LOCAL PRESS

 

Brnabic: Serbian government neither pro-American nor pro-Russian, but pro-Serbian (Beta/CNN)

 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that the strategic path of Serbia was membership in the European Union, but that its traditionally good ties to Russia were also important. Brnabic told CNN in an interview that Serbia was "deeply and strategically" committed to joining the EU, noting that her cabinet had two new ministries -- the Ministry of EU Integrations and the Ministry for Environmental Protection. She said the government in Belgrade was neither pro-American nor pro-Russian, but rather pro- Serbian, and that its job was to improve the lives of Serbian citizens. According to her, the Serbian government is open with all its citizens and partners, including Russia, about the strategic goal of EU membership, adding that Russia was a great economic partner to Serbia. "Russia is a big market for us and a big trading partner," the PM said, adding that the people were traditionally deeply tied to Russia. She stressed that Serbia needed new jobs and companies, noting that the cabinet had to be accountable to all citizens and to maintain ties with Russia, as this is an "important part" of Serbian economic growth. Brnabic added that the policy of her cabinet dovetailed with the previous one's and that she had taken over where Aleksandar Vucic had left off. "We have had great successes in the past three years. We had complete fiscal consolidation, We were three months away from bankruptcy according to World Bank analyses, and now we have full marco-economic stability," she said. Asked how the people in Serbia were accepting the first female and the first openly lesbian prime minister, Brnabic said Serbia was not a homophobic country, adding that she felt she had the support of people in Serbia.

 

Vucic: Good Serbia-NATO cooperation while respecting our military neutrality (Beta)

 

At a meeting with Commander of the Allied Operations Command General Curtis Scaparrotti, the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he was pleased with the good cooperation with

NATO, which was developing, as he said, with respect for Serbia's military neutrality. An announcement from the President's Office said that during talks in Belgrade on July 19, Vucic said he hoped the Army of Serbia's cooperation with NATO would develop within the Partnership for Peace Program in order to further build capacities contributing to international peace. Vucic added that the international peace forces in Kosovo and Metohija under NATO leadership had a key role in protecting the Serbian people there, as the guarantor of their security, as well as in preserving stability in the region.

The Commander of the Allied Operations Command said he was pleased that the dialogue between Serbia and NATO had intensified at the highest level, while respecting Serbia's position on military neutrality. Adding that there were many opportunities for promoting NATO cooperation with the Army of Serbia, General Scaparotti confirmed that the international forces of KFOR would in future responsibly fulfill their obligations in Kosovo and Metohija.

 

High level of cooperation between Serbia, NATO (RTS/Tanjug)

 

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic spoke yesterday with Supreme Commander of the NATO Forces in Europe and the Commander of the US Forces in Europe Curtis Scaparrotti. They discussed the possibilities for deepening cooperation between Serbia and this alliance, and exchanged views on the political situation in the region and security challenges. They agreed that there is a high level and intensity of political dialogue and practical cooperation between Serbia and NATO identified through the Partnership for Peace program, which contributes to better mutual understanding and improvement of relations. Dacic reiterated that Serbia is implementing a policy of military neutrality, does not ask for membership in NATO, nor in any other military alliance. At the same time, he explained that Serbia wants to improve its partnership with the Alliance in practical areas and in the sphere of political dialogue in order to provide a common contribution to the preservation of peace and stability in the region. Speaking about the political situation in the region, he reminded that Serbia, with its responsible and measured approach, is trying to contribute to preserving regional stability and promoting good neighborly relations, as this is a prerequisite for economic progress and prosperity of all citizens in this region. Dacic pointed to the importance of KFOR as the key guarantor of the security of the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the very important role in the implementation of the Brussels Agreement.

