Just the quotes, please: The "Feasibility study"

Thanks to several attentive readers, East Ethnia is able to share some quotations from the famous "Feasibility Study" for Serbia and Montenegro that was announced yesterday. I have excerpted bits related to legal and political issues for the most part, although the 56-page study also devotes extensive space to various issues of trade and fiscal policy and various types of regulation. For those who want to cite, the full title is:

Commission of the European Communities, Commission Staff Working Paper: Report on the preparedness of Serbia and Montenegro to negotiate a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union. Brussels, 12.04.2005, SEC (2005) 478 final.

An English version accompanies the press release at the EU web site, and versions in other European languages may be available through the main EU portal.

A lengthy selection of quotations follows.

On constitutional order:
"Serbia and Montenegro enshrines the principles of democratic governance and rule of law in the constitutions at State Union and republican level.
In practice, the functioning of democratic institutions and respect for the rule of law have been affected by the lack of political consensus on the future of the State Union, conflicting interpretations of the State Union Constitutional Charter and the failure to adjust the republican Constitutions. This has led to constitutional and legal uncertainty." (p.5)

On the rule of law:
"In Serbia the rule of law remains weakened by the legacy of the Milosevic regime, i.e. the persistent links between organised crime, war crimes and political extremism, and their continued obstructive presence within parts of the current political, institutional, military and state security systems.
In Montenegro, the rule of law needs to be further strengthened. Links continue to exist between organised crime and segments of the political and institutional system.
International surveys indicate that Serbia and Montenegro suffers from a high level of corruption. The fight against organised crime and corruption therefore represent key challenges for Serbia and Montenegro." (p.6)

On the Serbian parliament:
"In the past four years the functioning of the Serbian Parliament has faced serious challenges due to political instability and a lack of respect for legal procedure. Nevertheless, the legislative activity has intensified significantly over the last year." (p.7)

On conflicts between republican and federal institutions:
"Although the Constitutional Charter provides for one Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the State Union level, Montenegro also maintains a Foreign Ministry. Furthermore, the State Union diplomatic service is based on the principle of proportional representation of the two Republics, while being paid exclusively by the Serbian budget. The Ministry for Human and Minority Rights has produced significant policy and legislative initiatives and has developed wide-ranging activities on the ground, albeit primarily in Serbia. It has been assigned new powers and managed to perform them in a satisfactory manner despite the lack of adequate resources. The Ministry of Defence, under the guidance of the Supreme Defence Council, has taken significant steps towards a comprehensive reform of the army, including civilian control and oversight, but this process requires further significant efforts. Both Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Defence come from the same Republic in contravention of the provisions of the Constitutional Charter.
The President of the State Union has taken important initiatives towards regional reconciliation, including public apologies to Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina for crimes committed in the recent past. He has also taken a strong and positive position on Serbia and Montenegro’s obligation to cooperate with International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia." (p.8)

On public administration in Serbia:
"In Serbia, there is a lack of co-ordination within the government. A particular problem is posed by the high degree of politicisation of the public administration, with serious implications for institutional and policy continuity. Conflict of interest has been addressed through new legislation, but has only started to be implemented. The implementation of sectoral reforms varies significantly across ministries." (p.8)

On public administration in Montenegro:
"In Montenegro, the functioning of the executive reflects a rather stable governing coalition, which facilitates decision-making. There is, however, an environment conducive to corruption and nepotism. The overall legislative performance of the government has been noteworthy. Implementation however is weak and requires further strengthening in terms of human, budgetary and other necessary resources - beyond just donor assistance." (pp.8-9)

On military reform:
"Significant personnel changes have been made, including the retirement or dismissal of a number of high-ranking officers, some of whom had close ties with the former regime or were indicted by ICTY. While the Ministry instructed all soldiers to report any information on the whereabouts of ICTY indictees, and to support their arrest in military locations, no progress in this key area has taken place. There is still resistance within the military system to the rule of law." (p.10)

