Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti briefs ministers on meetings in Athens (media)
• Lajcak and Escobar meet, discuss “dialogue, state of play and way forward” (media)
• Stano qualifies Vucic’s campaign against Kosovo as a “comment” (Koha)
• Haxhiu: We will send Civil Code to assembly this year (Paparaci)
• Municipalities to send law on property tax to court, association says (media)
• Murati on property tax: A game of municipalities and association (Koha)
• Population census postponed to November 1 (EO)
• The Wall of Honor unveiled in Pristina, honouring Albanians who saved Jews (EO)

Serbian Language Media:

• We will ask for the UNSC session on Kosovo, talk with Serbs from Kosovo today, says Vucic (Kosovo Online) 
• Brnabic: Vucic did more than most politicians (N1)
• In Leposavic, a protest in support of the arrested Nebojsa Virijevic
• Barbano and Ziadeh on dialogue and de-escalation (KiM radio, Tanjug)
• Pristina's administrative decree hinders voting in municipalities in the north of Kosovo, analysts say (Kosovo Online, euronews.rs)
• Bishop Teodosije did not accept SNV's invitation; the premises of the House of Culture are occupied (KiM radio)
• DW: The dinner in Athens a reminder (Blic)

Opinion:

• Bosko Jaksic: In Athens, a concession was made to Vucic because of the Ohrid Agreement (KiM radio, Beta)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Kurti briefs ministers on meetings in Athens (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti briefed the ministers of his government today about the informal meeting of the Balkans leaders and his meetings with leaders in Athens. He said that on the eve of the Berlin Summit in Tirana, the meeting in Athens and the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy contributes to regional cooperation and EU integration. “The President of Ukraine attended the meeting, where we issued a joint declaration calling for unwavering support for the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the punishment of crimes committed during the war and the call to bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice,” he said.

Kurti said that at the informal dinner he said that Kosovo’s membership in the EU has no alternative. “All countries that aspire to join the European Union must implement democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights and good neighbourly relations. Good, democratic and European neighbourly relations require de jure and de facto recognition, as well as the rights of minorities,” he said.

Kurti said that in bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of Greece and Croatia, and with the President of the European Commission, he highlighted Kosovo’s economic and democratic progress and the importance of the full and unconditional implementation of the basic agreement.

“De-escalation in the four municipalities in the north of the country has practically happened and Kosovo is respecting the Bratislava agreement. I reiterated that the de-escalation of the situation in the north is a result of the arrest of violent elements that attacked the police, reporters and KFOR soldiers, and at the same time the withdrawal of one part of violent extremists to Serbia. Now we need to prevent a re-escalation. When there are no violent protests planned and organised by Belgrade, there is no escalation in the north of Kosovo,” Kurti said.

Lajcak and Escobar meet, discuss “dialogue, state of play and way forward” (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said in a Twitter post that he met with U.S. Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar. “Glad to welcome my colleague and good friend U.S. DAS Escobar to Brussels. Together with our teams, we spent yesterday in an in-depth discussion on the Dialogue, state-of-play and way forward, as well as other Western Balkan regional issues. Grateful for an exceptional cooperation,” Lajcak said.

Stano qualifies Vucic’s campaign against Kosovo as a “comment” (Koha)

The campaign against Kosovo, which Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has intensified in the last couple of days, the spokesperson for the European Union, Peter Stano, qualified as a “comment”, the news website notes.

Asked by Koha to comment on Vucic’s lobbying statements against Kosovo in Hungary and Athens, which are against the Basic Agreement, Stano said that “as a general rule they don’t comment on comments”. “As a general rule, we don’t comment on comments. We have made our position very clear in the last couple of days and weeks and there is nothing new we want to add at this point,” Stano said.

