LOCAL PRESS

 

Dacic to Plenkovic: We are not the same; we didn’t side with Hitler (N1/B92/Beta/Tanjug)

 

Croatian PM Andrej Plenkovic and Serbian FM Ivica Dacic have engaged in a war of words, arguing over what makes Croatia and Serbia not the same. Plenkovic was the first too make his statement - commenting on an earlier interview given by Dacic, when he said that if Croatia wanted a diplomatic war, it would have it. The head of Croatia's government then said it was "not good to use the word war in any way" and that this was "the kind of rhetoric that should not be used." "Look at my government's rhetoric - since the elections," Plenkovic continued. "When have we used relations with Serbia as some kind of argument in internal political bickering? I don't think anyone can recall that." He then stressed that "nobody from Croatia made statements like (Serbian Defense Minister Aleksanadar) Vulin." It was Croatia's decision to declare Vulin a persona non grata on April 20 that triggered the latest crisis in relations between the two countries - and prompted Serbia to adopt "reciprocal measures." Apparently referring to a reported incident caused in the Serbian parliament by the leader of the opposition SRS party, Plenkovic also said that "nobody from the (Croatian) Assembly has desecrated the Serbian flag," and added that this was "not possible, either." "The version of us being the same does not stand. We are not the same in this story, we were not the same in the 90s, and we won't be in the future," he said, and added that Croatia has made all its moves "clearly." Plenkovic also said that he and the Croatian president have not yet discussed "reciprocal measures toward Serbia" - after Serbia announced its reciprocal measures, declaring Croatian Minister of Defense and Deputy PM Damir Krsticevic unwelcome in this country.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic reacted to this quickly on Tuesday, to say that what Croatia is doing is "pure stupidity." "We're not the same, because we think what Croatia is doing is pure stupidity, and that it's better to be engaged in developing our relations than in conducting a diplomatic war. Plenkovic knows it too, but he thinks this is scoring him political points. And that's sad," Dacic told N1. He specified that he had referred to "a diplomatic war." "It's true we're not the same, because we did not side with Hitler, we did not carry out Holocaust against Jews and Serbs, we did not force Croats to wear markings the way Serbs and Jews (in Croatia) had to during the Second World War - the Jews yellow, and the Serbs blue," the Serbian minister, who is visiting India, said on Tuesday. In addition, Dacic said that Serbia and Croatia are not the same because "Serbia is punishing crimes instead of denying them."

 

Ivanovic murder: Is Pristina hiding something or someone? (RTV/Beta)

 

Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic says no Serb members of the Kosovo Security Forces have been detained in central Serbia. Instead, they have only been interviewed, he told RTV, Beta agency is reporting on Tuesday. "None of them have been arrested, there have been interviews with these people in order to determine certain information. When we estimate that some people can endanger the security of Serbia, we then talk to them," Stefanovic said, not wanting to disclose any details of those interviews. Asked how far the investigation into the murder of Oliver Ivanovic had come, the minister accused Pristina authorities of failing to submit basic things for a police investigation, but also announced new talks on the operational level between representatives of Serbian and Kosovo police. "We checked what is up to us and we learned certain things. We are ready to share information but we expect Pristina to give us camera footage, check base stations. If they do not, they they're either hiding something, or someone is involved in that murder that they don't want to be known,"Stefanovic said. He said that the Serbian Ministry of the Interior is ready to arrest anyone, regardless of whether it is a Serb, Albanian, or a foreigner, if there is information that they participated in Ivanovic's murder. "We do not want to speculate in whose interest it was to kill Ivanovic. It is in our interest to find the killers, those who organized them and gave the order. As for Pristina's insinuations that Serbs from Kosovska Mitrovica are perpetrators and organizers, the question arises why Haradinaj repeatedly met with them after that murder. How can you insinuate that someone is a killer and then you meet him, that means you know he is not a killer or you're help him to conceal," the Minister said. Stefanovic also repeated that if Kosovo PM Ramush Haradinaj becomes available to the Serbian police he will be arrested, on charges of war crimes.

