Belgrade, April 29, 2010

SERBIA – EU

CVETKOVIC AND CHRISTOFIAS ON EU AND KOSOVO ISSUE
ATHENS, April 29 (Tanjug) - Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic talked with Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias in Athens, and thanked him for Cyprus's support to Serbia's EU pathway, and to the preservation of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity in Kosovo-Metohija (KiM). Cvetkovic pointed to Cyprus's active contribution in the process of determining the legality of the unilaterally declared independence of KiM before the ICJ. The officials agreed that they are interested in improving economic cooperation between the two countries, increasing investments, and in developing and strengthening bilateral relations, which are based on traditional friendship and closeness of Cyprus and Serbia.

DJELIC: SERBIA WILL DO EVERYTHING TO RATIFY SAA BY END OF SUMMER
BELGRADE, April 29 (Tanjug) - Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Integrations Bozidar Djelic stated that he expects the SAA to be ratified by the end of the summer, pointing out that Serbia will do everything to that end. "However, I may not be certain that this will take place in June," Djelic said in a statement with B92. Djelic underscored that European integrations have the same attention in Serbia as before. According to him, the aggravating circumstance is that the governments in Holland and Belgium had dissolved, while the enthusiasm for the accession of new member-states in the EU is somewhat weaker than in December 2009. "Serbia's aim is to gain the candidate status in mid next year," said Djelic, underlining that European partners do not request Serbia to recognize the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo and Metohija but only to contribute to the promotion of cooperation in the Western Balkans.

BRINGEUS & MAVROMMATIS: EU MEMBERSHIP DEPENDS ON SERBIA
JAGODINA, April 28 (Tanjug) - Ambassadors of Sweden and Cyprus to Serbia, Krister Bringeus and Homer A. Mavrommatis respectively, assessed in Jagodina that the exact date of Serbia's admittance in the EU depends on Serbia alone, and added that the country is on the right track to achieving this goal. At a joint press conference with Mavrommatis and Jagodina Mayor Dragan Markovic, Bringeus said that it is difficult to specify the actual date of Serbia's EU membership, because this will depend on the transformation of Serbian society into a modern European one. Bringeus assessed that "40 percent of the changes Serbia has to make to become a member of the EU are in the environment sector". Mavrommatis assessed that Serbia's EU path is a long one, but that Serbia should stay on this track, and added that it is up to the ambassadors to keep sending positive messages to the people in Serbia every day, just as they had done concerning the visa liberalization. He expressed his conviction that Serbia will join EU during his country's presidency. According to Mavrommatis, every one of Serbia's 27 friends in the EU is doing their best to secure a soon end to this process. Cyprus will be the presiding country of the EU in the second half of 2012. Bringeus and Mavrommatis visited Jagodina, a town in central Serbia, within the framework of the EU project on touring through Serbia's municipalities. Bringeus said that Jagodina is a very lively, fascinating and interesting town. Swedish ambassador recalled that Jagodina's Mayor Markovic had a key role in the constitution of the democratic pro-European Serbian government. Markovic thanked the Swedish ambassador for the support his country gave to Serbia during Sweden's presidency, concerning the visa liberalization and unfreezing of ITA.

FRATTINI AWARDED HONORARY PHD TITLE OF BELGRADE UNIVERSITY
BELGRADE, April 28 (Tanjug) - Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini was awarded the honorary PhD title of the Belgrade University. Frattini is the 109th person to be awarded this title, which will be officially presented to him in Sept when an Italian delegation will visit Serbia. Frattini is honored for his help in bringing Serbia closer to the EU, visa liberalization and good cooperation between high education institutions, the Bg University Senate said.

KOSOVO – METOHIJA

FRATTINI: BELGRADE AND PRISTINA AGREE ON SARAJEVO SUMMIT
PRISTINA, April 28 (Tanjug) - Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to take part in the Sarajevo summit in June, which was achieved by proposing not to display the national symbols of the participants. The model that is supposed to be used was already employed at a meeting in Prague, where officials were not represented by national symbols, but just names, Frattini said in Pristina after meeting with Kosovo's Foreign Minister Skender Hiseni. The Italian minister said that he will consult Spain about the proposed model, since it is currently presiding over the EU. Hiseni backed Frattini's proposal, commenting that it is acceptable for Kosovo to be represented the same way as the other participants. Frattini noted that he came to Pristina to convey Italy's support for Kosovo and its ambitions to join the EU.

FRATTINI: SPECIAL CHANNEL FOR BELGRADE-PRISTINA DIALOGUE
PRISTINA, April 29 (Tanjug) - Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini stated that a special channel for a dialogue between the official Belgrade and provisional institution in Pristina is needed in order to overcome the problems ahead of them on their way to the EU. We encourage the establishment of one such channel, said Frattini after his meeting with provisional president of the province Fatmir Sejdiu, adding that it is clear that the EU also encourages the fact that the two countries should talks to each other and work together. Frattini also said that Serbia and Kosovo-Metohija share the same future - the future of the EU. After his meeting with foreign minister of the provisional Kosovo government Skender Hiseni, Minister Frattini said that he had the consent of Belgrade and Pristina to take part in an informal summit in Sarajevo in June. Earlier Minister Frattini said that Serbia's representatives he had met in Belgrade had a positive response to the above proposal.