Haxhiu: We will send Civil Code to assembly this year (Paparaci)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said today that the draft Civil Code will be sent to the Assembly for approval this year. The draft was not passed last year as it was not supported by some MPs from the ruling majority. “We plan to send the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Code [to the Assembly] this year. Our goal is for the draft Civil Code not to fail, and this is why we are making sure that we have the support of MPs, the parliamentary group, and also from opposition MPs,” Haxhiu told a press conference.

The news website recalls that the draft Civil Code led to a crack within the Vetevendosje parliamentary group, with some MPs categorically refusing the content of the draft prepared by the Ministry of Justice. Eman Rrahmani, Visar Korenica, and several other Vetevendosje MPs, who make up a group of over 10 MPs, voted against the draft Civil Code which also allows for same-sex marriages. Haki Abazi, an independent MP who was a member of the Vetevendosje, in an interview with RTK last month implied the possibility of another “crack” in the Vetevendosje parliamentary group if the government insists to send an unamended version of the Civil Code to the Assembly.

Municipalities to send law on property tax to court, association says (media)

The Association of Kosovo Municipalities (AKK) said today that the municipalities of Kosovo are expected to send the Law on Immovable Property Tax to the Constitutional Court. The Association argued that with the approval of the law in the Kosovo Assembly, the municipalities would lose dozens of millions of euros and that its approval without previous consultations with the municipalities has jeopardised local financial autonomy.

“Based on the Constitution of Kosovo which notes that municipalities too are authorised parties to file cases in courts, the AKK Board, considering that municipalities as state institutions are authorised to contest the constitutionality of laws and legal acts, recommends that the municipalities should send this law to the Constitutional Court for interpretation,” the association said.

The AKK argued that the law seriously threatens the responsibilities of municipalities and that it has a direct impact on own municipal revenues, it affects capital projects and creates a disbalance between investment projects and own revenues, which are the main revenues of municipalities.

The AKK also said in its statement that the Ministry of Finance decided to amend the Law on Immovable Tax Property without consulting the municipalities. 

Murati on property tax: A game of municipalities and association (Koha)

Kosovo’s Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, said the municipalities and the Association of Municipalities are playing a game when they threaten the government that they will send the Law on Property Tax to the Constitutional Court. The Association of Kosovo Municipalities (AKK) said today that the municipalities are expected to send the law to court because as a result of the law, mainly removing up to 100 euros from the property tax for the citizens, the municipalities will lose millions of euros.

Murati meanwhile told a press conference that the municipalities have by September 16 to decide on the reduction and that everything is in the responsibility of the municipal assemblies. “With the law entering into force, the municipalities or the municipal assemblies need to make decisions 30 days after it enters into force, so September 16 is the final date. Therefore, it is now up to the municipal assemblies to adopt the reduction for the citizens in every municipality, by September 16. This also coincides with the deadline for the second rate, which is September 30. So on September 16, every citizen can know how much of the property tax will be removed by the municipality. This already exists and there is a legal basis for this. The municipalities have to decide,” he said.

According to Murati, in the Association of Municipalities, dominated by opposition parties, “there is some kind of hypocrisy”. “This is only a game by some municipalities and in this case of the Association, which on the one hand claims they worry about the citizens and want the burden on the citizen to be reduced, and when the government takes these steps, they oppose it. It seems absurd to send [the law] to the Constitutional Court because the government has made no interventions in this respect. On the contrary, the whole decision-making process is at the municipal level,” he said.

Murati also argued that the municipalities cannot complain about budget cuts, because according to him, the revenues that they have until August are higher than the whole previous year.

Population census postponed to November 1 (Ekonomia Online)

The Kosovo government has decided today to postpone the census for three months. The process, which was initially scheduled to start on September 1, has been moved to November 1. Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the postponement is because the Kosovo Agency of Statistics could not manage to plan all the details of the process. “By adopting the Law on Population and Housing Census, we started an important process for policymaking in certain segments and areas. A series of activities had to be prepared for September 1 when the registration was scheduled to start. Although preparations were made despite the resistance within the Central Registration Committee created by the Association of Kosovo Municipalities, we cannot start the process before November 1,” Kurti said.

