LOCAL PRESS

 

Palmer: America wants the whole Western Balkans to have a European perspective (N1)

 

The US Department special envoy for the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer told reporters after meeting Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic that the European Union's failure to set a date for the accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, was a historic mistake, adding his country supported the EU's integration of the whole region, N1 reported. He added "America wants the whole Western Balkans to have a European perspective, and we will do whatever we can to persuade the EU to change its stand before their meeting in Zagreb" Palmer said.

Asked about the next Kosovo government, Palmer said: "that it's clear Serb List won great support of Kosovo's Serbs and the right to be represented in Pristina's Government."

Vucic said his meeting with Palmer was open and frank, and that he was satisfied with their talk.

"I'm satisfied because we went through all disputed issues, all the differences between us, while determined to finding future solutions which will be good for bilateral relations between Serbia and US, but also a constructive approach and an attempt to return to the dialogue with Pristina as soon as possible" Vucic told reporters.

He also said he was "grateful to Palmer for being ready to listen to what we think. I talked to him about all disputed issues, but don't like to retell in public. Palmer told me what he doesn't like in Serbia's politics. I think that we made some issues more explicit." Vucic said that it was well known that Belgrade and Washington had a different position regarding Kosovo and added he believed the conditions for the resumption of the dialogue on the normalization of relations with Pristina would be created in two or three months. Serbia's President reiterated the invitation to his US counterpart Donald Trump to visit Serbia.

 

Palmer: Belgrade – Pristina agreement must be acceptable to us too (RTV)

 

The US sees room for the resumption of Belgrade – Pristina dialogue on the normalization of relations if Pristina abolishes the import tariffs on goods from Serbia and Belgrade stops its “campaign to delegitimize Kosovo” Matthew Palmer, the State Department’s Special Envoy to the Western Balkans, says. He told the RTV that the aim of the dialogue, on hold for a year, was a mutual recognition while it should include a wide range of issues, like security, protection of cultural heritage, minority rights, economic cooperation. Palmer reiterated that the Washington – Pristina relations were firm, but said Kosovo needed the European perspective since “it would not become the 51st US state.” He also said that the US considered mutual recognition as an ideal solution, though it understood Serbia’s refusal to recognize the independence of Kosovo.

Since mutual recognition was a problematic issue, he added, “there are some things which could be easier for both sides to agree on at this moment and that will improve the current situation. But, that’s not up to me to decide. They must do that on their own.” Still, Palmer warned that the US would not approve any deal in advance. “We want to see what the two sides would come up with, to inform us about that, and if we have some issues, we will approach both sides to fix them. If both sides want our support in implementation (what they agree on), our political support, then we would like to get a deal which is OK” he added.

 

Vucic with Brammertz: Good cooperation (RTS)

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia would continue to strengthen its collaboration with The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT or Mechanism) in spite of disarrangements existing between Belgrade and The Hague Prosecution, the Beta news agency reported. In a meeting with Serge Brammertz, the chief IRMCT Prosecutor, Vucic defined Serbia’s cooperation as “good,” a statement from his office said.

The statement quoted Brammertz as saying he was not satisfied with the regional cooperation and added he regretted the slowness in providing documents necessary for the proceedings before the Mechanism.

Brammertz is in Belgrade to prepare his regular report to the UN Security Council he will submit at the beginning of December. He will also meet Serbia’s Justice Minister Nela Kuburovic, the war crimes prosecutor Snezana Stanojkovic and the foreign representatives in the country. Vucic and Brammertz discussed the next Prosecutor's report, the ongoing trials against Serbia’s citizens, the results of The Hague Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, and help in building Serbia’s judicial institutions and the transfer of knowledge to them.

 

Serbia's FM: Another four, five withdrawals of Kosovo's' recognition by the end (Beta)

 

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Tuesday he expected some four to five countries to withdraw their decision on recognizing Kosovo as an independent state by the end of 2019, despite warnings the European Union and the US sent to Belgrade to stop the campaign, the Beta news agency reported.

