LOCAL PRESS

 

Brnabic: Internal reforms to be implemented parallel with EU enlargement (Tanjug)

 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic held on Wednesday a lecture dubbed “Enlargement in a New Europe” in Santander, Spain, and said that the best policy for a new Europe is to carry out internal reforms parallel with enlargement. Brnabic spoke at the conference “Quo Vadis Europe? The European Union before the new political cycle”, held at Menéndez Pelayo International University in Santander, and she was welcomed by Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, who underlined that her participation is a great honor. Brnabic said that enlargement is very important for Serbia and the region she comes from, adding that EU integration and membership are a strategic goal of our country and the countries of the region. The EU faces many challenges, and we from the Western Balkans believe in the European idea, perhaps more than many European countries at the moment, we bring some new perspective but also a reminder of why the EU is important and what its benefits are, she said. The EU is the only chance for European countries to compete effectively with the world. The world also needs the EU, and the EU should play an active role in solving world issues and be a factor of stability, Brnabic said. She also stressed that non-EU countries would not be able to cope with the challenges without the Union, and stated that she wanted to be the prime minister of a country whose citizens would look forward to becoming a member of the club where they rightfully belong and whose values they share, and not because they are given the opportunity to leave the country. We are surrounded by EU countries in the Balkans, so it can be said that it is not about enlargement, but about inclusion, Brnabic said. She underlined that enlargement is also crucial for reforms in the region, and stressed that the EU must remain committed to the inclusion of the region because otherwise the impetus for reforms in those countries would disappear. She also said that a stronger and reformed Europe is not contrary to Serbia’s wishes, because, as she added, while there is Europe, there will be a sustainable peace. The students asked the Prime Minister a number of questions concerning EU integration, Russia, NATO, climate change, and the lecture hall was packed with audience. In her answers, Brnabic said that regional stability is a key priority for Serbia and that it invests a lot in this and in the regional connecting. Serbia and Russia have good relations, they have many ties, and our country needs to take advantage of all opportunities, such as the Free Trade Agreement, the Prime Minister said and explained that Serbia's representatives do not speak differently in Moscow and in Brussels. We want to become a member of the EU, that is our goal, but also to maintain good relations with Moscow. I do not think this is a problem for either Moscow or Brussels, she said. Speaking about Kosovo and Metohija, she reiterated that a compromise is necessary, but not such a compromise in which one side will win everything and the other lose everything.

 

Gojkovic on parliamentary cooperation with Russian Ambassador (RTV/Tanjug)

 

Serbian parliament speaker Maja Gojkovic met today with the Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko and agreed that, overall, Serbia and the Russian Federation enjoy intensive, developed relations grounded in mutual trust. Gojkovic and Botsan-Kharchenko stressed that excellent parliamentary cooperation plays an important role in the overall relations between Serbia and the Russian Federation and the Russian Ambassador thanked Gojkovic for her dedication to developing friendly relations with the State Duma and the Russian Federation Council. Gojkovic said that the parliamentary cooperation between the two countries is at an all-time high, highlighting the important role the Russian State Duma – Serbian parliamentary Cooperation Commission plays in promoting parliamentary relations and discussing specific topics of mutual interest. Gojkovic and Botsan-Kharchenko also spoke about advancing cooperation between the parliamentary committees in charge of foreign affairs, the economy and security, as well as friendship groups and delegations to international parliamentary organizations. Gojkovic said that the Serbian parliament also enjoys excellent cooperation with the State Duma and the Russian Federation Council on the multilateral scene, hoping that the Chairperson of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko would attend the 141^st assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Belgrade, 13-17 October, an important summit of parliamentary delegations and speakers from around the world.

 

Djuric: United participation at elections in Kosovo and Metohija (RTS)

 

The Serbs in the southern Serbian province should be united and gather around the Serb List and take part in the upcoming early parliamentary elections in Kosovo and Metohija, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS). “It is of utmost significance for the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija to treat the Albanians and all others in a monolithic and united way, and this is why the Serb List is a significant instrument of the state of Serbia, Belgrade in cooperation, communication and the fight for achieving our interests in Kosovo and Metohija,” said Djuric. “We need to prevent the scenario that many would like to see in Pristina, and this is for the Serbs to be in several columns, to be divided. According to their regulations, it is enough for only one MP to be from some group that they present as Serbs and then to appoint in the government and all other posts people who will not cooperate and act within the policy of the state of Serbia and Belgrade, but for this to be people who will be in the function of Ramush Haradinaj, Hashim Thaci and all others,” said Djuric. “As always, we will pass the decision on participation in elections jointly and I think that the Serbs should fiercely gather around the Serb List and we will speak about this in more detail in the following days, but I wish to convey already now to all of our fellow citizens in Kosovo and Metohija that their state will be with them, that we will continue to support them also materially, and we will continue to invest,” said Djuric.

