SERBIA DAILY No 55

W Daily e-newspaper

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WESTERN BALKANS e-MEDIA GROUP

• N° 55 • Belgrade, July 14, 2016

Migrant Crisis Only Serious Problem

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The migrant crisis, rather than when the government will be formed, is the only serious problem, says Aleksandar Vucic

he new Serbian government will be formed "once it can be formed," pursuant to the constitution and the law, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said, adding that the migrant crisis is the only problem for Serbia for the time being.

Serbia will have to make decisions about the migrant crisis that will not be easy, Vucic told reporters in Arandjelovac, central Serbia.

"We are not calling a meeting of the bureau coordinating the security services because we do not have a decision that we would make. But in the next two or three days, we will have to take some decisions that will not be easy," Vucic said.

The migrant crisis, rather than when the government will be formed, is the only serious problem, Vucic said, adding that the caretaker government was working well and that the future government would work even better.

Vucic said that he would 18 go to Brussels on July for the opening of new chapters in Serbia's EU accession talks.

Vucic also said that Serbia will keep investing in its military and police force as its economy and defense industry continue to grow.

Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister: IMF said Serbia would have the least growth in the region, but data will be published that shows we had one of the highest GDPs in the region in the first six months, and fourth highest in Europe

Vucic in Arandjelovac yesterday

When asked by reporters if he expected Serbia to come under pressure after Montenegro's NATO accession, he responded that he did not expect any pressure.

"Everybody is looking for something. We are looking for more investors and we want more factories to come so that we can give jobs to more people. We are not afraid of anyone, we are not feeling threatened," Vucic said in Arandjelovac, central Serbia.

Ivica Dacic, Foreign Minister: Serbia has in no way put its interests or national security in jeopardy and it has opened the door to development of partnership with the US. Resetting our relations with the US is in our national interest

However, we must be ready to protect the country, and that is what the government is doing, he said.

"We have invested more in the military and the police than had been invested in the past three decades," Vucic said.

Speaking about a transfer of two former Guantanamo detainees to Serbia, Vucic said it was based on cooperation with the US, the Serbian constitution and many bilateral agreements with Washington.

David McAllister, European Parliament rapporteur: The outcome of the British EU referendum will not halt the EU enlargement process and the Western Balkans and Serbia, in particular, are on the right track of European integration

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Montenegrin President Visits Belgrade

Daily

Markers

BY EMIR SALIHOVIC EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Saved by the Hell's Bell

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Serbian and Montenegrin presidents Tomislav Nikolic and Filip Vujanovic agreed yesterday that overall relations between their countries are "substantive and intensive"

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wo presidents concluded that opening of the Montenegrin House in Belgrade was a symbol of excellent relations and their historical perseverance as the best investment in a common European future, the Serbian president's press office said in a statement.

During a friendly and cordial conversation, Nikolic urged further improvement of bilateral relations as a must for maintaining regional stability and progress.

Thanking for the cordial welcome, Vujanovic expressed a readiness to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation at all levels, highlighting cooperation in the economy and major infrastructure projects that would help bring the two countries even closer together.

Filip Vujanovic, who is also due to be received by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, is visiting Belgrade as his country is marking its Statehood Day,

July 13. He addressed a ceremony in Cetinje on Tuesday evening to say that a decade of Montenegro's renewed independence "confirmed the values and the irreplaceability of a civil and anti-fascist Montenegro."

Vujanovic said the country renewed its independence "to benefit citizens, without being aimed against anybody - not against our closeness with Serbia, with whom we want to have best relations known by the international community, and not against the traditional, centuries-long friendship with Russia."

"We have the right to expect from everyone, especially from friends, to accept that our sovereignty means our right to choose our own path. That path does not mean diverging from anyone, but finding our deserved place in the international community," he said, according to Montenegro's state broadcaster RTCG.

Germany's Support for Reforms Minister without portfolio in charge of European integration Jadranka Joksimovic said during a meeting with German MP Florian Hahn that EU membership remains a strategic objective for the Serbian government and the European integration process itself should be viewed as a mechanism of internal reforms in the country.

Joksimovic noted the significance of Germany's unequivocal support for the opening of reform chapters 23 and 24 in Serbia's EU accession talks.

The opening of the chapters in the wake of Brexit is a strong signal about the currency of EU enlargement in the future, an official statement said.

Joksimovic and Hahn - a CDU/CSU Bundestag member from Bavaria, one of the most highly developed German states - agreed that opening the chapters and strengthening the rule-of-law state was exceptionally significant for improving the business climate in Serbia and attracting new investments.

Joksimovic expressed the expectation that there would be even more German investments in Serbia.

Speaking about cooperation and relations in the Western Balkan region, Hahn praised Serbia's approach and role and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic's leadership and consistency in promoting regional cooperation and stability.

oran Hadzic, the president of the so-called Republic of Serbian Krajina, during the Croatian War of Independence, joined a team of war criminals from 1990s tried in The Hague who evaded the verdict by dying to soon.

Hadzic was indicted on 14 counts of crimes against humanity and of violation of the laws and customs of war.

For those of us who remember 1990s still vividly, and who watched the unraveling of war in neighboring Croatia, which was to swallow Bosnia very soon, Hadzic and his compatriots, like infamous "captain Dragan", or Milan Babic, the first president of self-proclaimed Serb republic in Krajina region of Croatia, were symbols and faces of horror to come, like a bad dream we hoped to awaken from in some magical moment. But, the nightmare became just worse.

For all the families of victims, and all the others who suffered from the ultra-nationalistic and expansionist politics of Serb leaders at the time, deaths of those indictees are received by sadness.

Not out of compassion, but because after all is gone, a rare moment of satisfaction for victims is only after they can hear that word "guilty" pronounced at court, even if they find the jail term or its conditions unsatisfactory to cover for their pain and loss.

Deaths of Slobodan Milosevic depraved many of the satisfaction to have the crimes of Serbia verified at court, while deaths of Franjo Tudjman, as well as that of Alija Izetbegovic, depraved many of opportunity to have indictments against them raised too, and have more pieces of painful Balkan truths built into the puzzle of what happened there and what were the true causes of the bloodshed.

If there are Heaven and Hell, we assume pretty correctly where those butchers and lunatics will end up. But while there are courts too, it is too bad that not all of them either faced one, or lived long enough to receive full public shame that they deserve.

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PINION

House on the Border Messages to potential EU members have become, if no cacophonous, then at least serious challenges for politicians from the Western Balkans

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ow, when it seems that Europe is in a rush to protect itself from refugees, building a wall against the Balkans and ensuring that the countries of our region, as suggested by EU Neighborhood Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn, could turn into "a parking area for refugees" due to the Inability of the EU to find a common solution to the latest crisis to hit the Union, the alarming reports of the world, largest creditworthiness agency, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), seem even more serious.

Namely, D&B warned that the increase in the number of refugees, and the possibility that Serbia would have to handle a large number of them for a long time, raised the country's exposure to economic and political risks. It is not majorly newsworthy to note that transition and attempts at reform starting from ever-lower base of declining GDP, constantly high unemployment and growing poverty - are being carried out in Serbia in conditions that are far worse than those prevalent when the Visegrad countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) entered the process. And these countries are usually taken as the benchmark for countries today aspiring to become EU members.

In the meantime, Europe has changed significantly and the issues of possible referendums in original member states on whether citizens are still willing to remain in the Union (like UK did) and the possible expulsion of member states that do not comply with Brussels' rules (Greece), and even the open rejection of offered membership (Iceland), all emerged as legitimate topics and symbols of the cracks in the European concept.

Messages to potential members have become, if no cacophonous, then at least serious challenges for politicians from the Western Balkans to speculate whether the path to Brussels leads through Berlin, or whether this represents a side street towards remaining eternal suburb of the EU. In other words, such modest attempts to traverse the road to Europe have become much thornier not only in terms of fulfilling the conditions for the opening of chapters, but rather also due to the ever more pronounced need to seek Europeanisation in individual action and to build it internally - as opposed to the norms of civilisation being forcefully imposed under pressure from Brussels or Berlin, which was mostly the case previ-

BY TANJA JAKOBI CORD

ously. This came to the fore even more following the disappointments of Bulgaria and Romania, and then also Croatia, where the threshold of tolerance, primarily for corruption and economic performance, was doubled.

The new candidate countries are requested to demonstrate a commitment to democracy and enter into membership as functional market economies.

In short, to be at the European level, even when Europe itself fails to maintain that level. Europe's obsession with itself has lasted at least since the outbreak of the financial crisis, and the intention to give preference to internal European challenges, including in the case of refugees, is also nothing new.

Brookings Institute, one of the U.S's oldest think-tanks, notes that the international community, primarily the U.S. and Europe, have left in the lurch the three countries that have been the largest recipients of refugees - Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey - despite the fact that the huge burden they have accepted has brought them to the brink of political, and to a large extent economic collapse.

Hence D&B assessment that the influx of migrants could lead to a radicalization of the political climate in Serbia - a country "unaccustomed to migrants, which is struggling to create jobs for its own people" and that until "the government finds a way to stop the influx of migrants" there will be growth in "support for radical parties that do not share the government's commitment to reforms", does not represent the fruit of speculation, but rather an existing scenario that has already played out in countries not so far away.

The qualities shown by Serbia when it comes to taking care of refugees must not be undermined by cheap populism. It is now much more important to think about what to do if Serbia actually changes from being a transit zone to a zone where refugees are retained. The point of this commentary is not to call for the raising of walls along Serbia, borders, nor to call for a change to the humane approach to people who have been forced by circumstance to seek other recourse, but rather to point out the importance of strengthening the country's internal forces, through the continuation of reforms that will not be cosmetic but will be substantial; investments of energy in order to create a business environment that will not be trampled by corruption and party-politics, but rather will support the slight but nonetheless encouraging GDP growth, industrial production and exports, while carefully building a consensus among pro-European parts of the social elite, which cannot happen without media freedom and respect for political opponents.

Publisher: WESTERN BALKANS e-MEDIA GROUP z POENTA d.o.o. Sarajevo, Augusta Brauna 3 z Editor - in - Chief: Emir Salihovic z Editors: VLASTIMIR MIJOVIC, AMRA ZIMIC, RASID KRUPALIJA, DANIJELA MRKIC, SANJA LJUBICIC z Director: Amra Zimic z Office Assistant: VERICA GRAOVAC, MUSTAFA BAHTANOVIC, DTP: Bekir Tvrtkovic z Marketing: KAROLINA MIHAJLOVIC z GSM: 00 381 61 2768568, 00 381 11 4086 992, serbiadaily@sbb.rs

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Prisoners Accepted "as Favor to USA"

By accepting two former Guantanamo inmates, Serbia has not endangered its security, and did "a favor to the world's biggest power", says minister Vulin

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abor, Social and Veteran Affairs Minister Aleksandar Vulin made this statement yesterday for the Belgrade-based TV Pink.

"I remember the headlines about Guantanamo (prison) being a disgrace for the humanity, and that it should be closed. I, too, think that Guantanamo should be closed, and if Serbia can help make sure that this place of torture never exists again - we're here," he said.

According to Vulin, Serbia, by allowing two prisoners who spent 9 and 14 years incarcerated without an indictment to be resettled here, "did a favor to the world's greatest power, and that's called a policy of balancing."

"You do what's good, what suits you, what you think is right. And have you endangered yourself in some way? No,

you are merely aligned with about 30 countries," Vulin said.

Responding to criticism that the move may increase the threat of terrorism, Vulin responded by saying that Serbia already has troops deployed in a UN peacekeeping operation in Lebanon and that this "could also be a reason for Serbia to catch some terrorist's eye."

He also noted that Serbs accused by the Hague Tribunal "waited 9, 20, 12 years without a verdict," and that the two men who are now in Serbia were imprisoned for 9 and 14 years at Guantanamo without being indicted.

"These are persons about whom it has been said, 'we have been holding you for 14 years and we don't know what to do with you, you're not terrorists'," said Vulin.

According to the minister, "the Serbian police cooperates with the whole world - and so it happens that protected witnesses from (cases involving) criminal gangs in America and Canada" are sent here. According to him, this means that the police "can handle these two men, as well."

"However, we can't handle the hypocrisy of a society that finds Guantanamo to be a disgrace one day, and then this (the transfer) the biggest threat the next, and (wants us) not to help dismantle it," said he.

As for the migrant crisis, Vulin said that "one EU country cannot be closing its border, while another opens them" and that this country "will not be a reception center for those migrants that nobody wants."

Serbian Experts to Travel to India The Embassy of India in Belgrade marked a Day of Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITRC), along with several dozens of Serbian citizens, mostly young and women, experts from state institutions, private companies and nongovernmental institutions, reads Dnevnik.

Within the ITEC program, citizens of friendly countries of various technical occupations and from other lines of work may specialize in India completely for free. Government of that country covers expenses of transport, and beginners are also given gratis entry visa for India. ITEC program has been initiated in India in 2008, and until this day more than 130 experts from our country attended its courses.

Training programs are adjusted

according to the demand, and the themes are chosen in alignment with the interests of the countries where beginners are coming from, and with their experts. Those courses cover a wide array of professions and science disciplines, including information technologies (ITC), expense management, entrepreneurship, World Trade Organization, banking and finances, renewable energy sources, climate changes, legislation, English language specialization...

Equality in partnership and exchange of the models of development is the basic philosophy of ITEC, and Indian Government has invested several billions of dollars in it since its start, back in 1964. India, the second most populated country in the world with 1.25 bil-

lion citizens, on its enormous territory of almost 3.3 million square kilometers made an exceptional economic and social progress during last seven decades.

India, which suffered from famine in 1947, when it gained freedom from British colonialism, exports food today and it's largely agricultural society is entirely globalized. This country in development which was denied of technological progress, now is a nuclear, space, pharmaceutical, biotechnological and ITC power.

Indian economy, into which foreign companies moved their technology and services in last few decades, grew into an exporter of educative processes and a growing center of research and development.

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Most of Youth Work in Grey Area

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It is alarming fact that youth in Serbia continue their college studies due to the impossibility of finding the job

he Minister of Education, Science and Technological development Srdjan Verbic stated that even 47 percent of young people from 15 to 29 years are working in a grey area, reads Dnevnik.

Verbic said that it is an alarming finding, during the presentation of the report of International Labor Organization (ILO) Transition of young women and men on the labor market of Serbia - but also is alarming the fact that young in our country continue their studies due to the impossibility of finding the job.

He stressed that there are not enough experts in Serbia who work on carrier planning of youth so they are left to themselves.

"We have shortage of people who work in State administration and education system to work in such positions, and we

also have shortage of those who would adjust the system of qualifications to the needs of the labor market", Verbic put an accent to.

As he says, we have a surplus of workforce among young, and they are all here with no one to ask them anything.

"They are not included in solving those problems, so if we are unable to solve it, we should ask them how they would solve it, or how they do it without anyone knowing what's going on", the Minister said.

Verbic says that the state has to introduce those 47 percent of young people into the white area and start helping them, instead of them working in informal sector. For instance, state should try to exclude them from paying taxes in the beginning.

"Large number of young people is

forced to go to high education without the clear idea why they do it, and we witness that on all the levels. Many of them, for instance, go to doctoral studies not knowing why - actually they were unable to find an employment.

We have less unemployed young than European average only because they are all studying since they have no alternative - Verbic stressed.

He adds that voluntary work is extremely useful for young people since they can gain adequate experience for the job they want to do.

When we speak of carrier routing, it is a theme which needs much more attention in educational system, Verbic points out.

"Without carrier planning and serious social innovations we will not be able to progress in this area", Verbic stated.

Teachers to Sue the Government Association of Trade Unions of Education Workers (ATUEW) announced that they will set new legal motions against Serbian Government on the basis of erroneous payroll accounting which effected that education workers were harmed with 450 million dinars, reads Vecernje Novosti.

"After the payroll accounting was changed in a way that now not three months are taken into an account, instead of previous twelve, salaries of education workers were lowered for an average of 5000 dinars", the President of the Association Jasna Jankovic said at the press conference in Belgrade.

According to the estimate of the Association, some 10.000 education

employees will lose a part of the norm due to a lesser number of enrolled students in secondary vocational schools.

New instructions on how to form a school class and on financing caused that a large number of extracurricular personnel in elementary and secondary schools was already declared as technological surplus.

"New rule books (CENUS) which appeared in August, left without the job our colleagues who lack part or the whole norm", member of department for analytics and membership of the Association, Stevan Juric said.

He stressed that the application of those rule books showed that the existence of large number of schools in

Serbia is in danger since those schools now remain with a reduced number of secretaries, pedagogues, psychologists, support and technical staff.

"Rigorous regulations of those rule books brought hundreds of people into the situation that they became technological surplus, and a bad system of educational inspection failed again", Juric said.

According to him, the Association stances about the rule book on financing is that every school has to have secretary, head of accounting, librarian, in order to be functional, and that the number of extracurricular staff has to rise proportionally with the growth of the number of classes.

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Belgrade Protesters Renew Demand For Resignations

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The movement protesting against the Waterfront development organized its fifth rally yesterday in Belgrade, reiterating its demands for those responsible for April's nocturnal demolitions in the Savamala district to resign

he campaign group Let's Not Drown Belgrade [Ne da(vi)mo Beograd] held another rally yesterday, protesting over the fact that the Prosecutor's Office still did not announce any investigation results into the demolition of sites in the Belgrade Waterfront development area, although Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic admitted a month ago that top city officials were involved.

Protesters were sticking to their demands for the resignations of officials, including the Police Minister, Nebojsa Stefanovic, the Mayor of Belgrade, Sinisa Mali, the acting Belgrade police chief, Vladimir Rebic, the Communal Police chief, Nikola Ristic, and the President of the City Assembly, Nikola Nikodijevic.

Ksenija Radovanovic, one of the activists, told BIRN that the initiative would not give up the fight for public interest and emphasized that Mayor Mali had barely appeared in public since Vucic admitted top city officials' involvement.

"It is scandalous that the Mayor of Belgrade is hiding from the public and the media. He urgently needs to resign and face the consequences of their actions," Ksenija said.

Vucic admitted on June 8 that top city

officials were responsible for the mystery demolitions of residential buildings and business premises in Hercegovacka Street in the Savamala district of Belgrade.

However, a month later there is no new information about the culprits. The High Public Prosecutor's Office announced on Monday that the preliminary investigation is still ongoing.

Radomir Lazovic, one of the protesters, told BIRN that citizens will not give up on the resolution of the matter no matter how hard the authorities avoid facing responsibility.

"Citizens will persist in their intention to defend the rule of law and make the

arrogant perpetrators of crimes in Herzegovacka Street accept responsibility. We will not give up on our intention to return politics to citizens," Lazovic said.

Activists believe the nocturnal demolition work was intended to clear space for the Waterfront, a major development funded by an investor from the United Arab Emirates.

While Serbia's government sees the Waterfront as an important contribution to the city's economic future, critics say that the deal with Eagle Hills, a company based in the UAE, was unconstitutional because it involves suspension of Serbian laws on the Waterfront's territory.

Commissioner Reacts to Child Murder Case The commissioner for Information of Public Importance, Rodoljub Sabic, will carry out supervision over the Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP). He will work to determine how the media obtained the details from the investigation into the recent rape and murder of a child, the 3-year-old A.S. from the village of Vratarnica in eastern Serbia.

These details have been published in a number of daily newspapers, Sabic said, announcing that the public will be informed about the facts he determines, and measures to be taken, once the supervisory activity has been completed.

Sabic said in a statement that "a series of circumstances related to the reporting about the case" point out not only to a serious breach of journalistic and ethical standards that offend the digni-

ty of the victim, her family, and the public - but that violations of several laws may also have occurred.

According to Sabic, considering that the articles in question suggest their authors have had access to investigative activities, records, and even the autopsy report, the laws that could have been violated include those on the protection of personal data, the media, the Criminal Code, and the Code on Criminal Proceedings.

He noted that this suggests other relevant institutions, beside his office, should also react.

Sabic at the same time urged the authorities, the Prosecution, and the MUP to finally activate those provisions of the Criminal Code that have so far "to all intents and purposes" not been applied.

In a message posted on his Twitter

account on Tuesday, Sabic quoted from one of the media he criticized who apparently reported that the suspect said he "raped his victim even when she was dead." In the same tweet, Sabic asked "if journalists were fabricating such 'news' or if their sources were state organs treating the suspect."

He then asked, "Which of the two is worse?"

The Ministry of Information issued a statement of its own, appealing on journalists and editors to "immediately" stop their sensationalist reporting.

The statement further "insists" that selfregulatory and regulatory bodies must react without delay to all instances of sensationalist reporting that disturb the public and inflict additional pain to the families of the victims, and interfere with the official investigation.

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Footwear Industry Imperiled

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The footwear industry in Serbia has long since lost its former glory

ndustrija Obuce Beograd got its new owner at the beginning of July for a mere EUR 176,100. Numerous well known footwear factories have been closed in the past two decades, and, as the Association of Textile, Garments, Leather and Footwear Industry at the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia (CCIS) explains for eKapija, the reason for this is illegal privatization and mass import of Chinese shoes, which, though significantly lower in quality, find their way to the buyers easily due to low prices. They cite as an example the fact that, of around forty manufacturers in Kragujevac, there are currently only a few workshops left which manufacture and sell footwear.

The footwear industry of Serbia currently consists of around 300 enterprises, in which around 10,000 workers are employed, mainly female workforce.

This industry is oriented towards the export and dependent on the import, they claim in the CCIS. The data shows that the leather and footwear industry's import amounted to USD 435.7 million in 2015, which is 10% more than in 2014. The foreign trade balance is negative and amounts to USD 120.4 million.

In 2015, leather and footwear manufacturers produced less by 16.1% relative to 2014. The supplies are larger by

4.7%, and the realization smaller by 17.4%.

Ceco Line from Novi Pazar has been producing footwear for over 20 years.

Depending on the demand, they produce up to 300 pairs of shoes a day.

The production facility in Novi Pazar makes 25,000 pairs of shoes a year, meant for local buyers and the markets in former Yugoslavia, Russia and Germany, and 80% is meant for the export.

Senad Avdovic, owner of the company, says that the crisis has reduced the manufacture to a minimum for mere survival.

"It keeps getting worse and many shoemakers are giving up and switching to other professions. We are not satisfied with our business activities, we are managing to survive, but it's a constant struggle", he says.

Fiat Retains 2,500 Workers

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Serbia will retain a 2,500-strong workforce following a voluntary departure program.

Those who have opted to leave are set to receive their redundancy pays on July 28, Tanjug is reporting, citing Serbia's state broadcaster RTS. Around 600 of the 1,500 people working for the company's subcontractors have also decided to leave, says Zoran Markovic, the leader of the Kragujevac-based Independent Union. Fiat's Kragujevac plant currently operates in two shifts, producing around 400 vehicles a day.

At a meeting with Serbian Prime

Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Director Silvia Vernetti said earlier that the voluntary departure program had been a complete success.

Fiat, which has around 3,200 workers in Kragujevac, announced in mid-June it would close one shift, prompting union warnings that up to 900 workers at the car plant itself and 600 others employed by subcontractors could lose their jobs.

For instance, workers who have worked at the plant for three years can now count on a redundancy pay of around 4,800 euros. The Serbian government has a 33 pct stake in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Serbia.

Manufacturers are forced to import basic raw materials (leather of all kinds), which cannot be found in the local market. The processing facilities have been closed, and only two of the former 27 factories for tanning and leather processing are currently in operation in Serbia - leather factory Ruma in the eponymous city (sold to Italians and currently selling only small amounts of the remaining supplies) and Dafar in Zrenjanin. The majority of both, however, is owned by foreigners and they process leather for famous world brands and their own needs. Our manufacturers of leather goods and footwear import materials from Italy, where leather is well finished or expensive, or from Turkey.

The CCIS points out that the local livestock population is getting smaller each year, which means that it will only become harder to get quality raw hide in Serbia in the period to follow.

In addition to the lack of raw materials, the manufacturers are troubled by unfair competition, gray economy, high taxes and the lack of qualified young workforce. They see the solution in increased customs and inspection supervision, the lowering of income taxes and other para-fiscal charges, the stimulation of the export and the improvement of education.

European Central Bank to Provide Assistance The European Central Bank (ECB) is ready to provide full assistance to both the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) and the Ministry of Finance in dealing with non-performing loans and maintaining the stability of Serbia's banking and economic system, ECB officials said at a meeting with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.

Vucic and the ECB delegation, headed by Benoit Coeure, discussed the economic situation and development prospects, as well as Serbia's influence on economic trends in the Western Balkans.

They also discussed the economic situation in the eurozone in the wake of Brexit and the measures to be taken by the ECB to stabilise the market and minimise the negative impact of the UK's departure from the EU, the Serbian government said in a statement.

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INTERVIEW

Great Demand for Retail Space Ivan Simic, Country Manager at Danos, points to the main trends in the development of real estate in Serbia in his interview for eKapija The company Danos has been present in Serbia since 2009, when it opened a Belgrade office in cooperation with BNP Paribas. During its many years of operating in Serbia, Danos has reached the position of one of the main real estate consultants, which is confirmed by an array of successful projects.

Which p rojects h ave y ou w orked on i n t he p ast y ear a nd h ow d o y ou see t he s tate o f t he r eal e state market i n 2 015 a nd e arly 2 016?

In the past year, Danos has worked on Aviv Park retail parks in Zrenjanin and Aviv Park Zvezdara and Zemun Park in Belgrade. When it comes to retail real estate in Serbia, our impression is that the market has become slightly saturated. An intensive trend of building retail parks in secondary cities has been recorded and the needs of around 80% of Serbian cities have been satisfied. Another important factor is the people's purchasing power, which has remained the same. This is the reason why certain projects have trouble getting off the ground, and it takes a lot of time for the transfer rate to grow.

As for office and residential space, the fact is that renters are showing interest. At the moment, a few large projects are in the construction phase, and the majority of investments are focused on Belgrade, with the municipality of New Belgrade being the investment epicenter.

What m akes r etail p arks c ompetitive r elative t o s hopping m alls?

Retail parks are a great option for secondary cities, which objectively have no need for larger retail formats. I believe that there will be no further expansion in the cities which already have such projects, whereas towns with less than 50,000 residents aren't ready for such projects. On the other hand, we might expect to see the opening of retail parks in cities such as Kraljevo, Pozarevac, Uzice and Lazarevac.

The advantage of open shopping centers consists of lower construction and maintenance costs and competitive leasing prices. To be fair, they aren't as attractive as shopping malls if we're talking about the variety of renters.

Retail parks have more or less standard renters, mostly lower-priced brands, and don't offer the variety of content that shopping malls do.

How m uch d oes B elgrade n eed new s hopping c enters?

In Belgrade, there's a great demand for quality retail space. The fact that Serbia's capital doesn't have enough shopping centers is stalling the introduction of new brands to the local market. In our estimate, Belgrade absolutely needs a larger retail complex. I'm talking about a shopping center with 80,000-100,000 m2 of gross leasable area. Among the projects announced, I'd like to mention the future shopping mall on the Ibar highway. The construction of a 50,000 m2 shopping mall is planned on that location, next to which a 20,000 m2 retail park will be situated.

This kind of project is especially important for that part of the city, which is lacking in retail space.

"Street retail", that is, prices of leasing commercial property in the city's center are indeed going down, but they have stabilized lately.

What a re t he t rends i n a partment prices i n B elgrade i n S erbia, a nd do y ou p redict t he g rowth o f r esidential r eal e state t ransfer r ate i n 2016?

Housing construction is advancing and the market is ready to accept new projects. I'd like to point to New Belgrade projects and the Central Garden residential complex in the Belgrade municipality of Palilula. Apartment prices reach EUR 2,000 per m2, and there are

indeed customers for quality housing construction. The difference between the new residential space, which is in an upswing, and the old one, whose prices are going down, is becoming more noticeable. Based on these parameters, we expect a greater residential real estate transfer rate in the current year.

Compared t o t he c ountries o f t he region, h ow a ttractive i s S erbia t o foreign i nvestors w ho i nvest i n r eal estate?

Serbia's advantage in comparison with the region is the insufficient offer, which means there's a lot of room for development. The investments are further aided by the growth of demand in all segments. The neighboring countries, like Croatia, or Bulgaria, have a much larger number of shopping malls, logistics centers, office buildings. That fact alone makes leasing prices in those markets lower than those in Serbia. The growth of the number of investment transactions is a step forward which shows that the investors have recognized Serbia's potential. This advancement should encourage companies which base their operations on an exit strategy, that is, those that build real estate with the goal of selling it afterwards. There are more and more investors who wish to buy industrial structures, so I'd say that logistics structures are the sector with the biggest potential for new investments.

What s ervices d oes D anos p rovide to i ts c lients a nd w hat m akes Y our company s tand o ut f rom t he c ompetition?

Among other things, Danos provides services of real estate evaluation, preparation of feasibility studies, property management, real estate transfer and leasing mediation. We are extremely dedicated to our clients and capable of establishing and maintaining long-term business cooperation. Danos operates in the region in cooperation with the global group BNP Paribas, for which we are servicing clients in the Balkans. The array of services in the domains of investment consulting and agency are provided through our offices in Serbia, Greece and Cyprus. Our operation is founded on the highest professional standards in accordance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accreditation.

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9

Victims Regret Hadzic's Death Before Verdict Croat victims regret that former Croatian Serb rebel leader Goran Hadzic died without they see as a just sentence before the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia

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anda Patko from the victims' association Vukovar Mothers told BIRN that victims of Croatian Serb forces during the 1991-95 war "regret that Hadzic died without the sentence which he deserves".

Patko said that victims had already made up their mind about the guilt of Hadzic, who died on Tuesday evening in Serbia after being released from his war crimes trial because he was suffering from a brain tumour.

"For us, he is a war criminal; he always was, he always will be," she said.

Hadzic had been on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia charged with crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war in Croatia from 1991 to 1993.

Zagreb-based NGO Documenta Centre for Dealing with the Past expressed concern on Wednesday about what it called the "devastating fact that in another case, the Hague victims remain deprived of a judgment".

"The parties at the trial [defence and prosecution] and the public, and primarily the victims of the crimes for which Goran Hadzic was charged, are also deprived of a judgment on the allegations against him included in the indictment," Documenta said in a statement.

Ante Sprlje, the justice minister in the recently-collapsed Croatian government, said on Wednesday that the state will continue to investigate and prosecute all war crimes committed in the 1990s in the country.

"No person who has committed them will be able to sleep for the rest of his life. We also have a very good example because Nazis are tried to this day - so we will do the same, as long as we're alive and as long as they are," Sprlje said.

During the conflict, Hadzic was the president of the self-proclaimed Serbian

Goran Hadzic after release from The Hague

Autonomous District of Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem, and subsequently president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina - both unrecognised Serb-controlled rebel areas within Croatia.

Among other things, he was accused of responsibility for the execution of 260 Croats and other non-Serbs at Ovcara in November 1991, after the fall of the besieged town of Vukovar to the Yugoslav People's Army and Serb paramilitaries.

He was also accused of the deportation or forcible resettlement of tens of thousands of Croat and other non-Serb civilians.

Hadzic, who was the last fugitive wanted by the Hague Tribunal to be arrested, was detained in Serbia in 2011 after more than seven years on the run.

His trial was halted last year however after he was diagnosed with brain cancer and declared unfit to appear in court.

According to the Hague Tribunal prosecution, as president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, he participated in a joint criminal enterprise with the aim of forcibly and permanently removing most Croats and

other non-Serbs from part of Croatia's territory so that the territory could become a part of a new state under Serb dominance.

The prosecution alleged that, besides Hadzic, other participants in the joint criminal enterprise included Slobodan Milosevic, Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj, and paramilitary boss Zeljko Raznatovic, alias Arkan.

But in his defence, Hadzic denied having any real power in decision-making, insisting that the Yugoslav People's Army was running everything, under the guidance of Milosevic and Serbian security chief Jovica Stanisic.

He also denied having any ethnic motive: "What would be my satisfaction if I took revenge on innocent people just because they belong to another ethnicity?" he said in his opening statement at the trial in 2013.

His case was one of three remaining cases under way at the Hague Tribunal before it closes. He was also the seventh defendant who died before a verdict was delivered.

Relationship with Russia Challenge for Serbia The relationship with Russia is the biggest challenge for Serbia in the process of alignment with the EU foreign and security policy, says Nathalie Tocci, an adviser to Federica Mogherini, and head of the team behind the new EU Global Strategy.

"The future of the Western Balkans fully lies in full EU membership and already

today, the EU and Serbia face common challenges that can be solved more easily through joint efforts," Tocci told Tanjug in an exclusive interview.

"The Serbia-EU cooperation on migration, energy, border control and the fight against terrorism and organised crime, as well as dealing with key challenges in the common neighbourhood,

can accelerate Serbia's progress towards EU membership," Tocci said.

"In that regard, I see the relationship with Russia as the biggest challenge for Serbia - as it gets closer to EU membership, Serbia will be expected to also get closer to the EU in terms of the position regarding Russia, but that is something that cannot happen overnight," she said.

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10

Border Closure Hits Serbian Refugee Efforts

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It remains unclear whether Serbia will strengthen its own security measures on its borders with Bulgaria and Macedonia

umanitarian aid groups supporting refugees in the Serbian capital Belgrade are warning that they are being stretched by the increasing numbers returning from the closed border with Hungary as well as those arriving from Bulgaria and Macedonia, hoping to reach western Europe.

"A lot of those people from the Hungarian border are coming back to Belgrade and we, along with several other organisations, are distributing food for them and also for the newcomers," Tijana Sijaric, a humanitarian worker at the Info Park aid centre in Belgrade, told BIRN. The increased numbers have put pressure on their limited resources, she said.

"On Sunday, we almost had a riot here since we could not provide a meal for everyone. It was not good at all," she added.

Sijaric said that there were several thousand refugees in Belgrade - possibly more, because those brought in by people-smugglers are not visible to aid workers or the authorities.

"There is a refugee centre in Belgrade but there is room for some 600 people.

The rest come to the park next to Belgrade train station where they sleep," Tijana Sijaric, a humanitarian worker at the Info Park aid centre in Belgrade, told BIRN. Hungary decided last week that any refugees or migrants found inside the country up to eight kilometres from the border must be sent back to the 'transit zone' behind the fence that Hungary has erected on the Serbian border.

Budapest has deployed police and military helicopters to look for illegal migrants in the border zone, and has also been using drones, armoured vehicles, thermal imaging cameras, horseback units and sniffer dogs to detect transgressors.

Food being distributed to refugees in Belgrade

Sijaric said that Serbia's Commissariat for Refugees and Migration is providing food and shelter in the refugee centres, but outside the centres, aid is being provided by humanitarian organisations, which have limited resources.

Serbia has some 6,000 beds for refugees, the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration told BIRN, but some of the centres are deeper inside the country, away from migrant routes.

Asif, a 17-year-old from Afghanistan, said he was brought to Serbia on Monday from Bulgaria by smugglers in a group of 30 and found accommodation in the Krnjaca refugee center near Belgrade.

"We came with To Serbia with a modified hospital van. Outside it was looking like regular medical car but inside was nothing but us, refugees. Now I am in the refugee camp, waiting to see what next," said Asif to BIRN. He said that he heard that the Hungarian border was closed so he was calling his family to send him more money so he could pay smugglers to transport him on to Austria.

Despite the fact that food is provided in

refugee centres, he said he did not want to stay there. Many refugees prefer to be outside the centres so that they can get moving immediately if they find out that a potential route is open.

During the peak of the refugee crisis, over a million people passed through Serbia on their way to Germany and other European countries.

Serbia was given financial aid to cope with the crisis and numerous volunteers from all over the world came to help the refugees.

According to officials, currently around 500 refugees currently enter Serbia each day but none are moving onwards because the border with Hungary is closed.

Serbia's minister for work, employment and social issues, Aleksandar Vulin, asked last week for an emergency meeting of the bureau that coordinates the security services because the situation on the borders was becoming alarming.

"Serbia will not allow itself to become a parking lot for the migrants," Vulin said.

The outcome of the meeting has not yet been made public.

Two Arrested for Damaging Muslim Cemetery The police in Novi Pazar, a town in southwestern Serbia, have two men under arrest on suspicion that they recently damaged headstones in a Muslim cemetery.

They are suspected of committing the criminal offense of violating graves by desecrating 34 headstones in the Gazilar graveyard on July 5.

The police administration (PU) in this

town said in a statement that the suspects were arrested in the Tutin municipality, and identified them with their initials and year of birth as M.Dz. (1952) and S.B. (1984). They are currently held in police custody that can last up to 48 hours.

Tanjug said it learned from the police in Novi Pazar that one of the suspects was Mehdija Dzemic, "who converted

to Orthodoxy (from Islam) while he served time in prison for wounding a man."

The agency said that during the night when the headstones were damaged, the two suspects were also seen in the Rekic restaurant in Novi Pazar, where they were "cursing the khwaja (Muslim cleric) and muezzin from Svojbor (a street in Novi Pazar)."

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11

Higgins Excited to Lead Serbia in Cup Bid

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Although rugby is not well known or popular Sport in Serbia, local fans of the game managed to get a UK professional to train them

erbia have turned to a Yorkshireman with Eastern European roots in their attempt to secure a place in the 2017 World Cup. Doncaster-born Darren Higgins has been appointed as the Serbians' head coach and will take time out from his role of talent development manager at Castleford to prepare them for October's final European qualifying matches against Wales and Italy.

"I'll be stepping into the unknown a little bit, but it's very exciting," said Higgins.

"I've booked time off work so everything is in place.

"I'm going over for a few weekends in August and September to spend time with the national squad. There's a fair bit of travelling, but I'm really looking forward to it."

Higgins, who has closely monitored attempts over the last decade to establish rugby league in the country, is passionate about his new hands-on role, especially as it provides a link to his Serbia-born grandfather Simo Tijanic.

"That's part of the reason I'm doing it," he said. "I'm really proud to be given the opportunity.

"Ten years ago, while I was working for the RFL in South Yorkshire, I tried to get something going in terms of tour exchanges,

There is even a female rugby team in Serbia

but it never got off the ground."

Higgins, a former head of youth at Sheffield Eagles and London Broncos, spent nine days in Belgrade last month, overseeing matches against the touring Yorkshire Lionhearts, and admits the Serbians have much to do if they are to become a force on the international stage.

Murray to Possibly Skip Quarter-final against Serbia Andy Murray's name features prominently in the four man team nomination for Great Britain's Davis Cup quarter-final tie against Serbia, to be played later this week. But, it does

seem that like Novak Djokovic will be conspicuous by his absence, Murray too is planning to skip it.

As of yet, there's no decision been made by the three-time Major winner, who led the team to its first win after a 79-year old drought of Davis Cup victory last year. Murray will be taking a call after having spoken to the British

team skipper, Leon Smith. However, despite not participating in the tie that's to be held at the Tasmajdan Stadium in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, the Scot is expected to travel with the team to bolster their morale.

Currently, the British team nominations include Andy and brother, Jamie Murray, Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans. If Andy Murray does skip it, he would be replaced by Dominic Inglot, who could team up with Jamie Murray to play the doubles rubber while Edmund and Evans play the singles rubbers.

The Serbian team led by their skipper Bogdan Obradovic, features Nenad Zimonjic, Janko Tipsarevic, Filip Krajinovic and Dusan Lajovic. Though the head-tohead puts Serbia with an advantage of five wins to Britain's three, given the current line-up - even with Andy Murray's probably absence - the British side will go in as the slight favourites with momentum firmly in their favour.

"It's all run by volunteers," he said. "There are six clubs in the top division and they're making good progress with juniors."

Wigan captain Sean O'Loughlin will miss Friday's trip to Leeds Rhinos after being given a one-match ban for the reckless high tackle that saw him sent off against Wakefield.

Dave Clarke Speaks Out About Car Accident in Serbia Brighton-born, Amsterdam-based techno DJ, Dave Clarke, is currently monitoring his health after being involved in a car crash in Serbia this weekend, according to a post on his public Facebook page. Clarke was travelling back from Exit Festival in Novi Sad where he had performed, when the car he was a passenger in crashed.

After the car landed on the other side of the highway, Clarke said he flagged a ride to the Belgrade airport. It was only after arriving back in Amsterdam and trying to go home that he went to the hospital, being in too much pain. In his Facebook post about the incident, he said that "life has the possibility of changing before you know it."

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