Commenting on the US State Departments' envoy for the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer that Serbia was at risk of sanctions for buying the Russian-made military equipment, Dacic told the Belgrade Happy TV, there were no conditions for introducing any sanctions since "we are not, stupid, we know what is allowed."

 

Vucic talks about little Schengen with Rama and Zaev (Beta)

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke on the phone on Nov. 4 with the prime ministers of Albania and North Macedonia, Edi Rama and Zoran Zaev, about a second tripartite meeting at Ohrid, which should be the setting for continued talks about establishing a "little Schengen" among the three countries. "Excellent conference call with Edi Rama and Zoran Zaev, ahead of the important summit at Ohrid on Nov. 9" Vucic posted to the BuducnostSrbijeAV (Future of Serbia) Instagram account. Earlier, Vucic told a news conference with Deputy Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Matthew Palmer that talks would continue with North Macedonia and Albania, and later with other countries, about removing obstacles to the free flow of goods, services, people and capital. In Novi Sad, on Oct. 10, Vucic, Zaev and Rama signed a declaration of intent to establish a "little Schengen" to ensure the implementation of four internationally accepted key liberties: free movement of people, goods, services and capital.

 

Vucic to Critics of Russian Arms Procurement: Make up Your Mind whether We Buy Clunkers or Sophisticated Systems (VIP)

 

Serbia does not arm itself to attack anyone, but to make its citizens feel safe, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday. Commenting on the criticisms that Serbia faces over the purchase of Russian weapons, Vucic said to the reporters in Belgrade that he was being attacked on the one hand for buying allegedly outdated military technology and, on the other, there were sanctions threats - as US Deputy Secretary of State and the special representative for the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer voiced a few days ago - due to the purchase of sophisticated modern weapons. Critics should therefore reach an agreement whether they are “clunkers” or sophisticated weapons and what exactly bothers them, he said. “I am proud of the fact that Serbia has an army, incomparably stronger than five or seven years ago. We have many more weapons and tools today. It took money and planning. We not only buy smart, we work smart” Vucic said.

“Serbia’s weapons are not offensive, but defensive, and the goal is for citizens to feel safe. We don’t mind arming of Croatia or Montenegro. Just don’t lament how we arm ourselves. When we arm ourselves, we do it because we are military neutral, and why do you need the weapon when you are in NATO... Or maybe you plan to attack Austria, which is not a member of that alliance,” he said sarcastically. “Serbia won’t have ballistic missiles, but don’t think you can sell 16 howitzers (Germany to Croatia) and that we won’t have (Serbia-made self-propelled howitzer weapon system) Noras. We have to respond, to protect ourselves, because we want to be militarily neutral” Vucic said.

 

EU chief in Serbia: Law on corruption must be implemented (FoNet)_

 

Sem Fabrizi, the head of the European Union Mission in Serbia said on Monday that the country put serious efforts in fighting corruption, but that the adopted laws should be implemented, the FoNet news agency reported. The top EU diplomat in Serbia added that the corruption was a serious threat which should be recognized as cancer in all societies, adding there was a clear link between the corruption and prosperity since the more efficient fight against it was, the GDP was higher as was the people's trust.

"The laws should be implemented without fear and regardless whether it's about corruption on a lower or higher level. That is how confidence among the people, companies and the international community is built" Fabrizi told the "Fight Against Corruption in South-East Europe Progress," held in Belgrade. He added that "in fighting corruption in Serbia a lot has to be done, as in the whole of EU, since it is a global, not European, regional or national problem."

Serbia's Justice Minister Nela Kuburovic said Serbia was proud with what had been done in the fight against corruption, adding the prevention was a most often better solution than repression.

"Serbia is among a few countries in Europe which has a law on lobbying, and the Law on Whistle-blowers' Protection was also adopted" Kuburovic said. She added that corruption was linked to the money laundry and that Serbia was at the highest political level committed to preventing that. Kuburovic said the criminal proceedings for corruption against some judges and courts' presidents were underway.