 

Former MEPs with Serbian authorities and opposition behind closed doors (Politika)

 

Two former members of the European Parliament (EP) Eduard Kukan and Knut Fleckenstein will hold two-day talks with both the authorities and opposition in Belgrade but insisted they are behind closed doors, and without any statements ahead or after the meetings, Politika reported.

They reportedly have come to mediate between the authorities and the opposition to avoid the boycott of the spring elections which the opposition said would organize unless its demands were met. The two will have separate meetings with ruling and opposition parties. “Their visit has a purpose to increase pressure on the opposition to take part in the elections,” Sanda Raskovic Ivic from the People’s Party, said. She said they would probably try to make the situation better, to change the atmosphere in the parliament. Raskovic Ivic added that Kukan, Fleckenstein and David McAllister, the EP Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, were those who “settled” the situation in Macedonia and they will push us, in the same way, to take part in the elections.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Ruling parties sided with Dodik, opposition has its doubts (Nezavisne)

 

The daily reminded that Serb member of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik has announced that the RS parliament will decide on competences transferred to the level of B&H - including those related to the Armed Forces (AF), Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of B&H - if state-level authorities in the country are not established by September 5. Author noted that representatives of the ruling coalition in the RS expectedly expressed support to Dodik’s initiative. Head of SNSD caucus in the RS parliament Igor Zunic said that Bosniak and Croat member of the B&H Presidency, Sefik Dzaferovic and Zeljko Komsic respectively, are blackmailing the RS, while Dodik is only defending the election will of the RS citizens. According to Zunic, Dzaferovic and Komsic have violated the agreement they had signed, thus preventing the authorities at the level of B&H from being established in line with the agreement made with the approval of the EU. “They have violated the trust of citizens, partners and the EU,” said Zunic, adding that it is obvious now who is responsible for failure to establish authorities in B&H. Leader of United Srpska Nenad Stevandic underlined that Dzaferovic and Komsic acted the way they did out of fear, adding that they have no “blackmailing capacity whatsoever”. “Komsic and Dzaferovic know that they are guilty for the blockade of joint institutions, and they are incapable of establishing authorities in the FB&H. All responsibility lies with the two of them,” said Stevandic. At the same time, representatives of SDS said that they will support Dodik’s initiative, but only if - according to Head of SDS caucus in the RS parliament Miladin Stanic - Dodik promises that this time he will go all the way with what he initiates before the RSNA. However, Stanic said that he does not believe that Dodik really wants to block or return competences to the RS. PDP leader Branislav Borenovic said that Dodik has a history of backing out after making some bombastic statements. Furthermore, Borenovic said that PDP will decide on possible support to Dodik’s initiative only after they see the material submitted to the RS parliament.

 

Dodik: I understand Komsic’s statement well (Srna)

 

Serb member of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik says he understands very well the latest statement by B&H Presidency Chairman Zeljko Komsic, and that it is how those, who forcibly took away something in the past and now defend what they took, do. Concerning Komsic’s statement that anyone attempting to take away B&H’s competences will end up in The Hague or under the ground, Dodik asked the B&H Presidency chairman to indicate in the Constitution and the Dayton Agreement where it says anything about those competencies for the army, judiciary. Dodik told the press in Pale that Komsic, along with the OHR, which takes their side, claimed that he (Dodik) was threatening with something. “And what Komsic states that all those who try something, such as I who announced something, will end up in prison or under the ground, is not a threat? Of course, I understood it very well,” Dodik said. He reiterated that RS had no need for any adventure and that it would do everything to strengthen the original Dayton Peace Agreement. “Our moves will not be beyond the Constitution and we will seek to affirm the constitutional structure in B&H as it is written there, not as it was forcibly imposed by somebody, and now, by hysterical statements Komsic is trying to preserve what has been taken away,” Dodik stressed, adding that it has its own procedure. “We will talk with the B&H factors and will propose to them certain measures which, we believe, need to be agreed on in the first stage,” Dodik said, reiterating that the agreeing parties in B&H are two entities and three constituent peoples, not the joint level, the Presidency, the Parliamentary Assembly or the Council of Ministers,” Dodik says. According to him, the fact that someone artificially tried to impose it is a part of delusion. Dodik asked what logic, legal or constitutional or democratic, says that if someone forced various authority structures to give RS’ consent at some earlier period to accede to the B&H Armed Forces Agreement, the one cannot abandon the agreement. “We, as an assembly, will propose talks to be held with the FB&H parliament and will propose to the other constituent peoples to hold talks. We will propose the withdrawal of agreement on army, the court and the prosecutor’s office, indirect taxes and all that has been imposed by the high representatives, no one should doubt it,” said Dodik. “RS does not have any need for any adventure. We will do everything within the fact that the authorities at the level of B&H have not been functioning for 10 months, but RS does function. The logical question then is what are these joint bodies for that do not exist anyway, why would we form them since they create only the problems,” Dodik said.

