REPUBLIC OF SERBIA - MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

 PRISTINA WILL NOT IMPOSE EMBARGO ON PRODUCTS OF SERBIA, BIH

SERBIA

JEREMIC: NO UNITING OF EUROPE WITHOUT SERBIA

LONDON, Feb 12 (Tanjug) - Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Thursday that the resolution of the future status of Kosovo and Metohija and admission into the European Union were two separate processes, and pointed out that that was the official policy of both Belgrade and Brussels and that Belgrade would do all it could to keep it that way. If Serbia is to be set the condition to recognize Kosovo in order to achieve any goal it may want, Serbia would be stipulated the condition to violate its own Constitution, Jeremic underlined in an interview with the British BBC and dismissed the claims that the rhetoric with the West had become more harsh as of lately. As for the rhetoric, I do not see it as being harsh, and we are not using any special tactic, but are rather speaking about something which is our position in a very open manner. We do not want to cause any misunderstandings with the EU which could result in the slowing down of the European integration of Serbia and the West Balkans, which I regard to be in our mutual interest, Jeremic said. We hold that we have nothing to hide when it comes to our cooperation with The Hague (Tribunal). We deem that the claims that Serbia is not cooperating with The Hague are simply not true. I do not see why anyone who claims to have good intentions would reject a bona fide invitation, an invitation in good faith to the European Union to come and see what it is that we are doing, he said. Serbia represents a crucial country in the region, and if it is on the right track, I am sure that the whole of the Balkans is on the right path as well. If Serbia should stagger, or if it should lose energy, will, focus or vision, it will not be possible to round up the process of the Balkan’s integration into the EU, and therefore, it will also not be possible to round up the process of Europe’s integration, Jeremic concluded.

JEREMIC: SERBIA KEEPS CLOSE CONTACTS ABOUT EU MEMBERSHIP

KRAGUJEVAC, Feb 11 (Tanjug) - Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic on Wednesday stated that Serbia will continue to maintain close consultations on its membership in the European Union with relevant factors, which is its strategic goal that it will never give up. Jeremic told reporters in Kragujevac that it is extremely important that the process of European integration continues to be an interactive and two-way process. "We will continue to maintain close consultations with relevant factors and institutions in the EU, among which the European Commission is one of them and Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn," said Jeremic, responding to a statement by the European commissioner that Serbia should not submit its application for the EU membership before the Provisional Agreement with the EU gets unfrozen. On the occasion of the statement by EU special representative in Kosovo and Metohija Peter Faith that a "dangerous task" of integrating the northern part of Kosovo into a single Kosovo system lies ahead and that only this way, and by pursuing a policy of good neighborly relations, Kosovo will be able to achieve full independence, Jeremic said that Faith’s statements are not binding for Serbia. "The relations between Serbia and Kosovo are not neighborly relations," said Jeremic, adding that the status of Serbia’s southern province will be defined in a way that is in keeping with international law. "I am confident that we will reach a moment when it will become evident that it is impossible to have a sustainable solution that would lead to peace and stability in the Balkans without finding a status for Kosovo that will be acceptable to all, and not only to some, a solution that will be the result of compromise and not an imposed one," said Jeremic.

JEREMIC: SERBIA HAS THREE FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES

KRAGUJEVAC, Feb. 11 (Beta) - Serbia’s foreign policy priorities are the preservation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the acceleration of European integration, and good regional cooperation, Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Feb. 11. During a visit to the central Serbian town of Kragujevac, Jeremic said the government’s main strategic priority is the acceleration of European integration with the aim of making the country a full member of the EU. According to him, this goal will primarily be achieved through the implementation of a third priority the establishment of good neighborly relations and the best possible regional cooperation. "It is very important that we have chosen to defend our basic national priorities by peaceful, political, diplomatic, and legal means. This is precisely the importance of today’s National Strategy Forum and the topic we will discuss, and that is Serbia’s foreign policy strategy," he said. Jeremic visited Kragujevac as part of this year’s Statehood Day celebrations.

