V.I.P.

Daily News Report

V.I.P. News Services, ika Ljubina 6, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia phone/fax: (381 11) 32 82 360, 32 86 140, 32 86 141 e-mail: office@vipnews.rs vipnews@sbb.rs Publisher: V.I.P. News Services Editor-in-Chief: Vladan Marjanovi News Desk Editors: Rade Stani , Davor Luka
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Issue No. 4748

Monday, December 5, 2011

Merkel: Serbia Hasnt Met Conditions to Become EU Candidate

Tadic: Things Change, One Should be Optimistic
Serbia is not yet ready to be a candidate for European Union Memebrship, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday. After the agreement was achieved between Belgrade and Pristina on joint control of the crossings between Serbia and Kosovo, President Boris Tadic said on Saturday that one should still be moderately optimistic regarding the candidacy issue. Clashes between KFOR soldiers and local Serbs last Monday showed that, Merkel told the lower house of the German Parliament. Serbia must first normalize relations with Kosovo before it can move toward closer integration with the EU, Merkel said ahead of an EU summit scheduled for December 9 where Serbias status will be discussed. Serbias road into the EU can only lead through the normalization of its relations with Kosovo, she said. I regret that Serbia has so far not lived up to these expectations sufficiently and therefore the conditions for being awarded the status of a candidate are not yet in place, Merkel said. She said it was unacceptable for Serbia to contribute to the tense atmosphere surrounding the attack on the KFOR soldiers. Serbia must also face accusations to have contributed to an atmosphere in the past days in which German KFOR soldiers were attacked with firearms and hurt in northern Kosovo. I say this is not acceptable, Merkel said. About 30 German and Austria soldiers were injured last Monday, some by small-arms fire, when hundreds of Serbs resisted an attempt by KFOR soldiers to remove roadblocks erected by Serbs in village of Jagnjenica, near Zubin Potok. Tadic: Berlins firm position could put relations between two countries in jeopardy: Tadic said regarding the possibility that Serbia could gain candidate status that forecasts are being made in very complex circumstances, and added that things change by the second. He said that among European politicians things are possible and changeable until December 9, and that one should be an optimist, but not an unrealistic optimist and to rush with statements like that Serbia will certainly get the candidacy. Speaking about relations between Germany and Serbia, Tadic said that the German position towards Serbia should take into account the huge potentials of our two countries and the fact that there is no stability in southeast Europe without a stabile and European Serbia. When asked whether he fears that Germanys firmer position regarding the granting of the candidate status to Serbia could threaten relations between Belgrade and Berlin which has been stabilized in the past decade after great efforts, Tadic said that German policy should take into account that fact. This is because we deeply believe in the connection between the two countries and two people and the fact that Serbiaa European future is an inseparable part of it. The German partners too should have this sensitivity, Tadic said. Serbia has many models in German politics which it can follow in the years to come too, but I think that German policy should review the deepest interest and sentiments of our citizens and everything that we have done in the reform sense in the past years, Tadic said. He said that Serbia cannot give up on the EU even if it does not get candidate status on December 9, because it has to take care of the interests of the citizens and primarily the interests of young people who will have a very unclear future without an European prospect. Tadic spoke of the possibility of Serbia getting candidate status, on Saturday in Berli, after participation in an international conference of the German Socialist Democratic Party. At a panel as part of the conference, Tadic said that an European future is the only way for the countries of the Western Balkans to resolve chronic problems, but that this would certainly also be in the interest of the EU. The EU is not complete without the Western Balkans. The EU will not be able to resolve future problems if it is not complete, Tadic said. He said that he is aware that the EU is facing great difficulties, but if it focuses only on that and if it loses the wider perspective, it will ultimately pay a high price. The participants of the panel titled Strong Social Democracy for Strong Europe, in addition to Tadic, were former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema, head of the Romanian Social Democratic Party Victor Ponta, and former Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev. Dacic: Germany's position uncertain: Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), also visited Berlin and said that the leadership of the Social Democratic Party believes that Serbia should be granted EU candidate status.