 

Vulin: No military other than KFOR in Kosovo and Metohija (Beta/Politika)

 

Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin also met yesterday with Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti and said KFOR was the only institution Serbia considered responsible for maintaining peace and security in Kosovo and Metohija. “There is no military in Kosovo and Metohija other than KFOR. This responsibility cannot be transferred to any other institution or organization, so we expect the Alliance to take the position too that a change to the mandate and the transformation of the Kosovo security forces into armed forces are unacceptable,” a press release quoted Vulin as saying. Vulin and Scaparrotti also discussed boosting mutual trust and understanding, while the defense minister said maintaining regular top level contact between Serbia and NATO was essential to building peace and stability in the region. The Minister added that Serbia’s long term commitment was to keep the status of military neutrality but to have military cooperation with the relevant stakeholders in the domain of international relations and security, which he believes is being successfully realized with NATO within the available mechanisms of the Partnership for Peace.

 

Scaparrotti: KFOR to remain in Kosovo as long as needed (Tanjug)

 

KFOR will remain in Kosovo and Metohija as long as needed, says Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Allied Command Operations. Scaparrotti told Tanjug in an exclusive interview NATO was concerned over a proposal to transform the Kosovo Security Force into a Kosovo army without constitutional changes.

 

Vulin: ZSO should be established urgently (Beta)

 

Minister Vulin announced that the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) should be urgently formed in the aim of maintaining political stability, the continuation of negotiations, economically strengthening the Serbs, and their return to Kosovo and Metohija. “Otherwise, our trust will be even more undermined towards the other side and the EU, as the mediator in the Brussels talks, because our extended hand is still not being truly accepted,” Vulin said during talks with the Austrian Ambassador Johannes Eigner, according to a Defense Ministry announcement. Vulin thanked the Austrian members of KFOR for their commitment in safeguarding peace in Serbia’s southern province, and for the position ceded as a military observer in UNTSO, the UN peacekeeping operation in the Middle East, and confirmed Serbia’s intention to retain the said position in the coming period, as well.

 

Precedent over Italian soldiers within KFOR that have cancer (Danas)

 

We have been determining the basis for launching the lawsuit for compensation of damages for seriously ill Serbian citizens before national courts of 19 NATO member states that took part in the bombardment of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ) in 1999, where depleted uranium was used. We have already provided first executive court verdicts precisely of these states that determine compensation of damages for their citizens that have cancer and who had previously stayed in Kosovo and Metohija as soldiers. These verdicts unambiguously state that their illness is the result of exposure to depleted uranium, says Srdjan Aleksic, the head of the international legal team for launching the lawsuit for compensation of damages against NATO member states.

Aleksic says that seriously ill Serbian citizens, as well as members of their families in case they had died, will launch the procedure before the national courts of these 19 states. He says the applicants will be citizens who took part in the battles or live in the regions that were bombed with depleted uranium, primarily at locations above Pec and Prizren in Kosovo, as well as those in the south of Serbia proper – especially around Vranje, where this ammunition was used most intensively. According to the plan, the lawsuits will be launched in two years, and until then, they will be gathering legal, medical and other material evidence.

For the time being, the legal time has at its disposal two final and executive verdicts of Italian courts. In the verdict of the Regional Administrative Court of the Campania region, Naples, passed in 2010 after the appeal of former soldier Vincenzo Biondi, the Italian Defense Ministry is ordered to pay “fair compensation in the maximum anticipated amount, with interest rates”. Biondi was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer after he spent a total of one year, between 2000 and 2002, in the mission in Kosovo.

In the second verdict, passed in 2011 by the Court of the Cagliari Municipality, the Italian Defense Ministry is sentenced for payment of damages “for all suffering – biological material and non-material and mental pain” to members of the family of Valerio Aleksandro Melissa who died from of Hodgin’s lymphoma in 2004, after he spent less than three months, in 1999, in the international forces in Kosovo.

