Belgrade, April 27, 2010

SERBIA – BULGARIA

TADIC ADVOCATES HIGHEST LEVEL OF COOPERATION WITH BULGARIA
BELGRADE, April 26 (Beta) - Serbian President Boris Tadic stated in Belgrade on April 26 that Serbia was prepared to work intensively with the government of Bulgaria on putting bilateral relations back at the highest level.
During a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Bojko Borisov, Tadic said that "Bulgaria's recognition of the independence of Kosovo has seriously shaken relations with Serbia, as has the very active support of Bulgaria to the Kosovo Albanians within regional and European organizations," it was stated by the Presidency of Serbia.
It was added that the Serbian president said he expected Bulgaria to demonstrate "much more restraint" regarding Kosovo in the future.
"We are very satisfied over the signing of the agreement on the founding of the joint contact center for cooperation between the police and customs of the two countries, because the fight against organized crime is one of the most important joint goals," Tadic said.
Tadic added that Serbia was fully dedicated to protecting the rights of the Bulgarian and other national minorities in Serbia, and that this was proven by the adoption of the Law on the minorities' national councils, it was said in the statement.
He added that Bulgarian support to Serbia's full membership in the European Union was of special importance.

SERBIA, BULGARIA SIGN AGREEMENT ON POLICE COOPERATION
BELGRADE, April 26 (Tanjug) - Serbian and Bulgarian Interior Ministers Ivica Dacic and Cvetan Cvetanov described the agreement signed Monday on founding and operation of a joint contact center for cooperation of police and customs as a basis for fostering future cooperation.
An inter-state agreement on police cooperation between Serbia and Bulgaria will be signed at the conference of chiefs of police of the countries signatures of the convention on police cooperation in southeastern Europe to be held in Bulgaria in May, Dacic said.
Bilateral cooperation is to be fostered in fighting organized crime and tobacco smuggling and in fighting financial crime and terrorism, he said. Cooperation between Serbian and Bulgarian police has been excellent so far, and the new agreements will be a basis for fostering even better cooperation in order to prevent criminal activities, he said. Meetings will be held this week between officials of the two police services, he said.
Cvetanov said that the agreement, signed by the two ministers in the presence of the Prime Ministers of Serbia and Bulgaria Mirko Cvetkovic and Boyko Borisov, will be a model for future cooperation. Bulgaria, as a member-state of the European Union, must guarantee the safety of all European citizens passing through its territory, he said. Bulgaria will also endeavor to help Serbia join the EU as soon as possible, he said.

SERBIA AND BULGARIA TO IMPROVE THEIR ECONOMIC COOPERATION
BELGRADE, April 26 (Tanjug) - Serbia's Trade Minister Slobodan Milosavljevic and Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traycho Traykov agreed Monday that Serbia should use Bulgaria's EU membership to speed up its own European integration.
Commenting on the meeting, which was about the economic cooperation between the two countries and the completion of the Nis-Sofia road corridor, Milosavljevic, who was recently appointed chairman of the Serbian-Bulgarian intergovernmental committee for economic cooperation, said that they have reached an agreement on all the discussed issues, including Serbian investments in Bulgaria and vice versa.
Traykov stated that the two countries' economies completement rather than compete with each other, which defines the possibilities of joint projects. Traykov noted that Bulgarian companies are interested in investing in the Serbian processing industry, adding that there is an ongoing greenfield investment in the auto parts industry.

BULGARIANS INTERESTED IN PRODUCING AUTO PARTS IN SERBIA
BELGRADE, April 26 (Beta) - Bulgaria is interested in investing in the processing industry and in the production of auto parts in Serbia, announced Bulgarian Minister for Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov in Belgrade on April 26.
After meeting with Serbian Trade Minister Slobodan Milosavljevic, Traikov told journalists that Bulgarian companies were interested in participating in privatization, as well as greenfield investments in Serbia. Traikov said that the two countries ought to improve cooperation and cooperate on joint projects and added that in the next several months a meeting of the Serbian and Bulgarian International Economic Cooperation Commission would be held.
Milosavljevic said that Bulgarian investment in Serbia was welcome and added that Serbian investment in Bulgaria, of which the largest investment was made by Delta in the Bulgarian Piccadilly retail chain, had also been discussed at the meeting. He said that they had also talked about the completion of a highway corridor connecting Nis and Sofia, which was the in the interests of the two countries' governments. "The aim is for us to develop good neighborly relations and use Bulgaria's European Union membership to accelerate Serbia's own European integration," said Milosavljevic.
Foreign trade between Serbia and Bulgaria in 2009 amounted to USD596.3 million, which due to the economic crisis was 40 percent lower than in 2008.

