Balkan Review November 2008

• 2008-12-09
• Europa in de wereld

Macedonia

Macedonia's chief negotiator in the name dispute, Nikola Dimitro, was fired this past month by President Crvenkovski. However he is to remain part of the negotiating team. He was replaced with Macedonia's ambassador to the United States, Zoran Jolevski. Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis found the recent proposal of the name "Republic of Northern Macedonia" for Macedonia and a double solution for the issue of Macedonian nationality and language unacceptable. Skopje was also displeased with this proposal. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated that a solution to the name issue is not to be expected soon.

Macedonia has filed a lawsuit against Greece before the International Court of Justice at The Hague accusing Athens for blocking its NATO membership. Macedonia holds that Greece has broken the UN Interim Accord signed in 1995, which states that Greece is not to stop Skopje from joining international institutions as long as it joins using the provisional reference, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Greece blocked Macedonia's NATO membership in April and is now threatening to block the opening of Macedonia's EU membership talks as well unless a deal is reached on the name issue. The ICJ will take at least three years to rule on the dispute between Macedonia and Greece. Macedonia urges NATO to expedite the country's accession to NATO, warning that further delays would have negative consequences for the already unstable Balkans region. After the NATO meeting of foreign ministers 3/12, the Greek Foreign Minister Bakoyannis stated that Macedonia and Greece are expected to resume the talks on the name issue this month.

Macedonia will have to wait for visa liberalization until 2010. The delay in the European Commission's preliminary report on implementation of requirements contained in the roadmaps for visa liberalization is the main delay for the visa liberalization. The European Commission's report on the country's progress in meeting the requirements for visa liberalisation was positive and it acknowledged the government's efforts in this context.

Kosovo

On Friday 14/11, an explosive device was thrown at the office of the EU representative in Prishtina. No one was hurt; however, there was damage to the premises. Three German citizens were arrested and detained, suspected of being involved in this bombing. It was later revealed that these three Germans are members of the German Federal Intelligence Agency (BND). Kosovo authorities turned the case over to an international judge to handle the situation, who called for the German agents' release. Bribery has become an integral part of doing business in Kosovo.

Corruption is very extensive in Kosovo and is threatening the function of its institutions and economy. A World Bank report states that Kosovo is the most corrupted country in the Western Balkans. Kosovo is expected to have its first Armed Forces battalions in the beginning of January of 2009. European Commission representatives and the Kosovo government met at a meeting of the Stabilization and Association Process Tracking Mechanism where they began work on preparing a feasibility study of the Stability and Association Process (SAP).

Serbia

Serbia will open a permanent mission to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Serbia tried to persuade NATO to revise its 1999 military agreement in regards to Kosovo to allow Serbian forces back into Kosovo territory. NATO will not make any changes to this military deal with Serbia.

Serbia is going to be hit by the financial crisis and should prepare for an upcoming market slump. 100.000 workers have already been dismissed and many companies are not privatized and could face more cutbacks. 25.000 more jobs are expected to be lost in 2009. Serbia's high deficit and large public sector make it more vulnerable to the negative effects of the financial crisis. Serbia has made a pre-emptive agreement with the IMF on arrangements to support the government economic policy to preserve macroeconomic and financial stability. Serbia has vowed to improve the quality standards of its exported products in order to increase exports. Not only will this help the economy as a whole, but will also bring Serbia closer to the EU and expedite the EU integration process.

Serbia will not sell oil company NIS to Russia's Gazprom unless it gets guarantees that Russia will build a strategic gas pipeline through the country.

UN War Crimes prosecutor Serge Brammertz visited Serbia to evaluate the country's efforts for catching war crimes fugitive Ratko Maldic. In mid December he will inform EU officials about the status of Serbia's cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. Serbia has offered to pay €1 million for information leading to the arrest of Mladic and launched a full scale police search for Mladic. NATO troops raided Radovan Karadzic's family's home 2/12 looking for any evidence of contacts to the network that has helped Mladic evade arrest. Members of the Council of Europe stated that Serbia must increase its efforts against corruption, a serious problem in Serbia. This is in line with the recommendations of the European Commission. Serbia is expected to be granted official EU candidate status in 2009. Serbian President Boris Tadic stated that Serbia will work for EU entry between the years 2013-2015. However, Serbia could freeze its EU integration process if the EU conditions Serbia that its membership is contingent on recognition of Kosovo. The pre-entry deal of the SAA between the EU and Serbia remains blocked; the Netherlands continues to require Serbia's full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal.

