Beta - Daily News

Spanish Ambassador: Madrid has not Prepared any Resolution

2.9.2010. 20:25:22 +0100

BELGRADE, Sept. 2, 2010 (Beta) - Spanish Ambassador to Belgrade Ignacio de Palacio Espana said on Sept. 2 that Spain had not prepared a new draft resolution on Kosovo for the U.N. General Assembly.

"Spain has not prepared any new draft resolution," the ambassador told BETA, following media reports that Spain had drafted a compromise resolution which would replace the one Serbia has already sent to the U.N.

He said that now was an "exceptionally sensitive time" and that European partners were working "to find a satisfactory solution."

"All the friends of Serbia, partners in Europe and our Serbian friends and government are working on finding a solution which is satisfactory for all. Spain is contributing to that of course," said the Spanish ambassador.

Wordsworth: Spain Working with Serbia and EU on Resolution

BELGRADE, Sept. 2, 2010 (Beta) - British Ambassador to Belgrade Stephen Wordsworth said on Sept. 2 that Spain was working with Serbia and European Union partners on harmonizing the text of the resolution on Kosovo for the U.N. General Assembly.

"Spain is working with Serbia and European partners and is trying to reach a compromise and find a way to resolve this problem," Wordsworth said in response to a journalist's question on a proposed resolution which Spain is preparing.

Wordsworth said that the main problem was that the draft resolution submitted by Serbia had not been agreed upon entirely with the EU prior to its submission.

"The best approach would be to withdraw the current draft and begin with one we can agree on," Wordsworth told journalists at a press conference on a draft media strategy.

Wordsworth said that British Foreign Minister William Hague, who visited Belgrade on Aug. 31, had not set Serbia a deadline by which it should withdraw the resolution, but had recalled that the debate in the U.N. General Assembly was scheduled for Sept. 9 and, therefore, there was not much time for discussion.

Gul: Bosnia, Work Quickly and Courageously on EU Integration

SARAJEVO, Sept. 2, 2010 (Beta) - Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Sept. 2 in Sarajevo that his country was "ready to increase current political and economic cooperation" with Bosnia-Herzegovina and underlined that Bosnia had to "quickly and courageously" work on its European integration.

Following a meeting with members of the Bosnian Presidency, Gul said: "The best indicator of the importance Turkey places on mutual economic relations is the composition of the delegation that has come to Sarajevo today [Sept. 2]."

Turkish economic representatives and a delegation of ministers and Turkish parliamentarians traveled to Bosnia with the Turkish president on an official two-day visit.

Gul underscored that everything would be done to ensure that Bosnian and Turkish business people cooperated more with one another.

He underlined that Turkey gave the same amount of attention to all ethnic and religious communities in Bosnia and that the essence of Turkish policy was to "establish peace, security and stability" because of which Turkey had recently realized a series of positive initiatives in the Balkans in order to intensify joint cooperation.

"Nobody can prevent us from cooperating with one another on creating peace, stability and prosperity," said Gul and advised the members of the Bosnian Presidency to "work quickly and courageously" on Bosnia's Euro-Atlantic integration.

The Turkish president will speak on Sept. 3 with High Representative for Bosnia Valentin Inzko and members of the Inter-Religious Council of Bosnia in Sarajevo before visiting Mostar in the afternoon.

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Ashton, Tadic May Meet On Sept. 7

1.9.2010. 23:0:30 +0100

BRUSSELS, Sept. 1, 2010 (BETA) - Catherine Ashton, the EU high representative for foreign and security policy, and President Boris Tadic will likely meet in Strasbourg on Sept. 7 to discuss harmonizing the EU's and Serbia's positions on the resolution on Kosovo, prepared by Belgrade for a session of the U.N. General Assembly.

BETA learned this from EU diplomatic sources on Sept. 1, who added that the content of the resolution and outcome of the discussion in the U.N. General Assembly will dictate whether the EU will reach, in due time, the necessary unanimity on granting Serbia candidate member status.

Asked if this means that there is a new condition Serbia has to meet in order to enter the EU, the source replied that certain EU members may take that stand.

The EU diplomatic sources said a "working dinner" in Brussels between Tadic and Ashton has been discussed before, and that Belgrade will want to establish the common positions of the 22 EU members that have recognized Kosovo and the five that have not.

However, the source stated, it is more feasible for a possible approximation of views on Serbia's Kosovo resolution to be considered in Strasbourg, where the European Parliament and European Commission are to convene on Sept. 7.

