WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IN THE BALKANS TODAY
- FROM THE UNGA: US Acting Assistant Secretary of State Philip Reeker and Special Representative to the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer met with Balkan leaders including Kosovar President Hashim Thaci and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
- FROM THE UNGA: Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Majlinda Brega hosted Western Balkan and EU leaders, including Kosovo Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli and Foreign Minister of N. Macedonia Nikola Dimitrov, as a part of the RCC agenda.
- FROM THE UNGA – BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: Bosnian Chairman of the Presidency Zeljko Komsic addressed the UN General Assembly highlighting Bosnia’s commitment to the UN global agenda and BiH’s Euro-Atlantic integration. Read quick highlights here. Komsic also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- FROM THE UNGA – CROATIA: Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic addressed the UN General Assembly calling for continued support and to revitalize the UN. She denies she held a bilateral meeting with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic. But she met with the World Jewish Organization and B’nai B’rith and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Grabar-Kitarovic told Guterres that any change of border between Kosovo and Serbia would open Pandora’s box for the region.
- Croatian Foreign Minister Gordon Grlic Radman met with Andorran Foreign Minister Maria Ubach Font, Foreign Minister of UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Cabinet Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Kenya Monica Juma, held four way talks with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, and Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu. Grlic Radman also established diplomatic relations with the Marshall Islands.
- FROM THE UNGA – KOSOVO: Kosovo President Hashim Thaci met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, His Eminence Pietro Parolini, Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy Sea, and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. Later in the day, he met with US Acting Assistant Secretary of State Philip Reeker and Special Representative to the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer.
- Kosovo Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli met with Sudanese Foreign Minister Asmaa Abdalla, Ghanian Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor, Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonzales, St Kitts and Nevis Foreign Minister Mark Brantley, Vice President of Indonesia Yusuf Kalla, Jamaican Foreign Minister Kamina Smith, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia Adel al-Jubeir, Foreign Minister of Antigua & Barbuda Chet Greene, American Diplomat Rosemary A. DiCarlo who is the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.
- FROM THE UNGA- N. MACEDONIA: Prime Minister Zoran Zaev met with Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis who said he wouldn’t have signed the Prespa Agreement, Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov, Belgian Prime Minister and president-elect of the European Council Charles Michel, representatives from Cyprus,
- FROM THE UNGA- MONTENEGRO: Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic met with the diaspora in New York. Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic met with US Assistant Secretary Bureau of International Organizations Affairs Jonathon Moore, Union for the Mediterranean Secretary General Nasser Kamel,
- FROM THE UNGA – SERBIA: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday. She promised to visit Serbia before the end of her term. Vucic also met the Prime Minister of N. Macedonia Zoran Zaev and Albania Edi Rama. They agreed to meet in October to remove customs barriers. Vucic met Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, UN Secretary General Antonion Guterres, and Irish Taioseach Leo Varadkar.
- FROM THE UNGA – SLOVENIA: Slovenian Foreign Minister Miro Cerar met with Moldovan counterpart Modlova Nico Popescu, attended the Syria Conference 2019, and met President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo jointly with Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Sarec.
- Slovenian President Borut Pahor hosted a reception for members of the Executive Board of the UEFA and members of the Executive Board of the FIFA from Europe in Ljubljana.
- The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties voted to support visa liberalization for Kosovo. Forty-nine lawmakers voted in favor of opening talks with the European Council, sixteen opposed, and one abstained.
- US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott went on N1 TV Tuesday morning and said “I was an optimist it (the negotiation process) was going into the right direction a year and a half ago, but since last autumn it took a wrong path: Serbia’s campaign against Kosovo’s Interpol membership, Pristina’s introduction of tariffs, then Serbia’s Government’s decision not to negotiate further – that’s a negative cycle. It’s time to calm down and focus on both Serbia and Kosovo long-term interests.”
- He added that he hoped the dialogue would begin before the election campaign starts in Serbia.
- “Former SPO head Katica Janeva did not give her testimony related to the “Racket” case on Tuesday, telling prosecutors she would do that once personally inspecting the evidence, her lawyer Irena Frchkoska told reporters upon the leaving the prosecutor’s office for organized crime and corruption.” (Nezavisen)
- Foreign Minister of N. Macedonia Nikola Dimitrov expects his country to be a fully fledged member of NATO by April 2020.
- Serbian Trade Minister Rasim Ljajic says that his state would not be joining the Eurasian Economic Union rather would be signing free trade agreements Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.
- SDA leader and Speaker of the House of Peoples Bakir Izetbegovic says that Bosnia and Kazakhstan have much room to improve cooperation while at Meeting of Eurasian Parliament Speakers in Nursultan.
- Meanwhile, Montenegrin Speaker of Parliament Ivan Brajovic notes that Montenegro’s future is in the EU, but is making strides in dialogue and relations with Eurasian countries while in Nursultan.
- DEFENSE & SECURITY: “The Commander of EUFOR, Major General Reinhard Trischak, held his first meeting with the new EU Special Representative and Head of EU Delegation, Ambassador Johann Sattler, on Monday 23 September in the EU Office in Sarajevo.
- During an open and productive Office Call, General Trischak informed the EUSR on current activities of EUFOR and its upcoming annual Exercise “Quick Response 19” that shall demonstrate the EU’s resolve and EUFOR’s capability to rapidly reinforce its troops in BiH with reserve forces held at high-readiness in partner nations.” (Sarajevo Times)
- Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli says Croatia is on track to be a tourist destination year round.
- “The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development plans to invest some 300 million euros ($323 million) in 2020 to help Bosnia improve infrastructure, energy efficiency and private sector, its new country chief said on Tuesday.” (Reuters)
- “Bosnian Serbs on Tuesday rolled out a new special police unit in what could fuel tensions in the Balkan country that went through a devastating war in the 1990s and remains ethnically divided.The Gendarmerie unit was presented for top Bosnian Serb leaders in Banja Luka, the main city in the Bosnian Serb-run part of the country.” (AP News)
- United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) and the Macedonian Canadian Lawyers’ Association penned an open letter to the New York Times about the Athens Democracy Forum.
- Belgrade University students will end their protests today.
- A sign in the town of Zubin Potok in the north of Kosovo was removed by authorities for having “Republic of Serbia” included.
- MIGRANTS: The Croatian Ministry of Interior denies reports that they are abusing migrants.
- ENERGY: A wind farm opened in Vojvodina and has the capacity to produce enough electricity for 45,000 households.
- Slovenia’s cash strapped Adria Airways suspended nearly all flights yesterday and today.
BEYOND THE POLITICS
- ANALYSIS: “From Opportunity to Threat: The Pernicious Effects of China’s Belt and Road Initiative on Western Balkan-EU Integration” by Austin Doehler in CEPA
- CULTURE: “Ohrid and its lake, a UNESCO heritage in danger” by Ilcho Cvetanoski in Osservatorio Balcani e Caucasa Transeurope
- ENTERTAINMENT: “Netflix series ‘The Paper’ (Novine) reflects reality of politics, corruption and freedom of expression in Croatia, the Balkans and beyond” by William Steubener in Lima Charlie World
- SPORT: Slovenia’s men’s volleyball team beat Russia to reach the semi finals of the European Championship. They will play Poland on Thursday. Serbia defeated Ukraine and will play against France in the semi finals on Friday.