Category: News and Events

BIG DEAL: Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue ‘Split Asunder’

Only four of 16 agreements between Belgrade and Prishtina reached in Brussels since 2011 have been fully implemented, shows the most recent report by BIG DEAL, a civic oversight initiative on the Kosovo-Serbia negotiations. It is the same number as observed in the previous report six months ago.

“BIG DEAL: Split Asunder” is a joint report produced by BIRN Kosovo, Internews Kosova and the Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC) of North Mitrovica. The report finds that this six month period has been a time of division within Kosovo society over dialogue, as well as time of growth of negative feelings between the two capitals.

BIG DEAL calls on Prishtina, Belgrade and the European Union to prioritize the so-called ‘normalisation’ process, as most of the accords reached between the sides have not been fully implemented so far.

“It is unfortunate that, similar to six months ago when we presented our first report, only four of 16 reached agreements have been fully implemented,” said Jeta Xharra, Executive Director of BIRN Kosovo.  “Four and a half years after the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue began, Kosovo and Serbia are refusing to recognize one another’s diplomas. The draft law on cadastre has been blocked for two years with no progress, and Kosovars can still use the operating codes of other countries to make telephone calls.

Dusan Radakovic of ACDC said the agreement on justice is lagging behind in implementation at a real cost to citizens.

“We need the court so northern Kosovo can finally stop being a rule of law vacuum. The judiciary is the cornerstone of any society, he said:.  Once this agreement is fully implemented, it will make it easier for the others to also be implemented.”  

The report is the result of more than 100 interviews with negotiators, local politicians, journalists and ordinary citizens in one and a half years of intensive research done across Kosovo and Serbia. With an in-depth view of the current state of play in implementation, BIG DEAL aims to make the process of normalising relations a more transparent one.

“Lack of accountability in the process, where politicians are using the smallest opportunity to accuse other side for not implementing what was agreed, bring them trivial political points,” said Tanja Maksic, program coordinator at BIRN Serbia. “This pushes the prospect of normalisation further away.”

Big Deal’s third report examines the dynamics of the implementation, which has been seriously hindered by the political deadlock in Kosovo, decisions by the Serbian Constitutional Court and crises that have shifted the attention of the European Union.

“The primary progress in the last six months was in reaching agreements in August unblocking the path to implementing agreements on telecom and energy,” said Valerie Hopkins, primary researcher of the report. “There have also been agreements on the future of the Mitrovica bridge and the main elements of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, but progress on the latter remains blocked until mid-January when the Constitutional Court will decide if the agreement is in harmony with Kosovo’s constitution.”

Big Deal is supported by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Prishtina, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. This is the third report in a series.

Click to download BIG DEAL ‘Split Asunder’ in English.

Click to download BIG DEAL ‘Split Asunder’ in Albanian.

Click to download BIG DEAL ‘Split Asunder’ in Serbian.

Court and Ministry Fined for Obstructing BIRN Serbia

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance handed down fines to the High Court in Belgrade and the Ministry of Justice at the end of November because both institutions failed to provide documents requested by BIRN Serbia journalists related to the arrest and extradition of Darko Saric, the alleged leader of a powerful Balkan criminal organization.

The commissioner ordered the Ministry of Justice to pay a fine of 20,000 dinars, as well as to deliver the requested information to BIRN Serbia, noting that failure to do so would result in it having to pay an additional 180,000 dinars.

The fine was imposed because the ministry did not comply with the commissioner’s decision in May this year, when he ordered the ministry to provide BIRN Serbia with documentation on Saric’s extradition.

The Higher Court in Belgrade will have to pay a fine of 180,000 dinars, because even after it was originally fined 20,000 dinars, the court didn’t make the required information available to BIRN Serbia.

If the High Court still refuses to comply with the law, the procedure will fall under the responsibility of the government of Serbia.

However, according to previous statements made by the commissioner, practice has shown that the government does not take action to resolve such matters.

BIRN Serbia requested the information and documentation from the Ministry of Justice and the High Court in Belgrade in February this year because the public still doesn’t known the circumstances of Darko Saric arrest – whether he was extradited and from which country, or if he voluntarily surrendered after his lawyer negotiated terms with the Ministry of Justice.

Serbian Telecoms Company Pays Bank Chief’s Debt

In its latest investigation, BIRN Serbia has revealed that state-owned Serbian telecommunications company, Telekom Srbija, paid off almost 78,000 euros of debt for Serbian National Bank governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic which she owed for her four-bedroom flat in Novi Sad.

Tabakovic signed a contract for the purchase of part of the apartment, measuring 144 square metres, with the state-owned Public Enterprise of PTT ‘Srbija’ on May 30, 2000, when she was serving as Minister for Economic and Ownership Transformation under the Socialist government of Mirko Marjanovic.

