United Nations Office in Belgrade

Daily Media Highlights

Friday 29 January 2021

LOCAL PRESS

Orlic: European Parliament recognizes legitimacy of new parliament (RTV/Tanjug)
Bilcik: European Parliament ready for Serbia inter-party dialogue (FoNet)
Fajon: No opposition in Serbian parliament is not good news (Beta)
Serbian government adopts Program of economic reforms for period from 2021 to 2023 (Tanjug/Beta)
French Ambassador: Europe should be spoken about positively in Serbia (Beta)

REGIONAL PRESS

Bosnia & Herzegovina

B&H CEC files report with Prosecutor’s Office of B&H against Dodik for verbal attack against B&H CEC member Bjelica-Prutina (O kanal)
Plan to turn Srebrenica into district confirmed by ‘My Address: Srebrenica’; Dodik: Srebrenica was and remains part of RS territory (ATV)
RS parliament Collegium adopts additional item to agenda of next session which implies discussion on request to HR to present report on implementation of civil applying of DPA in period 2009-2020 before RS parliament (RTRS)
Stefanek discusses migrant crisis in B&H with Cikotic; Stefanek: Our job is not over yet (Nova BH)
Croatia

Croatia demands apology from Serbia for calling Knin “Serbian occupied town” (Hina)
Republic of North Macedonia

State leadership meets to discuss ways how to go ahead with the controversial census (Republika)
Dimovski: The public did not learn who are the legal experts that Pendarovski consulted about the Census Law (Republika)
Zaev: I believe in a solution with Bulgaria without disputing the Macedonian identity and language (Republika)

United Nations Office in Belgrade

Daily Media Highlights

Thursday 28 January 2021

LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: Serbia and the US have not “swept under the carpet” differences around Kosovo and Metohija (RTS/RTV/Tanjug)
Mihajlovic: For strategic partnership and office with the United States (Tanjug/RTV)
Drecun: Silly thesis from the West for Serbia to recognize Kosovo in order to prevent creation of Greater Albania (TV Happy/Tanjug/RTV)
Lajcak: Land swap between Kosovo and Serbia would be hazardous (Le Monde/Beta)
Opposition: It's not up to Dacic and Vucic to choose EU delegates for Serbia's government-opposition talks (Beta)
Fajon: Situation with Serbia’s inter-party dialogue ‘frustrating’ (FoNet)

REGIONAL PRESS

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Dodik: Someone is evidently attempting to disrupt relations between RS and Serbia (RTRS)
B&H Court confirms local elections in Srebrenica and Doboj will be repeated, Travnik will have early elections (Nova BH)
Dodik: CEC’s decisions only suit Bosniaks and the RS opposition; Reactions of other RS politicians (FTV)
B&H parliament Commission for Deciding on Conflict of Interest launches procedure against Covic (FTV)
Stefanek: Europe wants to discuss possible solutions for migrant crisis with authorities in B&H (O kanal)
RS officials reject Cikotic’s initiative for establishing new agency in charge of migrant crisis (Nezavisne)
Croatia

Government issues statement for International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Hina)
Antifascist League and NGOs call for ban on Ustasha insignia (Hina)
Republic of North Macedonia

Zaev abolishes history class, returns Serbian language class in Macedonia; Kovatchev expects Zaev to return Bulgarian language too (Republika/BGNES)
Albania

Xhacka participates in High Level Commitment Conference for the United Nations Peace building Fund (Radio Tirana)

United Nations Office in Belgrade

Daily Media Highlights

Wednesday 27 January 2021

LOCAL PRESS

Stefanovic: According to UNSCR 1244, KFOR represents only legitimate armed formation in Kosovo and Metohija (RTS)
Petkovic: Who encouraged Haradinaj to threaten with Greater Albania (RTS)
Dacic accuses Fajon of siding with Serbian opposition (TV Happy/Beta)
Serbian opposition parties meet to discuss fight against regime (Beta)
Djordjevic: Vucic reducing importance of Resolution 1244 (Danas)
Dodik: They lie when they say I am overthrowing Vucic, I did not meet Daka (Novosti)

REGIONAL PRESS

Bosnia & Herzegovina

RS opposition reacts to speculations that Dodik is trying to ruin Vucic and get involved
in process of election of new Serbian Patriarch (BNTV)
TC Assembly appoints new TC government (BHT1)
B&H Court receives ten appeals against decision of B&H CEC on Doboj and Srebrenica (Nezavisne)
Inadmissible pressure of embassies against B&H Court (Glas Srpske)
Legally prescribed deadline for inaugural session of Mostar City Council to expire at end
of next week, city majority still unclear (O Kanal/BHT1/FTV)
Sannino: Countries of region need to give their contribution in EU accession process and
developments in B&H do not go in favor of this (N1)
Is American-German plan for B&H a combination of the ‘April Package’ and the ‘Butmir Process’? (Dnevni list)
British confirm that world powers are talking about new boss of OHR in B&H (Dnevni list)
Montenegro