 

Cvijanovic: Komsic should not threaten anyone (Srna)

 

Commenting on Komsic’s statements about how those who attempted to dissolve B&H fared, RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic has said that the RS is fed up with games coming from Sarajevo and statements from B&H Presidency members Zeljko Komsic and Sefik Dzaferovic. “They got a chance for talks and for implementation of that which was once agreed upon. They lost a chance to build internal cohesion and normal communication and cooperation,” Cvijanovic said in Derventa where she attended the marking of the Municipality Day and Patron St.’s Day of the local church, the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. Cvijanovic has said that she sees in it a morbid political platform where someone is threatening you, and if you do something in return, then you will end up like those who were tried by the ICTY or those who are buried.

“What kind of policy is this, what kind of narrative of common life is this? What kind of a politician is this? What kind of attitude he has towards RS? And he allegedly wants to live with us in a common country?” she asked. If they want to live in a common country, Cvijanovic says, then they must take into account the fact that there are the three constituent peoples and other citizens, that there are clearly defined interests, election winners among each of the peoples and defined policies. Cvijanovic has said that Sarajevo’s need to constantly impose something, lecture, threaten, persuade that only that which they say should be done is good has become absurd and counterproductive. “We all must face consequences of such behavior,” Cvijanovic said. Komsic said on Tuesday that some people in 1992 attempted to dissolve the country, but that they are now either in The Hague or under the ground. “Do you know where are those who attempted it? Look where they are. It is not hard to find them – either in The Hague or under the ground. So, this will not happen,” Komsic has said and stressed that he wants to believe that the agreement will be respected, but that he is afraid that the other scenario is more likely.

 

US Embassy, UK Embassy, German Embassy, Italian Embassy and EUD issue joint statement saying postponement of session of Presidency (BNTV)

 

The Embassies of the US, UK, Germany, France and Italy in B&H issued a joint statement on Wednesday with regard to postponement of the session of the B&H Presidency, which was supposed to be held in Sarajevo on Tuesday. “The decision to postpone yesterday’s session of the B&H Presidency underlines the need for compromise and consensus-building among political parties and leaders in B&H,” reads the statement. “We remain committed to ensuring the peace and stability that will bring prosperity to all citizens of B&H. Formation of authorities and continued progress towards reforms that are consistent with existing foreign policy goals and commitments, are crucial next steps for B&H and its future. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to strong and effective state institutions and call upon all political leaders to fully respect and uphold the Constitution and laws of B&H. The EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in B&H supports this statement,” reads the statement.

 

Wigemark pays farewell visit to Zvizdic (BHT1)

 

Outgoing Head of the EU Delegation (EUD) to B&H and EU Special Representative (EUSR) Lars-Gunnar Wigemark paid a farewell visit to outgoing Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) Denis Zvizdic in Sarajevo on Wednesday. Wigemark and Zvizdic agreed that it is necessary to speed up formation of the B&H authorities in order for the reforms to continue. Wigemark stated that the most important thing now is to continue investing efforts into formation of authorities and procedures for appointment of the future B&H CoM Chairman-designate, regardless of whether the future Chairman-designate will be SNSD’s candidate Zoran Tegeltija or someone else. “On our behalf, during the March visit, the EU and Commissioner Hahn clearly emphasized the importance of some issues and the need to solve them. Lack of authorities is paralyzing the whole country,” Wigemark noted. Zvizdic said that B&H is committed to the European path and emphasized that, in the coming period, it is important to secure the necessary conditions for the EU integration. Zvizdic added that this would improve B&H’s economic perspective.

