LOCAL PRESS

 

"Serbia's EU road will not be blocked" (Beta/Večernje Novosti, 15.08.2014)

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić is convinced that "no one has the intention or desire to stop Serbia on its European path."

According to him, introduction of "Schengen visas for Serbian citizens" is not realistic.

"We respect Europe, we want to be part of it, but we ask that Serbia's voice is respected and to preserve our national identity and integrity," Vučić said in an interview with Večernje Novosti, when asked "if Brussels will terminate Serbia's European integration unless it turned its back on Moscow."
Vučić reiterated that Serbia will not change its position towards Russia and believes this will not endanger "the European road."
"We will always respect the views of others. But people elected us to implement a policy of Serbian interests and not interests of foreign countries. This is our answer today and will be tomorrow," he added.
Vučić said that Germany "never asked Serbia not to interfere with the presence of Kosovo in the UN" and called claims to the contrary "speculation."
"I believe in the word of Angela Merkel and I am confident that Serbia will open chapters 32 and 35 even during this year," Vučić said, adding that "it was not true that entry of Serbs to the Kosovo parliament represented indirect recognition of the so-called state of Kosovo."

 

Vucic: No threats are made against Serbia (Tanjug, 15.08.2014)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that no threats are made against Serbia, stressing that, in his opinion, the statement by Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Chepurin that the country would suffer enormous damage if it were to impose sanctions against Russia is not to be seen as a threat either.
"No one is threatening Serbia. We are a small country, but we value our integrity and identity very much, and I am sure that Mr. Chepurin did not have any such intention," Vucic said Thursday at the Serbian government, replying to a reporter's question if the ambassador's statement can be regarded as a threat.
Vucic said that he believes that the Serbian government and he personally enjoy the respect of Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Chepurin said in an interview for the Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti that if Serbia were to introduce sanctions against Russia, it would be like shooting itself in the leg.
He underscored that such a decision could be adopted only by a suicide politician because Serbia would derive no benefits from such a move, only enormous damage.
Out of 193 UN members, only around 30 countries introduced such measures against Russia, and none of them are BRIC members, Chepurin recalled and added that a majority of countries in Serbia's neighborhood did not introduce such measures either, while those that did realized what they have done only after they saw Russia's counter-sanctions.

 

Džudžević became Džudžo (Večernje Novosti, 14.08.2014)
I tend to point out the historical fact that injustice was done to many Bosniak families, without their knowledge and consent - said the president of the Bosniak National Council (BNC), Esad Džudžević on changing his surname to Džudžo.
NOVI PAZAR - The President of the Bosniak National Council (BNC) with a technical mandate Esad Džudžević will use surname Džudžo in the future. Department of General Administration in Tutin accepted his request to change the surname and issued a decision on the change "from Džudžević to Džudžo."
"I, as current president of the established BNC, have the need to point out the historical fact, which we have realized by researching archival documents, that injustice was done to many Bosniak families, without their knowledge and consent," the BNV President with a technical mandate said.
He explained that this was done in 1912, "when Sandzak joined Serbia and Montenegro."
"Whoever has the feeling that injustice has been done to him, can correct that fact, in accordance with free will and the law " Džudžo emphasized.
Removal of the "ic" and "vic" from Bosniak surnames is a long-term project of great importance for BNC within its technical mandate. This was said by the president of BNC at the final of celebration of May 11 - the Day of the Bosniak national flag.
Restoring "of the original surnames to Bosniaks" is one of the five points with which this convocation of the BNC will go to the election campaign for election of the new session of the National Council of Bosniaks.

 

"Hungarian neo-Nazi will not perform" (Beta, 15.08.2014)

NOVI BEČEJ -- Head of the "Araca 95" association from Novi Bečej Ferenc Erdman has denied that a leader of a Hungarian neo-fascist movement would perform at a local festival.

"We certainly will not allow it, and secondly, it is not a public concert or a public gathering, it is intended only for the members of the association," he told the Beta news agency.