LAST MOMENT TO MAKE STEP FORWARD IN ANTI-CRIME FIGHT

GOC, Feb 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic on Wednesday stated that this is the last moment for the state to make a step forward in its fight against organized crime and corruption, in order for the state institutions to get stabilized and to provide the property of citizens and the future of their families with safety. Congratulating members of the police on their successful operations in the fight against organized crime, Tadic said that this fight is of essence for the country’s stability and development. After an exercise staged by members of the Serbian police Rasina 2009 on Mt Goc, Tadic told reporters that the state will continue to demonstrate its readiness to give resistance in an organized way and to include all of its resources in the fight against organized crime. "We will continue to show in the future that we are all equal before the state and law and that there are no privileged ones. Thus we will establish a rule and norm that will apply to all future carriers of the top state offices," underscored Tadic. According to him, Serbia will demonstrate its readiness to establish moral norms in the years of major ordeal, particularly during the economic crisis. Tadic also said that the carriers of the authority will persist that every institution, government as a whole and him as president, carry out their duties in keeping with the law and Constitution. President Tadic underscored that without stable and peaceful Serbia there is no stability in the region as a whole.

TADIC ENDORSES PUTTING STATE OFFICIALS ON COMPANY BOARDS

GOC, Feb. 11 (Beta) - On Feb. 11, President Boris Tadic said in response to the appointment of a new board to head the NIS oil company that it is normal for the managing boards of companies to include people monitoring business operations on behalf of the state. "This is so in any country in the world. Let us try to introduce rules that are in effect everywhere in the world," Tadic told reporters on Mt. Goc, replying to a question about the Feb. 10 appointment of new board members at NIS in the wake of Russian Gazprom Neft’s purchase of a majority stake in the company. The Serbian president said he does not know how much the members of the NIS board will make since the company has been privatized and the state no longer controls it. Consequently, salaries will be set by the board itself. He said state representatives will supervise operations to make sure that everything is in accordance with the law. Tadic went on to say that the salaries of employees of stateowned companies will reflect the economic situation in the country and that there are no moral ground for these people to get rich on the account of their membership in managing boards. According to Tadic, managers of such companies need to have higher salaries because this is the only way for public enterprises to be competitive both at home and abroad.

JEREMIC PRESENTS REPORT ON MINISTRY’S WORK

BELGRADE, Feb 11 (Tanjug) - Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic presented on Wednesday his annual report on the Ministry’s work to Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Serbian President Boris Tadic, Tanjug has learned at the Foreign Ministry. The report points to the decision of the UN General Assembly to accept Serbia’s initiative that the legality of the unilateral proclamation of Kosovo-Metohija independence be assessed by the Hague-based International Court of Justice as being one of the greatest successes of the Foreign Ministry. When it comes to the already implemented reforms, the Ministry underlines in the report that in the last 18 months, it had reduced the number of its employees by about 200 persons, that it had rationalized the network of diplomatic missions and consular offices and prepared a new generation of young diplomats. As a failure in its work, the Ministry mentions the case of student Miladin Kovacevic, who was accused in the United States of beating up his fellow student on May 4 last year. Kovacevic was released from custody on bail and he handed in his passport, but he was given new temporary papers at the Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia in New York which have made it possible for him to leave America and return to Serbia.

KALAMPEROVIC AWAITING INSTRUCTIONS ON DUAL CITIZENSHIP

PODGORICA, Feb 12 (Tanjug) - Montenegrin Interior Minister Jusuf Kalamperovic said on Wednesday evening that he is awaiting instructions from the state leadership in connection with further moves concerning possible negotiations with Belgrade on an agreement on dual citizenship. The Montenegrin government has not yet taken a stand on the proposal made by Belgrade, Kalamperovic said. "The government still has not considered the proposal that Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic sent to Podgorica on January 31," Kalamperovic said, pointing out that Dacic previously also proposed new negotiations on dual citizenship. Serbian Ambassador in Podgorica Zoran Lutovac said yesterday that the agreement was not signed because Podgorica, and not Belgrade, called off the agreement at the last minute. It had been agreed that all persons who receive dual citizenship by the time of the signing of this agreement should get to keep it, Lutovac elaborated, but Montenegro abandoned this idea and defined October 22, 2008, as the new valid date.

SERBIA NEEDS TRANSPARENT, EFFICIENT INSTITUTIONS

STRASSBOURG, Feb. 11 (Beta) - Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly rapporteur for Serbia Andreas Gross has stressed that transparency and the efficient functioning of democratic institutions trusted by the country’s citizens are the main prerequisite for the completion of the organization’s monitoring of Serbia, officials in Strasbourg said on Feb. 11. “Since the last general election in May 2008, Serbia has made visible progress in numerous reforms,” Gross said after a two-day visit to Serbia and praised the current political stability, as well as the adoption of key laws related to European integration, judicial reform, and fighting corruption. He added that in a real democracy, the leaders of political parties do not single-handedly decide the country’s future but instead work with MPs in a constructive dialog on various political issues, as free representatives of the citizens rather than mere “instruments” of political parties. Guaranteeing the opposition’s rights is a basic element of democracy, but opposition parties should not block the parliamentary process, Gross underscored. “Revision of the parliamentary rulebook is only part of the solution. More importantly, the election system should be reformed in such a way as to ensure that the views of all Serbian citizens are represented in parliament, e.g. with the introduction of open regional tickets,” Gross said. When it comes to cooperation with the Hague tribunal, Gross said he believes the authorities are doing all they can to capture the remaining indictees, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. The fulfillment of Serbia’s obligations will be on the agenda of the Parliamentary Assembly’s April session, when Gross and his fellow rapporteur Charles Goerens will prepare a supplement to their last report, made in September 2008.