According to available data, 15 tons of depleted uranium was thrown during the 78 days of the bombardment of SRJ, out of which the US “admitted 11 tons”. An unknown amount of plutonium and 25 tons of gunpowder were also thrown.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Court of B&H rejects indictment against members of RS Referendum Commission (RTRS)

 

The Court of B&H passed a decision on Wednesday rejecting the indictment against Chairman and members of the Commission for Implementation of the Republika Srpska (RS) Day Referendum as unfounded. According to the indictment issued by the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H, the Commission’s Chairman Sinisa Karan and members Dragoljub Reljic, Goran Zmijanjac and Milan Petkovic failed to implement B&H Constitutional Court (CC)’s decision on the temporary measure of suspending application of the Decision on calling the referendum on the RS’ Day. The Court of B&H established that it is not possible to draw a conclusion on existence of reasonable suspicion that the accused individuals failed to respect B&H CC’s decision. Serb member of B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic welcomed the court decision on rejecting the indictment as “a great victory over political misuse of the Prosecutor’s Office (of B&H)” and assessed that such misuses were evident.

RS President Milorad Dodik also welcomed this court decision as the only logical and legally right outcome. However, Dodik underscored that he still has no confidence in B&H judiciary because he considers the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H to be politically instructed and that the Court of B&H failed to show capability to resist political influence. “This shows that there should not have been an investigation in the first place”, Dodik noted. RTRS’ reporter quoted Dodik as saying that former High Representative Paddy Ashdown abolished the Law on Immunity believing that the RS should be completely devastated and later that law was put back in force only for the MPs. Dodik announced that the RS could get a new Law on Immunity in September.

RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic noted that everything related to implementing the referendum on the RS Day was done in line with the law and that judicial institutions should not have dealt with this case.

Speaker of the RS Assembly Nedeljko Cubrilovic finds that the court decision on this matter is reasonable and legally founded. Cubrilovic explained that implementation of B&H CC’s decision was the RS Assembly’s responsibility and members of the Commission for Implementation of the RS Day Referendum only acted in line with the RSNA’s decisions. According to Cubrilovic, it is clear to every legal expert that criminal liability cannot be collective but rather individual.

RS MP Davor Sesic (SDS) said that the Court of B&H acted as it should by rejecting the indictment.

RS MP Perica Bundalo (PDP) expressed belief that “this politically staged process” has finally come to an end.

 

B&H HoP adopts changes to Law on Elections of B&H (BHT1)

 

The House of Peoples (HoP) of B&H parliament adopted on Wednesday in an urgent procedure changes to the Law on Elections of B&H, which was proposed by the Croat Caucus. The adopted changes will be forwarded to the House of Representatives (HoR) of B&H parliament in an urgent procedure. Delegate Mario Karamatic (HSS) stated during the discussion before the changes were adopted that the adoption of the changes would secure legitimate representation of peoples in this country. Karamatic warned that any imposing of representatives to other peoples would mark the end of this country. “If we want to play referendum, then why shouldn’t we secede from the Federation of B&H, what does it give us, Karamatic stated.

Martin Raguz (HDZ 1990) said that the decision of the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H that changes to the Law on Elections of B&H do not violate vital national interest of Bosniak people represents satisfaction for everyone. Raguz also claimed that certain individuals do not want to solve this matter because the “status quo” is suitable for someone. “What is status quo? Isn’t status quo when someone has a state within a state, while someone else cannot elect its legitimate representatives,” Raguz asked.

Darko Babalj (SDS) said that these changes will not be adopted in B&H HoR and added that it is necessary first to reach an agreement on the matter. Babalj reminded that he is a member of the Inter-departmental Commission for Changes to the Law on Elections of B&H and announced he will resign from the post immediately because not a single Croat attended last three sessions of the Commission.

Safet Softic (SDA) said that he does not understand why the proposer sent such an important law to an urgent procedure. Karamatic said that it will never happen again that West Herzegovina Canton, in which a very small number of Bosniaks live, can appoint a delegate in the Bosniak Caucus.

Halid Genjac (SDA) warned that these changes will reduce the area in which Bosniaks can be elected and he announced that a motion will most probably be filed with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Delegates adopted the law with eight votes in favor of it, four against and two delegates abstained from voting.