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Dacic said that the leader of the Social Democratic Party's group in the European Parliament, Martin Schultz, said that he would talk to Merkel so as to review once again the joint position that is being prepared for the European Council's session on December 9. There is no doubt that the final outcome where Germany's position is concerned will be uncertain in the next few days. Merkel's statement shows that this position is negative at the moment, Dacic said. Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said that EU enlargement is not a subject of discussion for the European leaders at the moment. We are at a crossroads, where hard decisions have to be made for all of Europe and which will perhaps affect the way in which the European Union will function for decades to come, Jeremic said, adding that he hopes that the process of the Balkan countries' EU integration will continue. Unfortunately, however, this will not happen today, he said. Although Serbian officials were aware that some countries, including Germany, opposed granting candidate status to Serbia, Merkel's public statement on this issue has still placed them in a very unpleasant position. Media have reported that Serbian officials avoided reporters and did not attend some public functions at which they had originally confirmed attendance. On Saturday, not a single government official commented on Merkel's statement for the daily press. Print media, most of which are under the direct control of Tadic's Democratic Party (DS), were quick to entertain the possibility that Serbia might not be granted EU candidate status. Three parties appeal to EU: Chairmen Cedomir Jovanovic of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Vuk Draskovic of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), and Zarko Korac of the Social Democratic Union (SDU) have written to the foreign ministers of the EU countries appealing that Serbia should be granted EU candidate status on December 9, media reported on Saturday. In their letter, the parties' leaders said that, in case candidate status was denied, nationalist forces in Serbia would strengthen, which would have a negative effect for the whole region. Jovanovic said that, without candidate status, the authorities would lose all legitimacy. The LDP is an opposition party that supports the governing coalition in the parliament by voting for bills that harmonize national legislation with that of the European Union. Draskovic, whose party is a member of the governing coalition, said that the incumbent government is responsible for the situation in which the country finds itself and for the danger that the country may not be granted candidate status, but added that his party is not influential enough to alter the government's policy. EU foreign ministers will be debating EU enlargement on Monday, when they are expected to formulate a decision on Serbia's candidacy and set a date for opening accession talks with Montenegro, Tanjug news agency reported. The final decision should be made by the EU heads of state or government at their summit on December 9. Kostunica: EU Membership Is Not in Serbia's Interest Membership in the European Union absolutely is not in Serbia's best interests, because Brussels is using the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue to complete Kosovo's independence, DSS (Democratic Party of Serbia) leader Vojislav Kostunica says in an interview to Tanjug news agency. Kostunica says that negotiations, which are anything but negotiations, are being held at Brussels under the European Union's auspices. He adds that these are negotiations about technical issues and the technical issues collectively should lead to an independent Kosovo. He further says that there are several parties in Serbia without any great influence that openly advocate independence for Kosovo and that the governing majority is already working toward this end, but does not dare to say so openly. He goes on to say that to him, the idea of a division of Kosovo is unacceptable and that it is an attempt to mask political capitulation by an idea that it is possible to preserve something, salvage something. SPC: EU Integration Should Be Abandoned If It Means Giving up Kosovo The Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) urged the government and President Boris Tadic on Friday not to abandon the Serbs in Kosovo for the sake of EU candidate status, news agencies reported. The SPC said in a statement that membership in the European Union is a good aspiration and idea, but if the price to pay for membership in that association is abandoning Kosovo, either directly or by degrees (), then the candidacy should be openly and honorably withdrawn. The SPC said that Serbs in the north of Kosovo should not be making decisions with a disregard for the authorities in Belgrade, but that the authorities should not be making decisions or changing political tactics, either, with a disregard for the Kosovo Serbs' positions. The SPC supported the protests of the Serbs in the north of Kosovo, saying that they are not the result of defiance, arrogance, or a whim, but of their determination not to give in to the diktat of force and the imposition of a status by force. Jeremic: Good Relations Between Greece and Serbia Relations between Greece and Serbia are traditionally good and there are no differences in the views of the two countries, stated Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic on Friday, during a visit to Athens, agencies reported. Jeremic met with Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Dimas who conveyed messages of support from Athens for the process of Serbias European integration and the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on Kosovo. Dimas said that significant progress has been made in the dialogue and that he believes that the future will bring positive events for Serbia. Dacic Visits United Russia Electoral Headquarters Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic, who is visiting Russia, visited the electoral headquarters of United Russia, the ruling party, electronic media reported. He was greeted by State Duma president Boris Grizlov and Minister of Emergency Situation Sergey Shoygu. Dacic will discuss humanitarian aid for Serbs in Kosovo with Shoygu, who is co-president of the Committee for Cooperation between Russia and Serbia.