 

Council of Public Prosecutors rules unanimously to start procedure for Janeva’s dismissal (Republika)

 

The Council of Public Prosecutors has ruled unanimously to start a procedure for the dismissal of Katica Janeva from her post as chief of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, citing that “all conditions were met” to do so. The report is likely to be submitted to the parliament today, where the Election and Appointments Commission should first consider it, and then the Parliament should vote on Janeva’s dismissal.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Serbia pact with Russian bloc to be short-lived, EU says (EUobserver, by Andrew Rettman, 27 August 2019)

 

BRUSSELS, Serbia will have to dissolve its new free-trade pact with Russia's Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) when it joins the EU, the European Commission has said. "A free-trade agreement between Serbia and Russia is in place since 2000. We understand that this agreement is to be extended to the Eurasian Economic Union," an EU spokesperson told EUobserver on Tuesday (27 August). "Serbia can enter into agreements with other countries or organisations before the country's EU accession," the spokesperson said. But "in the context of its EU accession negotiations, Serbia committed to withdrawing from all bilateral free-trade agreements on the day of its accession to the EU," the spokesperson added. The EU commission clarified Serbia's obligations one day after Russia's ambassador in Belgrade, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, announced that Serbia would sign the EEU trade accord on 25 October. The pact would "give new quality to future cooperation" between Serbia and the Eurasian bloc, Botsan-Kharchenko said after meeting Serb president Aleksandr Vucic. The Serbian embassy to the EU could not be contacted for comment. EU foreign ministers might discuss the EEU deal amid other issues when they meet their Western Balkans counterparts in Helsinki later this week.

But the European Parliament echoed the commission line. "The text of the free trade agreement [with Russia's bloc] should ... include an exit clause, which guarantees that Serbia can retract the agreement by the date of its final accession to the EU," David McAllister, a German centre-right MEP who chairs the EU parliament's foreign affairs committee, also told EUobserver on Tuesday. McAllister met Vucic in Belgrade the same day the Serbian president held talks with the Russian ambassador. The MEP and Vucic did not discuss the Eurasian pact, but Vucic reiterated his "support" for "the European path of Serbia" when they spoke. Serbia began EU accession talks five years ago and aims to join by 2025. Its historical and cultural ties to Russia go back centuries, however. Unlike most other EU hopefuls, it does not want to join Nato, buys Russian arms, and boycotts EU foreign policy decisions, including Europe's monumental Russia sanctions. Russia created the EEU in 2015 to contain EU expansion. It includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It has also been mythologised as a fortress of orthodox values by Russian propaganda amid competition for influence in the former Iron Curtain region. "This [the Serbian trade pact] is a significant event," Botsan-Kharchenko, the Russian ambassador, said in previous remarks on the move. The deal gave Serbia access to an EEU market of 182m people worth $1.9 trillion [€1.7 trillion], he added. He did not mention that Serbia already has free-trade pacts, which it will also have to dissolve, with Belarus and Kazakhstan as well as Russia, making its EEU gesture even more symbolic. For its part, the EU is a liberal market of 513m people worth €16.9 trillion in the geopolitical beauty contest. "The EU remains Serbia's most important trade partner, covering 63 percent of total trade, with very good dynamics of growth. Trade with Russia is less than 10 percent of Serbia's total trade," the EU spokesperson said on Tuesday. But the number of Serbians who want to join the EU is just 53 percent despite its economic shine, according to a poll by the country's European integration ministry July.

 

Serbia and North Macedonia still not fully aligned with EU’s foreign policy (European Western Balkans, by Emina Muminović, 29 August 2019)

 