SERBIA – ECONOMY, FINANCE

TALKS ON ENLARGING OF ARRANGEMENT WITH IMF IN MIDMARCH

BELGRADE, Feb. 11 (Beta) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic announced on Feb. 11 that it will be decided in March how much additional money Serbia would need from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "We are considering macroeconomic data in order to establish the deficit of funds needed for the financing of Serbia’s payment balance," he told reporters, adding that Serbia already has a standby arrangement with the IMF, worth EUR402.5 million, which can be enlarged. In his words, according to the figures that will be presented in detail during the visit of the IMF mission in midMarch, "new coordinates" will be established with this international financial institution. He also said the money from the IMF is not being used for supporting the budget, but for supporting the foreign currency reserves of Serbia. Djelic estimated that Serbia was among the first countries to make a good estimate of how events would develop, which, as he said, was also confirmed by IMF deputy director Murillo Portugal, who said that Serbia is able to discuss matters several steps in advance.

DJELIC ANNOUNCES POSSIBILITY OF NEW WB LOAN

BELGRADE, Feb 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic on Wednesday stated that a possibility of taking an additional credit of USD 300 million from the World Bank, which the WB should approve at its annual assembly scheduled for April, is being discussed. Djelic clarified that a part of the credit, between USD 150 million and USD 200 million, will be paid to the budget, recalling that the arrangement was discussed with WB representatives at the recent meeting in Davos. The prerequisite was to determine the allocation for the remaining funds from the previously approved loan of USD 200 million, said Djelic at a meeting at the National Bank of Serbia. He clarified that a package of USD 600 million, of which USD 400 million will be spent on construction of Corridor 10, was agreed earlier.

DINKIC: CHANGE OF DEAL WILL BE DISCUSSED AFTER IMF VISIT

BELGRADE, Feb. 11 (Beta) - Serbian Minister for the Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic stated on Feb. 11 that the change of the arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will only be discussed after the visit of the IMF’s mission to Serbia. Asked by reporters about the amount Serbia could ask from the IMF, Dinkic replied that the issue is not the amount of money, but the type of arrangement. "We now have a preemptive arrangement, and we wish to make an analysis of how the new macroeconomic environment would affect Serbia and to find a solution jointly about which type of arrangement would best suit Serbia," Dinkic said.

NEGOTIATIONS ON EC’S MACROECONOMIC HELP TO SERBIA

BELGRADE, Feb. 11 (Beta) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic stated on Feb. 11 that the Serbian government had started negotiations with the European Commission about the approval of EUR400 million in macroeconomic financial support. Speaking at the gathering entitled "Possible Responses to the World Economic Crisis," Djelic said that, in October 2008, the government agreed with the European Commission to start negotiations about obtaining financial support from this organization after signing the arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Thus, the government had responded, in a timely fashion, to the expected deficit in tax revenue, due to the slowing down of economic growth, he added. The Serbian deputy prime minister explained that the agreement on macroeconomic financial support of the European Union should be operational in the last three months of this year. During the World Economic Forum in Davos, it was agreed for the World Bank to consider, at its annual session in April, to increase its support to Serbia by $300 million, of which 200 million would represent support to the Serbian budget, Djelic said. The remaining funds, he explained, would be intended for investments into education and science. "Serbia currently has a package of help from the World Bank worth $600 million, of which 400 million is intended for Corridor 10," said the Serbian deputy prime minister in charge of European integration. Djelic said the measures of the Serbian government aimed at alleviating the effects of the world financial crisis were directed towards the maintaining of stability and economic activity, attracting investments and preventing social lamination.

