- Montenegro closes three chapters in EU talks instead of expected four
On December 16, Montenegro, for the first time in seven years, closed three negotiation chapters – Chapters 7 (Intellectual Property), 10 (Information Society & Media), and 20 (Enterprise & Industrial Policy) – at an Intergovernmental Conference with the European Union.
Neighboring Croatia has blocked the closure of another, 31 Chapter, on Foreign Policy, Security and Defense, accusing the Montenegrin authorities in violation of good neighborly relations.
As reported, a month ago, Zagreb sent Podgorica an unofficial document, (non-paper) with all controversial issues between the two states. Among them are the issues of ownership of Jadran ship, border delimitation, punishment of war criminals involved in the attack on Dubrovnik, providing compensation to all Croatian camp inmates in Montenegro during the aggression against Croatia, and searching for those missing during the war.
According to Croatian Foreign Minister Goran Grlić Radman, it is necessary to resolve issues that are important not only for Croatia, but also for the entire EU. “The issue of missing persons during the Homeland War, the issue of compensation for camp inmates, these are topics that must concern all of us within the European Union, and only Croatia,” said Grlić Radman.
Representatives of Montenegro and the EU are determined to soon resolve its bilateral issues.
Following the Intergovernmental Conference, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said that he expected Montenegro to close Chapter 31 soon.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos believes that further dialogue, “conducted in the spirit of good neighborly relations, will enable the resolution of that bilateral issue and that Chapter 31 will soon be closed.”
- Student protests in Serbia for over three weeks
Students have stopped classes at over 50 faculties of five state universities in Serbia, as well as at some private higher education institutions and colleges. They are blocking academic and administrative buildings.
The students rally is part of a protest movement that began after the collapse of a concrete canopy at the Novi Sad train station, killing 15 people. According to citizens, the reason the disaster could have been abuse and corruption during the recent reconstruction of the train station.
At the end of November, during a 15-minute silence in honor of the dead in Novi Sad, a hooligan attack was carried out on the participants of the action, students and teachers. The attackers’ connections to the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has caused the blockade of universities.
Students’ demands are:
1. Publication of documentation on the reconstruction of the canopy in Novi Sad.
2. Cancellation of indictments against illegally detained students who participated in protests.
3. Criminal prosecution for those involved in violence against students.
4. Severe punishment for those involved in violence.
5. Increasing the funding for higher state education by 20 percent.
On December 11, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that in Serbia, about 426 million euros was received from abroad over the past four years to overthrow the government. “Ninety nine percent of the students have nothing to do with it. But almost all the leaders of political parties, pressure groups, individual organizations and associations are involved in this,” he said.
In his address, Vučić also announced the publication of documentation on the reconstruction of the station, expressing hope that the student protests would stop after that.
After the government published the documents, Vučić again addressed the students and asked them to return to the auditorium, emphasizing that their demands had been met. In his address, the President said that he had met with representatives of the Security Information Agency (SIA) and discussed “hybrid threats to the country.”
However, the blockade of universities and other public institutions continues. The participants deny that all of their demands are met. In particular, the attackers of students have not been punished, the detained protesters have not been released, and the documents about the contracts with Chinese reconstructors of the railway station in Novi Sad, have not been published too.
Further continuation of the protests has been announced.
This is not the first wave of protests that have taken place in Serbia in the past few years, during the rule of Vučić. However, the current protest has purely civil nature, without the active participation of opposition political forces, but with numerous apolitical student youth.
It is noticeable that so far the government’s tactic to stop the protests is failed.
- Vulin discusses the fight against color revolutions with Chinese officials
Vice President of the Government of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vulin was on an official visit to the People’s Republic of China. During the visit, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister met with the Secretary of the Central Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and with the Minister of State Security and the Head of the Intelligence and Counterintelligence Service of the PRC.
During both meetings, security cooperation between the two countries was discussed, and the exchange of experience in the fight against color revolutions.
Vulin’s visit and talks about Belgrade’s cooperation with Beijing to “fight against color revolutions”, is another proof of the Serbian authorities’ desire to establish an autocratic regime and to “cement” the country’s current leader Aleksandar Vučić in power.