SERBIA – ITALY

CVETKOVIC AND SCAJOLA: IMPROVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION
BELGRADE, April 26 (Beta) - Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Italian Minister of Economic Development Claudio Scajola met in Belgrade on April 26 and stated that it is essential to improve the two countries' cooperation in the energy sphere.
During the talks, Cvetkovic underlined that the two countries enjoy a high level of foreign trade and that Italy is among the leading investors in Serbia, it was stated in an announcement from the Serbian government.
The two officials agreed that it is necessary to intensify cooperation in order to provide additional Italian investments in Serbia.
At the meeting, they also stated that further improvement is needed in economic cooperation in the energy sector, which was confirmed on April 26 by the statement signed by Serbia, Italy and Republika Srpska on the realization of joint energy projects.
Cvetkovic thanked the Italian government for its support to Serbia on its path of European integrations, it was added.

SERBIA AND ITALY SET UP BUSINESS COUNCIL
BELGRADE, April 26 (Tanjug) - Serbia and Italy set up a Business Council, which is aimed at promoting relations among companies and entrepreneurs of the two countries, in Belgrade today.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic and Italian Minister for Economic Development Claudio Scajola signed a joint declaration on founding of the Business Council. Dinkic evaluated that the founding of the Council, such as those Italy had already set up with France and Germany, confirms the importance of the economic cooperation between the two countries, underscoring that Serbia's exports had marked a 13-percent growth since the beginning of the year and that the major part of those commodities was exported to Italy.
He recalled that Italy had started important business projects in Serbia, such as the arrival of Fiat, announcing that talks will soon start with Italy's producer of car components Magneti Marelli on setting up capacities in Kragujevac. Dinkic recalled that a feasibility study for the reconstruction of the Belgrade-Bar railway, developed in cooperation with Italy's Italfer, will be completed by the end of this fall. He announced that a summit of producers of car parts, sponsored by Fiat and the Serbian government, will be held in Serbia on May 25. The minister recalled that there are about 250 Italian companies operating in different sectors in Serbia.
Minister Scajola said that Italy wants to intensify political relations with Serbia and help Serbia get accepted in the European Union sooner. Scajola underlined that Italian entrepreneurs are very much satisfied with their business results in Serbia, announcing an even bigger investment impulse in the coming period.

SERBIA, REPUBLIKA SRPSKA AND ITALY TO USE DRINA
BELGRADE, April 26 (Tanjug) - Serbia's Minister of Mining and Energy Petar Skundric, Italy's Minister of Economic Development Claudio Scajola and Republika Srpska's (RS) Minister of Economy, Energy and Development Slobodan Puhalac signed a joint statement on the use of the Drina river's hydropower in Belgrade on Monday.
Skundric and Puhalac also signed an agreement on the rights and obligations of Serbia and RS regarding the construction of new power plants on the Drina. Director of Elektroprivreda Srbije Dragomir Markovic and President of Seci Energia Gaetano Maccaferri signed a preliminary agreement on the construction of hydroelectric power plants on the Ibar and Sava. Scajola said that the documents enable the projects to start, which will make the Drina an important hydroelectric resource for Serbia, RS and Italy.
Scajola stated that the future power plants will have a 400 MW output, adding that the projects will connect Serbia and Italy, through Montenegro, into a joint energy network.
Skundric said that the signing enabled the three countries to start analyzing the potential of the Drina in three locations: Rogacica, Dubravica and Tegare. The power range of those plants should be between 380 and 400 MW, which would produce about 1.500 gigawatt hours of electrical energy per year.
Puhalac noted that the energy industry is an opportunity for RS to preserve sovereignty over its natural resources, which will not hinder the development of other entities in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

SERBIA

DJELIC: PROGRAM WITH IMF IS BEING SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED
WASINGTON, April 27 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister for European Integrations Bozidar Djelic said in Washington on Monday that it was concluded during the talks a Serbian delegation had with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the current program with that organization is being carried out in a satisfactory way, adding that this trend would continue in the future.
"There are serious talks ahead of us in the second half of May, but Serbia will again find solutions and continue to carry out this program successfully," Djelic told Tanjug at the end of a two-day meeting of the World Bank and IMF in Washington. Djelic also said that Serbia's state delegation had ended their visit with a meeting with IMF General Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, during which they discussed the key elements for further implementation of the program Serbia had agreed with the IMF.

