Bosnian Official Welcomes Turkey’s Policy In Balkans

 
Turkish Press   |   8/30/2010
SARAJEVO – Haris Silajdzic, chairman of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency, said that the policy which Turkey pursued in Balkans was very positive. Speaking to A.A on Friday, Silajdzic said that he knew that many people in Europe also had positive thoughts about Turkey’s new role in Balkans and Southeastern Europe.

Noting that the formal visit which Turkish President Abdullah Gul would pay in Bosnia-Herzegovina on September 2 and 3 was very important, Silajdzic said that they would discuss all the matters which would be for the interest of both countries.

He said that the tripartite meetings (Turkey-Bosnia-Herzegovina-Serbia and Turkey-Bosnia-Herzegovina-Croatia) were perfect and very successful, adding that such an initiative had not been launched till today.

The role of Turkish government in this issue is very great, added Silajdzic, and said that this role created a new milieu and new relations in the region where all these countries were neighbors.

Silajdzic said that he was pleased with the role of  Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu not only in Bosnia-Herzegovina but also in the whole world.

Silajdzic eulogized Turkey’s foreign policy and said that Turkey pursued an open policy for all parts.

He said that this modern policy of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was very successful, adding that Turkey’s policy towards Bosnia-Herzegovina was to strengthen stability, peace, economy and politics.

Noting that NATO membership was important for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Silajdzic said that Turkey played a key role in Bosnia’s inclusion in NATO membership action plan.

Silajdzic also invited Turkish companies to make more business in Bosnia, noting that currently, opportunities for making commerce were very high in Bosnia.

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Serbian leader Tadic says compromises possible over Kosovo

Serbia says it is open to international dialog on its UN draft resolution against Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008. Serbian leader Boris Tadic reiterated, however, it would never recognize the breakaway state.
 
The resolution, which is due to be debated next month at the UN General Assembly, calls for talks on outstanding issues between Kosovo and Serbia; it also condemns the tiny state’s unilateral declaration of independence.
 
Serbian officials will travel to Brussels in the coming days to “talk about possible changes to the draft resolution that would be acceptable to both Serbia and big powers,” Tadic was quoted as saying by the Tanjug news agency.

A possible compromise “that will remain in line with Serbia’s national interests but will also please big powers” will be discussed in Brussels and Washington soon, Tadic added.
 
Serbia tabled the draft UN resolution after the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding judgment in July that Kosovo’s breakaway did not break international law.
 
The issue poses major complications for Serbia in its bid to eventually join the European Union, which has warned the Tadic government that its unremitting stance over Kosovo could damage its accession to the 27-nation bloc.
 
But Tadic said compromise was not possible on Kosovo’s independence.
 
“Serbia will never recognize Kosovo. That is a red line that we will not cross,” he said, adding that he had given that message to German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and that he was willing to “tell that to all.”
 
Westerwelle had this week called on the Serbian government to accept the loss of its former ethnic-Albanian province, which has been recognized as an independent state by 69 countries, including the United States and most EU member-states.
 
He also said that all European Union members should recognize Kosovo as an independent state.
 
Author: Darren Mara (AFP/dpa)

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Companies wary of investing in the Western Balkans

By AUGUSTIN PALOKAJ
Aug. 3, 2010
WAZ EU Observer
BRUSSELS – Western Balkan countries are struggling to attract more direct foreign investment despite big public campaigns in western media, lower taxes and other incentives.
The EU is warning the countries that the financial crisis is not the only problem. The high level of corruption, illegal state protection of some domestic tycoons and dysfunctional judiciaries are also considerable obstacles to investment.

Several EU governments and the European Commission in its annual progress reports have complained that the backlog of cases in the courts, the inability to enforce court decisions and discrimination against foreign companies in public procurement as well as corruption in the public sector are preventing many companies from investing in the region.
Serbia is a particular problem with many foreign investors complaining about long and slow bureaucratic procedures and the poor judiciary system. For some of them, it is practically impossible to get payment even when they have a court decision in their favour. Court proceedings in Serbia take an average of eight years. More than 1.5 million court decisions have yet to be enforced. This is an unacceptable situation for those wanting to invest and work with free competition rules.