 

Vucic: SNS’s Goal to win absolute majority in parliament at elections (Tanjug)

 

The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) will enter the parliamentary elections in the spring in a significantly rejuvenated make-up, and its goal is to win a sufficient number of votes at them to secure an absolute majority in parliament, said the leader of the party, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Monday. Vucic also said that the SNS would enter the upcoming parliamentary, provincial and local elections with “more new young and untarnished faces”. On the election list for the MPs there will be 20% of such people, and the ambition is for it to be the same on the lists for provincial and local elections, he said. The engaging of new people is necessary among other because the “dirty campaign which is being led against SNS officials has left its mark” Vucic said. He specified that elections should take place between March 22 and April 5 2020.

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina

 

HR Inzko to present his semi-annual report on B&H before UN SC (BHT1)

 

High Representative Valentin Inzko will present his semi-annual report on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) before the UN Security Council (UN SC) in New York on Tuesday (today). The reporter reminded that during the meetings he held in the US ahead of the session of the UN SC, Inzko has been warning of constant disapprovals of the foundations of the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA), divisive rhetoric and stalemate in the process of formation of new authorities. These topics are also included in his report to the UN SC, according to media reports. Media reports suggest that the report criticizes the declarations of SDA and HDZ B&H, as well as the rhetoric of Serb member of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik.

It also refers to the fact that the migrant crisis is evident solely in the Federatiob of B&H, as well as to the controversial amendments to the police legislation in the Sarajevo Canton.

The Republika Srpska (RS) Government has also submitted its 22nd report to the UN SC. Commenting on this fact, RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic stated: “The fact is that they have not been talking realistically about the things the way they are here in B&H for years. Instead, they have been trying to create a wrong picture, which is what brought us all into such situation in the first place.” On the other hand, the Office of the High Representative (OHR) stated in a reply to BHT1 that the High Representative’s report to the UN is the only report that is submitted based on the General Framework Agreement for Peace in B&H and resolutions of the UN SC.

According to professor at the Faculty of Political Science in Sarajevo Elmir Sadikovic, the High Representative’s report will only identify the well-known problems in B&H. He added that the attempt of one of the entities to present itself as a subject of the international law is nothing new. “I do not think it could lead to some kind of legal or political consequences. It only reflects the problems in B&H and the lack of internal consensus on the functioning of the country or the role of the High Representative. In fact, the RS presented its opposing views on the situation in B&H even before the report was presented” Sadikovic assessed.

 

Komsic: Authorities at B&H level should be formed as soon as possible because, otherwise, elections lose meaning (BN TV)

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency Chairman Zeljko Komsic stated on Monday that authorities at the B&H level should be formed as soon as possible because, otherwise, "elections lose meaning." Komsic called on the candidate for the post of Chairman-designate of the B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) and the political structure that is proposing him to commit themselves to respect decisions of the B&H Presidency, including decisions on the Membership Action Plan (MAP) and the Annual National Program (ANP) for NATO, "whose adoption that same political structure took part in." "Everything is getting stuck around whether we will respect the law and decisions we adopted. If we are going to review every four years all laws and all decisions we adopted, then everything in B&H is questionable. Formation of the authorities got stuck on a technical matter. Formation of the authorities got stuck on compliance with laws and decisions of the B&H Presidency. You know what this is all about. Therefore, one is not asking for anything that is not normal anywhere in the world. If we are asking for the B&H CoM Chairman-designate and the political structure which is proposing the Chairman-designate to commit themselves that they will respect decisions of the B&H Presidency whose adoption that political structure took part in... Therefore, decisions on the MAP and ANP were not adopted without the political structure which is contesting that today. Then why all the talk? There is no stability in general in the country if we are going to review everything and call everything in question" Komsic underlined.

Asked whether the B&H Presidency is working, Komsic said that it is working. "Given the political relations, it is working in quite an okay manner, I have to say. The B&H Presidency is working. There is no delay in functioning and doing what is the constitutional competence of the Presidency. Sessions are being held. Truth be told, Serb member of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik is spending a bit more time in Banja Luka than in Sarajevo" Komsic said, adding that there are no problems in communication between the B&H Presidency members.