Erdman said he "did not know who placed the information about the performance of the neo-Nazi band from Hungary," but noted that such announcements were also present in previous years before the festival.
"I am familiar with this band, they on several occasions played in this area, but we, and I personally, do not have any contact with them. And in previous years there were similar announcement, but we did not invite them and will not let them, or anyone similar perform, " Erdman was quoted as saying.
President of the Municipality of Novi Bečej Saša Šućurović said on Thursday that the town has always been a multi-ethnic community that respected the rights of all ethnic groups and that it was "truly incredible that there are attempts to hold such events in the community."
"We checked with the Ministry of Interior and that gathering has not been reported to them , and therefore we do not know whether it will be held. We, as a local government did not participate in it and received no official announcements, and we hope that such a gathering will not take place," he told Beta.
All this comes after several parties and the Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) from Novi Sad warned that Hungarian neo-Nazi Balazs Sziva would perform at a music festival in Novi Bečej, and that this was expected in a camp organized by people close to the Hungarian ultra nationalist party Jobbik and other movements of the Hungarian fascist right.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Milorad Dodik confident of a victory (Večernje Novosti, 15.08.2014)
President of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, said he was confident of victory of SNSD in the upcoming October elections in BiH
BANJA LUKA - The President of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats Milorad Dodik said he was confident of victory of SNSD in the upcoming October elections in BiH, as all surveys and indicators from the field are showing.
On Thursday, after a meeting of SNSD with all the party candidates for the upcoming election, Dodik said the party has serious people on the lists.
- I am confident in the victory of Zeljka Cvijanovic for member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, since Mladen Ivanic's candidacy is not a party candidacy, but a completely dubious story and a forceful imposition, which entitles us to think that Ivanic is the Bosniak candidate for membership of the BiH Presidency from Republika Srpska - Dodik said.
He stressed that the Serb vote at the Presidency can only be Cvijanovic, who is supported by coalition partners of SNSD and many civic associations.
And when it comes to the post of President of Republika Srpska, Dodik said he is confident of a victory.

 

The safety of the electoral process not compromised (Srna, 14.08.2014)
SARAJEVO - The Central Election Commission (CEC) has solved the problem of security of the electoral process, from transportation of voting materials to the storage facilities, at meetings with representatives of the police and security institutions, President of the Commission Stjepan Mikic announced today.
He recalled that, in order to secure the implementation of the election, as well as on the eve of the general elections scheduled for the 12th of October, safety committees, composed of representatives of the ministries of security, internal affairs and police agencies were formed.
"And now, the Board convened and drew conclusions, but they have not been realized, so yesterday we had a meeting with agency representatives in Sarajevo, and earlier at the RS Ministry of Interior, and the situation is now under control," Mikic informed other members of the CEC, emphasizing that the problems are resolved and now both transport and locations are secured.
Mikic said that the headquarters of the CEC was supposed to be under constant police surveillance since May, when general elections were called, but it will get permanent security only from the beginning of next week.
"This is a lesson to us that in the future we should do this part of the job ourselves," Mikic said at the meeting of the CEC.
He announced that the Central Election Commission will make a decision on certification of candidate lists for compensatory mandates and decision on the Central Voters Register for voters, who want to vote outside BiH in the general election, on Monday.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Serbia To Jail Fighters in Foreign Wars (BIRN, By Marija Ristic, 14 Aug 2014)

After a number of Serbs were reported to be fighting alongside the pro-Russian side in Ukraine, the government said it would pass legislation outlawing fighting in other countries.

Serbia plans to penalise locals who go off to fighting in foreign conflicts, jailing those who organise volunteers by up to 12 years, while the fighters themselves could get from one to five years.

Rasim Ljajic, the trade minister, whose political Social Democratic Party seeks the change, said he expected the ruling Serbian Progressive Party to back the call, and expects a vote in the parliament in autumn.

“Our first initiative was to remove citizenship from these 'dogs of war', but this is not in line with our constitution. Therefore, treating fighting in foreign wars as a criminal act seems like the right way,” Ljajic told the daily newspaper Danas on Thursday.

The Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported this week that Serbian volunteers are joining pro-Russian separatists in their fight against government troops in eastern Ukraine.

The agency reported that Igor Strelkov, who leads the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic defence forces, knew some of the Serbian fighters back when they all fought in the war in Bosnia.

Reacting to reports that Serbs were fighting on the pro-Russian side in the Ukrainian conflict, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic commented that “dozens of Serbs can be seen fighting for both sides.