 

SPC: Church, faithful gravely concerned over Kosovo and Metohija (RTS/Tanjug)

 

The Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has taken note of the grave concern of its clergy, monks and the faithful over increasingly frequent official and unofficial statements about the final status of Kosovo and Metohija. “The Assembly shares their concern over frequent statements coming from powerful Western countries that are openly speaking about independence of Kosovo and Metohija, as well as over different speculations about a potential division of Serbia’s southern province,” the Assembly said in a statement on Monday after the first day of its regular May meeting at the Patriarchate of Pec. This is especially contributed to by various forms of pressures from the Kosovo institutions, disrespect o laws and elementary human rights, as well as more frequent usurpation of church and private property, reads the statement. “Having all this in mind, the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the SPC will thoroughly deal with this topic at this year’s session, and after it ends, it will issue an official statement,” the Raska-Prizren Bishop Teodosije said in a written statement sent to the media. Bishop Teodosije notes that the Holy Assembly, chaired by Patriarch Irinej, had issued the statement after talks with the competent bishop, clergy, monks and the faithful in Pec, Prizren and Velika Hoca.

 

Basescu: Germany pressuring Romania to recognize Kosovo (Tanjug)

 

Bucharest is under pressure from Germany to recognize Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence, but that is impossible, says former Romanian President Traian Basescu.

Germany is pressuring the five EU member states that do not recognize Kosovo - Romania, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Slovakia - to do so, Basescu, honorary president of Moldova's Party of National Unity, has told Romanian B1 TV. “Romania cannot recognize Kosovo, despite the promises given by Germany to the Kosovo leaders. This would be a horrible blow to Moldavia, because the situation in Transnistria is similar to the one in Kosovo – they are changing border with force. If Romania would recognize Kosovo, then it should also recognize Crimea and Transnistria,” said Basescu. Basescu says that Germany is surpassing its limitations in foreign policy, which could be harmful.

 

Nikodijevic: SPS has deal with SNS (Tanjug)

 

Belgrade City Assembly President Nikola Nikodijevic said on Tuesday his Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) had a deal with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) on the new city authorities but that a coalition agreement would not be signed, just like in the past four years. "We will not have a signed coalition agreement now either... To us, a word is worth more than a piece of paper," he told reporters when asked if the SPS and SNS had a coalition agreement in place to form the new city authorities.

 

Bieber: Pressure and hate speech in Serbian media (Danas)

 

The state of the media in Serbia is disturbing, with pressure, hate speech and control present, Austrian Professor of political science Florian Bieber told Danas on Monday. He said the situation has not been this bad since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic in the year 2000. “Nationalism, hate speech in media close to the government, attacks on independent media, control and pressure are preventing the work of critical media but it’s a normal thing for those media to exist,” Bieber said.  Bieber teaches at the University of Graz and is Director of the university Centre for Southeast European Studies.   He said the problem lies in the fact that “the European Union and its officials do not realize how serious the situation is and are prepared to close their eyes to it” because they find it useful.  Bieber believes that Serbia is not going towards becoming more democratic and said the main reason for that is the fact that European integration and reforms do not solve real challenges such as weak institutions and autocratic governments. “The EU is not willing to exert pressure on those governments and their un-democratic practices,” he said.  The professor recalled the annual report by the Reporters Without Frontiers which showed that Serbia recorded one of the biggest drops in terms of media freedom. “Other elements include informal pressure on independent institutions and pressure on voters,” Bieber said.   Serbia can hardly expect to join the EU under the control of President Aleksandar Vucic, Bieber said and added that Serbia will have to recognize Kosovo in some however informal way before acceding to the EU.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Rallies of support to Dudakovic and 12 RB&H Army officers held (BHT1)

 

Thousands of people attended on Monday the rallies of support to former Commander of the Fifth Corps of the “Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RB&H) Army” Army Atif Dudakovic and 12 officers of the same army corps, who are suspected of war crimes in western Krajina.

The largest rally was held in Bihac, but citizens also gathered at rallies in Tuzla, Zenica, and Mostar.

 

Prosecutor’s Office announces filing appeal against release of Dudakovic (FTV)

 

The Prosecutor’s Office of B&H on Monday announced filing an appeal against the decision by the Court of B&H on release from custody of former commander of the Fifth Corps of the RB&H Army Atif Dudakovic and twelve other people suspected of committing war crimes in Krajina during 1994 and 1995. On Sunday, the Court of B&H rejected the custody motion and ordered restrictive measures. Restrictive measures include ban on meeting and communicating with officers and soldiers of the Fifth Corps. The suspects were also banned from communicating with all representatives of print and electronic media about facts related to this case.