Kfor To Continue Keeping Peace In Kosovo

PRISTINA, Sept. 1, 2010 (BETA) - Commander Allied Joint Force Command Naples Mark Fitzgerald on Sept. 1 said that KFOR will continue to preserve peace and stability, adding that this needs to be followed up with economic progress and further development of a free and democratic society in Kosovo.

Attending the ceremonial transfer of the authority of KFOR commander between two German generals, Markus Bentler and Erhard Buehler, the U.S. admiral said NATO will tone down its presence in Kosovo in accordance with the improvement of the security situation.

"I believe our reductions are a clear sign of impressive progress and the trust we were given by the Kosovo leadership," Fitzgerald said, adding that KFOR will remain committed to Kosovo and ensuring the protection of the rights of all its citizens.

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu said that 11 years after the deployment of NATO forces, Kosovo is an important factor of peace and stability in the region, with a clear vision of accession to the EU and NATO as soon as possible.

German Deputy Defense Minister Rudiger Wolf said the change at the helm of KFOR is taking place in a country whose stability is extremely important for the entire region.

Outgoing KFOR commander Markus Bentler said that, despite a conspicuous reduction in size, KFOR is fully capable and ready to deal with any challenge.

Dragutinovic: Negotiations With IMF End Successfully

BELGRADE, Sept. 1, 2010 (BETA) - Finance Minister Diana Dragutinovic stated on Sept. 1 that the fifth review of Serbia's current stand-by arrangement with the International Monetary Fund had reached a successful conclusion and that public-sector salaries and pensions would increase three times next year.

Speaking at a government news conference, Dragutinovic said that the original plan had been to raise salaries, frozen in late 2008, in April 2011. She added that the premature increase would cost the state around RSD4 billion.

She explained that public-sector employees and pensioners would in January 2011 get raises corresponding to inflation in the second half of 2010. This would be followed in April with hikes equal to first-quarter inflation and half of the country's real-term GDP growth. Finally, in October, another raise, equal to inflation in the previous six months, would follow.

"The planned state expenditure for 2010 will not increase because of the unfreezing of salaries and pensions, but funding will be reallocated," Dragutinovic stressed, announcing that changes to this year's budget would be prepared soon. The agreed deficit will not exceed 4.8 percent of GDP.

IMF Mission head Albert Jaeger said that the condition for the IMF Board of Directors to approve the fifth review of the arrangement with Serbia was for the government to send to Parliament a bill on fiscal responsibility as arranged with the IMF. This law will limit the 2011 budget deficit to four percent of GDP.

The Board of Directors it scheduled to meet on Sept. 27. Approval of the review would enable Serbia to withdraw the next EUR380 million installment of its IMF loan.

Jaeger stressed that late 2010 and all of 2011 would be difficult for Serbian citizens due to slowness in economic recovery and rising unemployment. He urged politicians not to make unrealistic promises about government spending.

Jaeger said that the IMF's projection of 1.5 percent GDP growth in Serbia in 2010 and three percent in 2011 remained in effect.

EU Official: Belgrade for Harmonization of Views on Kosovo

30.8.2010. 20:36:4 +0100

BRUSSELS, Aug. 30, 2010 (Beta) - The European Union understands that Belgrade wishes to harmonize views on the discussion on Kosovo within the U.N., after Serbian President Boris Tadic announced the arrival of a Serbian delegation in Brussels, the spokeswoman to EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton told BETA on Aug. 30.

We are still in regular contact with Serbia on all levels, Maja Kocijancic said.

According to EU sources, it is not known who might lead the Serbian delegation, which may travel for talks with EU officials later in the week.

The talks are expected to center on bringing the EU's and Serbia's positions as close as possible, if complete harmonization of those positions proves impossible.

Consequently, it can be expected that there will be additions or amendments to the proposed resolution on Kosovo's unilateral proclamation of independence, which Serbia submitted to the U.N. General Assembly, with a view to it being discussed at the organization's next session.

Last week, Tadic said objections to Serbia's proposed resolution had not come from EU institutions, but from the foreign ministries of certain EU members.

Germany Upbeat on Serbia's Readiness to Talk with EU

BERLIN, Aug. 30, 2010 (Beta) - On Aug. 30, the German government rated as positive Serbia's readiness for talks on Kosovo with the European Union.

"We assess the readiness of the Serbian side for talks in Brussels as positive," BETA's correspondent in Berlin was told by the German Foreign Ministry when she asked about the reception of a statement by Serbian President Boris Tadic that a Serbian delegation would discuss Serbia's proposed resolution on Kosovo, submitted to the U.N., with EU representatives.

