LOCAL PRESS

 

Nikolic on EU and Kosovo (RTS)

 

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic noted that he needs to conduct several more big jobs within his mandate, including the United Nations Security Council session on Kosovo, visit to China, Russia, and the United States. “At the post, I encountered a situation, firstly in relations with the provisional institutions in Pristina, that we leave every session of any international institution attended by Kosovo representatives, and that we shoot ourselves in the feet,” said Nikolic. He explained that, at his initiative, it was agreed that institutions are not abandoned any longer, but that it is insisted on representatives of the so-called Kosovo to be represented as a territory under the United Nations administration, as agreed. “Then we raised the talks to the highest level, since, up to that point, everything was resolved on slips. Then I realized that we need to renew all friendships that we had lost, but with a different approach,” said Nikolic. He noted that we didn’t have sufficiently good relations with China, and that Russia wanted to support us, but didn’t know “what we wanted”. He added that the EU is something that Serbia needed. “The EU is one form of organizing that we should, not to say have to, join. We need to agree, talk with the EU, we need to establish whether we are ready for all chapters,” said Nikolic. “Perhaps we are already ready for the most part of the chapters, but we will see what happens with Kosovo and Metohija,” said the President.

Speaking about Kosovo and Metohija, Nikolic recalled that he said even before the EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn that, when it comes to the negotiations with the EU, Serbia will not advance if it doesn’t sign a binding neighboring agreement with Kosovo and Metohija, which he assesses as a sign that Serbia is requested to recognize Kosovo and Metohija. He also pointed to the condition of the common foreign and security policy before sanctions against Russia followed, in which Serbia did not take part. As he put it, many people in Serbia rebutted him, “but this is a stand that we will soon face”. He noted that this hasn’t become an official EU stand, but that the parliaments of many member states have been announcing it. According to Nikolic, the best preparation for this is for Serbia to open and close all chapters.

“Time is doing its job, we are not presently in the best position in relation to Kosovo and Metohija,” he said. He says that, after several years, he was twice at the negotiations in Brussels, and that he realized that the atmosphere is such that the Pristina delegation is under the EU auspices and that it is allowed many things. As he put it, our negotiating team worked well under these conditions.

When it comes to the situation with the train from Belgrade to Kosovska Mitrovica, Nikolic says that he had decided with Vucic to stop the train in Raska, but that the Kosovo special units had already arrived at the administrative crossing where they should not have been according to the agreement. As he says, this is a sign that the Serbs do not have real protection and this should be discussed with KFOR, EULEX and UNMIK, since it is obvious that agreements are not being respected.

Nikolic reminds that the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) is an idea from his platform and that it had easily passed because the Albanians didn’t understand the depth and significance of the ZSO. “My idea is very clear. Things handed over by Serbia to Pristina as a jurisdiction, Pristina should hand over most of this to the ZSO. What Pristina is requesting, should also be requested by the ZSO, which will be formed by the Serbs,” said Nikolic. As he says, the Albanians would like that the ZSO is never formed, but this is a test for the EU – is it capable of implementing what had been agreed.

 

Ivanovic placed under house arrest (RTS)

 

SDP leader Oliver Ivanovic was ordered house arrest, RTS correspondent reports. Ivanovic spent 33 months in prison. Ivanovic’s lawyer Ljubomir Pantovic confirmed for RTS that prison custody was abolished to Ivanovic. Lawyer Nebojsa Vlajic said that the decision will be re-examined after two months expire. A status conference on establishing a date of a new trial will be held at the beginning of March, said Vlajic.

