GOOD AND RESPECTED PARTNER – CoE SG Jagland on Serbia for Fonet

STRASBOURG, April 11, 2010. (FoNet) - Serbia is a very good partner and a respected member of the Council of Europe, but also a key factor of regional stability, emphasised Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland in an interview for Fonet news agency, prior to his visit to Belgrade next week. The future of the Balkans is the future of Europe and vice versa, Jagland said.

Jagland welcomed the reforms carried out in Serbia, considering the country to be on the right path and supporting its European integration.

Council of Europe (CoE) is a waiting room for those that want to be in the European Union (EU), Jagland said adding that the Block cannot be joined before previous membership in the CoE and the fulfilment of standards and norms of this pan-European organisation.

Serbia accomplished an exceptional progress and became a true democracy in the past ten years, Jagland assessed. However, there is still work to be done and drawbacks that must be removed, but that is also the case with the majority of other CoE members.

I consider Serbia to be a modern European democracy which is preparing to become a part of all European institutions, added Jagland.

When asked about Belgrade’s cooperation with the International War Crimes Tribunal (ICTY) in The Hague, Jagland said the request of the CoE is that the remaining two indictees Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic are handed over to the court in The Hague, which is an obligation Serbia took upon itself with the CoE membership.

Jagland welcomed the recent Declaration on Srebrenica adopted by the Serbian Parliament and emphasised the contribution by Serbian President Boris Tadic, who made a significant step towards reconciliation by going to Srebrenica first, and then by initiating the adoption of the Declaration.

However, the process of reconciliation did not end, Jagland pointed out, adding that all sides in the Balkans should be aware about what has happened, without trying to blame one another for what they have done themselves.

This refers to the citizens of Serbia, but also citizens of the other parts of the Balkans, Jagland explained and welcomed all forms of strengthening regional cooperation and recent improvement of relations between Serbia and Croatia.

However, he did not want to embark on the issue of the two legal proceedings between these two countries (Serbia and Croatia), because he believes that this is within the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, as well as Belgrade and Zagreb.

On the other hand, everyone will be pleased if the compromise between Belgrade and Pristina becomes possible, under the condition that the International Court of Justice makes a clear decision on legality of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, Jagland underlined.

We still do not know that, he said adding that it is possible that the court’s decision could be used for different intentions, which could be dangerous, but also emphasised that the CoE’s stand on Kosovo is "status-neutral".

We are doing everything to help the people of Kosovo in a "status neutral" way, which to a large extent and as far as I noticed, is also welcomed by the authorities in Belgrade since it is beneficial to Serbian community as well, he said.

In cooperation with the EU and based on this principle, we will continue and enhance the work in Kosovo, Jagland said and added that regarding Kosovo’s possible CoE membership, he does not have any information if such application will be submitted.

If that happens, the government of the CoE member states will decide on this matter, he added, stressing that the goal of the CoE is to help the process of reconciliation in Kosovo, as well as between Kosovo and Serbia.

According to Jagland, CoE pays special attention to the protection of human and minority rights across Europe, including Kosovo, because it cannot allow the existence of ’black holes’ anywhere in the Continent.

Jagland reminded that the CoE is giving significant support and help in restoration and protection of Serbian cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo, which is also important for the reconciliation process.

He also praised Serbia’s judiciary reform, an obligation that comes from the country’s CoE membership, but he noticed that there is an issue with the relieving of duties of judges.

Perhaps it would be good to think about additional efforts to better harmonise this matter with the CoE standards, Jagland said, adding that organised crime and corruption are not only specific for the Balkans, but are rather international problems.

To fight organised crime, it is necessary to establish the rule of law and strengthen the judiciary, as well as cross-border cooperation, Jagland said and stressed that the CoE has mechanisms to coerce and fight corruption, which is also an important reason for being a member of this organisation.

One of his main tasks is to define the role of the CoE in the new European landscape, Jagland said when asked about the relations between the CoE and the EU in light of the changes within the Block.

Much closer cooperation between the CoE and the EU is needed, Jagland said adding that he believes the Union should understand and recognise the relevance and importance of the CoE.

Jagland emphasised that in the near future the EU will not be able to have all European states as its members, adding that for many years ahead, the CoE will be the only organisation which will be able to connect and bind these countries, including Russia and Turkey, in respecting the common European standards and obligations,

This should be understood in Brussels, just like the CoE should understand the Union’s significance regarding the political and economic integration of European states, Jagland underlined.

According to Jagland, there is a ’hard’ component of security that NATO mainly deals with, but also ’soft’ type of security under the jurisdiction of the Council of Europe, entailing the rule of law, respect of human and minority rights and strengthening of democracy.

Both components are combined under the auspices of the OSCE and implemented at Europe’s ’hot spots’, Jagland said, adding that the security cannot be built with military force only, but also with strengthening of democracy.

For these reasons, the ’soft’ component of security is more important to us today, Jagland assessed, adding that there are no more ’hot spots’ in the Balkans, but problems which still remain, especially in Bosnia-Herzegovina (B-H).

Dayton was necessary to end the war, but it is needed to adapt the logic of Dayton to the current situation, the CoE Secretary General said, adding that he is in favour of changing the B-H Constitution in order to allow the establishing of a functional multi-ethnic state.

Without it, it is possible to foresee new conflicts in B-H, warned Jagland, who expects a crisis if B-H is not able to develop as a multiethnic state, based on the new Constitution.

It would be best to implement the binding decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which issued a verdict stating that the current B-H Constitution is not in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights, Jagland said.

According to him, B-H should be treated as a normal state, a member of the Council of Europe and requested to comply with its international obligations.

Jagland emphasised that he would also like to hear opinions about this issue from leaders in the Serbian capital, since Belgrade has a key responsibility and so far acted well by telling Serbs in Bosnia that they should be a part of B-H.

Belgrade should continue to send them such message because for Bosnian Serbs there is no other way but to build the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and not only the Bosnian Serb Republic, said Jagland and added that the entities will survive but functional B-H is needed.

Asked how he sees the Balkans in 10 years, Jagland replied that he foresees more of an overall progress and regional cooperation, but also that those (states) who wish to do so, will be part of the EU and NATO.

It is important to understand that the future of the Balkans is the future of Europe and vice versa, Jagland emphasised and concluded that the "lessons which we first learnt in Western and then Eastern Europe" confirm that there is peace when countries integrate and mutually cooperate.

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