 

UK Ambassador Field: This was year of missed opportunities (Dnevni list)

 

UK Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Matthew Field said that departure of young people represents a crisis in B&H, which is one of the biggest challenges the country is facing. According to Ambassador Field, he sees in all areas a sense of hopelessness and feeling that things cannot get better, arguing that there is no reason for that “because this country has excellent resources and natural advantages, such as its location”. The Ambassador went on to say that he sees this year as a year of missed opportunities, not only because of failure to form new governments, but also because of the parliamentarians who are not doing their job and because of the people who have the power but are not doing enough on reaching compromise. Asked if the international community (IC) will do anything to get things moving since new Federation of B&H and state level authorities have not been formed, Ambassador Field says he wants to see new authorities formed and that they are formed with genuine dedication to reforms. Asked if reforms will pick up pace and how far or near B&H is from the EU, the Ambassador replied by saying he personally would like to see reforms having positive effect on lives of citizens.

 

Cubrilovic: RS and B&H are dedicated to EU integration (RTRS)

 

Speaker of the Republika Srpska (RS) National Assembly Nedeljko Cubrilovic attended the conference of Speakers of Parliaments of Countries in Southeastern Europe and Countries of the Visegrad Group in Budapest on Monday. During his speech at the conference, Cubrilovic stressed that the RS and Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) are dedicated to the EU integration. He added that the progress of B&H on the EU path would be faster if the election results were implemented sooner. Cubrilovic signed the joint statement on the EU enlargement with the other attendants of the conference. He told RTRS that the joint statement will be sent to the President of the European Council Donald Tusk and the current Presidency of the Council, as well as the leaders of the European Parliament and the EU. Cubrilovic explained that this will be done by Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament Laszlo Kover.  Cubrilovic also pointed out that the RS and B&H have a strong wish to become the EU member state as soon as possible. According to Cubrilovic, the idea of so-called strategic partnership “does not suit us”, expressing regrets with the latest decision of the EU Council, which halted the EU road of North Macedonia and Albania. In this context the RSNA Speaker said if this situation is not overcome soon, the European enthusiasm in other Western Balkans countries could deflate as well.

 

Cubrilovic schedules special session of RSNA to define agenda for session to discuss unconstitutional transformation of Dayton structure of B&H and influence on RS (BN TV)

 

Speaker of the Republika Srpska (RS) National Assembly (RSNA) Nedeljko Cubrilovic scheduled a session of the RSNA Collegium for Wednesday, November 6. The session of the RSNA Collegium will be an opportunity to adopt the proposal of agenda and set the date for holding of the 7th special session of the RSNA. The request to hold the special session of the RSNA was submitted by Head of SNSD Caucus in the RSNA Igor Zunic.

The request to hold the special session of the RSNA was announced by Serb member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik following SDA Declaration although, according to BN TV, there is less and less talk about the Declaration which is being brought in connection with speculations that Dodik, SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic and HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic are coming closer to reaching an agreement on formation of authorities at the B&H level.

RSNA MPs are expected to discuss unconstitutional transformation of the Dayton structure of B&H and influence on rights and the status of the RS. One-third of RSNA MPs called for holding of the special session. SNSD’s request reads - among other things - that there has been a number of deviations from the Constitution of B&H since the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed back in 1995, and that constitutional-legal structure of B&H has been altered, without conditions being created for those changes to be implemented. The request also reads that such situation is endangering the status and legal position of the RS.