 

Djuric: Serbia requests immediate and complete acquittal of Oliver Ivanovic (RTS/Tanjug)

 

Serbia is requesting the immediate and complete acquittal of Oliver Ivanovic, who is the last political prisoner in Europe, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said. “Ivanovic is a man who is behind bars only because he belongs and leads the Serb people in Kosovo in Metohija, in order to create a fake balance in prosecuting war criminals,” he said.  According to Djuric, Ivanovic was put in prison and separated from his family although he is guilty of nothing, while real war criminals walk freely around Kosovo and Metohija and the world, pretending to be statesmen, representatives of institutions, those who reconcile nations.  “There is no reconciliation with detaining people like Oliver Ivanovic, who gave immeasurable contribution with their entire political performance so relations between Serbs and Albanians would become better,” said Djuric. He says that Ivanovic, instead of being supported and awarded for this by the international community, was arrested, detained precisely by the EULEX court and separated from his family, and then declared a war criminal in a shameful manner. Noting that the state of Serbia had offered guarantees for Ivanovic, Djuric says that they once again haven’t received a response from EULEX, but a letter from the chief of cabinet of the EULEX head, which, he assesses, speaks of a bit frivolous relation of international missions towards legitimate civil authorities throughout our country.

 

Drecun: Evidence against Ivanovic slim, court’s decision reasonable (Tanjug)

 

The Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun has stated that it is high time that Oliver Ivanovic gets out of prison and at least be placed under house arrest, since it is completely clear that evidence against him is so slim that the entire case falls apart. Drecun told Tanjug that Ivanovic should have been acquitted over lack of evidence, but that, considering the behavior of the court and prosecutor in the process, the proceeding against him has become a political process, and he became a political prisoner. Drecun says that Serbia has stood along Ivanovic all this time, offered him full support and has been giving and is giving guarantees for him through his lawyers and in all other ways.

 

Serbian parliamentary Committee adopts report of Office for Kosovo and Metohija (Politika/Danas/FoNet)

 

The Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija adopted yesterday the report on the work of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija for 2016, but members from the opposition objected over the fact that the session was not attended by the Head of the Office Marko Djuric.

The report was submitted by the Deputy Head Dusan Kozarev, who pointed out that the Serbian government managed to strengthen - through the performance of this Office - presence in regions in Kosovo with Serb majority and that the performance was under difficult conditions over Pristina’s attempt to undermine unity of the Serbs. “At the end of last year and at the beginning of this, Prstina’s attempts at destabilizing the political and security situation on the ground have culminated, but a serious escalation has been prevented with a well though-out and responsible reaction of the government and prime minister,” he said. Speaking about the case of Oliver Ivanovic, Kozarev reminded that a staged political process was conducted against him and other Kosovo Serbs, and that the arrests of the Serbs were politically motivated.

According to the MP from the Democratic Party (DS) Gordana Comic, the report of the Office doesn’t note one of the key matters – cooperation of Serb and Albanian criminal structures in Kosovo. When this becomes one of the topics, I will gladly join the criticism of those who are concealing this and earning on this, said Comic, who objected to opposition MPs, where she also belongs, for presenting “literary papers” when they speak about Kosovo and the dialogue with Pristina.

MP from the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) Bozidar Delic advocated setting aside larger funds for Kosovo and Metohija, supported efforts for preserving property in Kosovo and Metohija, but also objected over the fact that neither the Serbian Constitution nor Resolution 1244 were mentioned in the report.

Dveri leader Bosko Obradovic criticized the government policy towards Kosovo and Metohija and Marko Djuric’s absence and called on the government to stop negotiations with Pristina and to return the entire process to the United Nations Security Council.

Member of the Committee Slavisa Ristic, objecting over the fact that Djuric was not present, said that he wished to remind him of the statement given to RTS on 28 December, that if the Pristina authroties do not fulfill their obligation in the creation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) by 15 February, the Serbs would start its formation on their won. Ristic quoted his statement: “I wish to say that the ZSO will be an integral part of Serbia, just as our southern province is an integral part of Serbia,” and then he marked: Unfortunately, this future ZSO, will operate, if at all, according to Kosovo laws. He noted that he thought of asking Djuric whether it was true that birth certificate services in Pristina started working in four northern municipalities and started issuing IDs, passports and driving licenses.

None of the representatives of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija responded to the questions addressed by the MPs.