KOSOVO
Tadic: Solution for Crossing Points Far from Ideal, But I Support It
The solution for administrative crossing points that was achieved in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina would not include the elements of statehood and it was synchronized with Serbian national interest, Serbian President Boris Tadic said on Saturday in Berlin, news agencies reported. The solution is not ideal, but I am firmly behind it. We achieved what was possible at the moment. Neither side would be completely pleased with this solution, Tadic said to the reporters during his visit to Germany. He called Serbs from northern Kosovo to accept the agreement on crossing points between Belgrade and Pristina, until Sunday, December 4. Tadic said that he saw the agreement that was reached on Friday, December 2, as an agreement on administrative crossing points and not as an agreement on borders. He supported that with the

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claim that the reached agreement excluded state symbols of Kosovo, or Kosovo customs officers that would do their customs duties. According to him, it was secured that Serbia, through the officials from Finance Ministry, would have a significant role in the control of that process at the administrative crossing points. With the solution about administrative crossing points, Belgrade did not manage to reverse the situation that existed before the unilateral action of Kosovo forces (when they started deploying customs officers in northern Kosovo in July), but managed to improve the situation from several days ago, Tadic said. After marathon negotiations within the eighth round of the dialogue, which started on November 30, Belgrade and Pristina reached an agreement on crossing points in principle, with the mediation of European Union, on Friday, December 2. Additional consultations were held on Saturday, December 3, which finalized the agreement. After the meeting on Friday, EU Council of Ministers announced that the two sides reached an agreement on the integrated management for crossing points. Having in mind that the parties will be required to gradually harmonise their legislation with the EU acquis, the parties reached an agreement on the EU developed concept of integrated management for crossing points (IBM). This means that the parties will gradually set up the joint, integrated, single and secure posts at all their common crossing points. EULEX will be present in line with its mandate. The IBM concept will be gradually implemented as soon as practically possible, the announcement said. However, the media claimed earlier that all sides would honor the abbreviation IBM, but that everyone would interpret it in their own way. For Pristina, the abbreviation would mean integrated border management, and Belgrade would interpret it as integrated boundary management. EU Council of Ministers set the title integrated management for crossing points in front of the abbreviation. Even the footnotes of the agreement marked that one side recognized the line as the border and the other side recognized the line as the administrative border line. Council of Ministers stressed in the announcement that the parties had a substantive discussion on the issue of effective and inclusive regional cooperation on which some good progress was achieved. They will revert to this at their next meeting. The parties also followed-up on discussions held in previous meetings, including on telecommunications and energy. Considering the importance of implementation the parties reviewed the implementation process of previously reached agreements. The expectation is that there will be full implementation of the freedom of movement agreement as of 26 December 2011, resulting in free travel for everyone. Furthermore, and in line with the agreement on civil registry, the parties will start copying documents on 5 December 2011,it was stated in the announcement after the meeting. EU mediator in the dialogue Robert Cooper said on Saturday that he was pleased that the agreement was reached. He said that the idea of the agreement was that different institutions from Kosovo and Serbia should be at the same place and work on the control of the crossing points together. Serbia Initiated Concept of