In the last European Commission progress report on Serbia and in some expert studies, the state of the judiciary in the country was identified as a factor that not only put into question the rule of law but also put off potential investors.

One of the big foreign investors in Serbia, the German WAZ Media Group, has indicated it intends to withdraw from the country. The Committee of Eastern European Economic Relations, an organisation representing German business, says it regrets the planned move. “I hope that the announced withdrawal is a warning signal and leads to an improvement in conditions for investors,” said Klaus Mangold, chairman of the committee. “German business is vigilantly following how such an important investor is treated.”
Macedonia, meanwhile, attracted just €200 million in foreign investment in 2009, the lowest in the region. And this was despite tax incentives. There were serious problems with two investors, one from Switzerland and another from Austria.

The companies complained that the government did not stick to its obligations. Both cases contributed to a worsening of the already bad investment climate in Macedonia. The unpredictability of the political situation in the small country is also a problem. Efforts to becoming a Nato member and starting EU accession talks are stuck.
The situation is not better in Kosovo where investigators from the EU rule of law mission, EULEX, are looking into several cases of corruption in big privatisation processes. Several big companies have withdrawn from competing in a call to build a big power plant in Kosovo.

In Croatia, the situation is better as the country is getting closer to EU membership. Zagreb recently closed negotiations on bringing the country into line with EU rules on public procurement and opened talks in the area of competition. But EU companies can still face unnecessary informal obstacles in Croatia. Enforcing court decisions has been taking too long and problems with ownership continue to be a concern.
“It is essential for investors to trust that their investment will have legal protection. This is what they expect also from the countries in Western Balkans where they invest and those countries have to do much more to meet this expectation,” said one EU expert.

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Belgrade has been selected to control the skies over the entire Balkan Peninsula

Balkan Business News Correspondent – 03.08.2010
 
Eurocontrol, the agency responsible for air traffic control in Europe, has begun implementing its “Single European Sky” initiative which began back in 1999. The key objectives of this initiative are to restructure European airspace as a function of air traffic flows, to create additional capacity and to increase the overall efficiency of the European air traffic management system. The initiative plans to close down many air traffic control centres in Europe and leave only several in key areas of Europe. Belgrade has been selected to control the skies over the entire Balkan Peninsula. This controversial part of the initiative will begin implementation from 2012.
The construction cost of the new air traffic control centre in Belgrade amounts to 19 million Euros while, together with the new equipment, the entire project tops 90 million Euros. According to the project manager, Belgrade will have the most up to date air control centre in the world and the largest control centre in the Balkans.

Source; Ex-YU Aviation News

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Greece maintains its decision not to recognize Kosovo, said alternate MFA

Brussels: Greece, maintains its decision not to recognize Kosovo, said alternate MFA, D. Droutsas to the  General Affairs Council of EU
The Turkish activities in recent months in the Aegean, the developments in Kosovo, the results of the recent visit of Prime Minister George Papandreou in the Middle East and the Iran issue was the main issues mentioned by Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas a few days ago in Brussels, where he represented Greece at the General Affairs of the EU.

On the issue of Kosovo, the Deputy Minister stressed that despite the recent (advisory) ruling of the International Court of Justice, Greece, and other EU countries do not recognize Kosovo, insisting on this stance. Mr. Droutsas stressed the intention of the Greek side to promote the European prospects of Balkan countries, as expressed by the so-called strategy of Thessaloniki mapped in 2003 under the Greek Presidency of the EU, but also, under the latest proposals of the Greek diplomacy.

Commenting on Kosovo he said that Greece is ready to assume its responsibilities to account for the Balkan country as an EU member, and he will visit Belgrade and Pristina in the coming period. Greece is a country that can be addressed in both Serbia and Kosovo and will exhaust every possibility to find mutually acceptable solution, said D. Droutsas, while emphasizing that the serious attitude shown by the Serbian government can be estimated as a positive sign for the EU and strengths the European perspective of Serbia. Finally he expressed his support for an EU inclusion of Serbia in the forseeable future.