 

Miscevic: Bad moment in relations with Croatia has no impact (Tanjug)

 

The current bad moment in the relations with Croatia cannot upset Serbia's EU accession process, Serbia's chief EU negotiator Tanja Miscevic said on Tuesday. "Belgrade's position is that we are always ready for cooperation as Croatia is a member state from which we expect great assistance and support," Miscevic told a seminar on media, EU accession talks and IPA funds.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

B&H CoM’s session scheduled for Tuesday postponed due to unfavorable conditions caused by the decision to launch revision of B&H’s genocide lawsuit against Serbia (Hayat)

 

B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) Chairman Denis Zvizdic and his deputies, B&H Minister of Finance and Treasury Vjekoslav Bevanda and B&H Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Mirko Sarovic, postponed the session of B&H CoM that was supposed to take place on Tuesday. They explained that they reached such decision due to unfavorable conditions for work of B&H CoM caused by the decision to launch revision of B&H’s genocide lawsuit against Serbia before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Zvizdic told reporters on Tuesday that B&H CoM will be “a voice of reason” in the current turbulent situation. He added that the work of a number of institutions and implementation of many projects, which are important for all citizens of B&H regardless of where they live in B&H, depend on the work of B&H CoM. “We must tend to relaxation of the situation and calm the existing tensions. ‘Hotheads’ have to cool down since competition in who will say more radical statement will not lead us to solution, which can only be reached through an institutional dialogue, respect for constitution and continuation of legal solutions”, Zvizdic stated. As for the regional cooperation, he said that B&H CoM will certainly continue its cooperation with the Serbian Government. Sarovic said that the decision to postpone the session of B&H CoM has nothing to do with revision of B&H’s lawsuit against Serbia, but with the situation that emerged as a consequence of the decision to launch the revision. Zvizdic stressed that he hopes that Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will convey a similar message after his meeting with B&H Presidency Chairman Mladen Ivanic and Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik in Belgrade on Wednesday, when they are supposed to discuss the decision on launching the revision.

 

Dodik and Ivantsov discuss revision in case B&H vs. Serbia (RTRS)

 

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik met with Russian Ambassador to B&H Petr Ivantsov in Banja Luka on Tuesday afternoon. On this occasion, Dodik and Ivantsov discussed the announced revision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s ruling upon B&H’s lawsuit against Serbia. Following the meeting, RS President Milorad Dodik told RTRS that he informed Ivantsov about “unauthorized action from Bosniak Sarajevo” and Bosniak member of B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic, who announced launching of revision in this case. Dodik stated that “Russia understands” that this revision represents misuse of the joint institutions of B&H and violation of the Constitution of B&H and the Dayton Peace Agreement. He made a remark saying that Izetbegovic’s goal remains the same, which is to bring down the RS. The RS President goes on to say that “Bosniak-Muslim Sarajevo” deliberately deepened the already evident crisis in B&H. According to Dodik, it is high time to protect rights of Serb people and the RS. He confirmed that he will meet with Chairman of B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on Wednesday to discuss the announced revision.

Dodik welcomed Ivanic’s decision to convene an extraordinary session of B&H Presidency for Thursday and assessed that Ivanic made this decision at the right moment. He noted that Izetbegovic has already announced that he will not attend Thursday’s session of the Presidency by which he confirmed “his self-will and disregard for constituent peoples”.

 

Ivanic, Crnadak respectively send letter to ICJ (BN TV)

 

B&H Presidency Chairman Mladen Ivanic sent on Tuesday a letter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) disputing anyone’s right to file motions on behalf of B&H without a decision of B&H institutions. B&H Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Crnadak sent a similar letter to the ICJ as well.

 

HDZ 1990’s Cvitanovic on issue of revision (TV1)

 

The leader of HDZ 1990 Ilija Cvitanovic made a comment regarding the recent political developments in B&H and underlined that the decision to launch revision of B&H’s genocide lawsuit against Serbia before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is not aimed to search for justice but rather to achieve some political goals. He underlined that as a human he cannot oppose those asking for processing of war crimes, adding that he also cannot accept politicization of the revision. Cvitanovic emphasized that the goal of the aforementioned process is “political revitalization of politicians from Sarajevo.” He wondered why this process was launched at the last moment. “Why we all were not informed, half year ago or earlier, about developments related to the revision and about if any new evidence was discovered”, asked Cvitanovic. The leader of HDZ 1990 reminded that some senior officials of the international community (IC) have warned earlier that the request for revision will not be accepted. He added that those who decided to launch the process of the revision, despite the aforementioned warning, have taken responsibility for making the political situation in B&H even more complicated.