Joint Control, Stefanovic claims: The agreement that was achieved in Brussels is not ideal, but it safeguards the Serbian Constitution and UN Security Council Resolution 1244, said Borislav Stefanovic, head of the Serbian negotiating team, agencies reported. We have achieved an agreement on joint control of administrative border crossings. The talks took a long time and were very difficult. The concept of joint control of the administrative crossings was not imposed on us, but rather we initiated them, Stefanovic said. When head of the Kosovo negotiating team Edita Tahiri said after the talks on Friday that a principle agreement was achieved on the crossings, Stefanovic made a statement soon after her saying that an agreement was not achieved. After consultations with EU officials on Saturday, Stefanovic confirmed that there was an agreement. Explaining the details of the agreement on joint administration of the crossings, Stefanovic said that it was agreed that all crossings be unified, jointly controlled and that EULEX representatives be present at all of them, officials of the Serbian Ministry of Finance, the Serbian police and Kosovo police. Kosovo customs officials will also be present, who will have the status of customs witnesses in the north. This means that they will have the rule of observing processes taking place before them, while customs activities will be conducted by EULEX in northern Kosovo, and customs activities for Serbia will be carried out by officials from the Ministry of Finance. Stefanovic stated that there will no longer be two crossings Rudinje and Jarinje, only Jarinje. According to him, at Jarinje and Brnjak EULEX will have executive mandate, which means that it will carry out all customs affairs. He specified that the agreement confirms the special status of Jarinje and Brnjak. The Serbian police will be present at the crossings for the first time since 1999. Stefanovic said that the issue of sharing customs revenue would be left for the following talks. He added that the implementation of the agreement on the crossings would be gradual, and that the December 26 deadline does not apply to this agreement, but to the implementation of freedom of movement, which is a separate issue. Stefanovic said that the agreement does not recognize the border, but that two customs entities would exist within one state, as was the case during the existence of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. He also again called on the Serbs in northern Kosovo to remove the barricades. Kosovo Serbs reject agreement: Certain Kosovo Serb leaders believe that the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina on administration of the border crossings is the cornerstone for recognizing the independence of Kosovo, while others are still cautious and dont want comment the agreement until they see the entire document. The fact is we will have a border between Kosovo and central Serbia cannot be interpreted in any other way than the recognition of Kosovos independence, said Zubin Potok municipal mayor Slavisa Ristic. He called on the citizens to remain at the barricades and not allow the installation of Kosovo customs and other interim institutions. Kosovska Mitrovica municipal mayor Krstimir Pantic said that the agreement would be acceptable only if it is not in contradiction with the July 31 Declaration of the Serbian Parliament. In the Declaration Parliament asked that the Government demand of international missions not to allow the unilateral activities of Pristina institutions which are putting in jeopardy peace and safety and not to change the situation in the field. They demanded that the installation of Kosovo customs officers be prevented at the crossings between Serbia and Kosovo. If this agreement is contrary to this declaration, we will reject the agreement, Pantic said. The parliaments of four Serbian municipalities are expected to slate a joint session where they would decide whether to accept the agreement. Zvecan municipal mayor Dragisa Milovic said that Serb representatives should receive the original agreement, in order to see what to do next. Tadic asked the Serbs to accept the agreement, which Milovic interpreted as Belgrades great hurry for the sake of the EU membership candidacy.