According to the documentation that BIRN Serbia obtained, that agreement gave Tabakovic ownership of 94 square meters (65 per cent) of the apartment, for which she paid 8,822.60 Deutschmarks (DM) at the time.

Tabakovic was supposed to pay off 92,170 DM for the remaining 35 per cent of the apartment over the following 40 years, plus interest.

However, she has not made a single monthly payment, and the contractual obligations to pay off the debt plus interest were taken over by Telekom Srbija three months after she took office as governor of the Serbian National Bank.

Entire article written on Serbian language can be found at http://javno.rs/istrazivanja/telekom-otplatio-guvernerkin-dug-za-stan

Austrian Bank Denies Releasing BIRN Statements

The Austrian Raiffeisen Bank has denied releasing financial statements relating to an account held by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, to the Serbian daily tabloid newspaper Informer.

“It has been confirmed with certainty that the information on the influx [of money] on your account, published in Informer daily, has not come out of the bank. The published document is not the document from Raiffeisen bank,” the bank said in a statement given to BIRN on Tuesday.

“We don’t know on what way Informer daily came into the possession of the information,” the statement added.

The document in question – which is not legally obtainable – was published in the controversial tabloid on Monday and purports to be a BIRN financial statement from Raiffeisen Bank. The document was published as part of an Informer article claiming that the European Commission is “directly funding attempts to bring Vucic down and instigate chaos in Serbia.”

The story claimed that the European Commission has paid a total of €86, 870, 12 to BIRN “for spitting on Vucic”.

“The donation from the EU commission is just one of the payments made from abroad to news networks, who’s only purpose is launching false affairs and instigating chaos,” the Informer story alleged.

The bank has not commented on whether the document published by Informer was a forgery or if it was released by another source. In addition, the bank did not elaborate on why they are sure the document is not authentic.

Journalists ‘can’t obtain financial statements’

Miodrag Vukovic, a lawyer and former Interior Ministry officer, said that obtaining financial statements is only possible for the authorities under very specific regulations and procedures. They can use the obtained documents in criminal procedures, “but if they are not used, they have to be destroyed”.

“No journalist in the regular procedure would be approved by a bank to get access to such information. It simply is not possible, because there is no basis on which you can call to get such information,” Vukovic said.

Informer published another article on Tuesday denouncing BIRN and two other independent media organizations, KRIK and CINS, claiming that foreign grants were given to all three on dates that coincide with the publication of “false affairs against people close to the government”.

The latest story has followed a series of defamatory allegations by Informer – which has links to Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic – accusing BIRN, KRIK and CINS of acting as “foreign mercenaries” and trying to “bring down our government”.

The latest allegations appear on this occasion to be wrapped up in a tabloid feud between Informer and its Belgrade-based rival newspaper Kurir.

The situation escalated on November 8, when Informer’s editor in chief, Dragan Vucicevic, appeared in a special programme on the TV Pink channel called Bringing down Vucic. In the four-hour show he accused Kurir’s owner, Aleksandar Rodic, of being a racketeer, and BIRN, CINS and KRIK of “receiving money from abroad to bring down Vucic and to have a Serbia without a prime minister”.

Government to stop with witch hunt

BIRN Serbia calls representatives of the Serbian government to stop deceiving the public and participating in the campaign against civil society organisations, which report professionally and objectively on the work of Serbian institutions.

We request that instead of suppressing dissenting voices, the government create an environment where organisations that point to criminal actions and corruption will be involved in debate on fundamental issues in our society in a fair and free manner.

Instead of openness to criticism, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has joined an ongoing campaign led by major Serbian tabloids against independent media outlets such as the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, Serbia’s Centre for Investigative Journalist, CINS, and the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network, KRIK.

In the television show Cirilica [Cyrillic], broadcast on Serbia-wide Happy TV on November 9, Prime Minister Vucic once again accused those pointing to corruption in the state of aiming to overthrow the Serbian government. These government watchdogs, BIRN Serbia included, are accused of using lies to attack the state.

It is an extremely dangerous environment when the prime minister is using his position to dismiss opponents, qualifying them as mobsters, thieves and criminals despite no evidence or opportunity for them to defend themselves. This creates an atmosphere where unpredictable and sometimes lethal consequences exist.

During his interview with Happy TV, Prime Minister Vucic voiced his support of the theory that independent investigative centres in Serbia are paid by foreign donors to destabilise the government.

The day prior, the interior minister Nebojsa Stefanovic addressed the same theory in his appearance on national broadcaster TV Pink’s programme Teska rec. He used his public podium to express allegations that BIRN, CINS and KRIK are being financed exclusively by foreign donations. This approach suggests that BIRN’s financing is controversial.