“Any involvement of Serbian citizens in the Ukrainian crisis is detrimental to Serbia," Vucic added. 
The Prime Minister also urged all of them to return to their own country "and think of their homes and families instead of fighting for a few thousand dollars.
"Serbia has no part in that conflict. Serbia has a responsible policy. We are not able to take legal action, but we pay more and more attention to the people returning from Syria and Iraq and to those involved in the conflict in Ukraine. We monitor their activities in the country," he said on Tuesday.

Serbia has taken a neutral stance towards the crisis in Ukraine amid opposing pressures from both Russia and the EU.

The country aims to join the EU by 2020 and has made EU integration a priority, but Vucic does not wish to sour traditional warm ties to Russia, either.

“We support the territorial integrity of every member state of United Nations, and of Ukraine of course, but for many reasons... Serbia maintains its different stance compared to other [European] countries and will not impose sanctions on Russia,” Vucic said in May.

Both the EU and the US have targeted Russia with sanctions, accusing Vladimir Putin's government in Moscow of illegally annexing Crimea from Ukraine and of stoking a separatist insurgency in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.

 

Agreements with UAE in Serbia’s interest: PM (Xinhua, 15 Aug 2014)

BELGRADE, -- Agreements revealed on Thursday by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic show that the Etihad Airways invested 100 million U.S. dollars in the privatization of the state owned airline JAT Airways, while the Serbian government obliged to allocate 42 million.

Disclosing the agreements made with companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), namely Etihad Airways and Al Rawafed to the public, Vucic assured them on a press conference on Thursday that the both deals are in favor of the domestic side.

Etihad engaged in 2013 in the privatization of the JAT airways, while Al Rawafed and the Serbian government formed joint company in the field of agriculture. Both contracts were however until now held as a business secret.

“All this was made for the benefit of Serbia. Air Serbia is advancing into a leader and it can become the region’s most successful company by 2018,” he said, adding that the Air Serbia will have a positive balance for the first time in years and that the partnership with Etihad will renew the fleet of aircraft and expand the offer of destinations.

Vucic said that the cooperation with Al Rawafed in the field of agriculture is also favorable to Serbia as the country holds 20 percent ownership, while the whole investment in the joint company worth 140 million euros (about 187.6 million dollars) is provided by the partner from the UAE.

According to the contract joint company will cultivate some 10,000 hectares of arable land in Serbia, previously in possession of four bankrupt state companies.

With the consent of the companies from the UAE, agreements that Serbia signed with Etihad and Al Rawafed are now available to the public at the website of Serbia’s government.

Vucic said that on Thursday a sum of 1 billion dollars from the UAE was received by Serbia.

The loan to be paid off at low interest for the next 10 years will according to Vucic “solve the country’s problems with liquidity until March next year”.

 

Serbia says hopes to change terms of oil firm sale (Reuters, 14 Aug 2014) 

BELGRADE - Serbia said on Thursday it hoped to change the terms of a 2008 contract selling a majority stake in oil monopoly NIS to Russia's Gazprom Neft , after Serbia's interior ministry announced an investigation into the deal.

Stressing he would not allow the issue to effect relations with Russia, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said he was unhappy with the share of NIS profits that go to Serbia.

"Our intention will be to try and change that, parts of the contract, but if they (Russia) don't accept that, there's nothing we can do," Vucic told a news conference.

Gazprom Neft, which bought a 51 percent stake in NIS for 400 million euros, said this week it was surprised by the Serbian probe, announced on Monday. The 2008 deal was brokered under a government led at the time by the Democratic Party, which is now in opposition.

The Russian company has since increased its share in NIS to 56.15 percent. Almost 30 percent is owned by the Serbian government.

NIS runs two refineries in Serbia and produces oil and gas totalling 1.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent a year, operating fields in Serbia, Angola and Bosnia.

 

Serbia seeks buyers for hundreds of loss-making state firms (Reuters, 15 Aug 2014 )

BELGRADE - Serbia's privatisation agency put hundreds of loss-making state-owned firms, including one of Europe's biggest copper mines, up for sale on Friday as part of government efforts to rein in borrowing.

Under pressure to avert a national debt crisis, the government of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic is trying to curb a deficit seen reaching 8.3 percent of national output and cap a public debt level forecast to reach 73 percent.

The privatisation agency set a Sept. 14 deadline for potential investors to submit letters of interest for 502 firms, including drugmaker Galenika, fertiliser maker HIP Azotara, the Bor copper mine, one of Europe's largest, as well as the furniture maker Simpo.