The Wall of Honor unveiled in Pristina, honouring Albanians who saved Jews (EO)

The Albanian American Foundation and the Kosova-Israel Friendship Association unveiled today the Wall of Honor, honouring the sacrifice of Kosovo Albanians that saved Jews during the Holocaust. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the Albanian people were a supporting force for the Jewish people during World War II, and mentioned the contribution of families that sheltered many people that were persecuted by the Nazi regime.

Pristina Mayor Perparim Rama said the monument represents the values of the people of Kosovo. “We are unveiling the Wall of Honor, values that mark our history. This wall is much more than a structure, as we commemorate a past that will inspire future generations,” he said.

   

Serbian Language Media

  We will ask for the UNSC session on Kosovo, talk with Serbs from Kosovo today, says Vucic (Kosovo Online) 

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said that he will demand that a session of the United Nations Security Council be held due to the latest events in Kosovo, announcing also that he will  meet Serbs from Kosovo today.

“We will ask for a session of the Security Council, due to the latest events. We are looking for the best moment, when it would suit us the best, we will ask for it,” Vucic said.

No one in Athens condemned the violence against Serbs in Kosovo

Vucic stated that no one at the meeting of WB  and EU representatives in Athens condemned the violation of the human rights of Serbs in Kosovo, nor did they try to pressure Kurti to change his attitude towards them.

He said this when asked by journalists if anyone at the meeting in Athens condemned the violation of the human rights of Serbs in Kosovo, and after the ceremony of handing over the keys to 250 newly built apartments for refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

“Some say to me: ‘I told Kurti this and that’, but at dinner. The atmosphere is different. It’s not that simple. There was an obvious conflict between the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski and Kurti, and Kurti’s usual repetition that he is the greatest hero and that he would like to be just like the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Vucic said. 

He added that everyone looked at him (Kurti) in amazement because of his words.

“But if he can do evil things, and he can and he will do it every day. It is up to us to see how to find the best solutions for our people,” Vučić said.

It is a lie that I supported the arrest of Vladimir Putin in Athens

Vucic refuted today the information that during meetings in Athens, he signed a document in which he supported the arrest of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin and added that fake articles in the media work against the interests of Serbia.

“They say Vucic supported the arrest of Putin. Now let me read it so you can see exactly what it says. So, you can see what kind of liars we are dealing with. So, it was a conversation to see if anyone would be mentioned by name. It wasn’t even in the versions. Well, there were some more difficult versions in which it was clearer what it was about and who was going to be mentioned. So that was also changed,” Vucic said in his response to a journalist’s question whether he had signed a document in Athens because, as she said, in the daily newspaper Nova, information appeared that Vucic supported the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin with his signature.

Vucic explained that the version of the document without any signature was adopted in Athens.

“We agreed that war crimes and other atrocities must not go unpunished during attacks on civilians and destruction of infrastructure, and all those responsible must be held accountable,” Vucic said.

Vucic asked them to find where the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, or the Russian Federation is mentioned in the document.

“Is there a normal person who would not accept and sign this. Imagine, it says that those who have killed civilians and children should be held accountable. So, what’s disputable? Is there a person in the world who would not sign it, provided they are normal. There is no one in the world,” Vucic said.

He added that in the first version and the intermediate version of the Declaration from Athens, there were slightly different terms, but that Serbia managed to get those sentences removed.

“We agreed that we will condemn the gross violation of international law, the UN Charter, and the efforts of the OSCE, and then the OSCE is tied to war crimes, and you know what decision it made. There is no such thing in what we signed,” Vucic said.

He added that for days and days and weeks, a manhunt has been organized against him, in which they say that Serbia must impose sanctions on Russia.

“They say meet with Zelensky, don’t impose sanctions on Russia. And then when it seems to them that they could say something against me, no matter what it is, then they say ‘aha, you’re against Putin’. There is only one principle there: “we have to be against Vucic and Serbia and to harm it in every possible way”. Our people know who works for the interests of Serbia and I am convinced that we will see that soon,” he concluded.