On prosecution of war crimes:
"Domestic courts have a cooperative attitude and are carrying out good work in trying some low-profile cases, notably Ovcara. Steps have also been taken to improve their organisational and infrastructure capacities. Legal amendments are made to address the issue of command responsibility. However, the overall political climate is such that there is no guarantee that any high profile war crimes trails could be conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
Serbia and Montenegro takes a positive attitude towards the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is one of the founding members of the ICC and ratified the Rome Statute in 2002. Specific legislation for cooperation with the ICC is being drafted both at the State Union level and in Montenegro, although this is a State Union responsibility. Serbia and Montenegro has consistently refused to sign bilateral agreements giving exemptions from ICC jurisdiction. It should continue to do so.
There are no major problems in Serbia and Montenegro’s compliance with the Dayton agreement, apart from those relating to cooperation with ICTY." (p.11)

On protection of human and minority rights:
"(...) more than 400 cases against Serbia and Montenegro are pending before the European Court of Human Rights. Internally, the right to constitutional appeal is guaranteed in the Constitutional Charter and in the Montenegrin Constitution. The Serbian Constitution does not provide for constitutional appeal. The human rights situation on the ground has significantly improved. Further improvements are however needed, notably in ensuring full protection of minorities. The ratification of other Council of European conventions, such as the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages, should also take place shortly."(p.13)

On addressing violations of human rights:
"Over the recent years there has been a significant overall improvement in human rights protection. Legislative reforms were undertaken, the death penalty was abolished and human rights practice in general has improved.
However, there has been little progress in relation to police investigations and legal proceedings regarding mass graves identified in Serbia.
Serbia still has to investigate fully all allegations of human rights violations during the state of emergency in March / April 2003. This is also required under the decision of the Serbian Constitutional Court concerning the constitutionality of the state of emergency." (p.13)

On accountability and lustration:
"The Serbian Law on the Accountability for Human Rights Violations (the “Lustration Law”), was an important step in dealing with the past, as it provides a basis for the screening of candidates for top positions in all branches of the administration and judiciary regarding potential human rights violations committed from 1976. However, it has not been enforced. The deadlock, allegedly for procedural reasons, in fact reflects a lack of political consensus on lustration." (p.13)

On refugees and internally displaced people:
"The high number of refugees and IDPs continued to aggravate difficult socio-economic conditions in both Republics. Furthermore, the precarious situation of this vulnerable part of population has significant impact upon the overall political situation and the ongoing trends of radicalisation in the country. According to UNHCR data, there are currently 289,680 refugees and 244,833 registered IDPs. In January a comprehensive refugee re-registration exercise was undertaken by UNHCR. While the figures remain to be finalised, provisional results indicate that the number of registered refugees has been almost halved to around 140 000. In Serbia the authorities continue their efforts on both repatriation and local integration, based on the 2002 National Strategy and in cooperation with partners in the region. The implementation of new legal provisions allowing dual citizenship resulted in a fall in the number of refugees, as some of them lost refugee status by acquiring Serbia and Montenegro citizenship. The implementation of the agreement on the return of refugees with Bosnia and Herzegovina (signed in October 2003) has already produced results, facilitated safe returns, thus also contributing to the overall drop on number of refugees. Cooperation with UNMIK in the return of IDPs to Kosovo has stalled, following the violent events of March 2004. Serbia and Montenegro is also participating in the regional initiative on refugees return with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia." (pp.15-16)

On economic conditions in Serbia:
"(...) employment remains low and unemployment high. This reflects the fallout of 1990 conflicts and sanctions together with inflexible labour laws. In 2003, the economic activity rate for persons above 15 years was at 47.5%. In Serbia, official figures for end-2004 show an unemployment rate of 32.4%, as compared to around 27% three years earlier. However, this figure would be significantly lower if adjusted for those who are registered as unemployed and receiving benefits but not really seeking work. This not only put strains social expenditure but also injures republican fiscal policy.
Until early 2004, inflation in Serbia had continuously fallen. Consumer price inflation fell from 113% at the end of 2000 to below 8% at the end of 2003, despite adjustments in administered prices, for food and electricity etc. (see below). However, annual inflation (end-of-period) accelerated again in 2004 and reached 13.8% in December, spurred by strong domestic demand, the rising cost of fuel imports and increases in administered prices. Strong wage growth, via its impact on domestic demand and on administered prices, continues to be a major liability to further disinflation. Average real gross earnings rose between December 2003 and December 2004 by 21%, after a corresponding rise of even 26% in 2003. These rises have well exceeded the rise in labour productivity over the same period, also when taking into account the drop of real wages in the second half of the nineties." (p.17)