 

Dodik and Ruiz Calavera meet and agree Transport Community Treaty and adoption of Law on Excise Duties ASAP (RTRS)

 

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik met with Director for the Western Balkans at the Directorate-General for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission (EC) Genoveva Ruiz Calavera in Banja Luka on Wednesday evening. Dodik and Ruiz Calavera agreed that there is a need to solve the issue of signing the Treaty on the Transport Community and adoption of the Law on Excise Duties as soon as possible. They also agreed that it is necessary to eliminate political influence from courts and that the Law on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) should guarantee legal security. Dodik emphasized the willingness to solve the issue of the Law on the Court of B&H, where he deems that this court should deal only with cases from its jurisdiction while the entity judiciary would be completely autonomous.

 

Radoncic slams SDA, claims Izetbegovic and Dodik have excellent secret cooperation (EuroBlic)

 

SBB B&H leader Fahrudin Radoncic stated that SDA constantly acts as a fortune teller and tries to predict what SBB B&H will or will not do. Commenting on the conclusion of SDA Presidency that it is unacceptable that SBB B&H voted against the report on the work of the Council of Ministers (CoM) of B&H, Radoncic said: “It is especially interesting that they are doing this in agreement with SNSD leader Milorad Dodik who thinks Bosniaks are occupiers on Drina River”. Radoncic noted that SDA’s accusations represent a classic election campaign and tendentious prejudice. “Once the report on the work of B&H CoM for 2016 comes before B&H parliament, MPs representing SBB B&H will vote the way they assess is the best”, Radoncic said.

Asked to comment on speculations that there is some sort of a political alliance between Dodik, HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic and him, Radoncic said that this is merely a dirty campaign of SDA and noted: “This party constantly fabricates new enemies of B&H and proclaims itself as the only defender of the joint B&H”. Actually, Radoncic claimed, SDA defends its intelligence service and all statements are probably given in this context. Radoncic also reminded that SNSD voted for his removal from the position of the Minister of Security of B&H. “I think Mr. Dodik and Mr. Izetbegovic have an excellent secret cooperation and I view all these statements you mentioned in this context”, Radoncic added. Asked if he thinks the current convocation of B&H CoM will be preserved until 2018 elections having in mind the opposition parties might ask for its removal at the next session of the House of Representatives (HoR) of B&H Parliament, Radoncic said that, judging media reports and statements of politicians, there is a majority in B&H HoR which is dissatisfied with the work of B&H CoM. “If there is voting on this matter, then B&H HoR would certainly cast vote of no confidence in anemic Chair of B&H CoM Denis Zvizdic. However, the House of Peoples (HoP) too needs to confirm the removal and ratio of powers in B&H HoP is such that the removal would probably not be possible”, Radoncic stated.

 

Cvijanovic meets Wigemark (Klix.ba)

 

Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic met with Head of the EU Delegation to B&H and EUSR Lars-Gunnar Wigemark in Banja Luka on Thursday. Wigemark did not hide his disappointment over the fact that Transport Community Treaty was not signed by B&H. One of good news for Wigemark was that Coordination Mechanism has finally started to function, working groups were established and things have started to move in positive direction. Wigemark said that the whole process of preparation of answers for the EC’ Questionnaire is very important, it does not take place in public sphere but it is important. Wigermak added that at the same time we can see that some reform measures are in compete halt, that is, implementation of measures from Reform Agenda has been slowed down and the EC simply does not accept excuses that this is the case due to approaching elections. Wigemark added that there is still a lot of time before the elections and it is unacceptable to leave all other things aside. He also said: “EU members were impressed by progress that was made last year in the context of implementation of reforms and submitting of an application for membership, but it was not the case this year. For instance, B&H sent a very negative signal last week in Trieste when Transport Community Treaty was not signed. I am glad that RS PM Cvijanovic and RS President Milorad Dodik understand that that the problem is not the content of Treaty itself but how to coordinate certain topics and opinions within B&H.” He hopes that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible with good political will since other countries of the region signed the agreement. He believes that the issue of Law on Excise Duties must be resolved in one way or another. “We from the EU do not prescribe anything and we do not demand any solutions or arrangements or concrete amount of the excise duties. This is the question that B&H authorities must agree upon otherwise the whole process is being endangered and slowed down. Thus it is simply unacceptable for us that any political party or leaders say that they cannot agree upon some issue or that they passively wait for resolving of the situation. We are not taking sides, we are not pointing a finger at anyone and look for culprits, but we call on B&H politicians to coordinate their stances in an appropriate way, especially when this demands the joint appearance at international scene, otherwise, their behavior is shameful, to put it mildly. We demand joint strategies with regard to transport and energy, environment, especially with regard to employment, which is very important. Of course, all levels of authority should be taken in consideration, from entity to state ones.” Cvijanovic said: “Mister Wigemark has explained it well. This is not about the essence of the agreement, although we had certain fears with regard to that essence as well… The issue of internal coordination is disputable, defining of stances since it is impermissible for me that one topic emerges two days before the summit at which something has to be signed. This is unserious and irresponsible… This has nothing to do with our relation towards Brussels but with our internal agreements. There is no communication and cooperation in this country. We spoke something about this in February and then you come in July to sign something and the RS is suddenly guilty for everything. What have you been doing for five months?”

 

Croatia to enter Schengen Area next year? (Jutarnji list)

 

Four years after entering the European Union, Croatia is still waiting to join the Schengen Area and the Eurozone. Due to the recent economic crisis, many are reluctant to support the introduction of a single currency, so the issue is only occasionally mentioned in the media. However, Croatia's entry into Schengen is certainly a priority for both Croatia and the European Union, reports Jutarnji list.

Croatia has been an EU member for more than four years, but nobody in Brussels is yet ready to discuss any possible deadlines for entry into the Schengen Area. For comparison, Slovenia entered Schengen just three and a half years after it became an EU member. The geographic position of Croatia makes entry into the Schengen a sensitive issue. Croatia has the longest external borders in the whole of the European Union. However, the border is with countries whose citizens do not need a visa for travel to the Union. They are either in EU membership negotiations, such as Montenegro and Serbia or are awaiting candidate status, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatia has already applied Schengen rules on its external borders. By entering Schengen, it would only abolish controls at the border crossings with Slovenia and Hungary, as well as control of passports for passengers in airports and seaports for planes and ships coming from the Schengen Area. This would significantly free up Croatian police resources that could be used for stronger external border control. The entry into the Schengen Area is the best and perhaps the only way to resolve the issue of long waiting times at Croatian border crossings with Slovenia and Hungary. Although an agreement has been reached with Slovenia, with the help of the European Commission, on how to solve problems in case of excessively long lines, such arrangements are more an exception rather a rule. The complete suspension of checks for all the passengers at these border crossings will be possible only when Croatia formally enters the Schengen. The process of Croatia's entry into Schengen is proceeding, and a significant step forward was made earlier this year with gaining access to the Schengen Information System (SIS). Croatia has made substantial progress in meeting the criteria, and the European Commission could confirm Croatia's readiness for entry into Schengen before the end of this year. After that, the formal entry becomes a political issue, as evidenced by the examples of Bulgaria and Romania, which are not yet members of Schengen, although, as confirmed by the European Commission five years ago, they have long met all the necessary conditions. There is no consensus on the issue in the Council of the European Union because the Netherlands, Germany and France do not support it. It is believed that Croatia is in a somewhat better position than these two countries. If there are no political obstacles, particularly by Slovenia, Croatia could become a member of the Schengen Area as early as next year. Although it may have political motives to prevent it, Slovenia should understand that Croatia's entry into Schengen is in its best interest as well, because that would move the external Schengen border further south.

 

Tajani: EU ready for Montenegro’s accession (RTCG)

 

Montenegro is progressing on its path to the EU and in these efforts it enjoys support of the official Brussels, European officials and administration, said European Parliament President Antonio Tajani at a meeting with Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic.

