DAILY SURVEY - Nr. 51 / 392 - Belgrade - Prepared by: Z. Bucin

- SERBIA

TADIC: SERBIA STABLE DESPITE CHALLENGES

PASULJANSKE LIVADE, Oct. 08 (Beta) - President Boris Tadic said that Serbia was a safe and stable country despite of all of the challenges that it faced. "The citizens can feel safe despite the challenges of terrorism and organized crime," Tadic said during a military exercise held in Pasuljanske Livade fields, near Nis. Serbia, Tadic said, will continue to bolster its army and police to raise the country’s credibility in this domain. He also stressed that the professionalization of the army would improve its quality, adding that voluntary military service was still possible. Reforms of the armed forces have reached the necessary level of quality, he added. On Oct. 8, Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac said that the drill demonstrated a new image and that professional soldiers would take part in all future exercises.

DJELIC: SERBIA LOBBIES FOR IMF AND WORLD BANK SUPPORT

WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Tanjug) - The Serbian delegation at the annual meeting between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank is trying to get the maximum support for the country from those institutions, Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said in Washington on Saturday. "As far as the World Bank goes, our request is very clear and known to our partners. Between 2011 and 2014, we want Serbia to get funds that are no less than the total amount it has to pay out during that period," Djelic told reporters. "In any case, the important thing for the IMF was that we were able to meet the three conditions required for the success of the current programme. First we needed to adopt a fiscal responsibility law, then we needed a responsible budget for 2011, one where the deficit would be less than 4 percent of the GDP, and finally we needed to come up with a pension system reform," said Djelic. According to him, the remaining USD 600 million from the World Bank are supposed to go to some very important projects, and Serbia’s credibility depends on the way that money is spent. The funds Serbia would get from the World Bank over the next four years have to be in line with the national priorities, Djelic noted. The bank wishes to work closely with the EU in the next period when it comes to projects related to the Western Balkans. There is an agreement with the IMF concerning the 2010 budget review, he remarked, adding that the priorities include a one-time financial assistance for pensioners and aid for the poorest municipalities. "We know that the euro will be our currency after the dinar. However, that will not happen tomorrow, but in 15 to 20 years. That is why we should do everything possible to strengthen out currency during the next decade," the deputy prime minister stressed.

DJELIC: WE WILL FIGHT FOR CANDIDACY TO LAST MINUTE

BELGRADE, Oct. 08 (Beta) - Bozidar Djelic, deputy Serbian prime minister in charge of European integration, has said that Belgrade will fight until the last moment for the EU Council of Ministers to greenlight Serbia’s candidacy for membership in the 27nation bloc at its Oct. 25 session. "Twenty six of the EU’s 27 memberstates want Serbia’s candidacy to be forwarded in Luxembourg on Oct. 25, to the [European] Commission for deliberation. Our delegation will be present and we will fight until the last minute," Djelic said in an interview with the EurActiv Srbija internet portal. Djelic, however, underlined the unyielding stance of the Netherlands on the road to Serbia’s integration with Europe, which is the arrest of war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic and his extradition to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. "If this is met, they told us that they will be the first country to support the EU’s enlargement," Djelic said. If the Council of Ministers gives the go ahead, Djelic said that he expected the European Commission, which has already prepared a questionnaire for Serbia, to send the document to Belgrade in two to three weeks.

STEINBERG: CLINTON TO DISCUSS SERB RIGHTS WITH KOSOVO OFFICIALS

WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Tanjug) - U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton will express strong U.S. support for the Western Balkans’ EU integration during her coming visit to the region, but she is also going to warn the local officials that certain decisions need to be made for that goal to be accomplished, Deputy State Secretary James Steinberg has stated. Steinberg told the Voice of America that Clinton will discuss Serb rights with Kosovo authorities during her visit to Pristina. Washington wants Serbia and Kosovo to begin a dialogue on practical issues, such that would improve the lives of the people, said Steinberg, adding that the huge difference in views would make it counterproductive to about Kosovo’s status during those negotiations. Clinton wants to confirm that the U.S. is committed to a positive future for all the people in the Western Balkans, to state clearly that it wants to work together with them on their European and transatlantic future, to assure them that the U.S. is their partner with whom they share a common interest and who is there to help and support them, Steinberg noted. The state secretary is going to deliver a number of messages to leaders in Belgrade and Pristina. The first one is that the U.S. supports Serbia’s EU integration and thinks it is a part of Serbia’s and Western Balkans’ future, Steinberg explained. Clinton will also welcome the decisions Serbian President Boris Tadic made in order to enable a productive dialogue with Kosovo, said Steinberg, adding that she will also state the U.S. are willing to cooperate on that project with Serbia and other countries. According to Steinberg, Clinton will reassure officials in Pristina of the U.S. commitment to Kosovo’s independence and territorial integrity, but she is also going to point out the need for creating an inclusive and tolerant society that would respect the needs of the Serb minority and finally the need to cooperate with Belgrade to overcome certain challenges.

MAAS: SERBIA ON ITS WAY TO BECOME GOOD PARTNER TO EU

BELGRADE, Oct 9 (Tanjug) - German Ambassador to Serbia Wolfram Maas said in Belgrade on Friday that Serbia was on its way to become a good partner to the EU, and that Germany would continue supporting its European integration. Speaking at an event organized by the embassy and a number of German political foundations to mark the 20th anniversary of their country’s reunification, Maas stated that post-reunification Germany and Serbia had a lot in common. Serbia is going through a transition, and it is on its way to become a good partner to the EU, Maas noted, adding that the challenge was reason enough for him to reiterate Germany’s support for Serbia in its EU integration. Serbia recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the fall of Slobodan Milosevic and the establishment of democracy, Maas remarked, hoping that those past years would be remembered in both countries as a time when they chose new directions and formed a successful cooperation between each other. Since its reunification, Germany has been advocating further expansion and development of the EU, Maas noted.