FRATTINI: SERBIA CANDIDATE FOR EU BY MID-2011
BELGRADE, April 27 (Tanjug) - Ahead of his today's visit to Belgrade, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said that Italian diplomats are investing maximum efforts to soon unfreeze the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between the European Union and Serbia and carry out a technical evaluation of Serbia's application for accession in the Union.
Italy fully supports an acceleration of the process of granting Serbia the candidate status and hopes that the goal would be achieved by mid-2011, the latest, Frattini said in an interview published by Blic today. Frattini underscored that Italy believes that Belgrade has all the prerequisites to strive towards the role that belongs to Serbia in Europe. According to him, unfreezing of the provisional agreement with the European Union and the abolishment of the visa regime for Serbia's citizens were the two key steps forward in the country's process of integration into Europe. Frattini's visit to Serbia is the most important arrival of an Italian official ahead of the visit by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, which is expected soon, Blic wrote.
In regards to the conference scheduled for June 2 in Sarajevo, Frattini said that it is a central opportunity to confirm that the Western Balkan's future is within the EU and to renew the progress of all region countries on their way to their accession in the Union, based on the obligations accepted at the European Council meeting in Thessaloniki in 2003.

KOUCHNER EXPECTS BOTH SERBIA AND KOSOVO IN SARAJEVO
LUXEMBOURG, April 27 (Tanjug) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Tuesday expressed his expectation that both Serbia and Kosovo will take part in the forthcoming European Union conference in Sarajevo. "It did not work last time at the meeting in Slovenia.
Let us hope that everyone will come to Sarajevo and that they will communicate. I expect them to come, but this depends on them. I cannot say that I am certain, but this is a process that cannot be stopped. I know that representatives of Serbia and Kosovo now meet more than before. But, I repeat, this is a process and it will require one generation for things to get normalized," said Kouchner.
In an interview published by the Novi Sad daily Dnevnik, Kouchner also said that Serbia has to pursue a European policy on Kosovo if it wishes to become a part of the European Union. "It should be clear to everyone in Belgrade and Pristina that they have to talk and cooperate, and we will then see whether we may speed up European integrations, which I would like to see happen," said Kouchner.
Stating that his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic pursues a policy which he believes could produce results, Kouchner said that he believes that the majority of people in Serbia, particularly young people, know what has to be done. "I did not request Serbia to recognize Kosovo but to simply start communicating with Kosovo. Besides status there are issues of vital importance, such as electricity, transportation and travel," said Kouchner.
Commenting on the removal of mobile telephony transmitters by Pristina, Kouchner said: "As far as I know, mobile telephones are functioning. No one has been prevented from talking. They should just select a network."

KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

EU SATISFIED WITH WORK OF EULEX IN KOSOVO
LUXEMBOURG, April 27 (Tanjug) - Foreign ministers of the European Union stated in Luxembourg on Monday that they are satisfied with the results EULEX mission had so far achieved in Kosovo and Metohija, because it had supported justice and law enforcement bodies under difficult circumstances.
According to this evaluation, EULEX had also made progress in the area of implementation of reforms of the rule of law, including indictments and trials in sensitive criminal cases. The EU council of ministers also underscored that the mission plays a specific role in strengthening stability in the region in keeping with its European prospects.
The Council also expressed its support to the approach the mission is implementing in the fight against organized crime and corruption, welcoming the efforts to step up the presence and activities of the mission in the north of Kosovo, together with other representatives of the European Union, and through the setting up of the European Union House in Kosovska Mitrovica.

SOON NEW CROSSING BETWEEN KOSOVO AND MACEDONIA
SKOPJE, April 26 (Beta) - Macedonian Local Self-Government Minister Musa Dzaferi and his Kosovo counterpart Sadri Ferati on April 26 signed an agreement on border cooperation which envisages the opening of a new border crossing in 2010.
The crossing will be opened at the village of Belanovce, on the northern border of Macedonia, the ministers announced. The project will be financed by European PreAccession Instrument (IPA) funds.
"The strategic projects of both parties is the construction of a new border crossing Belanovce-Stancic, whose construction will be paid for with EUR1.2 million from EU funds, and another EUR1,080,000 is available for other projects," Dzaferi said.
A part of the agreement refers to turning Sar mountain into a national park.
Macedonia has an agreement on interborder cooperation with Greece, Albania and Bulgaria, and it is expected that it will sign one with Serbia as well.