- Serbia buys 12 French Rafale fighter jets
On August 29, in the presence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and French President Emmanuel Macron, who was visiting Serbia, 12 already cooperation documents were exchanged between the two countries, including a contract for the purchase of 12 brand new Rafale fighter jets.
The contract for the supply of nine single-seater and three two-seater aircraft is worth EUR 2.7 billion. The amount includes a full support package of logistics, spare engines, and spare parts.
French media reported that Serbia will have received the Rafale jets by 2029.
The deal contains specific provisions on the use of the said aircraft, in particular, provisions on Russian access to French tech. “We are not Russian spies to transfer technology,” the Serbian president assured.
Macron believes that the agreement confirms Belgrade’s European course and will strengthen Serbia’s ties with France.
In Moscow, Belgrade’s decision to acquire French military aircraft was received quite calmly. “This is the choice of our Serbian friends. Of course, every country is guided by economic and other considerations when making such decisions,” said Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for the Russian president.
Military observers believe this stance on the part of Russia may be related to the shortage of Russian warplanes against the background of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and explained by Moscow’s interest in seeing Serbia being strengthened militarily as in many respects it can be considered as Russia’s ally.
- Kosovo shuts down “parallel” Serbian institutions in north
On August 30, the Kosovo Police ran a raid to close the so-called parallel institutions – Serbian authorities – in the Kosovo municipalities in the north.
The Minister of Local Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, announced that “parallel” institutions will no longer operate in the area of Kosovo Mitrovica, as well as in the municipalities of Mitrovica, Zvecan, Zubin Potok, and Leposavic.
“Today, after close coordination between the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, parallel illegal institutions of local self-government, which acted on the directives of Serbia, violating the constitution and laws of the Republic of Kosovo, were closed down,” he wrote on Facebook. “There is no place for illegal activities and parallel institutions in any part of our republic,” Krasniqi emphasized.
The actions of the Kosovo authorities in the north were not coordinated with Western partners and further complicated Pristina’s already difficult relations with the West.
In particular, the Kosovo authorities did not consult with the NATO mission, KFOR, or with the EU mission, EULEX, prior to proceeding with the shutdown.
NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah said that the NATO mission was very disappointed by the steps in northern Kosovo that were not coordinated with KFOR. Noting that the Alliance is monitoring the situation and remains on alert, “KFOR is fully prepared to uphold its UN mandate,” she said.
The EU mission in Kosovo said that “the EU is disappointed with the continued lack of coordination with Kosovo’s security providers and with the international partners.”
“EULEX was immediately deployed to monitor the conduct of this operation, which was not coordinated with the EU and international partners. … We expect Kosovo and Serbia to address and resolve open issues between them in the EU-facilitated Dialogue,” the statement said.
- European Commission highlights corruption in Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia
The European Commission has published its first rule of law reports for the four Western Balkan candidate nations that have made the most progress in the negotiation process: Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
The fight against corruption is noted as a particularly problematic area in these reports. Despite the fact that these four countries have been on the path toward joining the EU for a long time, the results indicate a lack of effective anti-corruption efforts and prosecution of high-level cases, insufficient implementation of existing laws, and the need to improve the capacity of institutions responsible for fighting corruption, notes the European Commission.
Albania
According to the Albania report, corruption risks still exist in the areas of healthcare, education, real estate, and the police. Internal audits and inspection mechanisms in public administration are weak and ineffective, while digitization measures have helped tackle petty corruption but failed to address major issues in internal administrative processes.
“Overall, corruption is prevalent in many areas, including during electoral campaigns. Preventive measures suffer from an overly complex legal framework and continue to have a limited impact, particularly in vulnerable sectors,” the EC report says, adding that the misuse of state resources during electoral campaigns is also an area of concern.
North Macedonia
In its report on North Macedonia, the European Commission states that the high risk of corruption remains widespread in multiple areas.
Limited resources and a lack of cooperation between national authorities are said to hinder the effective prosecution of corrupt individuals and prevent the creation of a reliable list of high-profile corruption cases.
It is added that a high corruption risk remains in public procurement and employment in the budgetary sphere.
“A systematic approach in tackling corruption to address the common denominators of the risk factors is lacking. These denominators include strong political influence in the public sector; low rate of sanctioning corruptive behaviour; inconsistent regulations; low level of enforcement of integrity measures; insufficient transparency, oversight system and control mechanisms in the public sector,” the European Commission notes.
Montenegro
The EC noted that over the past two years, the Special Prosecutor’s Office has been active in several high-profile cases, which suggests the deep penetration of corruption and organized crime into government structures, including at the highest level of the judicial system and law enforcement agencies.
The European Commission adds that in the new Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2024-2028, the following areas are most vulnerable to corruption: “the judiciary, the police and customs administration, environment, urban planning, public procurement, local self-government, and state-owned enterprises”.
Serbia
In its Serbia report, the European Commission assesses that the anti-corruption legislative framework is generally in place, adding that shortcomings exist in practice. It is noted that there is a risk of politically motivated interference in the investigation and prosecution of high-level corruption.
“In this context, civil society organisations highlighted in particular reluctance on the side of the prosecution and the police to pursue investigations against suspects of corruption who are close to political and economic power as a concern,” the European Commission’s report on Serbia says.
As for public procurement, the European Commission sees a high risk of corruption in this area.
- Croatia to acquire HIMARS from the U.S.
The U.S. Department of State has approved the sale to Croatia of HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) worth $390 million.
Earlier, the Croatian government applied to the U.S. for the purchase of eight M142 HIMARS and a number of related and auxiliary systems and equipment.
On August 30, the Defense and Security Cooperation Agency issued the necessary certification, notifying Congress of the potential sale.
As noted, the potential sale will
• support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a NATO Ally that continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in Europe,
• improve Croatia’s capability to deter current and future threats and support coalition operations, and
• promote interoperability with the United States and other NATO forces.
- Serbian government official visits Belarus
On August 28-30, the Minister of Information and Telecommunications of the Republic of Serbia, Dejan Ristic, visited the Republic of Belarus.
Minister Kostyantyn Shulgan held talks with the Serbian delegation at the Ministry of Communications and Informatization of Belarus. The head of the Ministry of Communications emphasized the readiness on the part of the Belarusian side to exchange experience in the field of digitization and development of information and communication technology, including 5G, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce. In addition, the parties agreed to draft an agreement on cooperation in the field of postal communication to be signed shortly.
Thus, Belgrade has once again proved the multi-vector nature of its foreign policy course, which involves cooperation with countries whose authorities pursue a clear anti-Western policy.