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Krstimir Pantic said on Sunday that mid-week the Serbs should decide on the agreement and removal of the barriers, which means before December 9, when the European Council will consider the candidacy. Opposition: Step in direction of recognizing Kosovo: The parties of the governing coalition expect that there is a chance that an effect of the agreement will be to induce the European Council to make a favorable decision on granting Serbia EU candidate status, whereas the opposition says that the agreement is bad and constitutes a step toward recognizing Kosovo as an independent state, electronic media reported on Saturday. DSS (Democratic Party of Serbia) Deputy Chairman Slobodan Samardzic, onetime minister for Kosovo, said that the Belgrade-Pristina agreement is inapplicable on the ground and that it is tantamount to Serbia's recognition of Kosovo's borders. We will see what the actual text says, but if they have agreed to an integrated border administration, which entails the presence of police and customs of Kosovo, Serbia, and EULEX, then it is the concept of border administration that applies in Europe between neighboring countries, Samardzic said, adding that the only difference is the presence of EULEX, whose job it is to consolidate Kosovo as an independent state. A similar view is taken by SRS (Serbian Radical Party) officials, who maintain that the agreement reached at Brussels is the worst thing that has happened to Serbia, because it will be short-lived, after which Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci will seize all crossings and so complete Kosovo's independence. Senior SRS official Dragan Todorovic said that everything had been prepared in advance in order to calm the Serbs in the north of Kosovo. The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has moved for an emergency parliament session at which the details of the agreement would be presented to the MPs and the general public. LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) Chairman Cedomir Jovanovic maintains that the agreement will produce no practical benefit and that it is in fact so much makeup to give a different appearance to the policy in a clumsy effort to deceive the European Union when making a decision on Serbia's candidate status. This kind of agreement should be followed by relief, but we have no right to such self-deception. I am concerned that the agreement is not the product of a clear policy, but of necessity, Jovanovic said. The LDP's probable partner at the next election and now a member of the governing coalition, the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), maintains that it is a good thing that the agreement has been reached and expects the roadblocks in the north of Kosovo and other obstacles in the way of EU candidate status to be removed. The agreement between the two sides has been welcomed also by the governing Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), United Serbia Party (JS), United Regions of Serbia (URS0, and League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV). Although they are not quite sure that the agreement will result in Serbia's being granted EU candidate status on December 9, they nevertheless think that it is certainly of importance for achieving this status. they only have themselves to blame, Bosko Jaksic writes in Sunday's Politika newspaper. If the roadblocks were justified in July as an obstacle to Pristina's aggressiveness, for the past four months they have been confronting KFOR. By encouraging people to keep up the roadblocks, Belgrade does not seem to have noticed that the situation was developing in another direction on the frontline. Then the date approached for the European Commission to evaluate whether Serbia has done enough to be granted EU candidate status. The finale of this process is attended by a dramatic escalation in the north of Kosovo, which can blow away to kingdom come all sorts of things and not just Serbia's European aspirations. President Boris Tadic has reacted personally. He has appealed to the Serbs in the north to remove the roadblocks and told them that Belgrade is not forgetting them [as it has forgotten] Serbs south of the Ibar River. () What Tadic meant to say was that Serbia is pursuing its policy not from Kosovska Mitrovica, but from Belgrade, not on the roadblocks, but [in the Presidency building]. Local Serb politicians [in the north of Kosovo] say that they are surprised. I believe them. Belgrade has been encouraging Serbs north of the Ibar River () to pile up logs at the customs checkpoints and then, issuing a compulsory work order, to reinforce them with more durable materials -- only to urge them now to withdraw since 'the logs have done their work.' Is this consistent policy? Since it is not, local Serb leaders in the north of Kosovo are saying -- whether demagogically or sincerely, it makes no odds -- that they cannot ask the people to withdraw. Let the president come and explain the situation to them. [However,] Tadic can hardly allow himself to be booed off the stage. He missed his chance -- and he is not the only one -- to explain to the north Kosovo Serbs the advantages of living without fear. () This, one supposes, is the most important status issue. The talk should long have been about issuing a compulsory work order to fight for quality of life and not for acreage of territory. Since time has been lost, an atmosphere has been created where Kosovo Serb leaders are 'heroes' whom Belgrade is now 'selling downriver' -- all for the sake of winning EU candidate status. () Tadic has done what he had to do. He has taken responsibility. He has asked them to withdraw from the roadblocks. NATO says that this is good, but -- again the inevitable 'but' -- that words should be put into action. Action? What action? How, when those to whom the appeal is addressed are refusing to listen? There is somebody whom north Kosovo Serbs would have listened to more readily today than the head of state -- and this is Tomislav Nikolic. However, the SNS leader missed his chance to score a goal after Tadic had put the ball squarely on the penalty spot and benched the goalkeeper. He should have said the same as Tadic: that the Serbian national interests in Kosovo today are not defended by roadblocks, but by dialogue and by future negotiations about a systemic resolution of the problems in the north of Kosovo. If it had occurred to Nikolic to issue such an appeal, he would not only have helped Serbia with the rationality of a realist, but would have scored some points in the run-up to the next election. He would have given proof that Europe had become as dear to him as he says it has and shown that he was prepared to search for answers to the Serbian $1 million question in a calmer ambience. As it is, he has demonstrated a puny political capacity at a time when an election campaign is heating up. () Nikolic does not have an answer, does not have a solution. He says that he can tell the Serbs in the north neither to die nor to live there nor yet to run away and leave everything behind.' () But somebody has to tell the Kosovo Serbs something, to offer them a future -- with or without the roadblocks, in a divided or an undivided Kosovo, in Serbia or out of it. ()