The agency said it will propose a model of privatisation for each company attracting interest within 45 days and pass it to the Economy Ministry for a final decision.

"In a month we'll have a better idea what we can do with these companies," a spokesman for the agency told Reuters.

"For some companies, we will find strategic partners, some companies will go bankrupt, and some will have only their property sold," he said, adding that tenders for specific companies would be issued later in the year.

Lawmakers in early August approved new legislation on privatisation, clearing a path to the asset sale of state-owned companies that for years have been a huge drain on public coffers. The law sets a deadline of Dec. 31, 2015 to complete the privatisation process.

To speed up the procedure, the legislation introduced debt write-offs for state-owned entities and enables the conversion of debt to equity. The law was a pre-condition for the release of a $250 million budget support loan from the World Bank.

Subsidies to state-owned companies, which employ some 90,000 people, and a lack of tax revenues from loss-making firms cost the country 1 billion euros ($1.34 billion) a year, according to estimates from the government's top advisory body, the Fiscal Council. This equates to nearly 3 percent of national output.

Last month, the council warned that any further financing of loss-making companies would "bring Serbia's finances to collapse".

Successive governments since the fall of strongman Slobodan Milosevic 14 years ago have ducked cutting subsidies to loss-making companies, fearing the political fallout from job losses.

Serbia's economy is forecast to contract by 0.5 percent this year, hindered by devastating floods in May, and unemployment in the second quarter stood at 20 percent.

The government is expected to present a detailed plan for fiscal consolidation next month when parliament votes on a revised 2014 budget.

To reassure investors, the European Union candidate country is looking to seal a three-year standby loan arrangement with the International Monetary Fund, with talks expected to begin after the budget revision.

 

Novi Sad Café Draws Putin Fans in Serbia (BIRN, By Mitra Nazar, 14 Aug 2014)

The boss of the café named after the Russian President Vladimir Putin says the furor over its name has brought in customers – and is furthering his goal of Serbian-Russian friendship.
Curious passersby pause in front of the Café Putin in Novi Sad, intrigued by the large picture in the window of the Russian President, with a Serbian and a Russian flag painted above his face. A sign reads “welcome” in both Serbian and Russian.

The photograph outside is small compared to the life-sized portrait of the Russian President inside, covering the entire width of the café.
Another wall is covered by a large panoramic photograph of Moscow’s Red Square, while the back wall has a picture of the iconic St Basil’s cathedral.
The waitress offers coffee, beer and “kvas”, a popular Russian beverage made of wheat. A couple of rouble banknotes decorate the wall behind the bar, left as a tip by a group of Russian tourists who popped in.
Days before Café Putin opened its doors, it caught the attention of the local and foreign media. With war raging in eastern Ukraine and the West imposing sanctions on Russia for its perceived role in the crisis there, the decision to open a café bearing the name “Putin” could be seen as controversial.
But the owner, Radivoje Miljanic says he doesn’t mind, as it has brought him more customers than he expected. There’s nothing controversial about the café or its name, he says. “There is no problem, most people in Novi Sad and Serbia love Mr Putin,” he notes.
Miljanic is also president of the local Novi Sad branch of the Ruska Stranka - the “Russian Party” -, a small new party that opposes Serbia’s EU and NATO accession and champions closer economic and military ties with Russia.
“Serbs and Russians are brothers,” he states, lighting up a cigarette. “Throughout its history, Russia has always helped Serbia,” he adds.
“Putin is a great leader, the only leader who stood up against America, Europe and Nato,” he continues, warming to the theme. “With this café I want to show my love and support for Putin, Russia and the Russian people.”