EULEX

Kosovo originally rejected the UN-Serbia Six-Point plan, which was approved by the UN Security Council. Kosovo felt that the plan breached its sovereignty and would lead towards partition of Kosovo by creating a separate northern, Serb dominated police system and judicial customs. Serbia will only support a mission to Kosovo if it is in line with its demands regarding the deployment of EULEX; namely EULEX having a neutral stance on Kosovo's status, EULEX having no connection with the Martti Ahtisaari plan for Kosovo independence and it only be deployed with the UN Security Council approval. The UN-Serbia 6-Point Plan states that its objective is to apply rule of law throughout Kosovo and to establish a coherent justice system throughout Kosovo. The plan does not call for two separate police or judicial systems.

Last week Kosovo accepted the UN-Serbia 6-Point Plan. EULEX started its deployment throughout all of Kosovo, including the north, on December 9. All UNMIK police will be immediately replaced by EULEX police. NATO will increase its number of peacekeepers in the predominantly Serb northern part of Kosovo as EULEX is deployed to boost security.

Montenegro

Montenegro plans to apply this month for official EU candidate status. The European Enlargement Commissioner advised Montenegro to postpone its submission because this month's summit is to focus on the global financial crisis. The timing is not ideal for the submission and could hinder Montenegro's accession process if entered now. Corruption and organized crime remain the main obstacles on Montenegro's path to EU accession. Famous sports coaches are now going to take part in Montenegro government's new public awareness campaign aimed at fathers as part of a worldwide effort to stem sexual and physical violence of women. This campaign is focused on fathers and father figures to lead the younger generation by example to treat women with respect and to teach that violence against women in any form is wrong. Violence against women is a prevalent problem in Montenegro. Serbia and Montenegro are expected to finalize talks on dual citizenship in the next few days and sign an agreement.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

It is too early to make any decision over ending the international supervision and transfer of power to Bosnia's institutions because of the ethnic divisions, according to the Peace Implementation Council (PIC). Ethnic divisions continue to prevent the country from meeting all necessary conditions aimed at strengthening the country's institutions. There has been progress on all reforms in Bosnia but the apportionment of state property and the status of the Brcko district. The PIC has agreed to delay a decision on when to end international supervisions until spring. . Bosnia must work to implement the reforms deal reached by ethnic leaders of Bosnia to create closer ties with the EU. These reforms mainly concern amending the constitution. The agreements need to be implemented through legislation, and Bosnian lawmakers must be the driving force of the country's integration into the EU. Leaders state that ICTY cooperation is a high priority for Bosnia. The UN/EU envoy to BiH, Miroslav Lajcak, has appointed three ombudsmen for the country which will be a contribution towards respecting the human rights in the country.

The West has condemned the decision of Bosnia's Serbian Republika Srpska, which filed charges against a deputy envoy and a number of international prosecutors in Bosnia. Republika Srpska has accused these individuals of plotting against it.

Albania

Albanian Foreign Minister, Lulzim Basha, has been accused of corruption in a highway construction deal. This highway will connect Albania with Kosovo. The FM claims that these charges are all politically motivated. 11 opposition lawmakers entered a hunger strike 11/11 to protest the proposed changes to the electoral code, made by the ruling majority under Prime Minister Sali Berisha. These changes, according to the opposition, will be used to rig upcoming parliamentary elections. The proposal for proportional representation only allows seats for the largest political parties and excludes smaller party participation. The OSCE has criticized these proposals. Albanian President Bamir Topi asked the national parliament to re-examine this controversial electoral code. The lawyers ended their hunger strike after 8 days shortly before the parliament approved the new election law. Albania will be hit by the financial crisis and exports are expected to stall according to the IMF. Albania signed two deals worth more than €2billion with Italy to boost power supply. This will help Tirana's aspirations for closer relations with the EU. Albania has pledged to increase cooperation with Bulgaria.

Croatia

Croatia is going to face more economic difficulties amid the global financial crisis. Croatian banks took the first wave of the crisis well, but thousands of jobs were cut. The crisis has mostly affected the shipbuilding and wood processing industries. Croatia needs to set up a national strategy to cope with the global finical crisis to protect its economy. The government is planning to freeze salaries in the public sector. Croatia has taken the UN Security Council presidency for the month of December. Croatia and Slovenia are working to resolve the long-running border dispute and have made some progress with regards to the joint ownership of the Krsko nuclear power plant in Slovenia. Albania and Croatia are expected to join NATO by April; however, Macedonia will have to wait until a solution is found to the name dispute.

Paolo Bergamaschi

advisor for the Greens in the Committee on International Affairs