PRESS
One Should Fight for People, Not Acres
Once again it is clear that Belgrade either does not want to read important messages or does not know how to do so or yet reads them too late. () After last summer's exacerbation in Kosovo, Serbia has been placed in a quite unenviable position. Hashim Thaci has drawn Serbia into a trap from which it does not know how to extricate itself. Then Angela Merkel [during her visit to Belgrade in August] had her say, complete with the inevitable 'but,' which the authorities suppressed in the expectation of a happy ending. This is why today,

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Although I am still convinced that the government does not have a clear vision of how to unravel the Kosovo knot, Tadic's forced U-turn is nevertheless welcome. It is better to care for lives than for acres. Better late than never (), Bosko Jaksic writes. find what he is saying interesting, nor that we could clash in the media. Personal relations are personal relations. If he thinks that relatiosn between two parties depend on relations between Vucic and Dacic, the he isnt up to high politics because with it he demonstrates political foolishness. Do you have any contact with the SNS? I have official contacts with all political leaders, because I am at the head of the Ministry of Interior (MUP). And most political leaders have police security. Tomislav Nikolic still has MUP Serbia security.

THEY SAID
Dacic: I Wont Dance with Tadic While Winking at Nikolic
The government of the Democratic Party (DS), the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and Socials Party of Serbia (SPS) would be possible only if a wide-ranging consensus and responsibility for the greatest state issues are demanded. No one knows what the results will be and what math will force us into The DS and SNS have already excluded the possibility of forming Government together, and it would not request the SPS there, nor would it have any interest in taking part in such a government, SPS leader Ivica Dacic said on Sunday in an interview for Press. However, it seems that you are leaving the door open to a coalition with the Progressives? The SPS-led block represents a coalition whose rating is improving, but we are not pleased with that. We want greater influence. For our ideas not to just remain ideas. From this aspect of course, a coalition with the DS is good and there is the joint commitment to form the next government. If this isnt possible, other solutions for the state will be sought. What is your comment to the invitation by SNS leader Tomislav Nikolic for tea? I dont want to dance with Tadic, and wink at Nikolic. That it. And what is your comment to the statement by SNS Deputy President Aleksandar Vucic that he would not be mayor if this position requires the votes of the Socialists? He wrote himself off with that statement. I dont know how he thinks to become mayor, whose votes, councilpersons he can count on. As far as Vucic is concerned, I think that even the people dont

NEWS IN BRIEF
Incomplete Results: Debacle of Ruling HDZ in Croatian Elections The center-left opposition is in the lead in the elections in Croatia and it threatening to seriously defeat the ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), Croatian media reported on Sunday evening, citing partial electoral results announced by the State Electoral Commission. Based on 50 percent of counted votes, the opposition headed by Zoran Milanovics Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the new parliament could hold 76 seats, and the HDZ with its coalition partners 47. Another six parties and coalitions will enter parliament and they will have a total of 18 seats. The Croatian Parliament, the Sabor, had 151 seats. Another ten are reserved ethnic minority parties. The Zagreb-based nongovernmental organization GONG, which is involved in election monitoring, announced that a projection of the final results: the SDP will win 78 seats, and the HDZ 33 plus another 10 mandates with coalition partners. Ten other parties and coalitions will enter parliament, holding 19 seats in parliament. This means that the SDP could form government on its own. Sundays elections were the seventh elections for the Sabor. 69 parties, 15 independent candidates and 56 candidates for representatives of ethnic minorities took part. 3,717,523 had the right to vote, and the turnout by 4 p.m. was 46.06 percent.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF
Key Monthly Monetary & Economic Indicators
August 2011 External debt by debtors: 22,828 million EUR - official: 9,500 million EUR - private: 13,328 million EUR Money supply M1 in EUR: 2,521 billion Money supply M2 in EUR: 4,227 billion Current foreign currency reserves in the NBS and in commercial bank accounts: 11,457 million EUR Export (Jan - Avg 2011): 7,857.9 million USD; Import: 13,000.2 million USD Trade balance (Jan - Avg 2011): -5,142.3 million USD Industrial output: -0.3% (Avg 2011 / Avg 2011); 3% (Jan - Avg 2011 / Jan - Avg 2010) Average gross wage: RSD 54,164 Average wage without taxes and contributions: RSD 38,389 Monthly inflation rate: 0% - Baltic Aviation backs out of partnership with Jat. Latvian company Baltic Aviation System has backed out of founding a joint airline with Serbia, Ministry of Infrastructure has announced. The company, which is the co-owner of the Air Baltic airline, did not stated the reasons why it was backing out. Baltic Aviation was the only company to purchase the documentation for participation in the government tender for the selection of the strategic partner for a new national airline. It met all the qualification condition for participation in the tender, and the competitive offer on the strategic partnership was supposed to be submitted by December 12. Minister of Infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjic stated in November that the government would found the new airline with or without a strategic partner. - Contract signed for construction of ContiTech Fluid company in Subotica. German company ContiTech Fluid, a manufacturer of automobile rubber components, and the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development signed a contract on Friday on the donation of funds for the development of a new production plant in Subotica. As part of the Government program for subsiding investors, the company received a million euro, i.e. 4,000 euros for each of the 250 planned new jobs. ContiTech will invest around 10 million euros in the hose line for the