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Bosnia’s Serbs may seek to take lead from Kosovo

By DANIEL McLAUGHLIN
Allies of Kosovo hailed the ruling but insisted it did not set a legal precedent that would embolden separatist groups worldwide, while Serbia vowed to never accept the independence of its former southern province, which formally proclaimed sovereignty in 2008 after nine years under UN control.SUPPORTERS AND opponents of Kosovo’s independence have dug in their heels after the International Court of Justice ruled that its status was legal, while the leader of Bosnia’s Serbs suggested the verdict could encourage a bid for sovereignty by his region.

As Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority celebrated, and Serbia seethed, the most alarming response came from Bosnian Serb prime minister Milorad Dodik, who said the decision could encourage his region to break away from Bosnia.

“An additional fight for a status that does not breach international law, in line with the [World Court’s] opinion, is not excluded,” Mr Dodik said, after condemning a verdict that he claimed sent “a new message to the Serbs that the politics of violence is successful”.

“It would be interesting to see the reaction of the international community if we declared independence.”

Mr Dodik has previously threatened to seek independence for Republika Srpska, in protest at western-backed efforts to strengthen Bosnia’s federal government in Sarajevo and break down divisions between its Serb and Muslim-Croat areas.

The United States and EU countries such as France, Germany and Britain were quick to welcome the ruling. “We call on all states to move beyond the issue of Kosovo’s status and engage constructively in support of peace and stability in the Balkans, and we call on those states that have not yet done so to recognise Kosovo,” said US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said Brussels was “ready to facilitate a process of dialogue” between Serbia and Kosovo to help them move towards EU membership.

The five EU states that have not recognised Kosovo’s independence – Spain, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus – suggested that the World Court ruling would have no effect on their position, as did Russia and China. Those countries fear separatism on their own territory, as do many other nations that looked askance at the court’s non-binding, advisory verdict.

“It has a special historical background . . . It is not a decision for other countries or other regions in the world,” German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle insisted during a visit to the divided island of Cyprus.

A brutal 1998-9 crackdown by Serb forces on Kosovo’s separatist rebels – which killed some 10,000 civilians – was ended by a Nato bombing campaign and subsequent UN administration.

Willem van Genugten, legal analyst at the Netherlands’ University of Tilburg, said that for separatist groups “the opinion is something that seems useful at first sight. But legally speaking it does not help them at all. The advisory opinion is restricted to Kosovo in more or less every paragraph, and the court avoids whatever implication for other minority groups.”

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Police arrest head of Kosovo Central Bank

By NEBI QENA (AP) – July 23, 2010
PRISTINA, Kosovo — Police in Kosovo arrested the head of the country’s central bank and raided his home and office Friday, the latest in a series of investigations targeting alleged corruption in the Balkan nation.
Hashim Rexhepi was led out of his office in central Pristina in handcuffs and escorted by special police units armed with machine guns. He is to appear in front of a judge within 48 hours, said Karin Limdal, spokeswoman for the EU’s police mission in Kosovo.
She said police were looking for evidence of abuse of official position, accepting bribes, tax evasion, trading in influence and money laundering.
Police also searched the houses of three other suspects and one private company early Friday. The searches were done by Kosovo police accompanied by EU justice officials.
Kosovo’s law enforcement agency is in charge of policing the country, but the EU has a 2,000 strong police mission that oversees the local force and has taken a leading role in fighting organized crime and prosecuting war crimes.
Kosovo has often come under criticism for tolerating criminals and corrupt officials. The raids are the latest in a series of searches that have targeted the Kosovo Post and Telecom and the Ministry of Transport.
The transport and telecommunications minister, Fatmir Limaj, is under investigation for alleged embezzlement of public funds.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, with backing from the United States and is now recognized by 69 countries. Serbia, however, rejects Kosovo’s independence. On Thursday, the International Court of Justice ruled that Kosovo’s declaration of independence did not violate international law.

