Dacic: Key issue is what community will do

Asked by Mirko Cikiriz, an MP from the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), about the competencies of the community, Dacic told the parliament that Pristina is refusing to give it any executive powers. It is uncertain whether the community of Serb municipalities will be formed, but the most important thing is what it will do, added Dacic. "This is a complex issue and key points in the dialogue relate to it. We asked when the parliament will debate the talks in Brussels, I have informed all citizens and have not held back a single detail of what was discussed," said Dacic. The prime minister also noted that with each new negotiation, Serbia's position becomes weaker and weaker, and added that Belgrade will not be the one to turn anything down and does not want to do this, but that the talks in Brussels are not being held to implement Kosovo laws. "You ask why Serbia does not accept the Ahtisaari plan. You need to know that it is not being implemented even in Kosovo and that it needs to be fought for. If it is so simple to implement the Ahtisaari plan, why don't they decide themselves and why even invite Serbia to talks," Dacic said before the parliament. The prime minister also noted that nothing has happened to change Belgrade's position. Paper formally does not exist Dacic denied allegations that during the previous round of the Belgrade-Pristina talks in Brussels, the Serbian delegation was offered a paper containing a draft resolution on Kosovo. “This paper does not even exist in legal terms and is just an attempt to summarize what has been agreed. This paper does not contain any essential points. This is an attempt to agree at least on certain frameworks to follow,” Dacic said while responding to questions by MPs in the Serbian parliament Thursday. The prime minister stressed that the Serbian negotiators have no reason to hide anything from the Serbian public, stressing that no secret papers or secret obligations will be accepted during the talks on KiM. Dacic also answered a question put to him by Goran Bogdanovic, MP for the opposition Democratic Party (DS) and former minister for KiM, about what the Brussels paper offers to the Serbian side. "That which is written there is less than what we were offered by (Martti) Ahtisaari. Is the paper credible, was it offered to you and is there a clear plan in the event of failure of the negotiations?” asked Bogdanovic, who was also interested in knowing whether the last round of talks in Brussels touched on the issues of energy and telecommunications and the exchange of liaison officers, as these are also among the topics of the dialogue. Dacic said that he has requested that the issues of electricity and telecommunications be put on the agenda, adding, however, that nobody has been launching these issues lately. The prime minister said that that the exchange of liaison officers has already been agreed on, but this, just as the creation of the Fund for the development of northern Kosovo, has not yet happened. Dacic has said there will be no elections in Serbia regardless of the outcome of the talks with Pristina in Brussels and he announced a new meeting of the country's top officials on Friday to discuss the talks. "Elections are called when there are problems within the parliamentary majority and when there is a serious crisis in the society that can only be resolved with elections. I do not see why there should be elections regardless of whether or not an agreement is reached," Dacic told the parliament responding to MPs' questions. Liberal Democratic Party MP Cedomir Jovanovic asked Dacic if the government existed and if there would be elections, and Dacic responded that he had a particularly hard time understading why there should only be a parliamentary election and no presidential. The coalition government is united regarding its political agenda, Dacic noted. "And that means we want to solve the Kosovo issue. We want to solve it because we feel the future generations should not be dealing with it," he stated. Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has participated in the talks so far and no decision has been made without consulting him, Dacic said in answer to the question whether Vucic would be more involved in the next round of the talks in Brussels on April 2. "There is agreement between me as prime minister and him as deputy prime minister and president of the biggest party (in the government coalition) when it comes to this issue and that is how it is going to be on April 2," Dacic underscored. "We will make decisions together or not at all, because this is not a personal or individual thing, our future is not the only thing hanging on this, but the future of the country, the people and possibly the future generations," the prime minister said. Dacic stated that Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic had proposed that he be in charge of the talks, and that therefore everyone was responsible for it. "I am personally not negotiating with anyone. I am the prime minister and the president of the country suggested that I as prime minister should be in charge of the dialogue. I have no personal reason to take part in it, to the contrary, I would have many reasons not to get involved," Dacic pointed out. Dacic reiterated he was not an optimist regarding an agreement with Pristina, because he could not see among the decision makers a strategic ally with whom to reach an agreement that would be in the interest of the Serbian people, but also because no one was pushing Pristina to compromise. "The fact that I am not an optimist does not mean we are not going to insist on compromises until the last minute," he said. Serbia in deep crisis Serbia is in a deep economic crisis and cannot get out of it by making small steps, but only through strong economic development, Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said on Thursday, stressing unemployment as the biggest problem. "We are in a deep crisis, far behind other countries in the region. Without going into the discussion of whose fault that is, I have to say that without a fast, strong rate of economic growth, we cannot take steps to improve the standard of living and employment," he told parliament while responding to MPs' questions. Unemployment is a particular problem and poses the number one issue in the country, he added.