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automotive industry. The plant will take up an area of 6,000 square meters, and the local self-government gave the investor a pot of 42,800 square meters. ContiTech Fluid is already the owner of a conveyor belt company, Kolubara Univerzal. - Governor to the citizens: If you change euros, change it only into dinars. National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Governor Dejan Soskic once again called on citizens not to exchange euros for other currencies, except if the other currency is the dinar, on Friday. For this type of conversion of the euro into dinars there should always be understanding and support, Soskic told reporters in Kragujevac. We should be aware that the savings of the citizens of Serbia are safe not only because we have deposit insurance at the European level, but we also have another measure, which is mandatory bank reserve, he said. Of each savings deposit in local banks, 25-30% is deposited with the NBS. This is why savings account owners are safer in the Serbian banking in Serbia than in some other countries, Soskic said. - Dinar savings growing. The public dinar savings in the third quarter increased monthly and at the end of September it was 15.51 billion dinars, the National Bank of Serbia announced. Compared to the end of June, dinar savings were up by 1.92 billion, i.e. 14.2 percent, and compared to last September it is up by 4.03 billion, i.e. 35.1 percent. According to assessments of banks where the dinar savings have increased, the reasons for such a trend are higher interest rates for dinar savings compared to interest rated for foreign currency savings, Tanjug reported. - 10-month revenue from fruit juice sales 40 mln USD. The Serbian fruit juice industry exported more than 14 million liters of fruit juices and recorded around 40 million dollars in sales, in ten moths, stated Miladin Sevarlic, professor at the Faculty of Agriculture in Zemun. This included a surplus of 23 million euros, he told Tanjug . This difference was created primarily because in the export structure the producers from Serbia have a dominant stake in the high-quality fruit juices and nectars who realize an average price exceeding 4 dollars per liter, Sevarlic said. - Blic: State to condition the concentration of ownership in sugar market by lowering the price. Novi Sad-based agribusiness company MK Group was getting closer to the permit to purchase two sugar processing facilities owned by a Greek company, which would enable it to have 80 percent of the sugar market in Serbia, Blic daily reported on Saturday. The daily stated that MK Group, owned by Miodrag Kostic, would most probably get the permit from the Commission for Preservation of Competition to take over the sugar plants, currently owned by Hellenic Sugar, but a condition that is very seriously considered is that Kostic must equal the prices of his sugar in Serbia and abroad, since the price of sugar in Serbia was currently higher than in Germany. There are few reasons to discard the request of MK Group to take over the sugar plants in Crvenka and Zabalj. It is true that Kostic would become a convincing monopolist by this takeover, but that is not banned, only the misuse of the dominant position is, the source from the Government said for the daily. - PKS: This years commodity exchange with four eastern European countries reaches 4 billion USD. This years commodity exchange with Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan should reach around four billion USD, chairman of Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) Milos Bugarin said. In ten months this year, Serbia recorded a deficit of around 1.54 billion USD, while the import was covered with 37% of export. The main reasons why Serbia was not able to export more to these countries was the insecurity of payment, expensive transportation, complex customs procedures, difficult getting in the retail chains, but also unorganized and scattered offer of Serbian products, he said. The problem is also the lack of strategic and safe distributors or personal distribution centers, including the lack of offices, especially in Kazakhstan, Bugarin said. - Drop in food prices obvious, the Minister claims: The trend of decrease of food prices was obvious and thus, 2012 would be much more favorable for consumers, Agriculture Minister Dusan Petrovic said on Friday. The situation with the prices of basic commodities was much better than at the beginning of 2011, he said. - Djilas says that bridge over Danube will be finished by October 2014. Zemun-Borca bridge, over Danube, should be finished in October 2014, Belgrade Mayor Dragan Djilas said on Friday. All technical details regarding the construction of the bridge are finished and there are no reasons why the bridge should not be finished in three years, Djilas said during his visit to the construction works performed by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). The contract with Chinese company was signed back in April 2010, but the construction works were delayed due to dispute over payment conditions. The value of the signed contract is 170 million EUR, and 85% of that amount will be acquired by a loan from Chinese Export-Import Bank, while the state and the city of Belgrade will acquire the remaining 15%. - Tender for Construction of 10 km long section of Belgrade Nis railroad called. Serbian Railways called a tender for construction of railway Gilje Cuprija Paracin on Corridor 10, which would enable the trains to accelerate up to 160 km/h, CEO Milovan Markovic said. The reconstruction and modernization of one way railway at this section, which was a part of Belgrade Nis railway, would be followed by the construction of 10.2 kilometers of a two-way, electrified railway, Markovic said. Project would be financed by the loan from European Investment Bank. Offers should be delivered by February 10 and the construction works with a 14-month deadline should start in spring. Weather Forecast Moderately cloudy to overcast and warm across the country, with rain in the afternoon. Temperatures will drop during the night, possibly bringing snow. Morning temperatures, between 4C and 12C; daily highs, between 12C and 17C. Warm in Belgrade as well, with temperatures dropping during the night. Morning temperatures around 12C, rising up to 16C later in the day. NBS Exchange Rates 1 EUR - 103.45 RSD 1 USD - 77.14 RSD 1 GBP - 120.98 RSD CIP - Katalogizacija u publikaciji / Narodna biblioteka Srbije, Beograd 32+659(497.11)52 V.I.P. Daily News Report / Editor-in-Chief Vladan Marjanovic 1993, no. 1 -. Belgrade: V.I.P. News Services, 1993 -. 30 cm. Dnevno ISSN 1451-7329 = V.I.P. Daily News Report COBISS.SR-ID 111076876