 

Croatia

 

Croatian ambassadors gather to discuss upcoming EU chairmanship (HRT)

 

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman held a working meeting in Zagreb with ambassadors and permanent representatives of Croatia on Monday as part of ongoing preparations for Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first six months of 2020. The foreign minister said that Southeast Europe was one of the main priorities of Croatia's term at the head of the EU because. Grlic Radman said Croatia was a steadfast supporter of further EU expansion in the region, noting that a stable and prosperous Southeast Europe would also guarantee greater security. For his part, the prime minister said that next year's Zagreb summit meeting of EU member states and Southeast European countries, also referred to as the Western Balkans, would benefit existing members and those hoping to join the continent's single market. And in terms of direct benefits for Croatia, Plenkovic added that the summit would help to further promote Croats in the region, namely as an equal and constituent ethnic group in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as communities living in Serbia.

 

Montenegro

 

Brajovic: WB will be completely stable in the EU (CDM)

 

Western Balkans will be completely stable, safe and prosperous once it is integrated in the European Union, said president of Montenegro’s Parliament, Ivan Brajovic at the conference of the presidents of parliaments of South East Europe, which is taking place in Budapest.

“The European Union will be complete when it includes this part of Europe. It is important that we understand that this is a two-way process and that benefits are mutual. I firmly believe that that values of the countries in the region can enrich the EU and make it complete. I am sure neighbors can help each other in the process as we are all faced with similar challenges” said Brajovic. He pointed out that he was aware of the fact that there were areas in which we could reach standards we are expected to reach. “We know that integration process and the entire process should be focused more on the essence than on the technical part. Also, we believe that it is important that our devoted reform work is recognized and awarded. Therefore, EU failure to open membership talks with North Macedonia and Albania is disappointing, given the fact that both countries have fulfilled the requirements imposed by Brussels. This decision raises concerns over the credibility of all other countries’ credibility in the integration process” said Brajovic.

 

Who wants EU must impose sanctions against Russia (RTCG)

 

The EU foreign minister says Montenegro, Albania, Norway and Ukraine have joined the EU's decision to extend sanctions against Russia and the individuals in Ukraine.

"Candidates for the accession Montenegro and Albania, a member of the European Economic Area Norway as well as Ukraine, are joining the decision. They will ensure that their national policies are consistent with that decision. The EU has observed their commitment and welcomes it" said Federica Mogherini, reports RTCG.

Russia has been under EU sanctions since 2014, when the Union accused the Kremlin of jeopardizing Ukraine's territorial integrity by annexing Crimea, which Moscow denies, and the sanctions include about 150 individuals from Russia and Ukraine.

 

Republic of North Macedonia

 

Sassoli: North Macedonia is ready to start accession negotiations (Nezavisen vesnik)

 

EP President David Sassoli arrived for an official visit to the country on Monday.

At the opening of the Europe House in Skopje, Sassoli said “the future is in your hands and ours. We shouldn’t lose hope. The European Union should help North Macedonia become a member state and participate in building a new Europe”. He underlined that the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission believe North Macedonia is ready to start accession talks and expressed his hopes that the few countries who are still having doubts, will manage to overcome them.

“North Macedonia, Sassoli added, is ready to open accession negotiations. The country has made many sacrifices, implemented reforms and even changed its name in order to start talks. Some countries are still skeptical, but he believes North Macedonia will manage to change their minds.

The fact that only three countries blocked the opening of accession negotiations, Sassoli said, shows that governments and institutions are willing to start the process. North Macedonia’s efforts in the next few months, he added, should be focused on gaining EU membership”.

“We have a common destiny and this is just a small obstacle on our road. Roads are often paved with such things and we must take the momentum and go forward together until the moment North Macedonia is member state of the European Union. I understand your disappointment, we’re also disappointed, but at the same time we have to have faith in what we shall achieve together in the future” Sassoli said. The EP president added that accession talks should start by next year.

 

Zaev after meeting with Sassoli: Our EU membership is irreplaceable (Republika)

 

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev met Monday the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, who is visiting our country at the invitation of Parliament Speaker, Talat Xhaferi.

The fact that Macedonia is the first country to be visited by the newly elected President of the European Parliament speaks about the great support he and the European Parliament have for our country, said Zaev after the meeting. According to him, this visit is a great opportunity to express our gratitude to the European Parliament, to all MEPs who voted for the resolution calling on EU members to start negotiations with Macedonia and Albania, after such a decision was not made at the October session of the EC and the Summit of the leaders of the EU member states.