On bilateral relations in the region:
"Bilateral relations with all countries, both in the political and commercial sphere, have improved steadily, though more rapidly with some than others. Key events were the exchange of apologies between the Serbia and Montenegro and Croatian Presidents for crimes committed in the recent past, and the Serbia and Montenegro apology to the Bosnian people. Regular political dialogue has been established with all partners in the region and has recently resulted in the conclusion of a significant number of sectoral agreements (concerning refugee return, visa suspension, fight against organised crime and terrorism) facilitating the redevelopment of regional ties in all fields.
Some main issues are still outstanding, notably border demarcation with Croatia and BiH and the pending suits against Serbia and Montenegro before the International Court of Justice, which both these countries have filed." (pp.22-23)

On control of "special" services:
"As far as the special security and intelligence services are concerned, Serbia has made some progress in reforming these agencies and in ensuring civilian control. However, there are still concerns at the lack of human rights safeguards, counterbalancing the powers of the new Serbian security agency (BIA). The role allegedly played by parts of the previous security services in the assassination of PM Djindjic has come under scrutiny; however, very little progress was achieved in fully investigating its role and responsibility." (p.37)

On prosecution of war crimes cases:
"Serbia adopted specific legislation on war crimes in 2003. A War Crimes Prosecutor was appointed, premises for specialised court chambers were equipped and special police units and detention facilities are under development. There are war-crime related trials in Serbia ongoing, however they are still few and mostly concern lower ranking officers. This is due to the lack of a specific legal provision relating to command responsibility for war crimes. The Law on amendments to the Law on War crimes, (addressing the issue of admissibility of evidence) was adopted by the Parliament. Cooperation with the police is poor and in spite of clear legal obligations both the judiciary and the police are still subject to heavy political pressure.
The proclaimed independence of the judiciary was, on several occasions, seriously questioned: appointments and dismissals of Prosecutors have been carried out under political influence." (pp.38-39)

On measures to control crime in Serbia:
"Operation “Sabre” during the state of emergency led to significant results in breaking up the key organised crime channels and in resolving high profile cases, including political assassinations. However, this good work was to some extent undermined by questionable practices which not only violated basic human rights but may also have implications for the admissibility of evidence at future trials." (pp.42-43)

On measures to control crime in Montenegro:
"A widely publicised human trafficking case in Montenegro demonstrated the extent to which, despite legislative reform, law enforcement hinges on practical implementation and the independence of the judiciary. The content of a recently published report by the Government founded Commission for Investigation of High Profile Human Trafficking Cases raised a number of questions regarding possible political interference into the investigation and the possible responsibility of former and current high level officials in the Ministries of Interior and Justice. The case poses a number of questions about the independence of prosecutors and the republic’s judicial system in general, the interlinking of personal and political ties and the entanglement of public bodies in illicit actions (as set out in more detail in an OSCE-Council of Europe expert report)." (p.43)

On measures to control corruption:
"(...) no comprehensive action had been taken yet to investigate financial crime, and Serbia and Montenegro’s commitment to fight corruption has remained largely rhetorical. Comprehensive strategies are still lacking, as well as efficient institutions to implement them. Legislative progress was achieved with the adoption of the Laws on Financing of Political Parties in both republics as well as the Laws on the prevention of conflicts of interest, whereas codes of conduct for public servants are stalled. This previous legal vacuum has contributed to a very slow reaction to serious allegations against top government officials and ministers. Even the existing institutions in this field do not enjoy the necessary support from government. As this matter goes to the core of the transition from a totalitarian regime to a functioning democracy based on the rule of law, it is indispensable to achieve rapid improvements." (pp.43-44)