 

Dodik: It would be best to think about adopting laws and rejecting Court and Prosecutor's Office of B&H in area of RS (TV1)

 

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik used the arrest of former commander of the Fifth Corps of the RB&H) Army Atif Dudakovic and twelve other people suspected of committing war crimes in Krajina during 1994 and 1995 to again launch the story about the work of the B&H Court and the Prosecutor's Office. After Dudakovic and the rest of the suspects were released from detention, Dodik said that he expected this, repeating his usual phrases about the B&H judiciary being a farce. Dodik also said that the Court of B&H is afraid of the Muslim public. The RS President stressed that the Court and the Prosecutor's Office of B&H cannot be trusted. "It would be best to think about adopting laws and rejecting the Court and the Prosecutor's Office of B&H in the area of the RS, as well as the intelligence service which is persistently working against the RS and on its destabilization, regardless of what anyone is thinking, including foreigners who will now tell us that we should let the judiciary do its job," Dodik underlined. Meanwhile, certain judges of the Court of B&H believe that there is nepotism and corruption in the B&H judiciary. Judge of the Court of B&H Branko Peric warned that politics managed to suspend prosecution of high-level corruption and organized crime in B&H. Peric also said that prosecutors' offices are unable to successfully conduct a single serious investigation and that the few serious cases are resulting in acquittals.

 

Ivanic: Decision on release of Dudakovic is disastrous (FTV)

 

Member of B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic stated on Monday that the decision on release of former commander of the Fifth Corps of the “Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RB&H) Army” Atif Dudakovic is disastrous. According to Ivanic, everything seems like a judicial farce, with spectacular arrest, even more spectacular release pending trial. “B&H judiciary is under obvious political pressure, while there is no criticism from the international community in regards with political and institutional support to Dudakovic,” presenter quoted Ivanic. He said he is sure that there are evidence and arguments against Dudakovic, and added that unilateral approach to truth and justice has no explanation. Ivanic stressed that anytime such things happen, Serbs yearn for more independence.

 

23rd anniversary of Croatian military-police operation ‘Bljesak’ marked; Dodik: Serbs most stay united and preserve two Serbs’ states –RS and Serbia (ATV)

 

The 23rd anniversary of suffering of Serbs from Slavonija region in Croatia in military-police operation Bljesak (Flash) carried out by military, para-military and police forces of Croatia was marked at the ceremony held in Gradiska on Tuesday. Reporter reminded that some 283 Serbs were killed in Bljesak operation and more than 15,000 of them were persecuted from their homes. So far, no one was processed for these crimes. Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik and Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency Mladen Ivanic attended the abovementioned ceremony, as well as Ministers in the RS Government, President of the Association of Serbs Persecuted from Zapadna Slavonija Krsto Zarkovic and Director of Documentation-Information Center ‘Veritas’ Savo Strbac. Among other things, Dodik stated that Serbs most stay united and preserve two Serbs’ states – the RS and Serbia. RS President Dodik said that the RS will continue to mark suffering of Serbs from Zapadna Slavonija, adding that the main goal of the RS is to preserve its territory and freedom, as well as to continue with strengthening of its institutions. Ivanic underlined that it is not surprising Croatia failed to process those responsible for war crimes committed during Bljesak operation, adding that it is surprising this issue was not especially interesting for the international community. Strbac underlined that the real number of Serb victims killed during Bljesak operation is significantly higher than the number officially recognized by Croatia.

 

US Embassy and EU Delegation in B&H to organize another meeting on B&H Election Law (TV1)

 

The US Embassy to B&H and the EU Delegation (EUD) in B&H will organize another meeting of political parties on the issue of amending of the Election Law of B&H on Thursday. Namely, political parties in B&H are yet to reach an agreement on this important issue and B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) is expected to call the general elections on May 8. The last meeting organized by the US Embassy and the EUD did not yield any results but collocutors believe it is possible to reach an agreement. Addressing media after the last meeting on the Election Law, US Ambassador to B&H Maureen Cormack stated: “We understand that the challenges here appear at a political level, and it is necessary to solve them at that level.” Cormack expressed content with the fact that talks will continue. EU Special Representative (EUSR) and Head of the EUD to B&H Lars-Gunnar Wigemark said on the same occasion that there is room for finding common ground. SDA Vice President Sefik Dzaferovic said that SDA is in favor of “a principled solution”, adding that SDA’s proposal of amendments to the Election Law represents such a solution. Deputy Speaker of B&H House of Peoples (HoP) Safet Softic (SDA) noted that he has never seen a situation where “rules change during the match”, so the existing election rules would be applied after calling of the elections. Deputy Speaker of B&H HoP Barisa Colak (HDZ B&H) underlined that B&H Constitutional Court (CC) never called HDZ B&H’s proposal of amendments to the Election Law of B&H in question, so it is not possible to blame HDZ B&H for failing to amend the law. CEC Chairperson Irena Hadziabdic assessed that the process of amending the law will continue ahead of the elections in case of failure to reach the agreement at the upcoming meeting, announced for Thursday. Hadziabdic warned that such a situation would then be very unpopular when it comes to international standards. However, she emphasized that it is essential to come to a solution in order to complete the elections.