“Almost all European leaders agreed that great injustice was done to Macedonia on 18 October and that not reaching a decision to open EU accession negotiations was a historic mistake. It sent the wrong signal to us all in the country and in the region. Instead, it has put on the agenda questions of Eurosceptics and the dilemmas of whether the EU really sticks to its enlargement policies and whether there is an alternative. It is not easy to continue without the structured and systematic pressure brought on by the accession negotiations – but we have no alternative. We must continue, even stronger, with reforms, with evidence that the country has the rule of law, that it has strong arguments for economic progress. These reforms are most needed for us, at home” said Zaev. Zaev emphasized that the country and the citizens believe in the EU values and are convinced that the new chance for our country will open soon. “We firmly believe that the prospect of EU membership is irreplaceable and should not be questioned if we truly want stable, secure and prosperous Western Balkans” said Zaev.

 

Pendarovski to Sassoli: European Council’s decision may be demotivating for Macedonia (Republika)

 

President Stevo Pendarovski on Monday met with European Parliament President David Sassoli. At the meeting, President Pendarovski expressed satisfaction with the European Parliament’s continued and open support for the European integration of Macedonia. At the same time, President Pendarovski welcomed the adoption of the resolution following the outcome of the October European Council. The adoption of a resolution demanding the start of accession negotiations with Macedonia and Albania, as President Pendarovski pointed out, would help keep our citizens motivated. In this regard, he also expressed satisfaction that the European Parliament remains committed to enlargement, Pendarovski’s Office said.

At the meeting with Sassoli, President Pendarovski underlined that the decision of the latest summit of leaders in Brussels was unfavorable as the country took major steps in internal reforms and good neighborly relations in order to advance in European integration. He added that the European Council’s decision to return to enlargement next spring may be a demotivating for Macedonia and the entire Western Balkans region. The President stressed that Macedonia’s European integration remains a long-term commitment, a motivation for transforming society and implementing European standards. The future of the country is within the European Union, a direction that was also confirmed at the recent meeting of the political leaders hosted by the President.

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

“Norwegian model” – a bird in the hand for Skopje and the neighborhood? (Deutsche Welle)

 

Gerald Knaus would have to know what was going on. He is the director of the European Stability Initiative, a highly influential think tank in Brussels. Knaus was the main creator of a refugee agreement between the EU and Turkey that significantly softened the refugee wave across the Balkans. The veto with which Emmanuel Macron blocked the start of negotiations with Skopje and Tirana – and actually stalled the entire EU enlargement process – Kanus calls it a “coup de grâce”. “The EU should offer all Western Balkan countries the opportunity to join the single market, such as Norway or Iceland,” the influential analyst said in an article released last week, Deutsche Welle analyses.

 

Macron stopped the game

 

Knaus is not the only one. There are growing rumors that the zero hour came for European politics in the Balkans, a moment to bury the dead concept of EU enlargement and find something new. Something less than enlargement, but tempting enough to keep Balkan countries in EU’s court. Leaders in the region will meet in May at the EU summit in Zagreb. Will the Norwegian model be on the table? “Macron’s veto has torpedoed the whole enlargement process. I think that was his intention,” said Andreas Ernst, an experienced journalist with Neue Zürcher Zeitung, who has been the paper’s correspondent from Belgrade for years. “But the advantage is that this is how the false nature of the relationship between the EU and the Western Balkans has become apparent.”

In can be read between the lines that Macron is taking the Western Balkans hostage until he pursues his vision of Europe. He wants the EU with more speeds or concentric circles. The core would gravitate around the Paris-Berlin axis, the countries integrated into the market would be outside, and the accompanying countries completely outside, perhaps Serbia and its neighbors. Macron has received quiet support from the Netherlands and Denmark. The criticism from Berlin at Macron’s expense comes with winks – we had to let Skopje and Tirana negotiate, anyway they would not join the EU for at least 10 years. This German game, Ernst says, is even more perfidious. The rules, the Swiss journalist says, for years have been like this: the EU seemingly to want to accept Balkan countries into membership, and the leadership in these countries is allegedly implementing reforms.