JELASIC: RETURN TO ECONOMIC GROWTH ZONE NOT BEFORE 2011

PODGORICA, Feb 12 (Tanjug) - National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Governor Radovan Jelasic said in Podgorica on Wednesday that it is highly unlikely that the countries undergoing a financial crisis will record economic growth before the year 2011. In a lecture delivered at Montenegro’s University of Donja Gorica on the subject "The Financial Crisis and Its Influence on the Economies of the Region," Jelasic said he does not expect an imminent return of these countries to the zone of economic growth. In Serbia, he said, the latest projection of the GDP for 2009 is 1.8 percent, while the projected inflation is around eight percent. The elementary objective of the countries that are in a financial crisis should be to achieve and maintain the stability of prices, the NBS governor said, and in order to achieve this, the inflation must be maintained within the agreed range, and the lower limit of net foreign-currency reserves, a restrictive fiscal policy, and a deficit in current transactions must also be preserved.

VEITCH: U.S.STEEL WILL EXPORT LESS

BELGRADE, Feb 12 (Tanjug) - General Director of U.S.Steel Serbia Richard Veitch stated that in 2009, due to the economic crisis, Serbia’s biggest exporter, the Smederevo steel mill, will export less. The crisis has significantly reflected on the industry and steel market, and the demand for steel products. In order to adjust to the current situation, we have decided to consolidate the production in Europe, by temporarily closing some of our manufacturing assemblies in Serbia, said Veitch in an interview for the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti. We have completely harmonized our production with our customers’ needs. The crisis will certainly cause us to export less than before, Veitch added.

TELENOR’S OPERATIONS PROFIT IN 2008 EUR84 MILLION

BELGRADE, Feb. 11 (Beta) - The Telenor company announced on Feb. 11 that it had increased its operations profit in 2008 by 70 percent, to about EUR84 million. Telenor’s total revenue in Serbia added up to EUR364 million last year, which was about eight percent more than in the previous year, it was announced at the website of the Norwegian company, www.telenor.com. In the last three months of 2008, Telenor’s revenue in Serbia added up to EUR93.67 million, which is eight percent more than in the same period of 2007, the company stated. The growth in revenue was a result of an increase in revenue from roaming and from the sale of phones. In the last quarter of 2008, the number of Telenor users in Serbia grew by 67,000, so this mobile phone operator had the total of 2,844,000 users at the end of last year, but its share of the Serbian market fell to 35 percent. In Serbia, Telenor’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew from EUR122 million in 2007 to 164 million in 2008. Capital investments grew mainly as a result of the expansion of the mobile telephony network (2G and 3G), it was said at the company’s website, without elaborating on how large the investments have been.

KOSOVO AND METOHIJA – SITUATION, REACTIONS

SIX SERBS UNDERGO KSF TRAINING COURSE

CAGLAVICA, Feb 11 (Tanjug) - Deputy Minister of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) Bedzet Brajsori said on Thursday that six Serbs, from the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPS), had joined the units. So far, a total of 92 non-Albanians have joined the KSF training course, Brajsori said at a conference held at the media Centre in Caglavica, claiming that along with the six Serbs, the force presently also comprised 19 Bosniaks, eight Egyptians, 26 Ashkalians, 21 members of the Turkish community and an equal number of Goranaies, six Croats. They are among the 6.5 percent of those have passed the test of transfer from the Kosovo Protection Corps to the KSF, Brajsori said. Independent Liberal Party deputy in the Kosovo parliament Bojan Stojanovic said that the formation of the KSF would not "change things on the terrain a bit." "I do not expect that someone will be endangered or threatened by the KSF. What we really do not need, now that the tensions are falling, is to have someone destabilize the situation south to the Ibar River. We should not go round spreading fear among Serb villagers that the KSF represents a direct threat to them," Stojanovic said. He called on the Serbs to think twice before they decide what stand to take toward the newly-set KSF units in Kosovo, which is supposed to have 2.5000 active members and 800 reservists.

FAITH: DANGEROUS TASK OF NORTHERN KOSOVO’S INTEGRATION

BRUSSELS, Feb 11 (Tanjug) - European Union special representative in Kosovo and Metohija Peter Faith stated at the European Parliament on Wednesday that a "dangerous task" of integrating northern Kosovo into a single Kosovo system is ahead and that only that way, and with the policy of good neighborly relations, Kosovo will be able to reach full independence. In his address to the members of the EP Foreign Affairs Committee, Faith said that Belgrade and Kosovo Serbs may not have the right to veto developments in Kosovo and that the six-point plan will not lead anywhere if it undermines the reality in Kosovo. At the same time, Faith evaluated that the EU is in the best position to secure a dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. The aim is good neighborly contacts between Belgrade and Pristina, said Faith. The European Union see it as its obligation that countries which also have European prospective also maintain a minimum of contact, or as part of the European prospects, you have to work together on cross-border cooperation, customs, underscored Faith. Faith underscored that a dangerous task of integrating northern Kosovo into a single legal and customs system lies ahead, which he believes requires a better cooperation of Belgrade on site, more cooperativeness by mayors and isolation of criminals in the north. Faith also evaluated that the rule of law is absent from the north of Kosovo, requesting Belgrade to provide assistance in full deployment of EULEX.