BUNDESTAG SUPPORTS SERBIA’S EU CANDIDACY

BERLIN, Oct 8 (Tanjug) - The German Bundestag called on the country’s government to support Serbia’s EU membership candidate status application at the meeting of the EU Council of Ministers on October 25, urging the beginning of negotiations on admitting Serbia to the EU, Austria’s APA news agency reported. During the debate in the lower unicameral house of the German parliament, all political parties supported Serbia’s progress towards the EU, and some of them stated an opinion that Serbia should not be required to acknowledge Kosovo as an independent country, but that all issues should be discussed openly. At the session at which the propositions of the Christian Democratic Union and the Free Democratic Party on Serbia’s request for EU accession were debated, the Bundestag urged the ensuring of further progress in acknowledging Kosovo before the commencement of formal negotiations. Serbia opted for cooperation with the EU instead of confronting it, and thus showed that it is clearly oriented at a pro-European action, it was stated in the Bundestag release. The Bundestag pointed out at the session that the EU ’enlargement fatigue’ is connected with the negative experiences in the cases of Romania’s and Bulgaria’s EU accession.

BRAMMERTZ: ICTY CHIEF PROSECUTOR EXPECTS MORE FROM SERBIA

VIENNA, Oct 9 (Tanjug) - Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Serge Brammertz said he expected more effort from Serbia in its search for the remaining two ICTY fugitives, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. Serbia needs to do more because the difference between what it does now and what is necessary to apprehend Mladic is great, said Brammertz. According to him, the government should provide a lot more personnel and resources; it should search more intensively, react faster to the information about Mladic’s whereabouts and employ better and modern methods of investigation. Time is ticking away and there can be no more waiting, he told Der Standard, an Austrian daily. When asked if political pressure was a help, Brammertz answered that it has been an important instrument in the 17 years since the ICTY was established, because the tribunal has no police force of its own. It is perfectly legitimate to strive for stability in the Balkans when it comes to politics, but the fight against impunity should not be neglected because of it, said the prosecutor. Someone who is accused of the worst crimes in Europe since World War Two cannot be allowed to walk freely, particularly at a time when everyone is speaking about human rights, he added. If the ICTY were to be closed without putting Mladic on trial, it would make it harder to achieve reconciliation and stability in the Balkans, Brammertz concluded.

KACIN: BAD MESSAGE FROM BELGRADE MIGHT INFLUENCE HOLLAND

BELGRADE, Oct 11 (Tanjug) - European Parliamentary Rapporteur for Serbia Jelko Kacin on Sunday strongly criticized the outbreak of violence during the Pride Parade by saying that a very bad message was sent out to the world from Belgrade, which might have a negative impact on The Netherland’s decision on Serbia’s further progress towards the European Union. Pictures of Belgrade under siege that were broadcast across the world are sending out a very bad message about the absence of elementary tolerance toward minorities in Serbia, but also on inefficiency of the state institutions, Kacin said in a press release. According to him, Belgrade missed a unique opportunity to show on a visible example that the rule of law has fully been established in Serbia. The message that is being sent out from Belgrade today may only have a negative impact on the decision of the Dutch government and parliament on Serbia’s further steps in the process of European integrations, underscored Kacin. Commending Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic and Liberal Democratic Party leader Cedomir Jovanovic for their unambiguous support of the Parade, Kacin said that the entire political establishment has to respond clearly and that the state has to provide public order and peace, smooth functioning of the rule of law and to deal with all forms of violent extremism. Jelko Kacin expressed his solidarity with the injured policemen and citizens.

KYPREOS: PRIDE WEEK REFLECTS RESPECT OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

BELGRADE, Oct 8 (Tanjug) - Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission to Serbia Ambassador Dimitrios Kypreos expressed support to the activities undertaken during the Pride Week which will conclude by Pride Parade in Belgrade on October 10, and pointed out that these efforts reflect observance of basic human rights and freedoms. The OSCE supports respect of the basic human rights to freedom of assembly, expression and protection from discrimination, Ambassador Kypreos said. According to a release by the OSCE mission to Serbia, Kypreos assessed that state bodies have invested efforts to ensure protection of rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Serbia, which are also the country’s obligation based on the European Convention on Human Rights. The ambassador expressed satisfaction that the period since the cancellation of the Pride Parade in 2009 was used to improve the dialogue between all relevant sides in this matter. He pointed out that state institutions have taken all measures to prevent public expressions of extremist stands. Kypreos stressed that the possibility for a social group to assert their identity in a situation free of hate speech, threats and violence represents one of the features of a democratic society. Pride Week in Novi Sad, Nis, Zrenjanin and Becej included public discussions, exhibitions and performances devoted to the LGBT community. These activities were aimed at promoting the Pride Parade, which will be held in Belgrade on October 10.

- KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

THACI: KOSOVO READY FOR EU TO ABOLISH VISAS

PRISTINA, Oct. 08 (Beta) - Kosovo Premier Hashim Thaci said on Oct. 8 that Kosovo was ready for the EU to abolish visas for Kosovars, and that he expected a visa liberalization strategy for Kosovo to be adopted in October. Thaci told the media in Pristina that the Kosovo government had finished all of the necessary preparations and met the conditions laid down by the European Commission. Kosovo Minister of European Integration Besim Beqaj told KTV that Kosovo had begun making the required adjustments to its citizens’ registry, devised a refugee return strategy for Kosovars in western European states, adopted a readmission law, and signed six readmission treaties with Western nations. After compiling an electronic citizens’ registry, Kosovo will be able to start on issuing biometric passports, Beqaj said.

For further information: Minister for Foreign Affairs of Serbia