MAVROMMATIS: UNILATERAL ACTIONS IN KOSOVO SHOULD BE AVOIDED
JAGODINA, April 28 (Tanjug) - The Ambassador of Cyprus in Belgrade Homer Mavrommatis told in Jagodina that unilateral actions in Kosovo should be avoided as regards the destruction of equipment of Serbian landline and cell phone operators. Any unilateral actions could further destabilize the already fragile situaion in the region, he said, noting that EULEX must remain neutral. Mavrommatis thanked the Serbian government for informing him of the developments in Kosovo. Asked whether EULEX could have prevented the destruction of the equipment, Swedish Ambassador Krister Bringeus said that EULEX is status neutral and is in Kosovo in order to secure th establishment of a legal system Kosovo is in the interest of all, especially Serbia, and it must not be allowed to become a black hole, especially by its neighbors, he said. Mavrommatis and Bringeus visited Jagodina, central Serbia, as part of the European Union project of visits to Serbian municipalities.

KERMABON: SERB JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS TO RETURN TO MITROVICA
BONN, April 28 (Tanjug) - EULEX Head Yves de Kermabon said that the project which will reintroduce Serb judges and prosecutors to the Kosovska Mitrovica District Court is nearing completion and that EULEX is discussing the legal issues with Belgrade. We have already prepared some proposals and are in constant contact with Kosovo institutions, such as the Kosovo Association of Judges. I believe there will be two Serb and two Albanian judges in northern Mitrovica in the near future, Kermabon said in an interview for Deutsche Welle. He pointed out that EULEX is trying to get Belgrade to approve the operation of courts in northern Kosovo. According to him, EULEX has already begun talks with Belgrade on the legal issues involved. A more efficient technical protocol in the fight against organized crime is also being discussed. If you want to be efficient in the fight against organized crime, then you need to know that you cannot limit the fight to Kosovo alone. What is needed is regional cooperation and agreement between courts, customs and police services. Exchange of information and good coordination is essential, Kermabon said. This is why EULEX decided to work towards agreements with the entire region, Serbia included. The idea is to reach technical cooperation agreements between courts and customs services in order to efficiently fight organized crime. The process will be completely transparent and conducted in cooperation with the Belgrade and Pristina authorities, since exchange of information is in everyone's best interest, Kermabon stressed. The EULEX head assessed that the customs service between Serbia and Kosovo is still not working properly but that there is willingness.

EULEX'S ACTION ON SUPRESSING CORRUPTION
PRISTINA, April 29 (Tanjug) - The international representatives and representatives of Kosovo interim institutions ended the talks on the action which EULEX carried out in Pristina in an effort to supress corruption. The police searched the apartment of Kosovo interim minister Fatmir Ljimaj and the premises of the Ministry of Transport and Post-Telecommunications that he is heading, due to suspicion of his involvement in corruption. In his brief address to the press, Ljimaj said that he is at disposal of the investigation bodies. The EULEX police reacted on the suspicion of serious corruption and bribe at the Kosovo Ministry of Transport and Post-Telecommunications.

SERBIA – REGION

DACIC ON COOPERATION AMONG POLICE IN THE REGION
SARAJEVO, April 29 (Tanjug) - The cooperation among the law enforcement services in the region countries is several steps ahead of the cooperation among the states themselves, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic stated in Sarajevo. Minister Dacic, who is taking part in the international conference dubbed "Intercultural dialogue and internal security," said that no success is possible without joint work, the Sarajevo FENA news agency reported. "We have to reach a point at which no country in the region is an oasis for hiding criminals, that is, we should remove every obstacle in order to prevent those who had broken the law from avoiding the responsibility for their acts," said Dacic.

DACIC: SECURITY REQUIRES REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP
SARAJEVO, April 29 (Tanjug) - Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic spoke at the conference entitled Intercultural Dialogue and Internal Security, where he stated that it is impossible for a country to have a safe community without establishing partnership relations with other countries in the region. "This approach involves the development of a dialogue and instruments of communication between cultural communities and their integration into society based on common values," Dacic said. Regional cooperation is a necessary requirement to take on present day challenges efficiently and ensure both internal and global security, Chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) Council of Ministers Nikola Spiric said at the meeting. Austria's Interior Minister Maria Fekter, whose country organized the conference together with BiH, noted that interior ministers are responsible not just for security in their own countries, but for peace within the society as well, which is why intercultural dialogue should be fostered. The two-day conference that started on Wednesday is also attended by the interior ministers of Slovenia, Croatia, BiH, Macedonia and Montenegro, as well as some other ministers from Austria, Bulgaria and Romania.