We are leading an almost impossible and certainly the best policy for our people

Vucic added that Serbia is leading an almost impossible and certainly the best possible policy for the people, but that unfortunately no one in the country will admit it, but that he is often condemned by the same people for meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, and at the same time they attack him for being a “Russian man”.

When asked by a journalist how he sees these attacks, Vucic said that those who do this unfortunately do not have any principle to adhere to and that they don’t really care about it.

“They were never able to understand and realize that there are people who have their own politics - Serbian and libertarian politics, that they are allowed to meet with Putin and Zelensky and to tell both of them everything they think,” Vucic said.

He said he was fighting for his country and asked them why they are bothered by that.

“If sanctions would have been introduced against us because of our relationship with Ukraine, they would have said - Vucic, you are to be blamed for the sanctions, and if I had done something more against Putin, they would have said that I betrayed Russia”. 

“And everyone knows that we are leading an almost impossible and certainly the best possible policy for our people, and you all know it here, and every person knows it and says it in his heart - he managed to push it well and did used various ways and made it for Serbia, but no one will admit it” Vucic said.

He said that in Serbia no one will admit that someone has done something well.

“But when the elections come, people are guided by the results and the future of their children, and that’s how they make decisions,” he emphasized.

Vucic apologizes to Germany over Internal Affairs Minister’s claims 

Vucic also apologized to Germany for Internal Affairs Minister Bratislav Gasic’s claims that the person who killed Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic is being protected by Germany.

“We spoke with members of the German service over the past 20 days about Bratislav Gasic’s claims that they are protecting the killers in the Oliver Ivanovic case. We received assurances and proof that they are not covering up this information. I am asking them, on my behalf, to accept the apology and we think that, in our further actions regarding this matter – we hope that we will arrive at concrete results,” said Vucic.

Brnabic: Vucic did more than most politicians (N1)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Tuesday that President Aleksandar Vucic did more in the past four days than most politicians in their careers.

“This is the essence of everything: President Aleksandar Vucic has done more for Serbia, our people and all our citizens in just the last 4 days, than most of our “prominent” politicians in their entire political century,” she wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“Heroes are known in hardship, and in difficult and challenging times, great leaders,” she added.

Vucic spent the past four days in Hungary and Greece, meeting senior officials of both countries and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and attending an informal dinner with Western Balkan leaders hosted by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

In Leposavic, a protest in support of the arrested Nebojsa Virijevic (KiM radio)

A protest was held in front of the Leposavic municipality building this morning in support of the recently arrested Nebojsa Virijevic, reported KiM radio.

At the protest were family members, employees of the preschool institution "Veselo detinjstvo" from Lesak and a large number of citizens.

As stated, the protest was also directed against the attempt of illegal entry of new workers into the municipal town, which is why Virijevic was also arrested.

Colleagues and family members carried banners with the inscriptions "Give us back our freedom, so that children can live in peace", "Freedom for Nebojsa", "Why Nebojsa?".

As a sign of protest, the gathered put on a performance by hanging drawn targets on their chests, blowing whistles, and then covering their mouths with tape.

The son of the arrested Nebojsa, Milos Virijevic said that his father only wanted to point out what kind of repression was being done against the Serbian population.

"We are here today to express our protest, because of my father Nebojsa, who is innocent in prison, and who was detained seven days ago. He has been here every day for the past three months. He came, like every day, to express his dissatisfaction with the tense situation and repression of the Serbian population, to support his colleagues who also supported him. Unfortunately, it happened that he was reported by a member of the Serbian nationality on a verbal basis, for which from a legal point of view was impossible for him to be detained, but unfortunately, it is the way it is. A politically staged process and no one is guilty until it is established that he is a Serb. I don't know what else to say? The whole family is shaken. We will fight for him, and he should endure for us. We have information from the lawyer that he is fine, and we can visit him once a week. The family visited him on Monday in Mitrovica and I hope he will be fine," said Milos Virijevic.