President Tajani said that the EU is willing to integrate Montenegro in the shortest possible time, depending on the speed of fulfillment of tasks from our European agenda. He said that he will continue to back up Montenegro to join the EU, and that his visit to Podgorica is a strong message not only to the country, but also the region. Noting that the arrival of the European Parliament President will give additional impetus to the Montenegrin administration to work more intensively towards meeting the European agenda, Prime Minister Markovic stressed that progress has been made in relation to the latest meeting of the two officials in February. Montenegro has 28 open and three temporarily closed chapters, and is strongly committed to meeting the criteria for opening the remaining negotiating chapters. The Government's intention is to pledge additional commitment not only to closing the chapters, but primarily to fostering European values and standards that will contribute to the changes in the Montenegrin society. PM Markovic also informed President Tajani about financial consolidation measures that produced positive results, emphasizing that public finances were stabilized, favorable business environment preserved and that economic growth in the first quarter of the year was at the rate of 3.2%. President of the European Parliament said that he is personally dedicated to strengthening economic diplomacy and highlighted potentials of Montenegrin tourism that need to be further valorized. EP President particularly praised the role of Montenegro in the region - as a country that has always contributed to stability in the Balkans. He said that in the forthcoming period the country should continue pursuing such a policy, as, the two officials agreed a stable Balkans means a safe and stable Europe.

 

Party officials discuss Declaration of Albanian parties in Macedonia at parliament meeting (MIA)

 

Representatives of the Albanian parties in Macedonia convened Wednesday for a meeting in Parliament to discuss the necessity of enacting a law on the use of Albanian language, the implementation of provisions of the Declaration of the Albanian parliamentary parties, the name negotiations between Macedonia and Greece and the anticipated friendship treaty with Bulgaria.

"A consensus has been reached on the need to pass a law on Albanian language. All these matters will be sent to the Venice Commission (of the Council of Europe) and will be put up for debate in Parliament. We expect the Venice Commission to offer a legal counsel about the law on the Albanian language very soon" NDP MP Vesel Memedi told reporters after the meeting. He praised the dynamic of the way provisions of the Declaration of the Albanian Parties were being implemented by the government. "I believe all items of this document will be endorsed by the MPs," Memedi noted. The MP also said the name row with Greece should be settled as soon as possible in order Macedonia to be able to join the EU and NATO. Furthermore, he said all parties of the Albanian bloc supported the bid to sign a friendship agreement with Bulgaria.

A similar meeting is expected to be held next week.

DUI leader Ali Ahmeti, DPA officials as well as representatives of Uniteti, DR-DPA and NDP were in attendance. The meeting was boycotted by the political party Besa. They refused to send a representative saying the meeting lacked “concrete agenda” and accused DUI of “abusing the Declaration of the Albanians”.

 

Zaharieva: Bulgaria will not negotiate any changes in the content of the Agreement with Macedonia (Meta)

 

Bulgaria has no intention to lead new negotiations regarding the content in the Agreement for good neighborly relations with Macedonia, said the VP and head of the Bulgarian diplomacy, Ekaterina Zaharieva, who also stated that the text has been finalized. “The Agreement represents a new page in the relations between the two countries but after its signing, there is a lot to be done. The Agreement will be signed in Macedonian language, according to the Constitution of Republic of Macedonia and in Bulgarian, according to the Constitution of Republic National of Bulgaria,” said Zaharieva in an interview for the “Bulgarian National Television.” (BNT) Zaharieva stated that the Agreement is based on the Declaration dated from 1999 and that it has mechanisms for monitoring its application. She stressed that an expert Commission will work on the improvement of the curriculums on basis of legitimate historical sources. Regarding the requests issued by the opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE to recognize the existence of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria, she stressed that Bulgaria does not negotiate with political parties but with the government. “The representatives in Skopje will have to decide whether they will continue being isolated from its neighbors and the world, thinking about its grandness or they want to have a European perspective and development,” said Zaharieva.