 

US Embassy to B&H calls on leaders in B&H to turn to future and work on implementation of reforms (Oslobodjenje)

 

The Office of Public Affairs of the US Embassy in B&H issued a press release on Tuesday related to the announced revision of the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case of B&H’s lawsuit against Serbia for genocide. According to the aforementioned press release, the US has always supported and will continue to support seeking justice for victims of war crimes. In the press release, the US Embassy in B&H called on B&H leaders to turn to the future and work on implementation of reforms necessary for economic and social progress of the country. "Stability in B&H and the region must remain a top priority for all. We urge all parties to engage in constructive dialogue that will contribute to overcoming the current political differences. Respect for the institutions of B&H and the rule of law are essential for ensuring a stable, secure and prosperous future for all citizens of B&H," reads the press release issued by the US Embassy in B&H.

 

EUD calls on politicians in B&H to make sure there is agreement of competent institutions on further steps re case B&H vs. Serbia (N1)

 

The EU Delegation (EUD) to B&H issued statements for N1 on Tuesday with regard to the announced revision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s ruling in the genocide case B&H vs. Serbia. The EUD’s statement reads that the EU is aware of the announced revision and that it is up to every sovereign country to decide on these matters according to internal procedures and the ICJ’s rules and practice. “The EU calls on politicians in B&H to make sure there is agreement of competent B&H institutions on further steps before taking action towards the ICJ”, the EUD underlined.

 

Court in Kumanovo rejects wiretapping charges against Zaev (MIA)

 

The Kumanovo Court decided to reject the charges Viktor Cvetkovski, a former top local official of the SDSM party, filed against party leader Zoran Zaev. Cvetkovski sued Zaev for publicly releasing a recording of his phone conversation about the 2014 elections, saying it was a violation of his privacy and the law banning illegal wiretapping and release of illegally obtained materials. After the verdict, Cvetkovski said that he will push the case further, before the Appeals Court. "I will certainly not stop here. This is a criminal act and it violates basic human rights and liberties. If all domestic venues are exhausted, I will take this before relevant international institutions", said Cvetkovski. The tape that was released is one of hundreds which Zaev made public at press conferences he held in early 2015. It is part of a cache of wiretaps which the party claims proves various types of wrongdoing. Zaev was also charged, alongside former top spy Chief Zoran Verushevski, over the wiretapping itself and using the material for blackmail, but this case was dropped by the Special Prosecutor's Office, under circumstances that are now being investigated by the Council of Public Prosecutors.

 

Brussels will not comment on the platform of Albanian parties (META)

 

The European Commission today refused to comment on the platform of the Albanian parties, but restated that they expect a government to be formed as soon as possible, and that it will have broad political support. “We have said repeatedly, we are not speculating on the composition of the government or the program in Macedonia, but what we are expecting, and this has been the case even since the elections took place is a swift formation of a government that will have broad political support and will commit strongly to EU reforms and the implementation of all parts of the Pržino Agreement and urgent reform priorities. It is very clear position, this is what we expect”, said European Commission spokesperson Maja Kocijancic, responding to a question regarding the European Commission’s position on the platform of the Albanian parties and the “interference of foreign officials in the internal affairs of Macedonia”.

European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, 10 days ago, during his last visit to Skopje, said that Brussels does not interfere in the formation of the government and said that political parties should demonstrate democratic maturity and offer a program that is based on the Przino Agreement and commitment to the European perspective.

 

Zaev meets Ahmeti (META)

 

The leader of SDSM, Zoran Zaev, after a three-hour meeting with DUI leader Ali Ahmeti in Mala Recica, stated that they are close to coming to an agreement because at the meeting they focused on the constitutionality of the solutions. “Negotiations are underway. The intensity is increasing. Certain issues have been cleared up and those issues will be passed on to our working groups, SDSM and DUI. This is being done in order to resolve certain issues in the interest of the Albanian community, but also within the Constitution”, said Zaev and he added that the Constitution will not be changed, even if he does not manage to gather all the signatures he needs to form a government. The president of SDSM said that several days of meetings where discussions were being held about the constitutionality of the proposals for the use of the Albanian language. He said that DUI’s position, which was put forward by statement of party spokesman Bujar Osmani, who said that the issue is whether the proposal by DUI concerning the use of the Albanian language will be accepted or not. Zaev said that there are no changes in terms of Euro-Atlantic integration and the Special Prosecutor’s Office.