- Amnesty International accuses Serbian intelligence agencies of spying on activists
According to the Amnesty International non-governmental organization, Serbian police and intelligence authorities are using spyware to unlawfully target journalists, environmental activists and other individuals.
The authors of the document claim that mobile forensic software made by Israeli company Cellebrit is being used to extract data from the mobile devices belonging to journalists and activists. It also reveals how the Serbian police and the Security Information Agency (Bezbedonosno-informativna Agencija – BIA) have used a bespoke Android spyware system, NoviSpy, to covertly infect individuals’ devices during periods of detention or police interviews.
The Security Intelligence Agency rejected as absurd the allegations in the Amnesty International report that the Serbian authorities used the software to illegally spy on activists and journalists, emphasizing that it operates exclusively in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia.
If Amnesty International’s investigation nevertheless contains truthful data, it means that the “cementation” of Vučić’s power by undemocratic, totalitarian methods has already begun.
Kosovo to set up its first ammunition factory with Turkiy
The Kosovo government has signed an agreement with the Turkish Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi, MKE) to establish an ammunition production factory in Kosovo.
“We have just signed a contract with the Turkish state-owned Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi (MKE), laying the foundations of our defense industry.”
MKE is committed to commissioning an ammunition factory to produce various calibers of ammunition according to NATO standards.
In addition, the contract also includes personnel training, maintenance for a certain period of time, as well as quality control equipment and calibration systems. Once production starts, the factory will operate as a state-owned enterprise and as a 100 % local brand,” Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti wrote on Facebook.
The move is another step by Pristina towards developing its own armed forces. Despite the lack of Western support for transforming the Kosovo Security Force into a full-fledged army, this issue remains on the top agenda in Kosovo.
- Former North Macedonian government leaders suspected of financial fraud
Eight former senior officials in North Macedonia, including former government officials, are under investigation for alleged financial fraud in procurement for the “State Lottery”.
Media reports indicate that Dimitar Kovacevski, who was Prime Minister from the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, in 2022-2024, and his Deputy Artan Grubi (Albanian minority party Democratic Union for Integration, DUI) are under investigation.
In recent days, police have searched nine separate locations, including Artan Grubi’s apartment. When Grubi was a high-ranking state official, Prparim Bajrami was the director of the State Lottery, who is believed to have been close to former Deputy Prime Minister. The house of the former director of the State Lottery was also searched.
Grubi and Bajrami are accused of embezzlement, and four others are accused of abuse of office.
During the investigation, evidence was provided that the defendants caused damage to the state company’s budget by 501 million Macedonian denars (8.2 million euros) in 2023.
The Prosecutor’s Office has authorized the arrest of two suspects. According to media reports, this is Grubi and Bajrami.
According to the available information, the former director of the lottery company has been abroad for a long time, and Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi has recently left North Macedonia for Kosovo, North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said.
North Macedonia launched an investigation against former Deputy Prime Minister Grubi after the US State Department found him involved in another corruption case and imposed sanctions. In addition, in anticipation of the start of EU accession negotiations, Skopje is trying to demonstrate its fight against corruption. However, political observers also draw attention to the possible political motivation of the cases. Fighting political opponents with the help of corruption cases is a well-known technique used in the region.
- Former Ministers of Agriculture Arrested in Montenegro
On December 13, the Montenegrin Special Police Department arrested former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and former Advisor to the President Petar Ivanović, former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Milutin Simović, former State Secretary of the same ministry Nemanja Katnić, and former Head of the Finance, Accounting and Public Procurement Service Vukića Perović.
A criminal case has been opened against former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Budimir Mugoša on suspicion of abuse of office.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the subject of the criminal case is the allocation of funds to individual public organizations in the period from April 2014 to July 2019, as a result of which the state suffered losses totaling more than 300,000 euros.
Ivanović was also charged in another case of abuse of office, according to the regional State Prosecutor’s Office.
Ivanović was the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2012 to 2016, Budimir Mugoša – for several months in 2016. Simović headed the ministry from 2016 to 2020.
Katnić was the State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2013-2017.
For Montenegro, as for all Western Balkan countries, corruption is the No. 1 problem, so the detention of top corrupt officials should contribute to democratic transformations and the establishment of the rule of law. However, the fact that the accused belonged to the teams of the previous government also can indicate the possible use of anti-corruption processes as a method of combating political opponents.