The director of the "Veselo detinjstvo" Preschool, Olja Jasnic, pointed out during the gathering that the greater the pressure on citizens, the more united and persevering they will be.

Virijevic was arrested on August 18, two days after he and his fellow citizens protested the attempt of Deputy Minister for Communities and Return Radojica Radomirovic to enter the municipal building, whom he allegedly threatened, KiM radio recalled.

Barbano and Ziadeh on dialogue and de-escalation (KiM radio, Tanjug)

The head of the EULEX mission in Kosovo, Giovanni Pietro Barbano, spoke with the head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh, about the importance of dialogue and de-escalation of the situation in the north of Kosovo.

Barbano wrote on social network X (Twitter) that the meeting took place within the long-term partnership of the European Union and the United Nations.

"We discussed the latest developments in Kosovo, confirming the importance of dialogue and de-escalation," said the head of EULEX.

Pristina's administrative decree hinders voting in municipalities in the north of Kosovo, analysts say (Kosovo Online, euronews.rs)

Four months after the local elections in the north of Kosovo and almost three months since the mayors elected with a hundred votes entered the municipal premises, with the help of the special police, it is still unknown if and when re-elections will be held in North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok, reported Kosovo Online, citing Euronews Serbia. 

The elections in the north of Kosovo were held on April 24, without the participation of Serbs, and only slightly more than three percent of voters voted.

Professor of Constitutional Law Mazlum Baraliu points out that one of the ways to hold elections in the north of Kosovo is to submit a request.

"In the Law on Local Self-Government, Article 72, accurately and conclusively states that one of the ways to renew elections in one or more municipalities is to submit a request. Therefore, neither a petition nor an administrative instruction is necessary," said Baraliu.

He adds that it is necessary to pass a legal act called the referendum law.

"That law was never passed and that may be the Achilles' heel again, because the international community, these international mediators here did not want it," said Baraliu.

Milica Andric Rakic from the New Social Initiative from North Mitrovica recalls that the CEC, which is obliged to deal with these issues, refused to write an administrative instruction, that is, that by-law because there is no umbrella law that would guide them through that procedure.

"A law on referendum is needed, since the law on local self-governments prescribes the possibility of ousting the mayor by citizens through a petition, and then a local referendum, but Kosovo does not have a law on referendum that would define that procedure, and now, in the absence of that law, the Kosovo authorities have decided to adopt a by-law. There are no experts in Kosovo, whether from the Constitutional Court, whether from the CEC, or analysts who did not warn in advance that this is a meaningless job, that this administrative instruction will not pass legal tests. This whole process that exists around that working group, it simply won't be legal, it won't be enforceable, and there's only one way to show that the Kosovo side is cooperative with that key request of the EU, and that's calling for elections," she said.

According to the Kosovo voter list, there are 45,000 voters in the north, which does not correspond to the real situation, and which shows that a referendum that foresees the instruction is impossible.

"We have a situation where 100 voters elected Mayor Leposavic, where, for example, there are 13,000 registered voters, and then in order to replace that same mayor who was elected with 100 votes, you need about 7,000 votes according to that calculation," says Andric Rakic.

Bishop Teodosije did not accept SNV's invitation; the premises of the House of Culture are occupied (KiM radio)

The Serbian National Council (SNV) published on its Facebook account the response of Bishop Teodosije of Raska-Prizren to the invitation to participate in the Assembly of the Serbian National Council, which was supposed to be held on August 26 in Gracanica. Director of the House of Culture in Gracanica, Zivojin Rakocevic also replied to the SNV that the premises of this institution were fully occupied in the planned period for holding the Assembly.