Not all Serbs are fans of the Russian President, however. The name of the café has drawn divided reactions on the internet. Some praise it, but others find it distasteful. Some joke that a café named “Obama” should open next door, just to show how divided Serbian society is when it comes to relations with Russia and the West.
A survey conducted last year by the independent think-tank, the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, BCSP, suggests that Serbs are in two minds about ties whether the belongs with Russia or the European Union.
Forty per cent said they believed Russia was the main guarantor of regional stability. However, a third of that same group also said they support joining the EU, as this would contribute to curbing corruption and reduce the threat of organised crime.
“The citizens of Serbia are divided between loyalties to the EU and to Russia,” BCSP researcher Katarina Djokic explains. “Which is not surprising, since the political elites have for years suggested the very same things in their foreign policy agendas.”
Serbia’s officially seeks to join European Union, but without damaging its close ties to Russia. The recent worsening of relations between Russia, the US and the European Union, has created a dilemma for Serbian government.  
If it were up to Miljanic, Serbia would never join European Union. Russian Party pamphlets reading “Serbia turns towards the East’ are scattered throughout the café.  
On a Saturday afternoon there are only a few customers in Café Putin. A young Russian, Mihailo Moshnogorsky, sits at the bar. It is his new hangout. Originally from Moscow, he is studying law at the University of Novi Sad. Looking up to the life-sized portrait of his President above his head, he looks pleased. “Putin is a big leader of a big country, so he deserves a big portrait,” he says.
A week after opening his café, Miljanic couldn’t be more satisfied. “Everyone is positive. I have had locals, youngsters and Russian tourists all coming in,” he says. “They all like Putin very much.
“I’ve read the negative comments on the internet. Some people don’t accept the name. But that is a small group. I know Serbs will always love Russia.”

 

Serbian Economy to Shrink This Year on Floods, Stagnate in 2015 (Bloomberg, By Gordana Filipovic - Aug 13, 2014)

Serbia’s economy will shrink this year for the third time since 2009 after record floods in May hurt its agriculture and power generation.

A government plan to narrow the budget gap to qualify for an International Monetary Fund loan will further hinder economic growth, the central bank in Belgrade said in a report today. The economy will contract 0.5 percent in 2014 and stagnate in 2015 to reflect wage and pension cuts, and the sale and closing of hundreds of unprofitable companies that currently drain around $1 billion a year from the budget.

“The inability to restore damaged industrial capacities after the floods is one of the reasons for a downward revision of the GDP growth forecast for this year and next,” Branko Hinic, the chief economist at the Narodna Banka Srbije, told reporters today. Another reason is a “necessity to implement a stronger than initially expected fiscal consolidation.”

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic pledged to narrow the budget gap over three years by a total of 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion) equivalent to almost 5 percent of economic output. Measures for a leaner deficit will be crucial for Serbia to convince the IMF to discuss a new loan program, which the central bank said will boost confidence in the four-month-old government.

Inflation, Rates

Serbia’s third recession in five years will be accompanied by weaker inflationary pressures, Hinic said. Inflation, which has stayed below the lower end of the central bank’s target of 4 percent, plus or minus 1.5 percentage points, will approach the target in the last quarter if the government raises electricity prices by 15 percent in the final three months of 2014.

Further monetary easing will depend on the depth of austerity measures and the geo-political risks, Hinic said. The National Bank of Serbia kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 8.5 percent for the second-straight month in August, after cutting it by a cumulative 1 percentage point in May and June.

The central bank has so far stopped short of measures aimed at reducing the level of non-performing loans, which expanded 0.8 percentage points in the second quarter this year to 23 percent of total lending, as credit activity rose 2.4 percent for the first time after contracting for the previous six consecutive quarters.

Serbia’s current-account gap will narrow to 5.9 percent of GDP this year, down from a revised 6.5 percent in 2013, helped by strong exports of cars and crude oil products, the central bank said. The two main foreign investors in Serbia are Fiat SpA (F) and Gazprom Neft OAO. (GAZ)

Serbia is also pinning growth on foreign-direct investments, which totaled 700 million euros in the first seven months of the year, compared with the 1.2 billion euros planned for the year.

 

HDZ says the party to establish ministry for Croats living outside Croatia (Dalje.com, 14 Aug 2014)

A senior official of the opposition Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, Milan Kovac, has said during a visit to southern Bosnia and Herzegovina that once it comes to power in Croatia, his party will establish a ministry for Croats living outside Croatia.

Speaking at a special session of the Siroki Brijeg Municipal Council on Wednesday, Kovac said that there would soon be a major turnaround in Croatia's official policy towards the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"I assure you that the policy towards the Croat people in Bosnia and Herzegovina will soon change," Kovac said, adding that once Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic was elected Croatia's President and HDZ leader Tomislav Karamarko Prime Minister, a ministry would be established to care for "the equality of the Croat people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and for ensuring fundamental human rights (for the Croat communities) in Serbia and Montenegro."