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Germany says UN court ruling on Kosovo does not apply to Cyprus

 
Germany’s foreign minister said Friday that a UN court ruling affirming Kosovo’s declaration of independence as legal from Serbia does not apply to the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus or any other country.
Guido Westerwelle said the ruling by the International Court of Justice on Thursday “has nothing to do with any other cases in the world.”
“This is a very specific case and it is a unique decision concerning a specific historic situation,” he said.
Cyprus has been been divided since 1974 into an internationally recognised Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, after Turkey invaded the northern third of the island in response to a Greek-inspired coup.
The Turkish Cypriot north declared itself an independent state in 1983, but is only recognised by Turkey.
The UN’s highest court ruled that Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in February 2008 did not violate international law, rejecting Belgrade’s argument that the declaration had no legal basis.
Pristina hopes the outcome will lead to more nations recognising its independence.
Sixty-nine countries have so far recognised Kosovo as independent, including Germany and the United States. Five of the 27 EU member states, including the internationally recognised Greek-Cypriot government and Greece do not.
After nearly two years of UN-led peace talks Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders have made little progress in finding a solution to reunite the divided island.
Westerwelle said the “German people feel a great understanding towards Cypriots because they too were part of a divided country for many years.
“We will never forget the feeling when the wall came down and we hope that the same will happen to you.”
Greek Cypriot voters overwhelmingly rejected a 2004 UN reunification blueprint in a referendum, despite a Turkish referendum approving the plan.
European Union officials have said that progress at the Cyprus reunification talks is essential to helping Turkey’s slow-moving EU accession process move forward.
Although the peace talks and Turkey’s EU membership negotiations are separate processes, a breakthrough on one is likely to have a positive impact on the other.

Copyright DPA

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Ex-Bosnia leader challenges extradition to Serbia

(AFP) – 5 July 2010
LONDON — The extradition hearing of former Bosnian president Ejup Ganic got under way in London on Monday, with lawyers acting for Serbia stating he was guilty of a “clear war crime” and must face justice.
Prosecutor James Lewis detailed Serbia’s claims that in 1992, Ganic helped mastermind attacks on a Yugoslav army officers’ club, then on ambulances sent to the scene and later on an army convoy.
“We say on the face of it that is a clear war crime. It is an attack on ambulances and it is an attack on people who have surrendered,” Lewis told the hearing at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Ganic, 64, was arrested at London’s Heathrow airport on March 1 on an extradition warrant from Serbia for alleged war crimes during the 1990s Balkans conflict.
He was subsequently released on bail and is fighting the warrant.
Belgrade believes he is implicated in the killing of 18 soldiers and officers in the military convoy attack in May 1992, when Ganic was a member of the Bosnian presidency.
Ganic, who claims the allegations are politically motivated, was present in the public gallery at the court, along with his son Emir and daughter Emina.
Emina told AFP: “We have seen the evidence and we are confident.”
A small group of protesters gathered outside the hearing, which is expected to take approximately seven days, holding up banners saying: “Ganic — blood on his hands” and “Bosnian president war criminal”.

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INA, MOL find gas on Croatia-Hungary border

 
Reuters  |  Jun 23, 2010
 
 

ZAGREB June 23 (Reuters) – Croatia’s oil group INA (INA.ZA: Quote) (HINAq.L: Quote) said on Wednesday its joint efforts with Hungary’s MOL (MOLB.BU: Quote) had resulted in a discovery of gas potentials in a border area between the two countries.
“Joint exploration project on the Croatian-Hungarian border resulted in a discovery of gas and condensate potential on the Zalata-Dravica field on the Croatian side of the Podravska Slatina-Zalata contract area,” INA said in a statement.
MOL is INA’s biggest shareholder with a 47.2-percent stake. The Croatian government owns 44.8 percent.
Exploration of gas potential in the border area of northern Croatia and southern Hungary started four years ago. INA and MOL are equal partners in the project.
Three years ago significant oil and gas reserves were found on the Hungarian side of the border, the statement said.
“Measurements at the depth of 3,170 metres (on the Croatian side of the contract area) indicated gas flow of 370,000 cubic meters per day and some condensate. The testing confirmed commercial gas reserves in the Croatian part of the exploration field,” the statement said.
It added that more precise appraisal of the re

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