DUI’s party leader, Ali Ahmeti, after the meeting with SDSM’s president, Zoran Zaev, announced that they didn’t talk about the signatures for receiving a mandate for a new government. “In Macedonia, the Albanian language is guaranteed by the Constitution. These days we shall summon the presidency in order to make important decisions for the Albanians. At the meeting with SDSM’s leader, Zoran Zaev we didn’t talk about the signatures necessary for forming a new government, but the different stances of DUI and SDSM. Both parties’ experts are expected to find a joint solution. I can say that we don’t have big differences with SDSM regarding the proposal for the use of the Albanian language said Ahmeti after the three-hour meeting with Zaev. When asked, Ahmeti said that he talked with SDSM’s party leader in Macedonian.

 

Poposki: It's difficult to say whether we will go to new elections, or form a government (MIA)

 

In an interview with the Croatian Television, Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Poposki said that it is difficult to say at this point whether Macedonia will go to another round of early elections, or some kind of government would be formed. Poposki said that past experience has shown that it is best to have a government with a clear political mandate to make decisions. His VMRO-DPMNE party supports holding new elections, against other proposals such as forming a broad coalition.

 

No negotiations, elections only with a caretaker government (ADN)

 

No signs for negotiations. The leader of the opposition, Lulzim Basha made clear on Tuesday that the parliamentary elections will be developed only with a caretaker government. They will not accept to discuss this condition. Speaking inside the tent pitched in front of the Prime Ministry, Basha underlined that what started on February 18 will end if Government resigns. "Albania is not safe anymore. The country is falling into the abysses of crime and drugs. Zero negotiations: caretaker government or there will be no elections at all," said Basha.

The leader of Democratic Party (DP) underlined that the opposition’s protest ending will be defined by fulfillment of their requests. In a speech on Tuesday addressed to the protesters inside the tent pitched in front of Premier’s office he emphasized the opposition’s requests, Prime Minister, Edi Rama resignation, a caretaker government, free and fair elections.

“This cause belongs to the country’s present and future. We will stay here until the fulfillment of our conditions for caretaker government, free and fair elections and PM Rama’s dismissal. The left wing government has already fallen, thus should leave without further delays. The executive’s fall is related to the economy’s fall. While the government brought down every institution we should bring down this government. Our protest will escalate all around Albania. Nothing will be the same as before until citizens voice for free elections is heard and their willingness is respected,” said Basha, adding that PM Rama handed over the state’s richness keys to the oligarchs.

 

Rama accuses DP for helping criminals and blocking vetting (ADN)

 

Prime Minister Edi Rama accused the opposition on Tuesday for blocking the implementation of the Judicial Reform and so the cleaning process from the corrupted judges and prosecutors. Speaking during an event for the promotion of the women in the police, Rama said that Vetting law must be implemented. "Hundreds of crimes are repeated from criminals arrested by police and released by corrupted judges. That's why we need Vetting! This is the only way to relieve people and police from these killers that are protected from the Parliament boycott," declared Rama.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

All aboard reckless bandwagon blaming Russian subversion (RT, by Finian Cunningham, February 2017)

 

Russia is being blamed for interfering in elections across the globe, from the US, Britain, Germany to Estonia and others. Now the tiny Balkan state of Montenegro has jumped on the bandwagon, with an even more reckless version of the 'Russia-did-it' trope.

This week Montenegro’s state prosecutor concluded Russian state agents were not only trying to subvert elections, but the alleged plot also involved the attempted assassination of the former prime minister, to prevent it becoming a member of NATO.