RS TO INFORM SERBIA OF ITS OBJECTIONS TO ISTANBUL MEETING
BANJA LUKA, April 28 (Tanjug) - Speaker of the Republika Srpska (RS) Parliament Igor Radojicic announced that RS will inform the Serbian authorities about its objections to the recently held meeting in Istanbul between Serbian President Tadic, his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul and Chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) Presidency Haris Silajdzic, but stressed that it will not damage the relations between RS and Serbia. Radojicic noted that the meeting was criticized a number of times, because Silajdzic was not authorized to attend it, while the other two officials represented their own countries. According to Radojicic, Silajdzic was not authorized by the BiH Presidency, which is the collective head of that state, to attend the meeting, thereby breaking the Constitution. Radojicic states that both RS and Serbia have an interest in maintaining close relations, adding that there can be differences on individual issues, but the general interest should not be confused with day-to-day politics. "Belgrade is spreading a different kind of policy for peace and cooperation in the Balkans," said Radojicic, adding that improvements in relations between Serbia, Croatia and BiH should be welcomed, because RS desires the same thing. However, said Radojicic, Sarajevo is not an honest partner, because the political scene is still occupied by the same people who were in power during the Bosnian war, running the same policies and thinking the same way they did back in the 90s, while Belgrade and Zagreb have undergone leadership and political changes. "It seems like nothing has happened in Sarajevo in the past 20 years, and it is obvious that there is always a negative reaction coming from Silajdzic or someone else whenever Belgrade holds out its hand or makes a gesture of good will," Radojicic concluded.

SERBIA – ECONOMY

CVETKOVIC OPENING AN ECONONOMIC CONFERENCE IN ATHENS
ATHENS, April 29 (Tanjug) - The Serbian government is completely dedicated to developing regional cooperation and to the Balkans' European integration, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said, opening an econonomic conference in Athens organized by The Economist. Cvetkovic stated that the Balkans' was a source of instability for decades, and that Serbia has learned much from the experience. Serbia is convinced that the EU is its final destination and the only guarantee of long term stability and progress for the region, said Cvetkovic, adding that the government will support any initiative that aims to strengthen regional cooperation, because it represents an investment in the region's future. The prime minister said Serbia is showing the first signs of economic recovery, explaining taht the industrial output has gone up by three percent in the first two months of 2010 when compared to the same period last year, while import has increased by 30 percent. According to him, there was an increase in the employment rate at the beginning of March, for the first time since the start of the crisis. He described all of that as good signs, but said they are still not enough to raise the standard of living for the people. Cvetkovic remarked that Serbia will continue implementing its Stand By Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund, which is the basis for macroeconomic stability and raising investor trust. When it comes to infrastructure projects, Cvetkovic said that the focus will be on Corridor 10, but added that the construction of a Belgrade-Bar motorway and modernization of the railway that connects the same two locations is also intended.

WARLICK: US WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST IN SOUTHERN SERBIA
VRANJE, April 28 (Tanjug) - US Ambassador to Serbia Mary Warlick said in Vranje at the start of her three-day visit to southern Serbia that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will continue to invest in development projects in that area. USAID has already invested USD 70 million in development and other projects in 13 municipalities in southern Serbia, she said. USAID will continue to invest as it wants to foster economic development in the area, she said. Meeting Vranje Mayor, Warlick said she was glad to start her visit in that town, which is a major destination for USAID investments. Stojcic pointed to good cooperation between Vranje and USAID. USAID has so far invested USD 1.4 million in Vranje, he noted. Warlick will continue her tour Thursday by a visit to Bujanovac.

SERBIA

COUNCIL OF EUROPE EXPERTS EVALUATING FINANCING OF PARTIES
BELGRADE, April 28 (Beta) - Experts from the Council of Europe's corruption watchdog GRECO on April 28, the third day of their visit to Belgrade, have begun to scrutinize the state of political party financing in Serbia. Representatives of the Anti-Corruption Agency told that the GRECO experts arrived for a fourday visit to Serbia on April 26 and that during the first two days they looked at the treatment of corruption in criminal legislation. During the rest of their stay in Serbia, the experts will meet with representatives of state institutions, political parties, the media and NGOs. Their final report and recommendation on what needs to change in terms of party financing will be unveiled at the Council of Europe plenary session in Strasbourg in September. This is the second evaluation of the corruption situation in Serbia.The previous one was carried out in September 2005; a report containing recommendations for Serbia was approved in June 2006, and the final report on the fulfillment of all GRECO recommendations within an additional deadline was sent in 2009.

U.S. AMBASSADOR IN BUJANOVAC
BUJANOVAC, April 29 (Tanjug) - U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Mary Warlick expressed her satisfaction over her visit to the south of central Serbia, where the government and the people of the United States of America have invested about USD 70 million over the past several years. We have invested a lot in the economic and overall development of southern Serbia, and it shows how devoted the government and people of the United States are to this area and how much we are interested in the economic development of these municipalities, Ambassador Warlick said after her meeting with Bujanovac Mayor Saik Kamberi. She told reporters that she had come to Bujanovac to hear about the situation there ahead of the elections for the Albanian national council and about the inclusion of the Serbs in the local organs of authority. Addressing the ambassador and her associates, Kamberi underscored that everything the government and people of the United States had done for the region, through international organizations, is of huge importance. With their help, we have created basic conditions for a speedier development of small and medium-size enterprises, which meant opening of new jobs in this municipality, said Kamberi.