We would like to remind the public that BIRN is not exclusively financed from foreign funders, but also with taxpayers’ money through the government’s office for cooperation with civil society. BIRN Serbia is not a phantom organisation on a secret mission to cause unrest, but an organisation that has worked in Serbia for ten years, in accordance to all the laws of our state. BIRN Serbia also makes all data, including financial records, publically available through the competent bodies.

The latest attacks are merely a continuation of the campaign against BIRN, which started in April 2014. The initial attack was sparked when BIRN published the draft agreement between the Serbian government and Etihad Airways, which showed that the state had paid more for its stake in carrier Air Serbia than it had revealed to the public. That campaign reached a peak earlier this year after an investigation into the controversial tender for de-watering Serbia’s biggest mine, Tamnava, was published. To this day, the findings have not been denied.

BIRN believes that this continual campaign was directed at discrediting the organisation in the absence of arguments, which would deny the findings of our published investigations.

BIRN Albania Launches Call for Investigative Reports on Public Administration

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania launched a call for investigative stories on November 10th.

The call is part of the program ‘Exposing Corruption in Albania,’ supported by the Open Society Foundation in Albania, Balkan Trust for Democracy and National Endowment for Democracy.

In this call that closes on November 20th, three journalists will be awarded a grant to cover their expenses while doing the investigation and writing the story on corruption and impunity related to public administration.

Journalists will have about two months to dig deeper and research their ideas, but also will have the opportunity to work with experienced editors as their mentors to guide them through the process of writing to BIRN standards.

Until December 2016, other two more calls for investigations will be launched, covering topics on Organized Crime and Local Government.  

The call only applies to journalists from Albania.

Click for more information about the application procedure, with details in Albanian.

Thirrje për artikuj investigativë në fushën e administratës publike

Thirrja organizohet nga Rrjeti Ballkanik për Gazetarinë Investigative në Shqipëri (BIRN Albania), me mbështetjen e Fondacionit Shoqëria e Hapur për Shqipërinë, OSFA.

Nëpërmjet këtij konkursi tre (3) gazetarë investigativë do të përzgjidhen për të prodhuar artikuj investigativë lidhur me sektorin e administratës publike, në bashkëpunim me shoqërinë civile. Fituesit do të përzgjidhen nga një juri e pavarur e përbërë nga gazetarë me eksperiencë dhe ekspertë në këtë fushë.

Aplikantët e përzgjedhur, të cilët do marrin një bursë prej 1,200 USD (minus taksën të ardhurave personale), do kenë në dispozicion një periudhë dy mujore për të përfunduar investigimin e tyre dhe përgatitjen e artikullit për publikim.

Kandidatët fitues pritet që të angazhohen dhe të përmbushin të gjitha detyrimet në lidhje me investigimin, siç janë: takimet e shpeshta (javore) me redaktorin, publikimin e tekstit në faqen e BIRN Albania www.reporter.al dhe gjithashtu në www.balkanInsight.com, si dhe respektimin e standardeve të gazetarisë investigative dhe etikës profesionale.

Prioritet në përzgjedhje do i kushtohet propozimeve të cilat përfshijnë një nga temat e mëposhtme, të sygjeruara si prioritare gjatë një tryeze të rrumbullakët midis gazetarëve dhe përfaqësuesve të shoqërisë civile që mbulojnë sektorin e administratës publike të organizuar nga BIRN Albania:

  1. Politizimi i administratës publike

–        Procesi i rekrutimit në administratën publike/ si vendosen kriteret e përzgjedhjes, si zbatohen ato, si realizohen konkurset.

–        Punësimi i militantëve në poste të larta drejtuese të institucioneve kryesore publike me ose pa konkurs.

–        Pushimi i punonjësve të administratës publike nga puna/ kostoja financiare që shoqëron këtë proces/ mungesa e marrjes së përgjegjësive nga drejtorët e institucioneve që kryejnë këto pushime nga puna.

–        Ndryshimet e shpeshta të stafit të administratës publike të lidhura me zgjedhjet pralamentare ose/dhe lokale, jo në përputhje me ligjin e nëpunësit civil.

  1. Eficenca e administratës publike në mënyrën e funksionimit dhe të koordinimit mes institucioneve publike të pavarura.

–        Sa dhe si zbatohen funksionet e enteve rregullatore dhe organeve të tjera përgjegjëse për mbikëqyrjen dhe monitorimin e institucioneve publike.

  1. Transparenca e institucioneve publike në lidhje me informacionin e detyrueshëm publik dhe zbatueshmërinë e ligjeve në përgjithësi.