 

NATO commends Macedonia's stabilization, swift progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration (MIA)

 

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev had a meeting Wednesday in Skopje with NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Tacan Ildem, also attended by the chief of NATO Liaison Office Skopje, Slovenian Navy Capt. Gorazd Bartol, the government said in a press release. At the meeting, Ildem conveyed a message of support for the new Macedonia's government of the Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, saying that Macedonia has made swift progress towards the Euro-integration and stabilization of the country in a peaceful, democratic manner. Stoltenberg also extends congratulation to and encourages the reform-oriented government, reaffirming the support of the country's aspirations to join the Alliance. Referring to the government's action plan for implementing the urgent reform priorities, Zaev reiterated Macedonia's determination to join the European Union and NATO. The meeting also tackled the significance of reforms related to good governance, rule of law, defense and good-neighborly relations. Zaev and Ildem agreed on a possibility for Macedonia-NATO cooperation in the sphere of education, as well as for setting up expert teams to help the country in implementing the reforms, the press release reads. The meeting also highlighted the significance of NATO for the stability and security of the Balkan region.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

NATO: Balkan Paper Tiger (Eurasia Review, op-ed by Eric Walberg, 20 July 2017)

 

What’s up with NATO these days?

In 2009, NATO celebrated its 60th anniversary. With its recent deluge of new member states, it needed more space and announced it would build a new HD across the street from the bunker-like 1950s original one. It was supposed to open in 2015, but in a fitting metaphor for the troubled organization, it was discovered that the half billion euro project would cost twice that, and would not be finished till 2017. Just in time, as the new US president was toying with the idea of dispensing with what he has called an expensive, obsolete organization, even as it continues to expand, long after what many considered to be its expiry date.

So it was with a sigh of relief that the 28 European member heads of state welcomed the abrasive American leader in May 2017 for the dedication of the new HQ. Trump came, but took the opportunity to lecture his NATO allies for not spending enough for collective defence, and declined to endorse Article 5 of the alliance’s founding treaty, which states that an attack on any member is an attack on all. His subtext: Enough of pulling Euro irons out of fires.

The conventional wisdom now is that NATO will endure indefinitely, and the strange new headquarters, more like a massive ramp on the nearby expressway, or a cavernous airport, certainly gives that impression. The designers intended the fluted shell to represent interlocking fingers – symbolizing Allied unity and cooperation, but it could just as easily symbolize its fractured, brittle, disjointed character.

After 1991, NATO changed from Cold War defence pact to something much more ambitious. Its supporters argue because it is composed of “likeminded liberal democracies with shared interests” and is “a community of values”, it will endure. Expansion is justified as “a tool for democracy promotion”, the building of liberal democracy in the former communist countries, and crisis management in Europe and the world, responding to “new” threats of terrorism and proliferating weapons of mass destruction.

It is an instrument of collective security with new “cooperative” security institutions, including the Partnership for Peace and the special consultative forums with Russia (now, long gone) and Ukraine, for crisis management and peacekeeping operations beyond NATO territory. Strengthening existing networks and developing new ones “will create a genuine global rule of law without centralized global institutions.” (Read: who needs the UN?)

This acceptance of the transformation of NATO from a “temporary Cold War creation to fight the Soviet Union to a strategic partnership” which “transcended the common or any other specific threat—based on common values and interests” was far from certain when the Soviet Union collapsed. People just assumed NATO would disband along with the Warsaw Pact. French president Francois Mitterand coined the slogan “US out and Russia in”, meaning, of course, Europe. Czech Foreign Minister Jiri Dienstbier in 1990 proposed replacing NATO and the Warsaw Pact with the OSCE European Security Commission but clearly the new Czech leaders were given a talking-to and in 1991 a Czech Foreign Ministry official reversed Mitterand’s call: “We wanted it the other way around.”