Agreement reached to overcome the problem of recalling ambassadors (CdM)
Republic of North Macedonia

Pendarovski promises Bulgaria that Macedonia will not try to install “some kind of a Macedonian minority” (Republika)
VMRO-DPMNE begins collecting signatures for a new census law (Republika)
Albania

OSCE Head Vincenzo del Monaco: OSCE Presence in Albania will continue to be a strategic partner of the State Police (Radio Tirana)

United Nations Office in Belgrade

Daily Media Highlights

Tuesday 26 January 2021

LOCAL PRESS

Selakovic on Serbia’s foreign policy positions (Politika)
Selakovic: Serbia needs OSCE’s support in rule of law (Beta)
Gratitude to Slovakia’s consistent and principled position regarding the issue of Kosovo and Metohija (RTV)
Fajon: Dacic requested my exemption from inter-party dialogue (Nova S/Beta)
ICG: All parties to seek mutual recognition between Serbia, Kosovo (RFE/Beta)

REGIONAL PRESS

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Izetbegovic: I am no enemy of Serbs, but of policies against B&H and Bosniaks (Hayat)
OSCE Mission to B&H: Zero tolerance towards negative rhetoric, hate speech in public, private area in B&H (Srna/ATV)
Russian Embassy to B&H reacts to statement of Izetbegovic on Serb people (ATV)
B&H CEC receives 11 appeals against decisions on elections in Srebrenica and Doboj and decision on mandate of Head of Travnik Municipality (O kanal)
B&H CEC calls on Prosecutor’s Office of B&H to launch criminal procedure regarding offenses made to CEC member Bjelica-Prutina (O kanal)
DF suspends its further activities within ‘Coalition for Mostar’ (FTV)
AFET discusses 2019-2020 EC Reports on B&H (BHT1)
USA assist strengthening of allies in the region; Production of helicopters for B&H Armed Force starts in ‘Bell’ factory in USA (Dnevni avaz)
Montenegro

There will be someone to welcome Ana Brnabic (MINA)
Republic of North Macedonia

Vasilevska: Census law was adopted without political consensus, it shouldn’t be a political but a statistical operation (Republika)
Grubi: Census to show percentage of Albanians, there is no political agreement (Republika)
Medziti: There is no need for dilemmas, Albanians will be over 25 percent in the census (Republika)
Albania

CEC signed agreement for preventing use of hate speech during 2021 election campaign (Radio Tirana)

United Nations Office in Belgrade

Daily Media Highlights

Monday 25 January 2021

LOCAL PRESS

Vucic: There will big pressures regarding Kosovo and Metohija (RTV/TV Prva)
Brnabic on invitation from Montenegro: Inconvenient to go where you were expelled from (Tanjug/RTS/RTV)
Dveri Movement offers platform for talks (Beta/RTS)

REGIONAL PRESS

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Izetbegovic: Those supporting Dodik support policies of lies, insults and blockades; I think that Serb people, Serb voters have to undergo catharsis (O kanal)
Reactions to statement of Izetbegovic on Serbs (RTRS)
Dodik calls on Izetbegovic to apologize to Serbs for his recent statement (N1)
Office of B&H Ombudsman, politicians condemn Dodik’s offenses against Bjelica Prutina (Nova BH)
Hateful attacks are unacceptable (N1/Nova BH)
Tegeltija: In B&H there are too many of those who do not have right to be treated as migrants (Nezavisne)
Ambassadors of EU member states meet B&H Presidency members to discuss migrant crisis, EU path of B&H; Dodik: There will be no migrant camps in RS (Nova BH)
Wartime Commander of RB&H Army Mahmuljin sentenced to 10 years in prison for war crimes in Vozuca and Zavidovici (O kanal)
Croatia

President cancels attendance at ceremony due to far-right insignia on display (Hina/N1)
Montenegro

Djukanovic elected leader of DPS, his deputies are Damjanovic, Vukovic, Erakovic and Dizdarevic (CdM)
Djukanovic: I will sign re-voted laws, but will not sign the recall of ambassadors (MINA)
Republic of North Macedonia

SDSM: Census to be conducted in the spring, VMRO-DPMNE will not prevent this statistical operation (Republika)
Mickoski: Census results already agreed between government coalition, VMRO-DPMNE to start collecting signatures from citizens to nullify falsified census (TV Alfa)
Ahmeti: No chance that Albanians will be less than 25 percent in the census (Republika)
Ahmeti: I am convinced that dispute with Bulgaria will be resolved by spring (Republika)
Byrnes disappointed with Bulgaria’s veto (Republika)