 

Plenkovic: Croatia and Serbia are two different worlds (Hina)

 

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, at a ceremony marking the 23rd anniversary of Operation Flash, said that Croatia and Serbia "at this moment are two worlds," declining to say whether he and President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic would discuss new diplomatic measures against Serbia as a response to Serbia's decision to declare Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic persona non- grata. Asked to comment on statements by Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic that Croatia, if it wanted, would get a diplomatic war, Plenkovic said this was not appropriate rhetoric that Croatia should agree to, underscoring that at this moment, Croatia and Serbia were two different worlds, thus drawing a parallel to Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin that he and Krsticevic were two different worlds. Plenkovic stressed that it could have never happened in Croatia that a member of the national parliament desecrates the Serbian flag, adding that "in this story Croatia and Serbia are not the same." They were not the same in the 1990, now or in the future, Plenkovic said. Everybody needs to be aware of that, including the media and the public in Croatia, the Prime Minister said. "Take a look at my government's rhetoric, since the election. When did we ever use the relations with Serbia as some sort of an argument for international bickering. I don't think that anyone could have thought of that," Plenkovic said. He confirmed he would talk to President Grabar-Kitarovic this week, but declined to say if the topic of their talks would be taking new measures as a response to Serbia's decision to declare Minister Krsticevic persona non- grata.

 

23rd anniversary of Croatian military-police operation ‘Bljesak’ marked (HRT)

 

The central ceremony on the occasion of marking the 23rd anniversary of Croatian military-police operation Bljesak (Flash) was held in Okucani on Tuesday, during which a memorial honoring the operation was unveiled. The operation started on May 1, 1995, and 7,200 Croatian veterans and police officers liberated the occupied territory of Western Slavonia in less than 32 hours. Forty-two veterans were killed and 162 were wounded during the operation. At the central ceremony of marking this anniversary, members of Croatian Armed Forces lined up and rendered salute to Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, who expressed gratitude to all Croatian veterans. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic stated that this victorious operation represents an example for military training even today and it serves as basis for building a modern Croatian army, which is compatible both in NATO and the EU. Croatian Minister of Defense Damir Krsticevic noted that the current Croatian Government systematically works on development of Croatian army, which incorporates patriotism and symbols of the homeland war. Croatian Minister of Interior Davor Bozinovic said he feels there is unity, pride, and dignity “like at the time of the operation”. Croatian Minister of Veterans Tomo Medved underlined that the memorial in Okucani will serve as a permanent reminder of the operation. Speaker of Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandrokovic said it is visible that there are “some who would like want to change the history”, adding that it is a well-known fact that “aggression came from Serbia”. Deputy Speaker of Croatian Parliament Milijan Brkic stated that this is the 23rd anniversary of pride and glory, but also a remembrance day for those who sacrificed their lives for peace in Croatia.

 

Zaev: Macedonia to surely open Constitution prior to EU accession (MIA)

 

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Monday that Macedonia will surely have to open its Constitution prior to its EU accession, like all other member-states. "Macedonia will surely open the Constitution prior to its EU entry, just like all other member-states, transferring a portion of its sovereignty to the Union. If additional guarantees are required as assurance for the citizens of Greece, then this could be discussed as an option. We are seeking all possible creative options for a solution, knowing that such a solution is attainable if institutions in both Greece and Macedonia vote in favor of it" PM Zaev told reporters. He added that institutions should approve the solution, not Zaev, Dimitrov, Tsipras or Kotzias. "I have probably mentioned the options for a solution, but taking into consideration the dignity and identity aspects," said Zaev.