Ronald Asmus, a Cold War Hungarian dissident now at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and a so-called ‘liberal’ hawk (‘liberal’ on domestic policy and hawkish on foreign policy), was a key player under Clinton to end talk of shutting NATO down, and instead sought to expand it as quickly as possible. He set out the new program in the Council on Foreign Relation’s Foreign Affairs, portraying the new member-hopefuls as a pro-US political elite eager and willing to do whatever the US wants, and exhorting France to “abandon its exaggerated fear of American hegemony”. He predicted that future massacres such as occurred in Bosnia will be prevented by a rapid reaction force.

There was also a split in the US establishment over expanding NATO. Unlike the Euro-split, which was really a disagreement over US world hegemony, the US debate was, on the contrary, whether being saddled with a string of poor, unprepared, untried statelets would advance or hinder this (US) hegemony, making NATO a confused, ungovernable, fractious debating forum (like the expanded EU), or a functional alliance, bringing the new entries up to western military standards quickly and cementing them in the western alliance of nations.

Democrat defence doyen Sam Nunn was against expansion: yes, defend eastern Europe against Russia, but Russia would see expansion as aimed at it. Realists like Nunn realized that Russia would not submit, that enlargement was very expensive, that expansion was probably not really useful to US imperialism, and control of nuclear weapons was a more important objective and one that would not antagonize Russia. But Republicans and ‘liberal’ hawk Democrats like Asmus won the day with their policy of expansion, and approved of the NATO bombing of Bosnia in 1995 and Serbia in 1999. This marked the end of Yugoslovia as a ‘modern’ state, which conducted its own foreign policy. Among postmodern states, the use of force is now unthinkable, but it is fine when dealing with premodern states (Afghanistan, Iraq), or the remaining modern states (Russia, China). Trump has hinted loudly that he is not interested in the US as world policeman, that he wants to improve relations with Russia, and that he sees NATO as that confused debating club disdained by the anti-NATO crowd. But he still acts as if the US is the world hegemon in Syria and Iraq, and with daggers drawn against him in Washington, he has softened his tone on NATO, so it is impossible to predict where he will take us (and NATO).

How do you analyze the effects of joining NATO on the political interdependence of the Balkan countries?

This postmodern imperialism—on the surface—is the voluntary, multilateral global economy, kept in place by the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO, and, of course, NATO. The postmodern EU offers a vision of cooperative empire: “The age-old laws of international relations have been repealed. Europeans have stepped out of the Hobbesian world of anarchy into the Kantian world of perpetual peace.” (Robert Kagan, Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order, 2003.) After the Yugoslav civil war in the 1990s, the Balkans entered this brave, new world. But what is it underneath? What is it in reality?

The transformation of countries to postmodern status is really a form of castration, of their subordination to the US agenda. Kagan’s “perpetual peace” is more like the peace of the grave. The US, by invading the remains of Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan, and by pressuring and subverting Iran, Syria and others, is in reality trying to reduce—to carve up—these countries into similarly harmless but crippled third world versions of the more fortunate postmodern western European states. Thus, the attraction of joining the NATO club (before it ‘joins’ you). Much better to concede defeat before you are invaded and reduced to rubble. Just ask the Serbians, Afghanis, Iraqis, Libyans or Syrians. Almost nowhere is the question raised of whether NATO should have been dissolved with the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, clearly the intent of Gorbachev, western non-hawks and ordinary citizens everywhere, leaving the international order to the UN and other truly multilateral organizations.

One prominent mainstream US voice has been William Pfaff, who complained that “large and firmly implanted bureaucratic organizations are almost impossible to kill, even when they have no reason to continue to exist, as is the case of NATO since the Soviet Union, communism, and the Warsaw Pact all collapsed.” Apart from the huge and useless expense of maintaining it, it is nonsensical for a military alliance to pretend to be a democracy-promotion vehicle. Worse, its continued existence and expansion has led to a new arms race and Cold War with Russia. Its only justification—its real intent—is as a means to ensure uninterrupted US world hegemony. Trump likes the cake, but wants it at a discount, and without upsetting the Russians. Can he square the circle?