"We want to inform you that as a Bishop and shepherd to our faithful people in Kosovo and Metohija and the Raska region, we are unable to participate in gatherings of a political nature. This applies to all political organizations, without distinction," the Diocese stated and added:

"This attitude of ours rests on our evangelical duty, as a Church we work for unity and support for our people, regardless of political differences, and we encourage coexistence with everyone else. Our believers, although people with different political convictions, for us are first and foremost our dioceses who are always welcome to help the Church in what we as a Diocese should do and which our Church has been doing for centuries everywhere where our people live. For centuries, our Church has been the foundation and main spiritual support of our people, especially in Kosovo and Metohija and so today," the Eparchy said.

They also note that when they announced in public about some political problems, it was never for the sake of engaging in politics, but exclusively for the protection and survival of the people.

"Such an attitude does not in the least mean that we are not committed to caring for our people every day or that we ignore their difficult situation. Everyone who is well-intentioned knows very well that the Eparchy of Raska-Prizren with its clergy and monks, despite all the difficulties we face, daily present in the life of our people and liturgically, in sermons, church ceremonies and gatherings, prayers, lectures, the work of national kitchens and other humanitarian actions, as well as the work of our seminary in Prizren".

We live and survive here, and we share everything with our people, they added.

"With the help of many good people, we are making an effort to help the survival of our faithful people in Kosovo and Metohija as far as we can. You yourself know, as well as everyone who has been informed, how much we do in our meetings with domestic and international representatives to the best of our ability to resolve painful and difficult issues faced by our people, especially in these current times," they point out.

"That's why we expect you as a member of our Eparchy and a native of Kosovo (Kosovac), but also from all people who want to help our people, to understand and accept the evangelical mission of the Church and to help us in this work as much as you can as a believer," it was said in the response of the Eparchy to the Serbian National Council of Kosovo and Metohija.

"The premises of the House of Culture are fully occupied"

The Serbian National Council announced yesterday that the Parliament is being postponed due to the inability of the Organizing Committee to provide a hall for its holding, since, as they stated, they did not receive an answer from the Gracanica House of Culture as to whether the large hall of this institution would be given to them.

The Director of the House of Culture, Zivojin Rakocevic stated in his reply to the Serbian National Council that the "School of Film Magic" will be held for the ninth time in the House of Culture in Gracanica from August 25 to 30, with the participation of 70 participants, including eminent professors in the field of directing, scenography , productions, cameras, editing and acting, and that during that period the rooms in the House of Culture were fully occupied.

"We inform you that the International Festival of Medieval Music "Medimus" will be held in Prizren from August 26 to 28. The House of Culture is the main technical organizer, including the annual program preparations. It is clear from all of the above that all spatial, technical, and human capacities are occupied and that during that period it is not possible to realize any other activities apart from these two events. We received the information about the holding of your gathering in the Cultural Center Gracanica through the media and no one from the management and editors of our institution knew what it was about. If there are any misunderstandings and doubts in the public, please correct them," says Rakocevic's reply.

DW: The dinner in Athens a reminder (Blic)

The EU in 2003 made a promise of accession to the Western Balkan region. And she hasn't fulfilled it yet. The dinner hosted by the Greek Prime Minister in Athens for the leaders of the region and the top of the EU is a reminder of that "promise", reported daily Blic, citing DW. 

When the heads of state and government of the European Union met in the Greek resort of Porto Carras in June 2003, they had big things in mind for the Western Balkans, which had just been pacified. The Union "unreservedly" supported the accession of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia (then FYROM), Montenegro and Serbia, it was stated in the final document of the summit.

That "promise from Thessaloniki", named after the nearby port city, has not been fulfilled even after two decades, wrote Deutsche Wele. 

And despite the bad experience with the WB, the heads of state and government of the EU made in June 2022, as they described it, a "historic" decision to officially declare Ukraine and its neighbour the Republic of Moldova as candidates for joining the EU.

