Last week the new Serbian Government has partially pointed to the directions of its actions. As expected, the diplomatic activity has been intensified, aimed at supporting the European integrations, and on the national level – the changes are indicated that should bring progress next spring. The report of Mirjana Nikolic.
One of most significant pieces of information this week has come from New York. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has criticized, in his regular report, the work of the Kosovo police. From the findings gathered during the recent visit to the region, he has concluded that many things have not been done, thus deteriorating the position of the Kosmet Serbs. The report stresses that the number of returning Serbs to the Province is too small, because they are not guaranteed safety, and the crimes against them are not solved. Without the safety, freedom of move and return of the expelled Serbs to Kosmet, it is hard to expect any good in the continuation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialog. It seems that some world officials have finally become aware of that.
The negotiations will be realized at the highest level, and the main stance of the Serbian state towards Kosmet remains the same. “Serbs will never recognize Kosmet and it will never be independent without Serb’s willing”, stated Head of the Office for Kosmet Aleksandar Vulin. He believes that the Serb institutions in the Province cannot be called parallel, because those are the only legitimate ones, formed in line with the Serbian Constitution and financed from Belgrade. Vulin also adds that the parallel institutions are the ones financed from Pristina. That way, he dispelled all doubts of new authorities being more flexible for the requests from Europe and the rest of the world.
After electing the new governor of the national bank, the MPs have taken the summer break, and in September the Assembly will take a more active involvement with preparing the talks with Pristina. Also upcoming is the passing of pro-European laws. As previously announced from the Government, one of the first bills in the parliament will be the draft law on public procurements. Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic have pointed to the battle against corruption and crime as one of the key tasks in the forthcoming period, and the start of their turn is promising. We believe that the arrests should not be announced in the media, because often it all ends in the acquittal of the arrested. Both ministers and citizens are aware that no change can take place over night. The judiciary reform is a foundation of any promises in battling corruption, and it is probably the most difficult one to realize in any country, including Serbia.
In view of Government’s economic measures, it is almost certain that the decrease of public consumption will not be felt before the spring. Only then we can hope for new investments from abroad. Although many Belgrade dailies that publish gloomy forecasts on their front pages every day, the economists claim that Serbia is not facing bankruptcy, and will be recuperating from crisis at the same pace as other countries of the region. In one month, the Assembly is expected to adopt the budget rebalance, so we will have more specific insight into the plans of Ivica Dacic’s cabinet.