With suspiciously good timing, the far-fetched story was given dubious credibility by Britain’s Telegraph newspaper. The day before the Montenegrin prosecutor made the announcement, the Telegraph published an article in which anonymous “Whitehall sources” issued the same claims of a Russian-sponsored coup attempt in Montenegro during the country’s parliamentary elections last October. The fact the Telegraph is a well-worn conduit for British military intelligence disinformation is relevant. Moscow lambasted the accusations as “absurd.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the claims were “irresponsible,” having been leveled without any supporting evidence. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted the Montenegro scenario of alleged Russian interference “is just another one in a series of groundless assertions blaming our country for carrying out cyberattacks against the entire West, interfering in election campaigns in the bulk of Western countries, as well as allegations pointing to the Trump administration’s ties with Russian secret services, among other things". "Not one iota of evidence has been brought forward about these groundless accusations,” added Lavrov. The Montenegrin authorities are indeed just the latest to finger Russia as a convenient scapegoat to distract from what appears to be their own internal political problems.

The canard was perhaps given away when Montenegro’s Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic commented this week: “In today’s world, such interference is not specific only for Montenegro.” The minister is clearly trying to wrap Montenegro up in the same cloth of victimhood claimed by others who are impugning Russian malfeasance. More plausibly, the real story here is Montenegro’s controversial plans to join the US-led NATO military alliance. NATO’s civilian chief Jens Stoltenberg formally invited the country to become the 29th member of the Alliance last May. However, that move which has been pushed by former premier Milo Djukanovic and his ruling party is widely opposed among Montenegro’s population of 620,000, with polls showing public opinion edging against membership. This public opposition partly stems from the recent history of NATO bombing former Yugoslavia and the subsequent break-up of the state which led to Montenegro’s independence in 2006.

To be sure, Russia is staunchly against Montenegro joining NATO, viewing it as another provocative eastward expansion of the military pact toward its borders. Moscow is supportive of Montenegrin political parties opposed to NATO membership but denies any underhand interference in the country’s internal affairs. The supposed plot by Moscow to overthrow the Montenegrin government in last year’s parliamentary elections to scuttle plans to join NATO is much more likely to be a ruse by the authorities to drum up anti-Russian public sentiment – with the aim of promoting its pro-NATO cause. What Russia is accused of hatching in Montenegro – an armed takeover of parliament and trying to assassinate the premier – is so outlandish it can hardly be taken seriously. But the far-fetched allegations are being swept along in the slipstream of a much bigger propaganda drive in the West to blame Russia for everything.

German news outlet Deutsche Welle published an article last week with the headline: “Is Moscow meddling in everything?” It goes on to ask with insinuating tone: “Does Putin decide who wins elections in the West? Many believe that he cost Clinton the US presidency; now Macron is next France, and then Merkel will be in the line of fire.”

In the US, the Senate Intelligence Committee is stepping up its probe into allegations Russian cyber hackers helped Donald Trump win the presidential election on November 8. No evidence has ever been provided by US intelligence agencies to support these claims. But the allegations have taken on a life of their own, becoming coined as “fact” in the media and among Republican and Democratic politicians alike.

In Britain, parliamentarians have retrospectively cited the unproven Russian “influence campaign” for Trump to claim that Russian interference was a factor in why Britons voted unexpectedly in the referendum last June to leave the European Union.

According to American intelligence claims reported last month, Russia has interfered in the electoral process of several other European countries, including Austria, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Estonia, and Poland, as well as Ukraine. This is in spite of the findings by German intelligence which concluded that there was no evidence that Russia hackers had targeted the country. In the torrid climate of fake news and “fact-free” narratives, arguably the most egregious exemplar of this are the repeated claims of Russian interference in other nations’ elections. Western news media and governments have abdicated any modicum of responsible conduct to push this inflammatory narrative.

In recent days, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault issued a warning to Russia after he accused Moscow of interfering in the country’s forthcoming presidential elections. France’s top diplomat apparently based his condemnation against Russia on partisan claims made by presidential contender Emmanuel Macron that his campaign was being targeted by Russia. Macron claims his team’s computers were being attacked by hackers. Again, no evidence was provided. He also pointed to an unfavorable article in Russian news outlet Sputnik as grounds for claiming the Kremlin was out to spoil his campaign. As in the heyday of the Cold War, and its countless Red Scare stories to keep Western populations cowering in fear, Russia has again emerged as the ultimate scapegoat.