Belgrade's decision on the heels of the opinion of the International Court of Justice to submit a resolution to the U.N. General Assembly, requesting a solution to the Kosovo issue that would be acceptable to both sides, did not meet with approval in Berlin.

During his tour of Western Balkan countries last week, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Berlin considered Kosovo's independence a reality "no longer up for discussion," but that a dialogue on practical matters and better living conditions was necessary, adding that EU countries believed chances for negotiation resided in Brussels, not New York.

U.S. Ambassadors to NATO, EU Visit Belgrade

BELGRADE, Aug. 30, 2010. (Beta) - The U.S. ambassadors to NATO and the European Union on Aug. 30 met with Jovan Ratkovic, foreign policy adviser to the Serbian president, Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac and Borko Stefanovic, political director of the Serbian Foreign Ministry, the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade announced.

The visit of the two U.S. ambassadors, Ivo Daalder (NATO) and William Kennard (EU), "demonstrates the United States' strong support for Serbia's EU integration aspirations and its efforts to foster regional stability and good neighborly relations," a press release from the embassy read.

"The visit was also an opportunity to discuss Serbia's continued substantive relationship with NATO, including ways to make full use of its Partnership for Peace membership," the press release said further.

The embassy welcomed "continued cooperation in areas such as defense reform, countering the proliferation of weapons, curbing the threat posed by landmines and stockpiled munitions, disaster preparedness, and scientific research."

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Tadic Announces Talks in Brussels on Kosovo Resolution

29.8.2010. 23:30:54 +0100

UZICE, Aug. 28, 2010 (BETA) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said on Aug. 28 that over the next days a government delegation would travel to Brussels and speak with European Union representatives on the draft resolution on Kosovo which Serbia submitted to the United Nations.

Tadic told journalists in Uzice that comments on the draft Kosovo resolution had not come from EU institutions, but from the foreign ministries of individual countries. "We will be flexible, but there are limits we can't cross," Tadic said.

Deputy Serbian Progressive Party President Aleksandar Vucic said on Aug. 27 that there were reports that the government in Serbia was willing to make some concessions on the issue of the contents of the resolution on Kosovo.

He added that the Serbian Progressive Party was interested in holding a parliamentary discussion on the contents of the resolution but that the holding of that session should not be proposed by the Liberal Democratic Party, but rather by somebody from the governing majority.

Liberal Democratic Party President Cedomir Jovanovic asked that a Serbian Parliament session is held on changes to state policy before Sept. 9, the date on which the U.N. General Assembly is to discuss the draft Serbian resolution on Kosovo.

The Democratic Party of Serbia announced that the pressure on the Serbian government to hold talks with the EU on changes to the draft Kosovo resolution was a "capitulation of state and national interests."

Westerwelle: Kosovo Independence Irreversible

PRISTINA, Aug. 27, 2010 (BETA) - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Aug. 27 in Pristina that the independence and territorial integrity of Kosovo was "irreversible" and that the International Court of Justice had affirmed that.

After meeting with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni, Westerwelle said that Germany had always supported and still supports Kosovo and called on countries which had not yet recognized Kosovo to do so.

The German minister called on Kosovo's institutions to do more to combat corruption and organized crime and to more strongly support Kosovo in becoming a democratic country.

In the Serbian enclave of Gracanica, the German foreign minister spoke with Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan and Gracanica Mayor Bojan Stojanovic, in charge of municipal structures which work within the framework of the institutions in Pristina.

Bishop Teodosije told Westerwelle that the Serbian Orthodox Church was "extremely concerned" about the NATO decision to transfer the jurisdiction of protecting Serbian monasteries from KFOR to the Kosovo police.

The bishop also spoke of concerns about the "chronic instable situation" in Kosovo. According to a statement released by the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, the bishop said that 11 years on from the war in Kosovo, two thirds of the pre-war Serbian population were still displaced, and that only several dozen Serbs lived in all the larger towns in Kosovo.

Oil Monopoly's Losses Amount to RSD9.6 Billion

BELGRADE, Aug. 29, 2010 (BETA) - Shares of Serbia's oil producer Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) will be available for trade on the Belgrade Stock Exchange on Aug. 30 at the initial price of RSD505 (about EUR4.8) per share.

On Aug 27, NIS announced that its losses amounted to RSD9.6 billion in the first six months of 2010, which is 29 percent higher than in the same period last year.

NIS will be the fourth company to be included in the prime market of the Belgrade Stock Exchange, which includes first-rate shares that meet the conditions for the stock exchange trade. The list also includes Energoprojekt Holding [ENHL], Soja Protein [SJPT] and Tigar [TIGR].

The Postal Savings Bank will provide commission-free brokerage services to citizens who were given five shares each as a part of the government's plan to distribute shares of public companies.