 

Ex-ambassador: No EU negotiations this year a cause for concern for Macedonia (MIA)

 

If the Council of the EU fails to deliver a positive decision before the end of the year, it means there will be no accession negotiations because next year is a lost year, says the former EU ambassador to Macedonia, Erwan Foucrc. In an interview with MIA, Foucrc, who is Associate Senior Research Fellow at the Brussels-based leading think tank CEPS, welcomes the 'remarkable' efforts of the government, but also points out its shortcomings. The ex-ambassadors says he has great hopes that the Council of the EU in June will approve the opening of negotiations with Macedonia even if the name talks are not concluded. "If Greece still refuses despite all the efforts made by the Macedonian government, gestures of good will and good faith, if they still block a positive decision for a date (to launch membership talks), I think it shows that Greece does not have the interest of the Western Balkans at heart," Foucrc tells MIA. He adds that the EU has time by the end of the year to give green light. "If there is no positive decision before the end of the year, then it means there will be no negotiations because next year is a lost year because of the change of the commission mandate, because elections in European Parliament. I do hope that the Mogherini statement in Skopje about the European Council in June acting on the EC recommendation will come true. I hope it will be the case, otherwise it will be a very negative message for Macedonia, it will make the position of the government very difficult also," notes the EU diplomat. Foucrc says he welcomes the commitment of the government in Macedonia in the past 11 months since its appointment, but he also warns that the administration must focus on reforms within the country and their implementation as much as it is focused on repairing the country's external image. "I believe they are spending a bit too much time on external image, trying to improve that, and not enough focus is put making sure that the reforms are adopted and also record of implementation. There is really an effort to make sure that there is no repeat of any of the very negative decisions and behavior of the previous government, he says. As regards the languages law, Foucrc warns that the government must make an initiative to send the law to the Venice Commission as soon as possible, MIA reports from Brussels. "I regret they didn't take the initiative to send the law to the Venice Commission prior to the vote in Parliament. I think it was a mistake. Now that the law has been adopted, but it hasn't entered into force because the President refuses to sign it, the law should go to the Venice Commission as soon as possible and the Commission has urgent procedures. Whatever the recommendations are, they can be incorporated. I would be a perfect response to the opposition who are still claiming that the law is anti-Macedonian," he states. Also, the former representative of the Union to Macedonia advises the government that it shouldn't be tempted to go to elections too early.

 

FM Dimitrov to attend quadripartite meeting in Thessaloniki (MIA)

 

At the invitation of Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, Nikola Dimitrov will attend the third quadripartite meeting between the FMs of Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia taking place in Thessaloniki on May 3 and 4. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other ministers and high representatives from all four countries' Ministries of Internal Affairs and Transport Ministries will attend the meeting. "The roundtable discussion," the Ministry writes in its press release, "is expected to include topics related to the challenges Southeastern Europe is facing as a result of the Near East and the eastern Mediterranean situations; the consequences arising from migrants/refugees travelling through the Balkans, as well as the EU integration process of the Western Balkans and the future of Europe." The Ministry's press release does not state if the FMs of Macedonia and Greece will meet bilaterally to discuss the name dispute. The last such meeting took place in Vienna, Austria, last week. They were joined by UN mediator Matthew Nimetz. Following the meeting, Nimetz gave an official statement that both sides remained dedicated to solving the problem, without giving away any details about the talks.

As MIA previously reported, the Greek and the Macedonian ministers will meet again at the V4 conference in Sounio, Greece, on May 11 and 12.

 

Basha warns of publishing new government scandal (ADN)

 

Speaking at a parliamentary group meeting of the Democratic Party, party's chairman Lulzim Basha referred to the publication of a scandal in May, which, according to him, will affect the existence of the government. Reportedly, Basha has stated before the DP MPs that the Socialists can no longer conceal the 5-year bad government, but has not provided any information as regards the links of the alleged scandal. Meanwhile, the DP parliamentary group is expected to carry on with the conditional relationship with the Parliament by not participating in committee meetings, except in cases of issues of importance to citizens and those related to integration, and within a week the DP is expected to start restructuring the branches. Democratic Party decided to continue a conditional report with parliament. The leader, Lulzim Basha, seems to have informed on this last decision with his ally, the chairwoman of the Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) Monika Kryemadhi. DP-SMI had a great collaboration recently and joint decisions against government.