Western states are wobbling from a lack of authority perceived by the public in governing institutions. Decades of economic and social inequality and overseas illegal wars have eroded the legitimacy of established political parties and mechanisms of governance. Western countries are groaning from discontent toward elitist, effete rulers.

The rise of populist figures, including Donald Trump in the US and anti-EU, anti-NATO parties in Europe, is symptomatic of this historical movement of mass protest.

Rather than the establishment parties and institutions, including the mainstream media, accepting that there is a popular revolt underway against a corrupt system, the convenient “explanation” is to blame the decline on Russia. The old Western order is falling apart it seems, from its own internal decay and misrule. But unable to face the truth, the ruling parties and system are desperately looking for a culprit. Russia and its alleged fiendish designs to destroy the Western order is the convenient scapegoat. The propaganda delirium of blaming Russia for everything has become so fevered that even Montenegro’s ruling clique is emboldened to come up with the preposterous claim that Moscow is trying to assassinate its leaders.

This bandwagon of blaming Russia is prone to its wheels coming off – so ridiculous is it. But there’s also a danger that the anti-Russia vehicle pushed too far could explode into a full-scale war between NATO powers and Russia.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

 

Albania in Berlin Process: From Berlin to Trieste (European Western Balkans, 21 February 2017)

 

The Berlin Process Series is an initiative started by Cooperation and Development Institute (CDI), in November 2015, in Tirana, and supported by Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Hanns Seidel Foundation. Their latest publication named Monitoring the Berlin Process: From Berlin to Trieste is available on-line and you can find and read it here. EWB presents summary of the publication.

An intergovernmental cooperation initiative between countries of the Western Balkans and selected member states of the European Union, known as the Berlin process was established in 2014 to enhance integration dialogue among Balkan countries and to further develop their mutual economic, political and security interests. Their latest study “Monitoring the Berlin Process: From Paris to Trieste”, the 6th research contribution and one of the components of the Berlin Process Series, is consisted of a research on the Berlin process and its priority areas, as well as of monitoring reports on the advancement of Albania in Berlin process agenda and annual conference “Albania in the Berlin process”. Concerning the methodology, the given study made use of the wide-ranging amount of official declarations, joint statements, speeches and press releases, assessment reports of independent institutions, along with research papers, policy briefs and opinions from think tanks and academia.

The study starts with an analysis of the Berlin process, various levels of cooperation platforms, their impact, and contribution to the European path of the Western Balkans. Historical background of each Western Balkans Summit with key information about each summit priorities is provided in next section, up to the last summit in Paris 2016.

The following section focuses on the multi-faceted connectivity of the Berlin process, along with the achievements reached in the political sector, economy, infrastructure and youth cooperation.

The next section focuses on Albania’s progress in the implementation of its commitments taken in Vienna while reflecting upon the objectives settled by the Berlin agenda and tackling the issues of its available capacities, mechanisms, financial instruments and political situation. Additionally, it gives an insight in the to-do list of Albanian government for implementing reform measures in the energy and transport sector.

The fifth section presents essential regional cooperation initiatives with the purpose of ensuring higher coherence of the Western Balkan countries, synchronising the respective agendas, and maintaining the established dynamics in selected sectors all while keeping up with the established dynamics of each initiative. Since CDI has identified 71 regional cooperation platforms and initiatives currently existing in the Western Balkan countries, it further raises a concern – while all of them contribute in cultivating good regional cooperation, their non-coordination increases the risk of confusion, loss of information, overlapping and may induce those multilateral arrangements to lower efficiency.

The focus of the subsequent section is based on regional cooperation on a civil society level. It provides a clear observation on the role of an active civil society, which through the series of forums contribute to a constructive support in the further enhancement of the democracy in Western Balkans.

Given the Italy’s agenda for the Trieste Summit, the final section analyses existing macro-regions initiatives to make available a comprehensive set of ideas, tools, and policy instruments that can enrich the array of possibilities that the Berlin process stakeholders have at their disposal while preparing for the Summit.

The annual summit of the Western Balkans, provided in Italy as part of the Berlin process, will be held in Trieste on July 12.