NIS Deputy General-Director Aleksey Urusov said at the company presentation at the Belgrade exchange that the loss increase is due to the market situation and weakness of the Serbian currency against the U.S. dollar, which led to negative exchange rate differences of RSD15.8 billion.

Urusov said that the company's capital amounted to RSD22.6 billion at the end of June, which means that the book value of its one share is about RSD138.

Belgrade Stock Exchange Director Gordana Dostanic evaluated that the inclusion of NIS in the Belgrade exchange might trigger development of the capital market in Serbia.

Gazprom Neft, the owner of a 51 percent stake in NIS, is obliged to make an offer for shares held by minority shareholders by February next year, underscored Urusov. The price cannot be lower than the 4.8 euros per share it paid for its stake in the company.

The capital of NIS is divided to 163 million shares, the nominal value of which is RSD500 per share and they will be subject of trade on the Belgrade exchange prime market.

The Serbian government holds 29 percent of NIS, while the remaining 20 percent belongs to former and present employees, some 4.8 million citizens who were given shares as a part of the government's plan to distribute shares of public companies and a few companies and individuals who have obtained the shares while the company operated as a public limited company.

Westerwelle: Talks on Kosovo in Brussels, not New York

26.8.2010. 20:46:42 +0100

BELGRADE, Aug. 26, 2010 (Beta) - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Aug. 26 in Belgrade that the European Union was in favor of direct talks between Belgrade and Pristina and that they should take place in Brussels, not New York.

"It is imperative that the dialogue is on practical issues and better living conditions. The EU believes that there is a chance for those talks in Brussels, not New York," Westerwelle told students in the Rectory of the University of Belgrade.

He added that reconciliation could only be successful if Belgrade faced up to reality.

Westerwelle recalled that Kosovo's independence was a reality and that the expert opinion of the International Court of Justice was not ambiguous.

According to him, the reconciliation process cannot come too early because that is the ticket to the EU.

The German minister said that the geographic map of Southeastern Europe had been drawn and finished.

He said that the day would come when representatives from Belgrade and Pristina would sit with representatives from Brussels at the same table and discuss issues relating to the EU.

Westerwelle said that economic cooperation between the two countries was going well, but added that foreign investor criticism could not be ignored and that it was necessary to work on overcoming obstacles to economic cooperation.

Westerwelle also met with President Boris Tadic and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and had meetings with representatives of the Democratic Party, Liberal Democratic Party, Socialist Party of Serbia, Serbian Progressive Party and G17 Plus.

Westerwelle traveled on to Sarajevo following the talks in Belgrade.

Tadic: Serbia Counting on EU to Solve Kosovo Issue

BELGRADE, Aug. 26, 2010 (Beta) - President Boris Tadic told German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Aug. 26 that Serbia was counting on the European Union to help resolve the issue of Kosovo, announced the Serbian president's press office.

Tadic underlined during his meeting with Westerwelle that Serbia was in favor of a solution that leads to a dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

Tadic and Westerwelle agreed that Serbia's future was in the EU and that Germany was one of Serbia's most important political and economic partners, reads a statement.

The president said that relations between the two countries were very good and that Germany was one of Serbia's largest trading partners.

He added that there was potential for intensifying economic cooperation by increasing investment and called on German companies to continue investing in the Serbian economy, reads the statement.

Kosovo Serb Representatives Reject Kosovo Govy Money

BELGRADE, Aug. 26, 2010 (Beta) - Kosovo Serb representatives said on Aug. 26 that EUR5 million of Kosovo government aid intended for the north, where mainly Serbs live, was not welcome and that few people would accept and use the money.

Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija State Secretary Oliver Ivanovic told BETA that Serbs harbored strong reservations toward Kosovo's institutions, and that these reservations were justified because dangers to the Serbian population often came directly from institutions in Pristina.

"No amount of millions will help because the fear and mistrust of Serbs is greater than material and financial gain. The money is additionally mistrusted and there is the feeling that this is some underhanded work to undermine the stability of Serbs," said Ivanovic.

Radenko Nedeljkovic, the head of the Kosovska Mitrovica district, said that Serbs did not recognize the Kosovo government and that money from the Kosovo budget was not welcome in the north.

Serbian National Council of Northern Kosovo Chair Milan Ivanovic said that the moment the decision was made to set up a Kosovo government fund for investing in northern Kosovo had been carefully chosen.

The government in Pristina created a special fund of EUR5 million which, as was announced, would be invested in improving infrastructure in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok - Serbian municipalities in northern Kosovo.

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