December 5, 2011

December 5, 2011

8 CLASSIFIED ADS
Apartment for Rent (by Owner) In downtown Belgrade, 100 meters from Terazije Square, 85 square meters. Furnished for use as office (possible reconversion into residential). Details at http://apartment.tosic.in.rs Car for Sale Subaru Impreza WRX STI DCCD, gray-metallic, 2005 model, 2.0 litres, 265 horse power, 6 speed manual transmission, four wheel drive, 110,000 Km - never raced. Excellent conditions, full service history, blue tooth, original car stereo system with additional sub-woofer. First owner, diplomatic registration (no custom tax for registration in Serbia). Price 11,500 negotiable, 4 winter tyres included in the price. For additional information phone: 063/27 93 84 or e-mail belgrade2012@yahoo.com Apartment for Rent (by owner) In Vracar, Njegoseva street, luxurious furnished apartment of 146 square meters on two floors in extremely elegant building. 4th floor with elevator, two bedrooms, two bathrooms (Jacuzzi), large kitchen/dining room, TV room, storage, laundry, small terrace and 40 sqm living room. Fully equipped with new appliances, cable TV, Internet, security features, central heating - first tenant. Price 1,600 Euro. For additional information and pictures phone: 063/20 59 27 or e-mail belgrade2012@yahoo.com Apartment for Rent (by owner) In Vracar, Prote Mateje street, furnished apartment of 65 square meters in elegant building. One bedroom, computer/studio room, bathroom, kitchen, small terrace and living room. Fully equipped, cable TV, Internet, central heating. Price 500 Euro. For additional information and pictures phone: 063/20 59 27 or e-mail Car for Sale TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 3.0L Diesel, Colorado VX Model. Full leather interior, automatic, excellent condition, right-hand-drive with UK plates, 150k miles, year 2000 registration, Euro 2 standard. Asking price is 6,750 Euros. For more details please contact 00 381 63 80 32 588 (Belgrade, Serbia). Photos available, please email parrymarcus@yahoo.com

December 5, 2011