ADMIRAL FITZGERALD AND KFOR COMMANDER MEET WITH MUJOTA

PRISTINA, Feb 11 (Tanjug) - NATO South Wing commander, Admiral Mark Fitzgerald and Kfor commander Lieutenant General Giuseppe Emilio Gay met in Pristina on Wednesday with Kosovo Security Force (KSF) Minister Fehmi Mujota. Mujota expressed gratitude to NATO, Kfor and Admiral Fitzgerald for their help in developing KSF, it was announced. The talks focused on the process of selection and election of KSF members and the dissatisfaction of a number of former members of the Kosovo Protection Corps who were not included in the KSF. The officials jointly expressed readiness to treat this issue in an institutional and comprehensive manner in cooperation with Kfor and said they expected that the best possible solution would be found, a statement said.

SEJDIU ACCUSES SERBS OF THREATENING TO DESTABILISE NORTH PRISTINA, Feb 11 (Tanjug) - Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu on Wednesday accused Serbs from northern Kosovo of threatening with destabilisation, after a call from a rally in northern Kosovska Mitrovica that checkpoints at the administrative crossings would be blocked again if EULEX started to collect customs fees. "I invite all Serb citizens of Kosovo to become an important part of Kosovo’s stability," Sejdiu said after a meeting with Luxembourg Foreign Minister Nicolas Schmit. According to media in Pristina, Schmit said that the time of violence had gone and that everybody should look into the future. What this region does not need is violence and this should be a lesson to all, Schmit said and added that all European countries should explain this lesson to all sides in the region. At a rally in Kosovska Mitrovica on Tuesday, Serbs from northern Kosovo demanded the disbanding of the Kosovo Security Force, saying that Kosovo institutions planned to create a background for a KSF raid by launching accusations that crime and chaos ruled in the north of the town. It was said at the rally that the forces were an anti-Serb formation which should be disbanded. Kosovska Mitrovica District head Radenko Nedeljkovic condemned EULEX’s unilateral moves at crossings in northern Kosovo, saying that they violated a six-item document harmonised between Belgrade and the United Nations.

SEJDIU AGAINST TALKS WITH BELGRADE

PRISTINA, Feb 12 (Tanjug) - Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu has said that the local institutions will not accept to have talks on topics initiated by Belgrade even if they are presented by the United Nations (UN) Mission in Kosovo. There will be no talks, in particular if they are implying a dismantling of the package launched by Martti Ahtisaari, the Pristina Albanian-language daily Koha Ditore said on Thursday. UNMIK representatives have announced they will continue with the attempts to bring Pristina and Belgrade officials to the negotiating table to discuss the cultural heritage and other outstanding issues. "We will never accept the idea that was presented by UNMIK - which is in fact terminating its mission - that topics initiated by Serbia should be raised and discussed, and which naturally dismantle Ahtisaari’s package," Sejdiu was quoted as saying. Sejdiu reiterated that the stand of Kosovo institutions remains clear and that it is implicit that the UN Mission in Kosovo cannot have the role of a factor that will "construct" talks between the two sides. "We clearly state: UNMIK no longer has that role," Sejdiu said, as reported by the daily.

PRISTINA WILL NOT IMPOSE EMBARGO ON PRODUCTS OF SERBIA, BIH

PRISTINA, Feb 12 (Tanjug) - Pristina officials are facing strong pressure from the international community not to block products from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) as a response to the decisions of Belgrade and Sarajevo to block sales and transit of goods with "Republic of Kosovo" labels, the Pristina Albanian-language daily Zeri said on Thursday. There is a possibility that this problem could be resolved through negotiations, Zeri said, but the international pressure has thwarted the interim executive organs of Kosovo from realizing their decision which they have been announcing over the past two months. International subjects have also conveyed to Pristina officials the answer of Montenegrin Trade Minister Branimir Gvozdenovic, CEFTA Chairperson, who said that Kosovo cannot be represented as a party to the talks without UNMIK. Such an explanation by international representatives has met with strong opposition from the officials in Pristina, who point out that "Montenegro has recognized the independence of Kosovo."

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Minister for Foreign Affairs of Serbia