 

Donald Lu: Albanian politicians are scared now (ADN)

 

The American Ambassador to Albania, Donald Lu, declared on Tuesday that the Albanian politicians are scared now because in the past they were untouchable. According to him, the two causes that delayed the establishment of institutions such as the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SACS) and the National Investigation Bureau have already been resolved.

"Delays have come for two reasons. First, it was the law objection to Vetting from the opposition. They lost this challenge. Second, there was a delay in finding qualified candidates out of the judicial system. Already, both of these issues have been resolved. Candidates for these institutions are going through the Vetting process. They will be functional very soon. It is not surprising that politicians continue to criticize and sow doubts about these structures. They were once untouchable and now they are afraid," declared Lu. He added by saying that the judicial reform is the main point of the diplomatic mission and has issued strong declarations for corrupt politicians, judges and prosecutors, criminal gangs and groups, and decriminalization of politics.

 

Albania-Greece hold first round of talks on the delimitation of maritime zones (ADN)

 

The first round of talks between Greece and Albania on delimiting maritime zones was held on Monday in Tirana.  ADN learned that the meeting took place in a constructive and cooperative climate. The news was made public by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries.

Earlier, Albanian Minister Bushati said that the Government is ready to reach an acceptable solution, which will correct all mistakes done during the negotiations between the two countries in 2009.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Why is Macron skeptical about playing Ode to Joy for the Balkans? (Hurriyet Daily News, by Teoman Ertuğrul Tulun, 1 May 2018)

 

The EU Commission adopted in February 2018 a strategy under the title of “A credible enlargement perspective for an enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans.” The strategy considers the enlargement policy “as part and parcel of the larger strategy to strengthen the EU by 2025.” The European Union for years has been trying to transform the Balkan region ontologically, starting with its name. Per these efforts, the Balkan region was divided into sub regions. According to this misconceived division Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece are not part of the Balkans anymore, as they are members of the EU. On the other hand, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, and Macedonia comprise the so-called “Western Balkans” sub-region. Turkey, by its lonesome self, makes up the “Eastern Balkans” region. It could be said that the EU’s journey for enlargement in the Balkans has travelled from misnomer to misdesign. While explaining the respective European paths of the “Western Balkan” countries, the above mentioned strategy describes Montenegro and Serbia as “the current front-runners in the process.” Albania and (in their biased terminology) “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” are labelled as countries “making significant progress on their European path,” for which “the Commission is ready to prepare recommendations to open accession negotiations.” As to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the strategy declares that the “Commission will start preparing an Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s membership application.” As for Kosovo, the strategy refers to normalization agreement with Serbia and ambiguously states that Kosovo “has an opportunity for sustainable progress through implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement.” The High Representative/Vice-President of the Commission Federica Mogherini, together with Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, recently presented the annual Enlargement Package in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, stating the adoption of seven individual reports and assessing the implementation of the European Union’s enlargement policy. They declared the Commission’s recommendation that the Council opens accession negotiations with “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and Albania. Additionally, they said the European Commission is also working towards an opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application, while cooperation with the Kosovo authorities persists on the basis of the Stabilization and Association Agreement. Mogherini and Hahn also stressed the EU’s intention to continue with the facilitation of dialogue on normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, including on the achievement of a legally binding agreement. They described this decision as “a step forward today for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania, as well as for the entire Western Balkans region.” However, coinciding with this announcement French President Emmanuel Macron in a speech to the European Parliament on April 17 ruled out any expansion of the European Union until the Union is reformed. “I don’t want a Balkans that turns toward Turkey or Russia. But I don’t want a Europe that, functioning with difficulty at 28 and tomorrow as 27 members, would decide that we can continue to gallop off to tomorrow be 30 or 32 members with the same rules,” Macron reportedly said. He added that he “will only support an enlargement when there is first a deepening and a reform of our Europe.” It is quite remarkable that French president’s basic objective for the Balkans is not bringing peace, security, prosperity and stability to the region. His only concern is to exclude certain countries like Turkey, which is historically not only a part of the Balkans but has deep-rooted, centuries-old relations with the region. The Encyclopedia Britannica states that even “the word Balkan is Turkish and means mountain.”

Time will show us whether the EU, with the rivalry mentality of French President Macron, will succeed in finding ways not to get stuck in a cul-de-sac in the Balkans.

* Teoman Ertuğrul Tulun is an analyst at the Center for Eurasian Studies (AVİM)