovic and people from Srebrenica who are trying to prove certain irregularities that occurred during the election process in Srebrenica,” Niksic underlined. SBB B&H leader Fahrudin Radoncic, together with leaders of SDA and SB&H Bakir Izetbegovic and Amer Jerlagic respectively, also submitted appeals to the B&H CEC. “I signed two documents today (Thursday). In one document, SBB BiH is complaining about the election theft in Srebrenica, while the second document is a special appeal by Mr. Izetbegovic, Mr. Jerlagic and me in an attempt to prevent the election theft in Srebrenica,” Radoncic stressed.

 

RS Assembly adopts Information on coordination system in European integration process in B&H (RTRS)

The RS Assembly completed the 14th regular session in Banja Luka on Thursday by adopting three strategic documents on development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), public roads and transport, and consolidated report on execution of the RS’ budget in the first six months of 2016. The RS Assembly adopted the Information on the situation in the field of pension and disability insurance and a conclusion that obliges the RS government to seek a possibility for an extraordinary increase of pensions, as of 1 January. The RS Assembly also adopted the Information on harmonized coordination system in the process of European integration in B&H, which was presented to MPs by RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic on Wednesday night. Cvijanovic underscored that the coordination mechanism is not a technical issue, as some want to present it, but rather a constitutional, legal and political issue that is directly connected with position, preservation and application of competences of RS institutions. Cvijanovic informed MPs about key stances from the harmonized coordination mechanism and numerous differences between this document and the document that was initially adopted by B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) – as RTRS reported – without the RS government’s consent. Cvijanovic noted that the process of harmonization was carried out through several stages and that representatives of the EU Delegation to B&H participated in the final stage. Speaking about the initial, disputable decision on the coordination mechanism, adopted by the CoM in January, Cvijanovic noted that such document included catastrophic solutions for the position of the RS. Cvijanovic added that this decision was corrected in August and the RS has thereby become an essential factor in decision-making. “Presence and stance of the RS Government can no longer be substituted by someone, who performs the function of Chair of Deputy Chair in the CoM coming from the territory of the RS. Exclusively the RS Government can perform its role via Prime Minister represented in this body,” Cvijanovic explained.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Paradox of Western Support for Montenegro’s ‘Godfather’ (BIRN, by Florian Bieber, 21 October 2016)

By continuing to bet on Milo Djukanović, the West and the EU risk falling into the ‘stability-versus-democracy’ trap - and discrediting the values they say they wish to uphold.

Graz

Last Sunday, Milo Djukanović won his ninth parliamentary elections and consolidated his reputation as the ultimate survivor not just of Balkan but of European politics. Only kings and queens and Central Asian despots can compare with his longevity. He came to power in the dying days of Socialist Yugoslavia and has ruled formally or informally ever since, surviving 11 prime ministers and 4 presidents in neighbouring Serbia, not to mention ruling Montenegro through four different countries, first in Socialist Yugoslavia, then in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, followed by the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro and lastly as independent Montenegro. There is an odd paradox about his and his party’s success. His latest [relative] victory was met with congratulations and messages of support by advocates of NATO integration, while agency reports and newspaper headlines proclaimed a victory for a “pro-Western” candidate. At the same time, there were serious shortcomings in the electoral process. The interim Interior Minister, hailing from the opposition and from civil society, refused to sign off the electoral roll; NGOs said the list contained many dead voters, allowing for easy manipulation. Furthermore, the politicization of the public administration means that civil servants are “encouraged” to vote for the ruling party, a widespread phenomenon in the region, stacking the election results in favour of the government. Yet, Djukanović understood better and earlier than any other political leader in the region that to gain and attain power in the Balkans, you also need recognition by the “West”. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić has taken the same path, albeit a decade later. In multiple elections, Djukanović has been able to cast himself as the “lesser evil”, supporting pro-Western policies that also helped him to consolidate power at home. Thus, he broke with Slobodan Milošević in 1997, when he believed that the Serbian autocrat was finished. He turned out right, even if he was a bit premature. Then, he bet on independence after 2000, at first not with Western support, but by 2005 independence had become acceptable. By following Western policies, such as recognizing Kosovo in 2008, and imposing sanctions on Russia more recently, his government has repeatedly found itself not just on the “right” side, but also helped to fend off opposition. For example, the current elections were fought also over NATO, which invited Montenegro to join earlier this year. With parts of the opposition rejecting membership and others demanding a referendum that might fail, the “safe” bet for NATO membership was Djukanović. By presenting himself as the “West’s” best friends, the opposition has found it hard to pursue a reformist, pro-Western line. Instead, it has been divided ever since it emerged in the 1990s, split between a conservative, Serb-nationalist stream that supports closer ties with Russia, rejects NATO and EU membership, and a reformist wing that wants to democratize the country. They have been uneasy partners at best and squabbling at worst. It is no surprise, therefore, that after decades in opposition and with such different orientations, the opposition is now distributed into over a dozen parties, arguably creating the highest per-capita rate of parliamentary parties anywhere in the region. The strange inversion, of pro-Western autocrat versus pro-Russian opposition, was visible during anti-government protests last year in September and October. The trigger for the demonstrations by parts of the opposition was a lockdown of parliament to opposition MPs in September 2016, triggered by controversy over Montenegro’s NATO membership, which parts of the opposition rejected. The protests were met with police violence in October 2015, yet, in a role reversal, Russian and pro-Russian media described the protests as a revolt against a hated dictator while some Western media warned of Russian infiltration and its rising influence in Montenegro. Similarly, on election day, when the Montenegrin police arrested 20 Serbian “terrorists”, accusing them of plotting with unnamed opposition politicians to take power by force, the government and its media portrayed it as part of a Serb-Russian threat to the regime, just as the Macedonian government evoked the threat of Albanian terrorists in Kumanovo in 2015 as protests against the government there took off. While Russia is doubtlessly glad to obstruct Montenegro’s NATO accession and has found willing allies among parts of the opposition, a West continuing to bet on Djukanović would be falling into the stability-versus-democracy trap. Much of the country’s reforms are superficial and are easily bypassed by informal mechanisms of power in a system controlled by Djukanović - who an article in the Swiss Neue Zürcher Zeitung aptly called the “Godfather of Podgorica”. While Montenegro has formally progressed towards EU accession, this has been more the result of a confluence of circumstances than of genuine commitment to reform: the European Commission saw in Montenegro a vehicle to keep the accession process going after Croatia joined the EU in 2013, and the Montenegrin government has been skillful in fulfilling the formal criteria. Yet, Montenegro is just the frontrunner among several countries that have been faking reform for years, and rewarding this policy runs the risk not just of keeping autocratic rulers in power but of alienating those who see the EU as a tool to promote substantive reform, as we argue in our latest BiEPAG policy brief.

If support for governments in the Western Balkans is based on the stability they provide and on their “pro-Western” policies, irrespective of their domestic rule, the ideas of EU enlargement and shared values are dead - and the countries of the Balkans are just pawns in a larger game that is unlikely to benefit the citizens of those countries.

Florian Bieber is professor of Southeast European History and Politics and Director for the Centre of Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz. He is also Coordinator of the Balkans in Europe Policy Adivsory Group, BiEPAG. He tweets at @fbieber and blogs at florianbieber.org.

The opinions expressed in the comments section are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIRN