European pulse E l e c t r o n i c m o n t h l y m a g a z i n e f o r E u r o p e a n i n t e g r a t i o n - N o . 4 4 , M a y 2 0 0 9

IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW President of Macedonian NCEI Radmila Sekerinska

AANNAALLYYSSEESS When a prime minister forgets the basic postulates of democracy

DDOOCCUUMMEENNTTSS EC general assessment: How close are institutions to fulfilling the criteria of the Roadmap FFOOCCUUSS OOFF TTHHIISS IISSSSUUEE prepares for the Questionnaire F o r e w o r d / C a l e n d a r M a y , 2 0 0 9

On Montenegro in Berlin (4 May) - International conference "Montenegro on the road to EU - challenges and perspectives" was held in the headquarters of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Berlin. Montenegrin representatives at the conference were deputy prime minister Gordana \urovi}, presidents of the Socialist Peoples Party and Movement for Changes Sr|an Mili} and Neboj{a Medojevi}, director of the daily Vijesti @eljko Ivanovi} and executive director of Centre for Civic Education Daliborka Uljarevi}. During their stay in Germany Montenegrin representatives also spoke to the MPs of Bundestag as well as other German officials.

12 000 visas to be issued (8 May) - Slovenian ambassador in Jernej Videti~ informed Montenegrin deputy prime minister Gordana \urovi} that the Embassy of CCUULLPPRRIITT Slovenia is now issuing visas for 12 countries of the Schengen agreement, and that around 12 000 visas are to be issued this year, three thousand more than in 2008. he white Schengen list is within our Thand's reach - members of the Euro- Day of Europe in @abljak (9 May) - Montenegrin government, European Commission pean Union will most probably decide to Delegation and Radio Television Montenegro (RTCG) organised celebrations for the give Montenegrin authorities until the 9 May - Day of Europe in @abljak. end of July to make additional efforts to fulfil the remaining requirements from

Optimistic forecasts (12 May) - I

the roadmap. T S E J If we are lucky, the Council of Economic crisis will not have a sig- I V

o

nificant impact on European inte- t

Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs o h could perhaps even decide to give the gration of Montenegro and other p green light for the establishment of visa- countries of the region, was the free travel regime, which means that by conclusion of a meeting dedicated the end of this or the beginning of next to the effects of the crisis on the year we could travel to 22 EU member process of integrations, organised by states, Norway and Iceland with only a the weekly Monitor and Embassy of Montenegrin in our pockets. In case Montenegro does not make the Republic of Germany in Mon- it to the white list, the inevitable ques- tenegro. German ambassador Peter tion will be - whose fault that is? Plate said that "the EU will not for- Fingers should be pointed at the get about the countries of the Parliament which took until the end of region" and will help all the coun- 2008 to adopt the Law on Foreigners tries that are in the process of Peter Plate whose implementation is a requirement implementing necessary reforms. for the abolishment of visas. One should Deputy prime minister and Minister of Finance Igor Luk{i} said that the economic also seek culprits in the Government, crisis and the measures taken by the government to alleviate its consequences "will which is still procrastinating with the draft law on anti-discrimination, institutions not interfere with Montenegro's efforts to join the European family". responsible for fighting corruption and money laundering, few verdicts and many Germany ratified SAA (16 May) - Federal council of the German Bundestag adopt- inadequate investigations, and so on... ed the Law on ratification of Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between European Commission noted that Montenegro and EU. until the end of May Montenegro issued 100 952 new , many of which Will Montenegro get the white Schengen? (23 May) - Macedonia fulfilled all the con- will remain an ornament in their owners' ditions from the roadmap, and is expected to be put on the white Schengen list, while folders, given the desire and financial and Montenegro "largely" or "mostly" met the benchmarks, said European Stability ability of Montenegrins to work or trav- el in the EU. Initiative (ESI). According to ESI, there are three possible scenarios for Montenegro and If such Montenegro received the Serbia - visa-free regime will not be introduced with these countries until they fulfill all same assessment from the European the requirements; the EU will close an eye and let them have it together with Commission as Serbia, which is creating Macedonia, or he EU will give them some more time to fulfill the remaining condi- a major regional problem by issuing tions. Albania and BiH did not meet the benchmarks set in their Roadmaps. passports to Kosovo Albanians, and was graded the same on security issues as The questionnaire by 1 August (28 May) - Questionnaire for Montenegro could be Macedonia, in case the White Schengen completed by 1 August, announced Pierre Mirel, Director of Relations with Western List escapes us, one should not wonder Balkans in EC Enlargement Directorate after the last meeting of the temporary Com- if Montenegrin citizens decide to blame both their own Government as well as mittee for the Monitoring of Agreement on Trade and Related Issues and the ple- EU member states. V.@. nary session of the Enhanced Permanent Dialogue between Montenegro and EC.

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//////// thanks in large part to the audience assem- enable greater cooperation, and I hope, in bled here today that this has not happened. turn, greater prospects of extradition of war It is also due to the influence that European crimes suspects within the region. If there integration has had in keeping the delicate are guarantees of a fair trial, irrespective of he process of process of transition in check. where that trial takes place, this should be TEU enlargement The Western Balkan countries progress possible. rests on the same towards European integration and EU Transitional justice has also to be about values that motivat- membership depends also on the success of rule of law, in the broadest sense, about ed the European transitional justice, starting with how they building up a culture of democratic gover- ideal in the first deal with the war crime issue. nance and protection of basic human rights, place some fifty The conditions are related to the about ensuring that the process of transition cooperation with ICTY as regards the per- and change is all inclusive. And this is why by Pierre Mirel sons who are suspected of the most serious civil society plays such an important role. war crimes. They are well known. But this Commissioner Rehn recently warned: years ago - peace, tolerance and democra- is only part of the story. "It is better that we export stability into the cy. As France and Germany did, the coun- The other part, possibly even more Balkans than import instability from there." tries of former Yugoslavia need to overcome challenging for all countries of the region, The Western Balkan countries should as the scars of the past and the wounds of the consists of bringing all other war crime sus- future Member States contribute to the spir- wars to be able to take their rightful place pects before justice. And this is not an easy it of loyalty and solidarity and work togeth- in Europe and fully engage in the European task since, as we all know, the vast majori- er with the other Member States, including project. ty of the war crimes are or will have to be their neighbours in the region, towards Bringing war crimes trials to comple- domestically prosecuted. common goals and shared values. tion is part of this process. It is an indicator The EU is bringing influence to bear But, for all that the EU can do and is doing, it cannot take ownership of the The Western Balkan countries progress towards European integra- process. Truth, accountability and reconcili- tion and EU membership depends also on the success of transi- ation must come from the region itself, if it tional justice, starting with how they deal with the war crime issue is to have a lasting effect. It is for your countries, with our support, to overcome of the capacity of a country - of a society through the Stabilisation and Association the legacy of the past. These efforts must be - to show maturity in the prosecuting and Process, which constitutes clear and tangible made at all levels - government, judiciary in the handling of, often, heinous crimes, sign of our political will and commitment to and the civil society. and dealing openly with the legacy of the the region. It is unique in that it is all- This is why I warmly commend the past. It is also a key element of a country's encompassing. initiative of NGOs, your own initiative, to readiness to join the EU, and something ICTY is only one piece in the jigsaw. I establish the Assembly coalition for a which we have been monitoring closely do not remember any single bilateral polit- Regional Commission for the determination through the Stabilisation and Association ical dialogue meeting where the European of facts related to war crimes and other Process which was established in 2000. Commission did not press and push for the severe human rights violations in the former That we have come this far in the process of transitional justice is a testament Truth, accountability and reconciliation must come from the region to the courage of the people of the region itself, if it is to have a lasting effect - victims but also to a number of prosecu- tors and judges and to civil society organi- process at national level to be speeded up. Yugoslavia (RECOM). With initiatives like sations who have defied death threats and And to achieve this, our political will is this, and with continuous support and pres- other forms of intimidation in the pursuit of reflected in our continuous financial and sure from the EU, I hope that countries in justice for all, irrespective of creed, nation- technical support to build up capacities and the region will slowly be able to come to ality or ethnicity. facilitate regional cooperation. terms with their past and to be able, there- We cannot however be complacent. We should not just focus on the treat- after, to construct their future. A future that The process of transitional justice in the ment of war crimes in the narrow sense. I hope will be anchored in the EU. Western Balkans - the process of addressing Judicial systems need to be modernised to past wrongs - has been fraught with diffi- ensure that they regain or earn the trust of From the speech delivered by Pierre culties. And the twin challenges of transition the citizens. Well functioning judiciaries are Mirel at the Fifth regional forum on transi- to democracy and of confronting the hor- an integral part of society, and trust in the tional justice in post-yyugoslav countries, rors of the past have not been easy and judicial system is a key part of achieving held in Be~i}i from 29-330 May, 2009. continue to face difficulties. transitional justice. Author is the Director of Relations with Throughout this period there has been If there is greater trust in the judicial Western Balkans, DG Enlargement, European people intent on derailing this process. It is systems in the region, this should also Commission

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M O N T E N E G R O P R E P A R E S F O R E U R O P E A N C O M M I S S I O N ' S Q U E S T I O N N A I R E Qsbdujdf!nblft!qfsgfdu //////// cational programme for civil ser- Montenegro (EMiM), and with vants and that since Montenegro support of FES and Capacity t appears that submitted its application, on 18 Development Programme, said IMontenegro December 2008, a large number Vukadinovi} for the European is preparing a of seminars was organised, prepar- Pulse. "welcome pa- ing administration for the Quest- Croatia and Macedonia, which rty" to Brussels' ionnaire. already went through a similar Questionnaire "We had plenty of seminars process, answered their question- lasting several days, meetings, naires within approximately four by Danilo Mihajlovi} trainings and other educational months. Croatia answered its 4 - state officials are getting trained programmes for a large number of 500 questions in more than 7 000 with international experts, there is civil servants who will be partici- pages, while Macedonia sent a solid base of translators, a guide- pating in the answering process. Brussels some 14 000 pages in book for the translation of legal SEI conducted this complex response to a similar number of acts is being finalised and a lot of process of preparations for the questions. work is going into securing exten- Questionnaire in cooperation with Towards the end of last year sive IT support in order to return assistance projects such as Secretariat for European Integra- answers to the European Com- Twinning Programmes, programmes tions secured translations of mission within "reasonable" dead- of the European Movement in Macedonian and Croatian Quest- line. I T S

According to unofficial sources, E J I V

European Union should send over o t o h four thousand questions to p Podgorica by the end of July. After the Council of Ministers gave a green light to Montenegro's mem- bership application this April, the country is expected to answer questions regarding every aspect of its functioning. Answering EC's questions and translating them to English is a comprehensive and demanding task, which requires timely and wide-ranging preparations. It is also in a certain way a test of administrative capacities of the state and of its political commit- ment to integrations. Head of the Secretariat for European Integrations (SEI) Ana Vukadinovi} explained that SEI Ana Vukadinovi} developed a comprehensive edu-

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"successfully completed the prepa- EMPLOYEES SERIOUS ration phase, answered the EMPLOYEES SERIOUS Questionnaire and thus acquired the status of candidates for EU AABBOOUUTT TTHHEEIIRR MMIISSSSIIOONN membership". "These are high officials in the

ecretary general of the EMiM I T S E

J Croatian, Macedonian and Mom~ilo Radulovi} announ- I

S V

o ced that this organisation will t Slovenian state administration who o h continue to train civil servants p played a key role in coordinating as soon as the new and conducting the process of Government is sworn in, so that answering and translating answers another 150 people could be fully prepared for EC's ques- to the Questionnaire. These visiting tions. experts told us about their experi- Asked whether this means ences, which was of substantial that procrastinations with the help to their Montenegrin col- appointment of the new gov- leagues who used these inputs to ernment are slowing down the plan the process of answering the process, Radulovi} says no, and Questionnaire and prepare all the adds that the was positively sur- necessary accompanying docu- prised" by the attitude of ments", Vukadinovi} said. employees towards seminars, Questionnaire is divided into and explaining that "they are three basic parts - political criteria, Mom~ilo Radulovi} much more serious now" than economic criteria and ability to in the beginning of the training. implement European legislation, "Not everybody was eager to learn, but most understood the importance of this issue. This is by far the largest project of the Montenegrin government and adopt European standards in so far, and it requires absolute dedication of all persons involved. This is quite implementing various sectoral poli- an effort, but its results will determine the attitude of Brussels towards cies. Montenegro and its future progress towards Europe. A lot of work remains to The third part of the be done, but what really matters is that we started", Radulovi} said. Questionnaire, ability to implement He added that EMiM believed that training employees for the European law, is divided into Questionnaire was a good way to involve the civil sector in a professional, effi- negotiating chapters. In the case of cient manner and strengthen its contribution to the overall integration process. More than 150 public employees were trained in the last six months to Croatia and Macedonia there were respond to the Questionnaire effectively within their domain of expertise. 29 such chapters but in the mean- "Thus we contributed directly to raise administrative capacities for the time the number was increased to challenges posed by the European integration process", Radulovi} said. 33. Vukadinovi} said that the com- ionnaires and sent it to all min- tions of the neighbouring countries plex work on preparations for istries and public institutions so that which work on European integra- European Commission's questions they could familiarise themselves tions and that during preparations will be impossible to do without with the format. In January this year the Government urged More than 150 public employees were trained in the last six administration to study these mate- months to respond to the Questionnaire effectively within their rials carefully, assuming that 70 to domain of expertise. Secretary general of EMiM Mom~ilo Radulovi} announced that this organisation will continue to train civil ser- 80% of the questions sent to vants as soon as the new Government is appointed, so that anoth- Montenegro will be identical to er 150 people could be fully prepared for EC's questions those received by Zagreb and Skopje. for the Questionnaire they main- adequate IT support, especially if Vukadinovi} said that SEI has tained active cooperation with one has in mind the "extremely good relations with public institu- experts from those countries that compressed timeframe for deliver-

E u r o p e a n p u l s e N o 4 4 5 F o c u s o f t h i s i s s u e M a y , 2 0 0 9 ing answers". "This is why IT support has been one of SEI's priorities. The system is supposed to enhance coordination and facilitate moni- toring of the pace at which the Questionnaire is being answered, as well as to provide simpler and better organised exchange of infor- mation among public institutions, more efficient use of the available resources an timely warnings about possible delays or failures to com- plete allocated tasks. Bearing in mind the Strategy for Development of Information System for Public Administration in Montenegro, as well as experiences of other coun- tries and current trends in the IT world, we opted for WEB PORTAL as the right tool for IT support to the process. By the time we na \urovi} also sad recently that ing very seriously for the receive the questioner the Portal Montenegrin administration, in Questionnaire, and that she hopes will be entirely in place, and all spite of the electoral cycle and that all answers will be of high users properly trained, and we financial crisis, is in a very good quality and delivered on time. expect this side of the process to position to meet its European Head of the Enlargement function smoothly", Vukadinovi} commitments, including prepara- Directorate office for Western said. tions for the Questionnaire. She Balkans Pierre Mirel who recently Deputy Prime Minister Gorda- added that Montenegro is prepar- visited Podgorica said the Questionnaire for Montenegro could be ready by 1 August. 220000 TTRRAANNSSLLAATTOORRSS AAPPPPLLIIEEDD "We are working hard on preparing the Questionnaire and I ccording to Vukadinovi}, within SEI there is a Department for Coordination hope we will finish it before the Aof Translation whose task in the upcoming period will be to coordinate translation of questions and answers from the EC Questionnaire. holidays start. Summer holidays in Since the task is rather extensive and demanding, possibly around 10 000 the European Commission usually pages for the Questionnaire but also later with translations of European laws, begin around 1 August", Mirel said. SEI opened a public call for all interested translators to become involved in He added that the work on this process. Questionnaire can be demanding, "More than 200 translators applied for the job, and after the initial tests as it involves many different issues, we now have a fairly strong base of translators, with specific data on the level and recommended: and area of expertise", Vukadinovi} explained. She added that translations of answers to the Questionnaire, or any other "It is very important not to be official document, must be uniform, which is why SEI also developed a hand- repetitive in answering the book for the translation of legal and other documents. Questionnaire, just direct us to the "The handbook was prepared by renowned Montenegrin experts in coop- document where the right answer eration with SEI. We are about to complete the final version of the booklet, can be found". which consists of two parts: translations of legal acts of European Union to and translation of Montenegrin legal acts to English. This The author is a journalist of will become a standard reference book for all translators involved in the process of European integrations", Vukadinovi} said. the daily newspaper "Vijesti"

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W H A T I S I T L I K E W H E N A P R I M E M I N I S T E R W H O W A N T S T O J O I N E U F O R G E T S A B O U T T H E B A S I C P O S T U L A T E S O F D E M O C R A C Y Xjui!Tijobxbusb!up!Fvspqf@

"You got the answer from the Home because these are the words of an auto- //////// Affairs Minister Jusuf Kalamperovi}. He crat, who has no regard for European already said that on several occasions he values and basic postulates of democra- decided to give Montenegrin citizenship cy. The gist of these is that the prime hile in the to a number of persons because this was minister and his minister aren't elected to WUK the in the interest of the country. Now I'm do as they please, but to govern the Speaker of the seeing all sorts of media and non-govern- country to the best interest of all citizens. Parliament resigns mental organisations discussing whether And the best interest of Montenegro's because of some he should or should not have done it. As citizens at the moment is to be able to MP's frivolous long as Kalamperovi} is minister, he has travel freely. Also, those who won the spending of pub- the right to decide. And I believe that he elections have four years to prove that by Ne|eljko Rudovi} decided in full consideration of Monte- they are able to lead the country, but in negro's best interests", \ukanovi} said. the meantime they are accountable to lic money and while Gordon Brown He added that those who are so the voters, because it's the voters who anxiously reads the most influential eager to do the minister' job and "would got them there in the first place. In order British papers every morning, wondering want to decide whether they give the to be able to decide whom to give the whether he will have to call early elec- passports and to whom, should run for office in the next elections, the public tions, president of the Montenegrin the elections, win them, and than they must know how the current prime min- Government Milo \ukanovi} laconically can have the right to revise decisions ister is doing the job and, among other, told Montenegrin public to stay out of which, given the current distribution of what made him give Shinawatra the business and leave ministers in peace. democratic forces, are ours to make". passport if he knew that this could have The cause was the famous "Shinawatra case", and the decision of Upon careful reading, what \ukanovi} said was "we won the elec- \ukanovi}'s Government to issue tions and now we can do as we please". Another interesting mes- Montenegrin passport to the former sage of his statement is: "We don't have to account for our deci- prime minister of Thailand Taksin sions to anyone". Swinawatra who is currently sought by Interpol. Just when the news got to the In other words, upon careful read- negative consequences. Since the voters public, after Shinawatra was identified ing, what \ukanovi} said was "we won have the right to know, \ukanovi} has on the Liberian border as a Montenegrin the elections and now we can do as we the duty to give them a sensible expla- citizen, European Commission was in the please". nation because he is but a "servant" to his process of writing a report on Another interesting message of his people and wouldn't be there if they Montenegro's readiness to become part statement is: "We don't have to account didn't entrust him with the office. of the White Schengen list, which would for our decisions to anyone". These are the basic postulates that enable its citizens to travel freely, with- Thus the 's are disregarded by someone who is sup- out visas, to most European countries. Government once again caused doubts posed to lead this country to Europe. Or The public was wondering whether as to where his allegiances lie, where he maybe he doesn't really know about this will impact Montenegro's chances to is heading and whether he is truly com- them, since he is in power for 20 years. liberalise visa regime with 22 EU coun- mitted those goals he boasts about to The latter is more probable, given his tries, Iceland and Norway, but the gov- the journalists and European officials audacity to try and silence those who ernment's immediate response was that whenever he is in a good mood, telling speak up in the name of curious citizens. the biggest damage will be made pre- them that EU membership is the priori- \ukanovi}'s faux pas should not remain cisely if the media continues to insist on ty of this government. Can someone unnoticed by those sitting in European this story and the uncomfortable ques- who believes himself to be a candidate capitals who will decide in the next few tion - who is responsible for this? As this for EU membership afford to criticise the months whether they agree to have did not help to subside the excitement public because of their desire to know Montenegrins visit them without visas, around "Shinawatra case", which topped what is going on? Such things would be with only their modern biometric pass- Montenegrin headlines for several ridiculous even to think, let alone to ports to show, even if some of them may weeks, Prime Minister himself respond- proclaim, in any EU country. be owned by people who are sought by ed in his recognisably insolent manner. \ukanovi}'s attitude is worrying, Interpol.

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P R E S I D E N T O F T H E N A T I O N A L C O U N C I L F O R E U R O P E A N I N T E G R A T I O N S O F M A C E D O N I A R A D M I L A S E K E R I N S K A Qsfqbsbujpot!lfz!gps!uif!Rvftujpoobjsf

resident of the Macedonian PNational Council for European Integrations Radmila Sekerinska says that the role of the this body which, in both Macedonia and Montenegro, has advisory functions, will grow in importance with the beginning of negotiations with European Union. In the interview for European Pulse Sekerinska said that the Mace- donian NCEI was established by an agreement between the government and in 2005. "We believed that the opposition ought to be part of the European agenda because the European Union negotiates with the state, not with the government", Sekerinska Radmila Sekerinska explained. She added that the NCEI brings NCEI's role will gain in impor- the date of the start of negotiations together MPs, deputy prime minister tance during negotiations with the is still unknown. for European integrations, represen- EU which I hope will begin soon. According to the plans we made tatives of the non-governmental sec- Once the negotiations start, all of the between 2003 and 2005, Macedonia tor, media, academy of arts and sci- negotiating positions must pass ought to be ready for membership in ences, religious communities, trade through the Parliament and be 2010. unions... debated by the Council. We expected to become an EU This broad representation of differ- How good is cooperation bet- member by 2011 or 2012. ent institutions and organisations testi- ween the government and the oppo- In the meantime, we have wast- fies to the existence of a broad consen- sition when it comes to European ed some precious time. I believe the sus in Macedonia in favour of EU. integrations? current government has not made use of the fact that we have such a Macedonia was successful in answering the Questionnaire, mainly strong consensus on European inte- because we spent a year preparing for this process. Around 1 000 grations, and they spent more time people from administration were involved in specific tasks on other issues than on this, to my mind, main strategic goal. How does the Council work? We are lucky because we never As deputy prime minister in Fortunately for the Government, had a serious anti-European party the Government of Macedonia at the and unfortunately for us, NCEI has All bigger parties have declared time, you were in charge of the no executive powers. Still, I believe their support for European Integ- process of answering the Question- that's logical. You cannot have two rations, but the reality is a bit dif- naire of the European Commission. executives in one country working on ferent. What did Macedonia do to complete the same issue. The opposition often criticises the this task? The council works on the prin- Government, as we believe that they We were successful in answering ciple of consensus, which slows have not done enough and that this is the Questionnaire, first of all, down its work to some extent, but its exactly why Macedonia cannot begin because we prepared this process for role lies first of all in its political membership negotiations with EU. a year. weight, in the suggestions it gives to We have had the candidate sta- One thousand people from the Government. tus for the last three-four years, but administration were working on spe-

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cific issues. We knew at all times who was responsible for what, whether there are some differences in opinion and we knew the date we set as the schedule for our answers. We planned to have all answers done within three months and we finished a few days ahead of the deadline - precisely because the biggest part of the work, the prepa- rations, was done before we even received the Questionnaire from the European Commission. Did Macedonia receive any additional questions, like Croatia? Yes. We received the Question- naire on 14 February, sent the answers back and in late July we got public during this process? our website two days or a few hours additional questions. These were It is true. - I don't quite remember - after we mostly not about things missing from We were told so by the submitted them to the European the previous answers, rather they European Commission and we even Commission. concerned the new political events asked them to reconsider the policy One of the greatest compliments and problems in Macedonia that - to perhaps give us the chance to to our work were the comments of occurred in the meantime. keep the public informed. When you the Macedonian citizens on the In a way, these additional ques- are hiding something, the public Internet forum who read the ques- tions were a proof that we did the always thinks the worst. tions and answers and told us they first part of the job well. However, the Commission was were surprised that the Macedonian Is it true that the European clear - nobody can have the answers administration finally decided to Commission doesn't like the ques- before them. speak clearly, directly and precisely. tions and the answers to get to the We published the answers on What would be your advice to the Montenegrin administration and authorities regarding the answers QQUUEESSTTIIOONNNNAAIIRREE SSTTRREENNGGTTHHEENNSS to the Questionnaire? First of all, congratulations on AADDMMIINNIISSTTRRAATTIIOONN your decision to apply even if the The Commission pointed out that Montenegro has problems with messages from the EU were not administrative capacities. What was the assessment of the Macedonian admin- always encouraging. It was the same istrative capacities before you got the Questionnaire? with us - they are testing our deci- Many people in Brussels, especially those in the European Commission siveness to implement our strategic Directorates, were surprised by the quality and precision of our answers. goals. However, both before the Questionnaire and even today the biggest crit- As for the Questionnaire, these icism to Macedonia regarding its European road concerns the lack of adequate two-three months you really have to administrative capacities. European Commission has repeatedly pointed out work and live only for that. The problems with competitiveness, professionalism and independence of our administration will do its part of the administration. work, but without positive political I believe this is the fate of small countries such as Macedonia and even pressures, without extreme work dis- more so Montenegro. cipline, it is not easy to do it well. We can never have enough good people in the administration. This is why I believe that Montenegro is a for us it is very important to work on improving the capacities. country which is ready to tackle its We managed to strengthen administration in the course of answering the own problems and this is what you questionnaire. Many people in the administration who worked on these have to explain in the Questionnaire. answers, and who before that had only a very general idea about the mean- ing of EU had to learn that European Union means changes in their everyday life and work practices. V. @UGI]

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W E S T E R N B A L K A N S 1 9 8 9 -22 0 0 9 : K O S O V O Q U E S T I O N I N L I G H T O F E U R O P E A N I N T E G R A T I O N S O F T H E R E G I O N Tfscjb!tipvme!cf!mfe!cz!sfbtpo

//////// cooperation agreement, trade protocol Serbia in Kosovo. In March 1997 and two financial protocols, and held Albanians announced that due to long nine meetings of the Council for term discrimination against Albanian Socialist Cooperation between EEC and SFRY on national minority, during which the Yugoslavia's the ministerial level. Albanian population lost all rights, their European As reason retreated from politics goal became the establishment of an perspective during late 1980s and early 1990s, the independent state of Kosovo. The same Fall of the European perspective of socialist year Kosovo Albanians radicalised their Berlin wall in Yugoslavia vanished into thin air. struggle for independence, culminating in 1989 marked the armed rebellion by the Kosovo Liberation Western Balkans: Army against Serbian police. The conflict by Vladimir Pavi}evi} twenty years later grew in proportion and caused the inter- Among the countries formed on the national community to intervene anew. beginning of transformation of Central ruins of former SFRY only Slovenia Efforts to find a peaceful solution to the and East European countries and their became a full EU member in 2004, while conflict failed in February 1999 after the economic, legal and political systems into the others are still lingering in the conference in Rambouillet, where the modern communities based on market European waiting rooms. The process of Serbian delegation, led by Milan economy, rule of law and political plural- Europeanisation of the region, and espe- Milutinovi}, refused to accept the terms ism. This aspiration towards new values cially of Serbia, has slowed down after of preliminary agreement. was clearly defined and inspired by the the Parliament of Kosovo decided to pro- Justifying its action by the crimes idea of membership in the European claim independence on 17 February against Albanians which in the beginning Community, which was supposed to 2008. This pushed the discussion on the of 1999 resulted in a great number of finally reunite the two sides of the conti- European perspective of Serbia into the civilian deaths the North American Treaty nent, separated for half a century by an background, with the question of Serbia's Organisation (NATO) initiated a campaign impermeable wall. reaction to Kosovo's proclamation of against Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on Of all the communist countries in independence took centre stage, casting a 24 March 1999. The result of the ten- Europe, Socialist Federal Republic of shade of doubt on the pace of integra- week intervention was withdrawal of the Yugoslavia (SFRY) was in 1989 the closest tions of both Serbia and its neighbours police and army forces of FRY and Serbia to a clear European perspective. into EU. on terms of the Kumanovo Agreement Yugoslavia maintained economic The question of the status of Kosovo and redefinition of the status of Kosovo relations with the EC, and had signed a came into focus after the conflict by Resolution 1244 of the United number of agreements to that end, estab- between Kosovo Albanians and Serbs Nations. Hundreds of thousands of lishing closer economic ties with EC flared up in 1997. The boycott of state Albanians who before the campaign were members. Between 1970 and 1990 the institutions and creation of a parallel forced out of their homes returned to officials of former SFRY signed two trade institutional system in Kosovo testified to Kosovo, while the administrative compe- agreements with the representatives of the refusal of Albanian population to tences on the territory of Kosovo were European Economic Community - one accept even the minimum authority of handed over by Serbia to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). After the democratic changes in 2000 Serbia still faced the difficult ques- tion of defining Kosovo's status. Negotiations about the future status of Kosovo started in February 2006 in Vienna. Serbian delegation insisted that Kosovo ought to remain part of the legal, political and economic system of Serbia. The main three arguments used by the Serbian representatives were: 1. Respect for international law, accord- ing to which Serbia is an internation- ally recognised state and member of

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the UN, and therefore its borders, homogenous group of Serbia's citizens West Balkan neighbours, lagging behind according to the articles of the having no loyalty to the state. This Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania Helsinki Final Act should not be ques- would create conditions for permanent and Bosnia and Herzegovina. tioned. Supporting this argument was political instability and undermine the In spite of declaring independence, the content of the UN Resolution no. premises for democratic consolidation Kosovo is still not in the position to con- 1244, which linked the resolution of of Serbia; duct its European integrations independ- the status of Kosovo to the mainte- 2. Long history of conflict in Kosovo dur- ently, and the process is currently in the nance of territorial integrity and sover- ing which the Albanian population was hands of UNMIK. The biggest obstacle to eignty of FRY and Serbia as its legal denied fundamental rights, testifying to Kosovo's successful integration is its unre- heir. long-term discrimination against solved relationship with Serbia. It is 2. Constructive participation in the nego- Albanian national minority; therefore logical to relate these two tiations process, demonstrated by 3. Crimes against Albanians in Kosovo burning issues in the Western Balkans Serbia throughout these negotiations. committed during 1999 - in the today - the question of Kosovo's status Serbia offered the representatives of actions before and during the NATO and the issue of the European future of Kosovo Albanians first a programme of campaign a great number of civilians Serbia and the region in general. de facto autonomy and later applica- were killed and several hundred thou- Any policy proposal that would bring tion of the Hong Kong model in sands banished from their homes. The the relevant actors in Serbia and Kosovo Kosovo, which satisfies all standards in impossibility of Kosovo's survival with- closer to a solution of these problems has the area of the protection of human in Serbia has its strongest base in this to involve several steps. First of all, Serbia rights and is the highest level of inde- argument. should take in the objective state of pendent authority attainable in prac- The negotiations did not bring reso- international policies, and send a clear tice by an entity existing within the lution to the Kosovo problem, so Kosovo signal to the EU that it is willing to nego- borders of a sovereign state. Albanians decided to declare the inde- tiate a solution accepting the factual sit- 3. Sense of justice, which links the suf- pendent state of Kosovo, which they did uation of Kosovo, provided it receives in fering of Albanian population to on 17 February 2008. And while this exchange a clear plan for its future. Since actions perpetrated by Slobodan event was accompanied with fireworks in Serbia cannot prevent the EU members Milo{evi} and not by the Serbian state Pri{tina, but in Belgrade it brought vio- from recognising Kosovo's independence, as such. In addition to his repressive lence in the streets and several foreign it is only rational to use this situation to policies in Kosovo, Milo{evi} overruled embassies were set on fire. The open, instead of closing, its European the state, concentrating all power in Government of Serbia said it will never perspective. his own hands and preventing the accept unilaterally declared independ- Serbia should initiate an agreement normal functioning of political institu- ence of Kosovo, and announced deterio- with the EU and representatives of tions and development of a civil soci- ration in diplomatic relations with those Kosovo Albanians regulating the status of ety in Serbia. He thus became the countries which recognise Kosovo's inde- Kosovo Serbs, their citizenship, free biggest obstacle to a democratic trans- pendence. access to cultural monuments and free formation of Serbia. The political elite In the meantime, the process of movement of people between Kosovo which won the 2000 elections direct- European integrations was substantially and Serbia. It should also request a clear ed Serbia towards EU and towards slowed down, not only in the case of guarantee from the EU that it will receive cooperation with the international Serbia, but in the entire region. In 2006, the status of a candidate for membership community, while at the same time Serbia got a new Constitution. The adopt- in the EU as well as the starting date of arguing that it would be unjust to ed text was prepared very quickly - a membership negotiations. In the frame- make new Serbia pay a high price for group of party leaders and experts nego- work of regional cooperation, once it Milo{ev}'s policies. This sense of jus- tiated the document within just two receives the candidate status, Serbia tice was most painfully violated by the weeks, and the compromised please should establish diplomatic relations with attitude of Kosovo's elites and a num- almost all parties. The new Constitution Kosovo, which will be its precondition for ber of most influential members of the makes a number of references to Kosovo, joining EU. international community that Kosovo while some of its articles make its declared The proposed solution to the ought to become independent. pro-European orientation dubious. Serbian quagmire over the status of Members of the delegation of Kosovo would accelerate Serbia's integra- Kosovo Albanians argued that Kosovo Proposal for the solution to tion after twenty years of war and con- must be independent, based on the fol- the Kosovo issue flict and provide for a different set of lowing three arguments: EU association process shouldn't be relations among the countries of the 1. Majority of the population in Kosovo just the priority foreign policy goal for the region. In the long run, it would be the are Albanians, i.e. more than 90% of West Balkan countries, but also the most most advantageous path for Serbia, and people living in Kosovo are of important matter of internal policy, which for the rest of the Balkans it would set Albanian nationality, and all agree that entails substantial reforms of the political, the foundations for durable stability and establishment of an independent state economic and judicial system as well as strengthening of mutual trust. is the only acceptable solution. The creation of democratic institutions in line attempt to preserve Kosovo as a part with European standards. The author is a lecturer at the of Serbia, in spite of the wishes of its Serbia found itself at the very tail of Faculty of Political Sciences, University of population would lead to a large, the European integration train among its Belgrade

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by Brano Mandi}

he biggest two disgraces that I carry Tunder my left breast to gnaw at me in long sleepless nights are the two misdeeds, two obligations I failed to meet, although I still don't know how I managed. I consider myself fortunate: it takes great courage to admit to such foolishness. I'm risking the honour of my family and I can expect that tomorrow somebody will spit into my face in a bar, or that the waiter will spit into my coffee, or something worse from both, to quote Bishop has to be so serious. Maybe it's an (GBP), particularly prominent when Rade, to whom Ranko Krivokapi}, understandable trait of small peoples mounted on a skeleton of a failed president of the Parliament, responded and freshly made states, but I can't midfield striker. It's a great affliction, with flowers and a sportsman's greet- keep to myself the feeling that we're my dear patriots, when you get fat ing: Keep the freedom! playing history while the economy is pockets sticking on your hips, you look Krivokapi} can teach you a few crumbling together with our chances like a pregnant woman, your spine is things about how to overcome shame to catch up with the above mentioned crying out for rebalance like the and I believe this is our supreme duty. continent. Montenegrin budget, your ego is dig- That's also the subtle message of the I spent the state holiday in the ging out pictures from high school folk tales' immortal verses "Timid company of family Adams. I mostly graduation when you were still thin as To whom should I raise my toast of middle finger on this occasion a stick and proudly rose two fingers. of public holiday - to Brussels or to Podgorica? We said, to all Today you're just a fat ass who finds it ever more difficult to even raise one. those who on the 21 May dined on state's money To whom should I raise my toast of shamefacedness compelled her to hang out with the hand that comes the middle finger on this occasion of stay". "The Faithful Wife of Hasanaga" is out of the box and shows the middle public holiday - to Brussels or to an excellent demonstration that all finger to everyone who in the last Podgorica? Balkan tragedies, be them in verses, couple of days wined and dined on We said it, to all those who on turn into a slaughterhouse because of the state's account. the 21 May dined while the state some idiotic custom. Thus I hereby From my window I can see the picked up the bill. Stretch your arm come out with my blush-faced con- flag on the roof of Podgorica's Town upwards, like you're picking grapes. fession: I have never climbed the holy Hall, pondering ways to escape to Remember with melancholy the ox mount Lov}en and I never read European Union for a month and roast on Cetinje three years ago. It was Charles Bukovsky's Ham on Rye. I write reportages, all the while craving a good ox, a symbol of wealth, and it confessed and saved my soul. to come back here where people wasn't nice to see it dead, marinated An equilibrist by choice, I chose know about courage and dignity and in beer, on the front cover of "Vijesti". precisely this holiday to empty my haven't forgotten the moral customs of I protested with the editors. A roasted soul, hoping people would forgive me their forefathers - they just stopped ox as the state symbol?! as a good Montenegrin and an off- shooting at weddings, which annoys First they slaughtered the ox, spring of two guerrilla tigers shot under the hell out of me and that's why I'm turned it towards Lov}en, then they the recently inaugurated obelisk, not going to marry young. skinned it and fixed it on an oiled spit. another token of our great history In the meantime, I developed a When it started to turn, the terrible which placed Europe forever in our belly at the age of thirty, a sack of fat, merry-go-round of flesh revved up the debt. I just don't know why everything flabby belt, the Grandiose Beer Pouch folklore of the ancestors. The hungry

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plebs sang to King Nicolas and told fortune of the weather to come. Nobody mentioned the crisis. Nor the workers, nor the peasants, except as a vanguard of the new times and progress. The progress is evident and every- one can see it, especially our European friends. It's progress that there's no war. Excellent. It's a little complicated when you have to talk about progress while everyday you see another region or a city being system- atically neglected, doctors treating only the patients who pay, politicians hand in hand with tycoons and everything else which essentially worries you less than your swollen belly. It's only human that personal problems always come before the social ones. Especially in Montenegro, where supposedly drew world's attention. But process, Brussels is still a phantas- you can't even find an orienteering the world only stepped in because of magoria which we'll hopefully get to club that was founded without some- the war, as always. To speak about know better soon. Some citizens are one's fervent participation inspired by ceaseless struggle for every atom of probably still hoping for supreme the rear part of the body and an ani- democracy today, when every half-lit- policemen to make some order in our mal desire to profit under the table. erate activist can live well enough on institutions, but judging by the experi- Right now my concern is to find the royalties dripping from all sides is, ences so far this is total nonsense, fit the traces of this same primitivism in to put it bluntly, not fair. First show me only to lull in credulous opposition Europe - and I'll feel better. To see your personal interest, than speak leaders. drunken broads pissing into open sew- ers on Friday nights on Camden City, Progress is evident and everyone can see it, especially our or to see insatiable Bavarian families European friends. It's a little complicated when you have to talk stuffing themselves dumb, or to marvel about progress while every day you see another region or a city at the cold Alsatians. To understand being systematically neglected, doctors treating only the patients how this fragile human nature, on all who pay, politicians hand in hand with tycoons... meridians, in some corners still man- aged to fit into a system without about the general good. If you want Holidays in Montenegro are time devouring it from inside. That's my them to believe you, that's the way to to sit down and think about future, mission for the next European tour, go, patriots. and the state decided to use these his- I'm looking for a sponsor - if anybody The only way left to go about this torical happenings to fortify itself in the is reading this, feel free! government is perhaps to laugh at daily news. And again we had demon- I didn't start off with confessions them or take them on with rifles. Since strations of patriotism which are always for no reason. I believe we ought to our rifles and hand grenades perished ridiculous, but in the Balkans, some- admit to something important: we in the MONDEM project of the how, more than elsewhere. I didn't don't really care how the system func- Partnership for Peace (and Company), laugh this time, because I'm seriously tions. We watch our TV and never all that's left is to crack a few friendly thinking of entering politics. I just don't wonder how the machine turned on. jokes, not so much at the government know if it's better to join the govern- We heard about Tesla and Milo and as at its loyal chimney sweepers, an ment or the opposition. Both sides that's enough for us to have an opin- entire army of unenlightened good- look so comfortable that it's hard to ion about politics and electricity. That's natured chaps who had the bad luck tell who's behind is more pampered. why our rebellions are always superfi- to be born in an economically and The behind is the bastion of human cial and local critics of the system culturally backward region of the for- organism while it sits and talks about utterly inconsequential. They don't mer country. It will take a while to democracy. want to descend from their Parnassus shed our habits of old and it's about of the 1990s when the inflammatory time we accept that this is not a job The author is a journalist of the slogans about the totalitarian state for one single generation. In this daily newspaper "Vijesti"

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A C C O U N T A B I L I T Y O F M O N T E N E G R I N G O V E R N M E N T Upvhi!kpc!gps!djwjm!tpdjfuz //////// Administration said he could not give are not able to acquire the citizenship more information on this case because of under the terms of the new Law on the Law on Protection of Personal Data, Montenegrin Citizenship and were thus n expectation of and later categorically refused to "give any put in a very unenviable position. One Ithe European further statements in relation to should also allow for the possibility that Commission's Shinawatra". some ministers or the whole government decision on liber- Thus in a perverse manner we were simply cheated by self-interested alisation of the learned that the Law on Protection of individuals who failed to provide them visa regime with Private Data was not adopted to protect with objective information. Either way, the West Balkan privacy of Montenegrin citizens but to this issue deserves a more serious, more cover up for the lack of responsibility on responsible treatment. In the interest of by Stevo Muk the part of their politicians and civil ser- Montenegro's credibility and maintenance vants. Unfortunately for the minister of of the rule of law it is essential that the countries, international media reported internal affair sand public policy, the said State Prosecutor should investigate that the Montenegrin ministry of internal law, which was adopted late last year did whether there are elements of corruption affairs and public policy issued a passport not even come into force yet, and is and abuse of office behind this case of to the former prime minister of Thailand scheduled for implementation starting granting Montenegrin citizenship, espe- Taksin Shinawatra, who had been sen- with 1 July 2009. cially by those persons who may have tenced to two years in prison for corrup- Aleksandar Sa{a Zekovi}, researcher proposed the motion and are in a posi- tion by his own country and is currently into violations of human rights supported tion to do so by virtue of their office, as sought by Interpol. the motion to make Minister of Internal specified by the Law. If the prosecution Democratic, pro-European public in Affairs and Public Administration Jusuf establishes that the interests of Montenegro expected the head of the Kalamperovi} clarify his decision to grant Montenegro and its citizens were dam- , Milo Montenegrin citizenship to the former aged, the Government should offer a \ukanovi}, or deputy prime minister for prime minister of Thailand and thus public apology, start the procedure for the European Integrations Gordana \urovi} accept his responsibility for this act. withdrawal of citizenship and apply rele- vant sanctions to those responsible. That Thus in a perverse manner we learned that the Law on Protection would be a clear confirmation of of Private Data was not adopted to protect privacy of Montenegrin Montenegro's democratic capacities", citizens but to cover up for the lack of responsibility on the part NGO "MANS" took up charges of their politicians and civil servants before the Administrative Court against the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Public to say "The case of the passport issued to "Such concrete instances repeatedly Administration for violating the Law on the former Thai prime minister will be confirm that in Montenegro the civil soci- Free Access to Information, after all legal urgently and thoroughly investigated and ety is the only professionally and demo- deadlines expired within which the those responsible will have to bear the cratically fit entity that will insist on open- Ministry was supposed to respond to their consequences". Instead, deputy PM ing and closing of public questions and request for information about the manner \urovi} said that too much criticism on issues. Minister Kalamperovi} and in which Shinawatra acquired the part of some media, non-governmen- Government as a whole are professional- Montenegrin citizenship and when and tal organisations and representatives of ly and morally responsible to explain to where was his passport issued. Ministry the opposition is directed to cause dam- the citizens of Montenegro which scien- did not even bother to refuse the request age to the citizens of our country and tific, economic, cultural, national or sports and simply ignored them. According to added "to my mind, this is destructive. interests of Montenegro did they take MANS "Shinawatra received the new They don't seem to understand the into account when they decided to give Montenegrin passport with biometric basics: the report on visa liberalisation is Montenegrin citizenship to the former specifications, and according to the cur- just being written, and their incessant Thai PM, currently sentenced and sought rent procedure in order to do that he had repeating of such accusations will only in his country. Public insistence to receive to come to Montenegro and supply the bring harm to them and their colleagues full information on this process should be data in a prescribed manner at a pre- who are waiting for hours and days in understood as well intended and in the scribed place. This suggests that the case front of European embassies for their visas best interest of Montenegro. They espe- is either a case of corruption on a very - not to the Government of Montenegro". cially owe a timely and adequate expla- high level, which allowed circumvention At the beginning of this affair the nation to those few thousands living in of the entire procedure and all security Minister of Internal Affairs and Public Montenegro, sometimes for decades, who mechanisms, or of an enormous, systemic

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failure on the part of the Ministry. In the midst of the "Shinawatra affair", prime minister Milo \ukanovi} first said "Now I see the media and non- governmental organisations discussing whether the decision (to issue the pass- port) was right or not. My answer is that they should first become ministers of interior affairs and then decide on such issues. As long as Kalamperovi} is the minister he is the one to decide and, in my opinion, he decided bearing in mind the best interests of Montenegro", \ukanovi} added. He also said that those who are so eager to play minister "and would want to decide whether or not to give passports, should run for the elections, win, and then have the right to revise those deci- sions which, according to the current dis- tribution of democratic forces on the Taksin Swinawatra political scene, belong to us". \ukanovi} does not seem to under- law of silence among the top dogs and answers and accepts the role granted to it stand that the decision about the exis- solidarity with the culprits; that nothing at by party officials. Anything else is betray- tence of free media and non-governmen- all has changed in the Governments' atti- al of national interests to those who believe themselves to be the state. And \ukanovi} does not seem to understand that the decision about we all know how to deal with traitors. the existence of free media and non-ggovernmental organizations is Such vocabulary thus comes dangerously not made at the elections close to an open call for disciplining of disobedient critics. tal organizations is not made at the elec- tude towards arguments and criticism of In a country where the editor of one tions. non-governmental organizations and that daily was murdered and the perpetrators In an interview to the daily "Pobjeda" we are still classified as patriots or traitors. never found, where the director of anoth- (still state-owned), on the occasion of Finally, we learned that Taksin Shinawatra er daily was beaten up on the street, the Independence Day \ukanovi} called his is interested in buying St Nicholas island leading researcher of human rights viola- critics "a filthy basin", "unfulfilled people", in Montenegro, in the vicinity of Budva. tions threatened with death, followed, "chronically unsatisfied", "frustrated", The island was put on sale by the "First recorded and photographed without explaining that such people "do not con- sider it in the least immoral to slander Civil society is only welcome when it supports the Government, their own country which gave them does not ask questions, does not look for answers and accepts the everything they ever had in life, including role granted to it by party officials. Anything else is a betrayal of such freedom of public expression", and national interests to those who believe themselves to be the state. that "they disguise their activities against the state as defence of human and media And we all know how to deal with traitors. Such vocabulary comes rights". He warned the public "not to trust dangerously close to an open call for disciplining of disobedient the people who are capable of such slan- critics der of their homeland" and that he understands that these are "politically Bank", which is in majority ownership of authorization, and the perpetrators never ambitious but unsuccessful, frustrated prime minister's brother, while found, two journalists who spoke and people, some of whom will, as time goes \ukanovi}also owns a number of shares. wrote about organised crime beaten up in by, be ever less fit to govern and ever All these statements by prime minis- the last two years - the perpetrators and more in need of intensive care by their ter \ukanovi}, deputy PM \urovi}, commissioners, you guessed, were never family in order to keep their aggressive Minister of interior affairs and public found, and where the prime ministers behaviour in personal and professional administration Kalamperovi} and others speaks in this manner about those who surroundings at bearable levels". throughout the Shinawatra affair question think differently, chances are that some- This kind of discourse against the the very rationale for the existence of civil thing similar will happen again. critics simply continues some earlier society, non governmental organisations statements by Government and party offi- and the media. Civil society is only wel- The author is the president of the cials who called such people "shameful" come when it supports the Government, Board of Directors of the Institute and "traitors". We just found out that the does not ask questions, does not look for Alternative (IA)

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W H Y D O I W A N T T O B E A C I T I Z E N O F E U R O P E A N U N I O N Mjlf!b!dbsspu!po!b!tujdl

//////// almost there, a little more patience and then the Balkans, for only this way can its citizens congratulations to all those who made it really get to feel the benefits of EU. through... Is this dream unrealistic? Under the cur- see the association I admire those who believe in fairytales. rent circumstances, maybe. Is it worth the Iprocess and I am, however, a little more sceptical and I effort? Definitely yes. membership in the refuse to put on the pink glasses just to make On the other hand, I am aware that in European Union my life a little more bearable. this moment Montenegro could go on without not as an end in I am not a Euro-sceptic, but I cannot EU only in case it becomes a champion of itself but first of all accept that for the sake of some proclaimed reforms. If it conducts a swift, profound, con- as a chance for a better life, with almost religious fervour and sistent and comprehensive reforms of its social, more dynamic so- blindness on the part of the elite, I should economic and political spheres and attain a swallow up the illusion that under this condi- politically comfortable, economically efficient by Ana Vujo{evi} tions Montenegro can be a European success order. This is what I think should anyway be story. These are the same people who have the goal of a small country like ours, this is the cial, political and economic development, been leading this country up and down, left country I want to live in, be it in or out of EU, which does not stop on the day Montenegro and rights for more than a decade, until most and this is the only path that could give joins the EU. On the contrary, this is just when of us became completely stunned, like after a Montenegro a brighter perspective. the opportunities start to arise. It depends on roller coaster, and we cannot see anything It is true that the association process as our capacities and capabilities to what extent clearly because our heads are swimming from well as membership in the EU will bring many and under what circumstances and conditions the crazy "ride" and we're just happy to be still benefits: participation in the creation of EU we manage to exploit these opportunities, and, alive and to have a solid piece of land under policies and decisions, economic and techno- most importantly - on the kind of leadership that will lead Montenegro to EU. New people with fresh ideas, with good intentions, expertise, Wondering why I want to be a citizen of courage and diligence, are what Montenegro needs most of all. EU, since we are geographically already part of These are the foundations we should start with - you don't build Europe, my first association is the system of values. The EU somehow becomes an embod- a house from the roof down iment of the system of values we are trying to our feet. logical integration into the single market, achieve, but also of the dream of a life worth It is indicative that the above metaphor access to development funds, support for agri- living, effectively based on the principles of stick and carrot is the best lens through culture, possibilities for greater private invest- which are the core of EU - freedom, democ- which we can observe the absurd pattern of ment, substantial scientific and university racy, rule of law and respect for human rights rushing under the European carrot by fulfilling cooperation, a chance to modernise the coun- and freedoms. Right now, such a European the formal conditions, without any substantial try, its economy and society. All of this, how- family seems very far to me... changes in the society. Outside all glaze, inside ever, depends on political and economic Why? The basic postulate of democracy all rot. capacities that a state can develop in the is the possibility of the change of government Well, then - I, a citizen of Montenegro course of accession, and nothing is guaranteed. through elections. At least that's what we learn want my country to first deserve to be a part New people with fresh ideas, with good at the university. What kind of democratic, of Europe in the sense dictated by EU princi- intentions, expertise, courage and diligence, European country are we talking about if I, a ples, to first become a truly bright example of are what Montenegro needs most of all. These citizen of Montenegro which is supposedly on are the foundations we should start with - you the threshold of EU, have seen the same crew don't build a house from the roof down. ruling the country in which I live for a full 18 Do I want to be a citizen of EU? years?! If all the above conditions are met, and Democracy? Freedom? Rule of law? Montenegro finally starts on the road of com- Better living standards? It seems naive to me to prehensive reforms, if we succeed in being expect this ruling structures to accept such invited to the EU as a civilised, democratic and value categories, for at least two reasons: they economically developed, stable country, I are not in their tradition, and moreover they would be the most proud citizen of that are in direct conflict with their private interests. Union. One has to wonder whether the story of Right now, although I still hope that our EU is, metaphorically, just our local carrot on institutions will pass the test (read: a long stick which is sometimes brought clos- Questionnaire), I am sceptical about any er to us so that we can see it, smell it and change for the better for us, ordinary want it badly enough to hope that sometimes Montenegrin citizens. we can also have it, provided we make our- selves as small, quiet and obedient as possible. The author is an associate of Centre for In the meantime, we hear that we are getting Civic Education. She attended VI generation of closer and closer, just a little more, we're European Integrations School

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EEuurrooppeeaann FQ!tbzt!op!up!Mf!Qfo CCaappiittaallss ooff embers of the European Parliament changed once in 1989, when the MP from Mhave voted earlier this month in the list of Le Pen's National Front, Claude CCuullttuurree Strasbourg to change the rules of proce- Autant-LLara presided over the constitutive uropean Commission announced that dure in the EP, thus preventing the leader session and held the opening speech the Portuguese city Guimar?es and of the French extreme right Jean Marie Le which led a great number of MPs to aban- E Slovenian Maribor were elected Pen from presiding over the constitutive don the session. After this, president of the European Capitals of Culture for 2012. session of the European Parliament after constitutive session is forbidden to hold Marseille in France and Ko{ice in the elections in June, in his capacity as the speeches. Slovakia will be the culture capitals in 2013. oldest MEP. This year the Euro-capitals are Austrian Linz Until the election of the new Speaker, and Vilnius in Lithuania. Next year the title the constitutive session will be presided over by the former Speaker of EP or one will be shared by Essen in Germany, Pecs of the 14 deputies, instead of the oldest in Hungary and Istambul in Turkey. MEP, which was the case so far. President of the parliamentary club of SSttiillll wwiitthhoouutt Socialists Martin Schulz and vice-president of the Greens Daniel Cohn-BBendit initiat- ddeecciissiioonn oonn EEUU ed the motion in March expressing their concern over Jean Marie Le Pen, who is aacccceessssiioonn 80, presiding over the constitutive session. rime Minister of Iceland Johana The rules of procedure in the Sigurdarditor said that majority in the European Parliament have already been P Icelandic parliament is in favour of enter- ing accession negotiations with EU, but that the two ruling coalition parties have still not agreed whether it is really neces- UI"OL!po!FV!spbet sary for Iceland to join EU. The question of EU membership is the key bone of contention between the orwegian automobile TH!NK is the Eurlings, after the completed the symbol- pro-European Social Democrats led by the Nfirst electric vehicle which acquired ic test drive. PM Sigurdarditor and the Euro-sceptic permission to be on the European Union Dutch importer Elmonet, located in left-green party ever since these two par- roads, said the Dutch ministry of trans- the city of Eelde in the north of the coun- ties won the elections together last month. port. The permission was issued by the try, announced that the car, whose maxi- Dutch minister of transport, Camiel mum speed is 100 kilometers per hour, is MMeeddiitteerrrraanneeaann particularly well suited for city driving. The battery is recharged every 13 hours. hhaarrvveesstt TH!NK City costs around 40 000 euros. The current model, owned by the rench agriculture is the singe biggest Norwegian investors since 2006, is the Frecipient of finances from EU agricul- fifth generation of a prototype developed tural funds. Individually, however, the already in 1991. greatest number of "millionaires" - com- Serial production of the car started in panies that receive millions in assistance 1999 with support of the main sharehold- from the Common Agricultural Policy are er of the American giant Ford which in situated in Italy and Spain. 2003 withdraw from the production of European Commission asked its electric cars. member states to publish the names of beneficiaries of European agricultural funds, in order to revive discussion on Difbqfs!xjui!Fvspqfbo!ifbmui!jotvsbodf the future of European agricultural policy, which accounts for 40% of European budget. Only Germany failed to fulfil the ore than 180 million European citizens ling in other member states. As for the price, requirement, justifying it by the need to have a European health insurance card having a European card ensures the patient M protect personal data under the existing which was introduced on 1 June five years is charged according to the rules of the national regulations. ago. health system of the country in question. In the course of the last year the European health insurance cards was This is quite important in a number of highest subventions went to two Italian introduced in 31 countries - 27 EU members, countries such as Switzerland where a companies in sugar industry: Italia Zuccheri Island, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. patient without this document pays private - 139.8 million euro, and its main com- This insurance card allows the holder charges, which are much higher and not petitor Eridania Sadam - 125.3 million. easier access to health services when travel- refundable.

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E C ' S G E N E R A L A S S E S S M E N T : H O W C L O S E A R E M O N T E N E G R I N I N S T I T U T I O N S T O F U L F I L L I N G T H E B E N C H M A R K S O F T H E R O A D M A P Dpvme!cf!cfuufs t appears that Montenegro fulfilled all and courts, and assigned with present- Irequirements of the Roadmap in the ing comparable crime data, is expect- Block 1 - Document Secruity, and ed to contribute to this end. It is "meets a large majority of the bench- important to further develop data col- marks" set under Blocks 2 and 4 - lection methods, providing analyses illegal migration, including readmission and interpretation of available statis- and fundamental rights. As for Block 3 tics", recommends the Commission. - Public order and Security, which In the section dedicated to the includes prevention and fight against prevention and fighting of financial organised and financial crime, terror- crimes (money laundering, financing of ism and corruption, it appears the terrorism and confiscation of criminal country made "substantial progress" assets) the Reports states that the leg- towards fulfilment of the benchmarks. islation on money laundering ought to These are the conclusions of the be "strengthened" and implemented, sary changes to the Criminal Code. European Commission document, and indicates the need to ensure "nec- "The establishment of the State based on which the EU member states essary financial and human resources Property Agency which will be respon- are to decide whether to put Mon- on a sustainable basis". sible for the managing of confiscated tenegro on the white Schengen list. The Report finds that the goods should now be ensured", warns According to the May 2009 Montenegrin Financial Intelligence Unit EC. Implementation of the laws on money laundering and financial ter- The report says that the adoption rorism ought to be continued, and strengthened through adoption of the Law on the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest in December 2008 and implementation of supporting legislation... The record of final "has been a positive step". successful convictions for money-llaundering (one case in April "The implementation of the inno- 2009) remains very limited. Better application of appropriate vations incorporated in the legislation investigative methods and improved cooperation among the rele- should be pursued, including by rein- vant law-eenforcement authorities are necessary, warns European forcing the Commission for the Commission Prevention of Conflicts of Interest. The updated assessment by EC experts in is well-staffed and provided with suf- process of implementing GRECO rec- charge of the Block 3 of the Roadmap, ficient budget and adequate legal ommendations and international con- Montenegro "made a very good framework for its operation, but that ventions continued", said EC experts. progress in establishing the legal "the number of suspicious transactions In terms of investigation and pros- framework for the fight against organ- has been decreasing". ecution, the report finds that close ised crime and corruption". "The record of final successful working relations have been estab- "The adoption of the new convictions for money-laundering (one lished amongst the different authorities Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), case in April 2009) remains very lim- responsible for fighting corruption, but which is currently in parliamentary ited. Better application of appropriate that "final convictions for corruption procedure is expected to significantly investigative methods and improved are still limited, compared to the num- enhance the investigative capacities of cooperation among the relevant law- ber of opened investigations and also the competent national authorities", enforcement authorities are necessary", to the public perception of the phe- states the Report EC said. nomenon". It adds that "statistics should be It adds that proper implementa- The latest update of the Report improved in order to allow for track- tion of the new Law on confiscated conducted by the EC experts in May ing of trends in organised crime and criminal assets of August 2008 will be in the area of border management corruption". in practice made possible by the (Block 2) says that the new draft Law "The work of the tripartite body, adoption of the new Criminal on State Border Control is currently attached to the National Commission, Procedure Code, the new Law on the being finalised and will be adopted by bringing together police, prosecutors State Property Agency and the neces- the end of the second quarter of

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2009. I agement of the MoIPA. It should be T S E J

"This will further harmonise the I ensured that functional, electronic V

o country's legislation in this field with t access to this database is available to o f the Schengen Border Code. The nec- all relevant central authorities and local essary implementing measures should offices of the Police and administra- be adopted as a matter of priority". tion", states the report. The reports finds that the It adds that MONSTAT currently Montenegrin Border Police is "cen- lacks the human resources required to tralised and clearly structured", and that efficiently process and analyse migra- the available human resources are "suf- tion statistics. ficient, and the staffing level is 96%". "Regarding integration policy, a The border police is able to allocate more proactive approach is required the necessary staff and technical both towards legally residing third resources to strategic locations to meet country nationals and returnees to increased pressure caused by seasonal ensure they benefit from financial and inflows of travellers. Border police staff social support to which they are enti- is highly motivated, professional and tled by relevant laws", said EC experts. generally well-informed of their tasks", In the May update assessment on They emphasised that cross-bor- states the EC report. migrations, EC experts explained that der cooperation occurs with neigh- On the other hand, it points out at the moment it is still too early for bouring countries on an ad hoc basis that the training curricula at the Police the assessment of the implementation and that statistics suggest that existing Academy for border police officers are of the new Law on Foreigners. capacity is not being efficiently used, as currently "inadequate". "Efficient implementation of will there is a decrease of the number of "The basic training for border require the provision of necessary investigated cases of organised illegal police officers is too general and does human resources and training on their migration (from 10 cases in 2007 to 4 not focus sufficiently on key basic new competences. Efficient inter- in 2008). competences such as profiling and agency cooperation is very important The report finds that the detection of fake documents. In addi- to this end too, in particular between Readmission Agreement between the tion, there is a need to organise more the Employment Bureau and Ministry EC and Montenegro is being imple- specialised and advanced training on of Interior and Public Administration", mented efficiently. risk analysis, detection of persons hid- states the report. As for the Block 4 of the ing in vehicles etc on the basis of a It emphasises that "further efforts Roadmap, EC found that Montenegro strategic training programme", EC said. are required to improve the data col- has broadly put into place the strate- Regarding anti-corruption meas- lection and migration monitoring sys- gic, legislative and institutional frame- ures, significant steps have been taken. tems". works with regard to the areas of free- "The code of conduct is well- "Registers on foreigners currently dom of movement and identity docu- known by border police officers and remain paper-based and separated ments, and citizens' rights including copies of it are available at all border between different authorities. A cen- anti-discrimination and protection of crossing points. Hidden cameras exist tralised register for foreigners is cur- minorities. at BCPs in order to detect cases of rently missing but will be in operation It adds that the "Montenegro has corruption", EC said. from November 2009, under the man- put in place a broadly adequate legal framework prohibiting discrimination", although the draft Anti-discrimination law has not yet been finalised. FFEEWW SSNNIIFFFFEERR DDOOGGSS "The legal and institutional frame- egarding border surveillance, EC experts found that the tactics employed work for the protection of minorities is Rare "adequate, but there is an overall need for improved and modem already largely in place and there have equipment such as alarm systems, vehicles, helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft, been increased efforts for its imple- as well as trained sniffer dogs". mentation through actions for the "Premises at some of the smallest Border Crossing Points require moderni- improvement of the situation of sation, and it should be ensured that all BCPs are properly fenced off. minorities. However, progress is rather Regarding equipment, the number and selection of devices used in border slow, in particular, regarding the RAE checks are inadequate. Availability of integrated passport readers at BCPs is population", says the Commission. limited and no devices exist for taking fingerprints. Sniffer dogs should be trained and used for inspection of vehicles". [email protected].[.

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W H Y A R E S M A L L A N D M E D I U M E N T E R P R I S E S R E L U C T A N T T O E X P A N D T H E I R B U S I N E S S E S T O O T H E R E U M E M B E R S Ubyft!uijdlfo!uif!cpsefst

he internal European market end of 2009, is seen as the key Toffers companies access to a tool to remove these hurdles for market of 500 million people, yet cross-border business. a strikingly low number of small Its directive is to achieve a and medium-sized enterprises are genuine internal market for servic- making best use of the opportuni- es by removing legal and adminis- ties available. trative barriers to the development Based on Article 43 of the of service activities between mem- Treaty establishing the European ber states in a number of areas: Communities, the freedom of most regulated professions (e.g. establishment principle allows legal and fiscal advisers, architects, entrepreneurs to set up a compa- engineers, accountants, surveyors), ny in any EU country. construction services, business- In practice, more than 99% of related services (e.g. office mainte- EU companies are small and medi- nance, management consultancy, tems" stressed Andrea Benassi, sec- um-sized enterprises with no more the organisation of events, adver- retary-general of SME federation than 250 employees and a maxi- tising), distributive trades, tourism, UEAPME. mum turnover of 50 million. information services, training and On company taxation, EU However, only 8% of them engage education, all the way to house- member states have lacked enthu- in cross-border trade and just 5% hold support services (e.g. clean- siasm so far for "home state taxa- have subsidiaries or joint ventures ing, taking care of children or gar- tion", which would allow compa- abroad, according to the European dening) nies operating across borders to Commission. The observers claim that the calculate their taxable profits on High costs and various admin- biggest obstacle to development of the basis of their home country's istrative requirements regarding intra-EU trade of goods and serv- taxation system. The Commission's now plans to introduce a Common In practice, more than 99% of EU companies are small and medi- Consolidated Corporate Tax Base um-ssized enterprises with no more than 250 employees and a (CCCTB) which would provide at maximum turnover of 50 million. However, according to the least minimum harmonisation European Commission, only 8% of them engage in cross-bborder between European tax systems. trade and just 5% have subsidiaries or joint ventures abroad Entrepreneurs and business lobbies often complain that busy taxation, invoicing or registration ices are the prevailing large differ- SME owners have little time to are preventing many SMEs from ences in tax systems, which trigger research markets outside their local doing business across EU borders. high compliance costs. area, and that the variety of legal The EU has taken various steps to European Commission figures and taxation systems makes it address this issue - first and fore- from 2008 showed that cross-bor- expensive and time-consuming to most, the adoption of the Services der taxation costs can make up to expand across borders. The Directive - but at the moment, the 2.5% of turnover for SMEs, as Enterprise Europe Network was EU's large internal market is still far opposed to a mere 0.02% for larg- thus established to help firms find from becoming a reality for the er businesses. information on developing their vast majority of SMEs. "As far SMEs are concerned, businesses and finding partners in The Services Directive, which the EU is indeed one single mar- other countries. was adopted end of 2006 and has ket, but it is burdened by 27 But the biggest step in that to be fully implemented by the diverse and inconsistent tax sys- direction is precisely the Services

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directive which makes it possible Despite the overall support for for companies and individuals pro- the Services Directive, almost one viding services to complete all nec- third of member states - Belgium, essary formalities, such as authori- the Czech Republic, Estonia, sations, notifications, environmental Finland, France, Greece, Slovenia licences, through points of single and Spain - are expected to fail to contact. transpose it into national law by In line with the 'freedom to the end of 2009. provide services' principle, Services EU finance ministers recently Directive obliges EU countries to approved of similar one-stop-shop abolish unnecessary or dispropor- schemes, but limited their use only tionate authorisation schemes, to services provided electronically. remove discriminatory require- UEAPME called for extending the ments based on nationality or res- application of one-stop shops to idence, and eliminate particularly "as many sectors as possible". restrictive requirements, such as Another step into this direction "economic needs" tests, which is the Commission proposal for require businesses to carry out creating a European Private market studies to prove to the enhances the rights of service Company Statute (EPC). The EPC authorities that there is a demand recipients: consumers and busi- would simplify the legal framework for their services. nesses should be able to use the and allow businesses to be estab- Certain requirements can still services of providers based in other lished and run across borders be imposed under very limited cir- EU countries without the need to under the same rules and princi- cumstances if they are deemed necessary for public policy, public High costs and various administrative requirements regarding tax- security and protection of public ation, invoicing or registration are preventing many SMEs from health or environment. doing business across EU borders Furthermore, there are certain obtain prior authorisation, and ples in all member states. The min- general derogations to the 'freedom national authorities are required to imum amount of capital required to provide services' clause, includ- provide general information and to set up a European private com- ing the posting of workers abroad assistance on consumer rights and pany has been set at a symbolic and the recognition of professional redress procedures regardless of the €1. qualifications. The directive also origin of the firm. In February, the European Parliament gave its green light to the EPC, but some member states IINN CCRRIISSIISS TTIIMMEESS,, TTHHRREEEE still have their reservations about it for fear that it could threaten DDAAYYSS TTOO OOPPEENN AA BBUUSSIINNEESSSS national company statutes. uropean Commission's efforts to facilitate access to the single market to The European Commission also Esmall and medium enterprises have received an additional push from the launched Erasmus for Young ongoing financial crisis, which has hit SMEs extremely hard, due to the lack of Entrepreneurs to encourage young financing options. business people to spend time Against this background, the Commission's European Economic Recovery shadowing an experienced entre- Plan, which EU leaders approved at their summit on 12 December 2008, preneur in another EU member called for a further lowering of restrictions on starting up a company. The new state. Under the pilot scheme, the targets are: Commission will pay up to €1,100 - Costs for starting up a company must be reduced to zero - Time for starting up a company must be reduced to three days per month to 870 aspiring business - Countries must have a one-stop-shop for new businesses, so entrepreneurs start-ups to learn from an estab- can carry out all the required procedures (e.g. registration, tax, VAT and lished SME for between one and social security) via a single administrative contact point, either physical (an six months. office), virtual (web), or both. V.[.-VV.@.

E u r o p e a n p u l s e N o 4 4 21 N G O a c t i v i t i e s / G e t t i n g a c q u a i n t e d w i t h E u r o p e a n U n i o n M a y , 2 0 0 9

NON-GGOVERNMENTAL Sfhjpobm!Efnpdsbdz!Tdippm ORGANISATIONS IN EUROPEAN UNION etween 18 and 22 May 2009 Like in the previous years, the BFriedrich Ebert Stiftung organised School was a major success, as it VII Regional Democracy School in brought together young people from Banja Luka, in cooperation with Centre the region in a very special way and for International Relations from Banja motivated them to think together about Luka and Centre for International paths to democracy and European- EUROPEAN Studies from Zagreb. The school isation. They all agreed that it is essen- EUROPEAN brought together 24 students from tial that all countries progress along FEDERATION FOR three countries and four cities - Banja their common road to EU. Ideas about TRANSPORT AND Luka, Tuzla, Zagreb and Podgorica, democracy, justice, equality, freedom, who had a chance to hear renowned as well as tolerance and culture of dia- ENVIRONMENT lecturers in various fields. After the lec- logue ought to be their means for uropean Federation for Transport and tures, participants visited the Croatian reaching this goal. EEnvironment is an independent, non- Consulate in the Republic of Srpska, as Montenegrin participants in the profit, pan-European association with scien- well as Banski Dvori, where they met School were Mirela Rebronja and Ivana tific and educational aims, founded to pro- mote and develop EU policies in the field of with the Croatian vice president of the Tatar, programme associates of Centre sustainable development, especially with Republic of Srpska Davor ^orda{ and for Civic Education (CCE). CCE has a regard to transport and environment. received their diplomas for successfully long standing cooperation with organ- Established in 1990, T&E has grown to completed programme. isers of this programme. become the principal environmental organi- sation campaigning on sustainable transport at the EU level. T&E's mission is to promote a policy ner was Nikola Zeljak from Bijelo Polje, of transport based on the principles of sus- J!ibwf!bo!jefb who presented the jury and the public tainable development, which minimises neg- with his idea to organise a theatre per- ative impacts on the environment and he grand final of the first high- formance for children with special health, irrational use of energy and land and school competition in rhetoric "I needs. Nikola Zeljak will receive 300 reduces all economic and social costs caused T by transport-related pollution. have and idea" took place on the 8 euros as well as technical and logistical T&E's work is supported by 49 mem- May 2009 in Centre for Civic assistance to realise his idea. The sec- ber organisations working in 23 countries to Education. The competition was organ- ond and the third place went to promote an environmentally sound ised by CCE, A-SMYLE alumni group Merima D`eferad`ovi} and Ognjen approach to transport and improve environ- and Debate Club of Gymnasium Kova~evi} from Podgorica. The first mental and transport policies in the EU in "Slobodan [kerovi}". Twelve high-school three places will also have a chance to line with the principles of sustainable devel- opment. participate in the popular series on students from all parts of Montenegro Their main work areas at the moment participated in the final, and the win- Atlas television Choose the leader. relate to the problems caused by CO2 emis- sions, transport-induced noise, problems with lorries, aviation and shipping, air and water pollution caused by larger cargoes B!Fvspqfbo!bohmf!po!Npoufofhsp carried by such means of transportation and effective implementation of road charges. n 4 May 2009 in Berlin, at a state of reforms, and gave their inter- T&E is an NGO in Special Consultative panel titled "Montenegro and its pretation of the last parliamentary Status with the Economic and Social Council O of the United Nations and coordinates the road to EU - challenges and perspec- elections, expected impact of the International Coalition for Sustainable tives" Gordana \urovi}, deputy prime world economic crisis, as well as of Aviation (ICSA) which has observer status at minister; Neboj{a Medojevi}, presi- expectations of European Union and the International Civil Aviation Organisation dent of the Movement for Changes; the extent to which Montenegro is (ICAO). T&E is also a member of the Green Daliborka Uljarevi}, executive director ready for EU. 10 group of environmental NGOs active on of Centre for Civic Education; Sr|an The audience was also interested EU policy. T&E rich publishing activity includes, Mili}, president of the Socialist in numerous other aspects, and the among other, a monthly report on discus- People's Party and @eljko Ivanovi}, discussion was long and dynamic. sions, research and trends in the develop- director of the daily Vijesti, offered The panel was organised by ment of European environmental and trans- their views on the current develop- Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The par- portation policy. ments in Montenegro. ticipants also had a chance to attend More information can be found at www.transportenvironment.org The participants focused on the several meetings with a number of developments since independence, German decision-makers. Prepared by: Petar \UKANOVI]

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Gjgui!sfhjpobm!gpsvn NNeevveerr ffoorrggeett,, nneevveerr aaggaaiinn n 28.05.2009 in Podgorica po!usbotjujpobm!kvtujdf OCentre for Civic Education and Human Rights Action organised a media conference commemorating 17 years since the war crime of deportation of refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina from Montenegro, titled "Never forget, never again". Guest speakers were [eki Radon~i}, author of the book "Fatal Freedom" and scenarist of the film "Carneval" about deportation; Jasenka Perovi}, sister of the late Alenko Titori} and representative of the Association of Families of Refugees Deported from Montenegro in 1992; Nata{a Kandi}, director of the Humanitarian Law Centre from Ter{ali~, van Dartel, Krivokapi}, Uljarevi}, Mirel, Kandi} Belgrade; Esad Ko~an, chief editor of the weekly Monitor and Daliborka he fifth regional forum on transitional Forum gathered more than 380 par- Uljarevi}, executive director of Tjustice in post-Yugoslav countries took ticipants from all countries on the territory Centre for Civic Education on behalf place on 29 and 30 May in Be~i}i, near of former SFRY, individuals and represen- of the organizers. Budva. The Forum was preceded by the tatives of non-governmental organisations, Assembly of Members, held on the 28 associations of victims and families of vic- experiences were [ekeret Krasniqi, who May, which adopted the Statute of RECOM tims, as well as prosecutors, judges, artists, survived a firing squad, Mario Lu~i}, former coalition and elected Coordination Council. representatives of youth organisations, inmate of the camp in Morinj, An|elko The event was organised by Centre political parties, media and institutions. Kvesi}, prisoner from Zenica, Nikola [a{o, for Civic Education and Human Rights On the first day of the Forum former whose parents were killed during operation Action from Podgorica on behalf of a member of the Commission for Equality Oluja in Croatia, Cvetko Risti}, who was coalition of more than 300 organisations and Reconciliation from Morocco, Ab- twelve when his parents, sister and broth- and individuals from the region, and rep- delhay Moudden, and former advisor in er were killed, Husnija Avdagi}, who was resented a continuation of consultations on the Commission for Acceptance, Truth and kept in several camps in BiH and Nenad the establishment of a Regional Com- Reconciliation from East Timor, Patrick Mihajlovi}, whose two sons were taken by mission for the establishment of facts Burgess, presented the experiences of other KLA in Kosovo and never found again. regarding war crimes and other violations communities and regions in their efforts to The goal of RECOM is to compile a of human rights (RECOM) on the territory reach truth, reconciliation and prevention precise, public and objective record on war of former SFRY. of future conflicts through dialogue and crimes and other violations of human rights Introductory session was moderated objective research into facts. The afternoon committed on the territory of former SFRY, by Daliborka Uljarevi} on behalf of the session consisted of four parallel work- including recognition for the victims and organisers and hosted Ranko Krivokapi}, shops: Why RECOM, Structure of RECOM, their suffering, and ensuring that the crimes president of the , Mandate of RECOM, and Public Hearing. are never repeated. RECOM would be a Pierre Mirel, head of the office for Western The accompanying programme fea- regional body founded by the successor Balkans in DG Enlargement, European tured documentary War for Peace authored states of former SFRY, independent of its Commission , and Ron J.P.M. van Dartel, by Ko~a Pavlovi} from Montenegro, fol- founders and focused on the experiences ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands lowed by a discussion of the film between of the victims. to Montenegro and Serbia. the author, journalists Luko Brailo, [eki The RECOM is expected to compile a Their speeches were followed by Radon~i} and Vesna Ter{eli~, one of the list of victims and human losses, and thus reports on the consultations on the estab- founding members of RECOM intiative. finally end manipulations with the numbers lishment of RECOM by Nata{a Kandi}, The second day of the Forum started of murdered. The commission would be of Humanitarian Law Centre, Serbia; Shukrije with a public hearing of victims and wit- great assistance to prosecutors dealing with Gashi, Partners Kosova, Kosovo; Vesna nesses of war crimes, who offered their war crimes and existing Commissions for Ter{ali~, Documenta, Croatia; Vehid [ehi}, personal tragedies to the public in order to missing persons, and its work could create Forum of Citizens of Tuzla, Bosnia and save them from oblivion, but also to assist preconditions for understanding and toler- Herzegovina; and Tea Gorjanc Prelevi}, in establishing the truth about past events. ance and return dignity to the victims and Human Rights Action, Montenegro. Among those who agreed to share their their families.

E u r o p e a n p u l s e N o 4 4 23 E d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m m e s i n E U M a y , 2 0 0 9

F O R T H I S I S S U E W E R E C O M M E N D :

FULL MTEC SCHOOLARSHIP Conference of PSRC Forum Information Society and Globalisation: Transformation of Politics is to The Dutch government will be refunding the costs provide insights into global changes brought by the as part of the MATRA Training for European development of information and communication Cooperation (MTEC) programme. technologies, with a particular focus on their The scholarships are intended primarily for recent impact on the political sphere. By enabling a mul- college graduates and young officials from new EU tidisciplinary discussion, this conference aims at a member states and pre-accession states. In this way broad scientific insight of these phenomena. the Netherlands wishes to contribute to the List of specific topics as a guideline for paper the- enhancement of strategic cooperation and partner- ses and discussions ships on the basis of the core values which are I. Technology, Society and History shared by the EU. In addition to attending the II. ICT and Media EUROPEAN STUDIES: BORDERS master's programme, students will take part in a III. Information Society and Politics social programme - which includes an introduction All proposals and papers should be written in AND IDENTITIES IN EUROPE to the Netherlands - and will follow a personal English. ORGANISER:THE UNIVERSITY development programme. Deadline for applications There is a limited fund for covering travel and is 1 July 2009. accommodation costs for participants, so we OF HELSINKI, NETWORK FOR An MTEC scholarship covers tuition fee, study encourage you to apply as soon as possible. EUROPEAN STUDIES materials, housing, subsistence, insurance, visa The Conference Papers will be published as a print Dates: 4-20 August 2009 costs, travel to and from the home country, a per- version, as well as an electronic version on the web COORDINATOR: Ms. Laura Tuominen, sonal development programme (including effective site www.cpi.hr. [email protected] leadership, change management, project planning) For any further information please contact: Lana The course examines shifting borders and identities and a social programme (Introduction programme, Kosovac, Political Science Research Centre in Europe in current and historical perspectives. The excursions, and access to the unique campus facil- Scientific Forum, Zagreb, Croatia, Tel/Fax: +385 1 first part of the course focuses on the recent trends ities of the University of Twente). 3863 113, E-mmail: [email protected] in the political system of the EU with a special Applicants who want to be considered for an Web site: www.cpi.hr attention paid on the dimensions of contestation MTEC Scholarship have to go through the regular and rival identities. The second part discusses the admission procedure of the University of Twente POLICY FELLOWSHIP 2009/2010 dynamic interrelationship between borders and col- starting at http://pa.graduate.utwente.nl. The Local Government and Public Service Reform lective identity constructions in Europe in a longer Prospective students need to have completed a Initiative (LGI) of the Open Society Institute is historical perspective. Emphasis will be on the shift- bachelor degree in Public Administration or strong- th pleased to announce 3 topics for its 9 Annual ing understandings of Europe, its regions and states, ly related social sciences, live in the relevant states Policy Fellowship Program. especially as seen through the histories of two 20th at the time of application, have an IELTS subscore Topic 1: Managing Local Public Service Provision in century "border states", Finland and Austria. of 6.0 minimum on all four aspects of the IELTS a Period of Global Economic Crisis The topics covered during the lectures include: test, and may not be older than 35 years. Topic 2: Improving Local Government-Third Sector - Public opinion on European integration More information about the scholarship are avail- Cooperation in the Delivery of Local Services - The party politics of European integration able on the website: www.unimaas.nl Topic 3: Improving Quality, Efficiency and Access to - Lines of conflict in EU decision-making Education through Finance and Management Reforms (European Parliament, Council) CALL FOR PAPERS LGI is accepting proposals for all 3 topics from our - Supranational democracy or intergovernmental predominant geographic area of activity, i.e. the policy coordination? POLITICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH transition regions of South Eastern Europe and the - Democratic deficit? CENTRE (PSRC) FORUM 10TH former Soviet Union. In addition to this, applica- - Definitions of Europe and European identities tions for Topic 1 are open to nationals of the - European borderlands: The cases of Austria and INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE European Union, and for Topic 2 to nationals of Finland Organised by: Political Science Research Centre, the new European Union member states of Central - Small states in European politics in the 20th century Zagreb, Croatia and Scienific Forum, Zagreb, Eastern Europe, Indonesia and Peru. - Europe of regions, Central Europe and northern Croatia The deadline for submitting online applications is Europe, in particular Information Society and Globalisation: Transfor- June 21, 2009. The grading will be based on the lecture diary mation of Politics Detailed information about the topics, the applica- (50%) - a written report based on the lectures - Date: October 22-23, 2010 tion procedures, the target fellows and regional and the workshop performance (50%). The lecture Place: University of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik, Croatia focuses can be found in the attached document diary must be handed in by Wednesday August 19. Supported by: REGIMEN (Research Network on and on the LGI website by clicking on Please direct any questions concerning the content of International Governance Globalization and the http://lgi.osi.hu/documents.php?id=2675&m_id=19 this course to the Coordinator, Ms. Laura Tuominen, Transformations of the State) In order to submit your application please go to [email protected] Any questions concern- Deadline for submitting application and paper pro- http://lgi.osi.hu/documents.php?id=2675&m_id=1 ing the general arrangements (accommodation, posals: June 30th 2010 9&bid=1 scholarship, etc.) should be addressed to the Summer More details about the PSRC Forum may be found For more information on the LGI Fellowship School's office at [email protected]. on: http://www.cpi.hr/index.php?menu=8 Program contact the Program Manager Masha More details are available at the website: The main objective of the 10th International Djordjevic at [email protected] www.helsinkisummerschool.fi

EIC Bulletin -EEuropean pulse is electronic magazine established within EIC programme, with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. The publisher is Centre for Civic Education. EIC Bulletin -EEuropean pulse is registered with the Ministry for Culture and Media as item No. 578 Editor in Chief: Vladan @ugi} Editorial Board: Vera [}epanovi}, Daliborka Uljarevi}, Ne|eljko Rudovi}, Dragan Stojovi}, Vladimir Vu~ini}, Petar \ukanovi} Tehnical Editor: Bla`o Crvenica; Language Editor: Milena Milunovi}; English Language Editor: Maja Mugo{a; Translation: Vera [}epanovi} Njego{eva 36/I; Tel/fax: +382 20 665-112, 665-327; E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] EIC Bulletin -EEuropean pulse can be downloaded at the www.cgo-cce.org

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