 

What is the Norwegian model? The Nordic country, with Iceland and Liechtenstein, is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), a mechanism set up in 1992, which includes all EU members. One option is, when the UK finally leaves the EU, to remain part of the EEA. The market is open, there is freedom of movement, there is no customs – except for food and drink, products that are heavily subsidized in the EU, so Norway does not want to open its doors completely.

The Kosovo passport in the EEA would have the same value as the Norwegian one, and the Serbian plum rakija would have the same access to the European market as the Swiss brandy, Kosovo journalist Veton Surij told the Koha Ditore newspaper. “A Belgian investor would have the same legal certainty in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and N. Macedonia as in Iceland.” It is by no means a losers’ model for the Balkans, says journalist Andreas Ernst. “Better make integration steps in the short term than to hope for EU entry in 10 or 20 years.” The Swiss journalist is convinced that the Norwegian model is enough for the EU not to leave the Balkans to other players.

 

Balkan leaders warn that EU accession delay risks stoking tensions (Financial Times)

 

Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister of North Macedonia, said in an interview that he feared a return to his ethnically divided country’s “bad past”, including a narrowly averted civil war in 2001. Edi Rama, prime minister of Albania, said in a separate interview that his country risked becoming “collateral damage” from the EU’s divisions over enlargement, Financial Times reports.

"The warnings from both Balkan leaders underline analysts’ fears that the EU’s failure to proceed with both countries’ accession process will destabilize a geopolitically delicate region where the influence of other countries including Russia and China is growing" FT reports.

It is reiterated that French President Emmanuel Macron had blocked opening accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, with the Netherlands and Denmark also opposing negotiations with Tirana. Both Balkan countries have complained that the EU is not meeting its side of agreement.

 

Zaev said that he was worried that a sensitive agreement he negotiated with Greece last year to rename his country could be reopened due to growing nationalist sentiment.

“If there is enough nationalist rhetoric, radical acting and speeches in North Macedonia, that will give arguments to Greek politicians to use the same kind of rhetoric, and in return, that can lead everyone to take concrete steps which will not be good for my region or my country” Zaev warned, pointing out the multiethnic nature of its country mainly populated by Macedonians and ethnic Albanians. Zaev has already said he will resign as a sing of disapproving with EU policy, adding that the agreement with Athens could be in jeopardy if his party does not win on the next elections.

 

In Tirana, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that the decision not to open accession negotiations left a “heavy psychological shock in the country” and harmed the EU’s credibility in the region. “We were cut twice from Europe brutally, once for five centuries under the Ottoman Empire and then for half a century under the most brutal communist regime. No one can live with the idea that there can be a third time" Rama said.

Both leaders said they understood the concerns of the EU member states that blocked the negotiations because they want to see reform in the bloc and of its enlargement policies, but they both agreed that any eventual membership was at least a decade off, and that their countries and the EU itself could meanwhile continue their reforms, FT reports.

Rama said the need for internal EU reform was “not really a standing alibi for what is the core issue”. “Europe is in a period where it will get worse before it will get better and we are just the collateral damage of that”, Rama said.

 

Judy Dempsey, a non-resident senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, said that the EU’s credibility had been damaged because leaders had been told since 2003 that if they met the EU’s criteria, they would be admitted. Now, although Skopje at least had done so, it was being rejected on the grounds that the EU must be reformed first. “Promises have been broken,” she said. “The Western Balkans is now easy picking for the Chinese and Russian influence”, Dempsey concluded. Zaev said he was worried about attempts to fill the vacuum due to accession process delay. “This decision gives space for third forces, which are not very helpful, who do not offer us democracy, freedoms, and rule of law”, Zaev concluded.