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis hosted a dinner in Athens, the occasion of which was the "Thessalonica promise" from 20 years ago. At the dinner were the heads of state and government of the six countries of the Western Balkans, as well as the top of the EU, headed by the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Albania and Greece are at loggerheads over the minority

According to Greek media reports, the important and influential head of the Albanian government, Edi Rama, was not invited, because Albania and Greece are currently fighting fiercely over the small Greek minority in Albania. And here is an example that clearly shows why the countries of that region have not been members of the EU for a long time. Union members from the south-east of the continent are using bilateral problems to block the accession process.

Bulgaria questions the North Macedonian language

Bulgaria questions the North Macedonian language and wants to force the tiny Bulgarian minority to be nominally mentioned in the constitution of North Macedonia. Previously, after decades of blockade, Greece pushed to change FYROM's name to North Macedonia, to distinguish the name of the neighbouring country from the Greek province of Macedonia.

Croatia and the right of veto

Croatia is trying to solve its bilateral problems with certain candidates for membership, such as Serbia and Montenegro, or with potential accession candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, using its EU membership, for example through veto threats.

Serbia, the most important country in the region

That long-term stalemate regarding EU accession left deep scars, especially in Serbia, the largest and most strategically important country in the region. In a representative survey of public opinion in the summer of 2023, it was shown that only 44 percent of those polled supported their country's accession to the EU, while 47 percent were against it.

Last year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron tried to reach a compromise in the decades-long dispute between Serbia and Kosovo, and the European Commission used all its political weight to mediate between the two sides.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, even at one point, after long negotiations, exclaimed: "We have an agreement", but it was the opposite. Both sides have escalated the conflict, which has repeatedly threatened to turn into armed conflicts this year.

The same problems after two decades

Even after two decades in the countries of the region, the problems are the same: censored and centralized media, instrumentalization of the judiciary, destruction of independent state institutions, dramatic corruption, and organized crime. However: how can the EU do something about it when it barely manages to deal with similar problems within its own ranks, for example in Poland or Hungary?

Therefore, it is clearly not a coincidence that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán chose the Western Balkans, and especially Serbia, as a partner. The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, does not hide his admiration for Orban's way of governing and his illiberal political concept.

The two high-ranking politicians maintained very close contacts in the past two years, having more than 40 meetings. Vucic expects Hungary to ease the pressure from Brussels regarding reforms related to the rule of law. Orban, on the other hand, expects Serbia to help him on his way to becoming a key player in the region.

The failed rapprochement of the Western Balkan countries with Brussels has been replaced by more and more rounds of meetings. An example of this is the annual EU-Western Balkan summits since 2014 under the slogan "Berlin Process" or the "Friends of the Western Balkans" format, which was initiated by Austria in June, reported Blic, citing DW. 

     

Opinion 

  Bosko Jaksic: In Athens, a concession was made to Vucic because of the Ohrid Agreement (KiM radio, Beta)

Foreign policy commentator Bosko Jaksic told beta news agency today that by adopting the "balanced" declaration in Athens, the West made a concession to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic regarding Kosovo, reported KiM radio. 

Jaksic told Beta agency that the West does not want to topple Vucic because he is expected to speed up the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement.

When asked whether the Declaration adopted at the informal meeting of the leaders of the Western Balkans, the European Union (EU), Ukraine and Moldova hints at a turn in Belgrade's policy towards Moscow, Jaksic said that there are two concessions that the Europeans made to Vucic. 

"By deleting the name of Vladimir Putin from the point where the arrest of all those who committed war crimes is supported, it is a service to Moscow, not a hint of a turn from Moscow. Also, not mentioning sanctions against Russia is a concession to Moscow," Jaksic said. 

He pointed out that Vucic lost his arguments for the claim that the West is pressuring him and wants to overthrow him.

"We have a more constructive relationship between the West and Serbia than Serbia's relationship with the West, which was also demonstrated in Athens. The EU and the US expect Vucic to speed up the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement, and that is why his relationship with Russia is tolerated. The West made concessions to Vucic and now expects gratitude from him and the implementation of accepted agreements concerning Kosovo and Metohija," said the commentator.