–        Ligji për të drejtën e informimit / funksionet e koordinatorit të informimit/ publikimi i organogramës së institucionit/ publikimi i akteve ligjore nga institucionet ligjbërëse pëpara miratimit të tyre.  

–        Njohja, trajtimi dhe keqpërdorimi i argumentimit ligjor të konfliktit të interesit privat me detyrat publike në favor të funksionarit në konflikt interesi.

–        Aplikantët mund të dërgojnë më shumë se një aplikim, por vetëm një propozim për kandidat do të përzgjidhet.

Të drejtën për të aplikuar e kanë të gjithë gazetarët në Shqipëri, të punësuar apo në profesion të lirë.

Kandidatëve u kërkohet të dërgojnë propozimet e tyre në formularin e aplikimeve (Kliko këtu për formularin), një CV dhe tre shembuj të punës së tyre me email në: [email protected]

Afati i Aplikimit: 20 Nëntor, 2015

Kandidatët e përzgjedhur do të njoftohen deri më datë: 25 Nëntor, 2015

Serbian Minister Questions BIRN Credibility Due to Foreign Funding

Serbian interior minister questioned credibility of BIRN as the funding of organization comes only from abroad, after a week of campaign against independent investigative journalism organizations in tabloid media.

In an unprecedented live four hours long program on one of the most popular pro government national TV stations PINK, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, KRIK – Network for Investigating Crime and Corruption, CINS – Serbia’s Centre for Investigative Journalism, were one more time labelled as “foreign mercenaries” who are participating with other actors in what the station called attack on Serbian Prime Minister Aleksansader Vucic.

Serbian interior minister Nebojsa Stefanovic questioned the good intentions of BIRN investigations “as it is strange that all the funding comes from foreign donations” and that no domestic money was ever given to the organisation.

He also argued that investigations done by BIRN and other investigative organisations in Serbia should not be taken for granted.

Dragana Zarkovic, director of BIRN Serbia, says however her organization did reserve funding from Serbian instutitions.

“Office for cooperation with civil sector, which is body of Serbian government , is one of our funders. In 2015 they were supporting our Participative budgeting programme, which enables public consultations in local budgets drafting,” Zarkovic said.

  Owner and editor of pro-government tabloid Informer, Dragan Vucicevic, who was also part of the special program, said that BIRN is “financed to overthrow Vucic’s government, in order to fulfil their campaign to have a Serbia without a Prime Minister”.

“They (BIRN, CINS and KRIK) use lies to destabilize the country, I have proof of everything,” Vucicevic said on Sunday.

He also said that all investigations produced by BIRN and others are “invented affairs”, aimed to cause unrests like in the countries of the region, citing examples of Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia.

As a ‘prof’ Vucicevic took out financial records of BIRN, arguing that “direct payoff of the EU came in February”, just after the article BIRN published on alleged corruption in Tamnava mine.

Vucicevic was referring to a grant BIRN got through a fair competition at the EU tender for investigations as part of the program for Serbia, Media Freedom.

BIRN Albania Holds Roundtable on Public Administration

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania organized a roundtable on November 6 in Tirana, bringing together civil society organisations working in the field of public administration and journalists.

It was the fifth in a series of seven roundtables, part of a programme called ‘Exposing Corruption in Albania’, which is financed by the Open Society Foundation in Albania (OSFA), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD).

The project aims to expose corruption cases in seven different sectors: the environment, education, the judiciary, healthcare, public administration, local government and organised crime, by bridging the gap between journalists and CSOs, and by providing a solid basis for collaboration in exposing abuses of power.

About ten representatives of non-governmental organisations and ten journalists discussed different topics of concern regarding the public administration in Albania, with a special focus on corruption and impunity in the system.

The representatives of the NGOs listed a number of topics, ranging from the role that politics play in the recruitment process in the public administration to issues of public transparency and illegal-decision making by collegial bodies and independent government agencies.

The topics highlighted by the NGOs will be listed in BIRN Albania’s upcoming call for investigative stories in the field of public administration.

BIRN Serbia Journalist Addresses Media Financing Seminar

Tanja Maksic of BIRN Serbia spoke at a seminar entitled ‘Public Interest for Citizens and Media and a New Way of Financing Media Content’ on September 17.

At the seminar, Maksic presented recommendations for improving practices in competitive funding for local governments, which play a major role in the implementation of media reforms, as well as the findings of monitoring by BIRN Serbia.

For the fourth year in a row, BIRN Serbia has been collecting data and recording models of budget spending in the media sector.

The data showed that nearly three billion dinars was spent in the media sector by 33 local governments in the period from 2011 to 2013.

The seminar was organized by Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, in cooperation with Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the EU Delegation and the OSCE Mission in Serbia, with the support of the Open Society Foundation.