BELGRADE – Out of four candidate countries for the EU membership, Serbia has the lowest alignment of foreign policy with the European Union’s foreign policy declarations and measures in the first half of 2019, with 60 per cent. According to the Analysis of Serbia’s alignment with the European Union’s foreign policy declarations and measures in 2019: Semi-annual Review, published by the International and Security Affairs Centre (ISAC) from Belgrade, in the period from January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019, the European Union published a total of 48 foreign policy declarations with which partner countries were requested to comply. Serbia aligned itself with 29 of the 48 declarations. Compliance with the EU foreign policy, although sometimes symbolical, could be a significant indicator of the country’s geostrategic orientation and the degree of influence of external actors. Not stepping on Russia’s toe has been the main principle of Serbian foreign policy for years. The reason behind this is clear – not recognizing Kosovo’s independence and Serbia’s energy dependence. Despite being a candidate country for the EU membership, Serbia has one of the lowest levels of alignment with EU foreign policy in the entire region because of this approach. Although the negotiating chapter on foreign policy has not yet been opened, “sitting on two chairs” can become a big problem for Brussels, that could, in the worst-case scenario, slow down the negotiations or even stop them. The similar tendency could also be perceived in North Macedonia. Bearing in mind that Serbia’s alignment percentage for all of 2018 was 52 per cent, and only 44 per cent for the first half of 2018, there is a trend of growth in Serbia’s alignment, reports ISAC. “Of the declarations that Serbia did not align with, seven relate to Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, four are devoted to the dramatic situation in Venezuela, two concern Myanmar, and one declaration each is related to Iran, Belarus, Guatemala, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Syria, and sanctions against persons suspected of using chemical weapons,“ it is stated in the analysis. However, the growth trend exists essentially only on paper or in percentages, explains Igor Novaković Research Director of ISAC. “We should have in mind that the total number of declarations with which Serbia did not comply in the first half of this year was 18, only one less than in 2018, and the EU published 16 declarations more. Thematically, Serbia did not comply with declarations that had similar themes to those of previous years – the Ukrainian crisis, the situation in Venezuela, Myanmar and similar,” Novaković stated for the European Western Balkans. Suzana Grubješić, Secretary-General of the European Movement in Serbia, also believes that the increase of compliance exists only on paper, adding that the only good thing is that the decline has been stopped. In the vast majority of cases, Serbia did not comply with declarations aimed at the entities and/or citizens of countries that did not recognize Kosovo. Of the seven declarations about the situation in Ukraine, six concerned either the extension or expansion of already existing restrictive measures against entities and individuals from Russia and Ukraine. Grubješić explains that sanctions have not been imposed on Russia not only because of Russia’s role in the negotiations with Kosovo but also because of Serbia’s considerable degree of energy dependence on Russia. “Serbia does not comply with the EU declarations relating to Syria or Venezuela because it would offend Russia, as well as declarations against third countries that have not recognized Kosovo’s independence and which Serbia counts on in various international organizations that Kosovo wants to join, which Serbia is opposing,” Grubješić points out.

 

What kind of influence does Russia have on North Macedonia?

When it comes to the alignment of foreign policy with the European Union’s foreign policy declarations and measures of other EU candidate countries, in the last several years, the situation in Montenegro and Albania remains the same – 100 per cent. However, in North Macedonia alignment is around 83 per cent. Now that North Macedonia awaits the green light by the EU to start accession negotiations, alignment with its foreign policy could send an important signal to Brussels. Senior Associate at the Democratization Policy Council and a former adviser to Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and a current Fulbright Scholar at New York University, Ivana Jordanovska believes that harmonization with the foreign policy declarations of the EU is an important signal of a country’s alignment with the views and ideals of the EU, but it remains symbolic for 2 reasons. “First, most of these countries adopting the conclusions or not are, in most cases, less influential in the given scenario. Second, and I stand behind this: We cannot really talk of “foreign policy of the EU”. There are general directions and positions, but no single foreign policy,” Jordanovska explains. She believes that foreign policy, in its true sense of the word is still created on the national level, with regional interests often playing a major role.

“As such, the adoption of these declarations is symbolic at best, but important for the countries that wish to score as many points with Brussels as possible,” Jordanovska says. As it is noted in the analysis, North Macedonia, as well as Serbia, is not complying with the declarations and measures that are directed to Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. Since Serbia’s main reasons for non-alignment with the EU foreign policy are Russia’s role in the negotiations with Kosovo and energy dependency, the question is – what kind of influence does Russia have on North Macedonia? Jordanovska explains that Russia and North Macedonia have a peculiar relationship that, for many years since independence, was not brought into the spotlight as it is today, adding that there has always been a steady economic exchange, though significantly underutilized. “What is different today is the security aspect of the relationship. As many other countries on the periphery of the EU, North Macedonia became part of Russia’s intelligence gathering attempts, some of which were recently published by the Washington Post,” she says.

She, however, warns that North Macedonia has to maintain a careful balance. “There is no doubt of its commitment to EU values, but a full-on freeze of relations with Russia or deterioration of the security aspect should not be considered on the same weight scale as a foreign policy declaration with mostly symbolic value,” she concludes. Although the strategic goal of these countries is the EU, both Serbia and North Macedonia should start aligning its foreign policy with Brussel’s, especially now that Serbia negotiations have slowed down, while North Macedonia is patiently waiting for a green light.