SERBIA

VUCIC, TANIN DISCUSS POLITICAL AND SECURITY SITUATION IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

BELGRADE, December 13 2018 *Beta) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Dec. 13 in a meeting with Head of UNMIK Zahir Tanin, that Pristina's intention to form the army of Kosovo, as the latest provocative unilateral step after the imposing of fees on Serbian goods, caused Serbia's great concern for the future of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, read a statement from the office of the Serbian president. Vucic asked UNMIK chief Tanin to use his influence and warn Pristina that its unilateral and provocative measures raised tension and undermined peace and stability in the region. He said Serbia would do everything to preserve peace and stability, but that the situation would significantly deteriorate after the Pristina side takes the decision on Dec. 14 to form a military, against international law. Vucic said that KFOR was the one with the mandate, according to Resolution 1244, to disarm illegal armed forces of the Kosovo Albanians. Tanin, who is also the special envoy of the U.N. secretary general in Kosovo and Metohija, said that he shared the concern over the situation in Kosovo and Metohija. He said the letter of the U.N. secretary general from April 2014 confirmed that Resolution 1244 remained the legal framework for international security presence in Kosovo and Metohija. The UNMIK chief said he had received assurances from KFOR that they would continue cooperation with the U.N. Mission within Resolution 1244. He recalled his statement that imposing of fees on goods from central Serbia was clearly a violation of CEFTA and that the measure had to be removed urgently.

DJURIC: ONLY KFOR AND SERBIAN ARMY MAY BE IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

BELGRADE, December 13 2018 (Beta) - The director of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Djuric, said on Dec. 13 that no international act allowed "any other military formation in Kosovo except KFOR or the Serbian Armed Forces, under clearly defined conditions." During a conversation with the Russian ambassador, Alexander Chepurin, Djuric warned about the "illegal character" of the announced forming "of the so-called army of Kosovo," the Office for Kosovo and Metohija stated. He informed the ambassador about "the difficult humanitarian situation in the majority Serb areas in Kosovo and Metohija, caused by Pristina's imposing of a trade blockade on goods from central Serbia." "The Serbian people are exposed to more and more violations of basic human rights, which seriously calls into question the possibility of survival of the Serbs in our southern province," Djuric told Chepurin.

LANGBAKK: VIOLENCE, INEQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE BIGGEST PROBLEM FACING WOMEN IN SERBIA

BELGRADE, December 13 2018 (Beta) - Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality Virginija Langbakk has said that Serbia has achieved progress on the institute's latest Gender Equality Index, but that there were still areas that needed more attention. In an interview with BETA, Langbakk stressed that there was still the problem of violence against women, but she also pointed out the problem of segregation in the area of employment, as women were still paid less than men. After two years, Serbia's results are better. The measures that were applied by the government are giving results, which are mostly seen in the area of political decision-making where the focus has been in trying to include more women in the decision-making process, in parliament or the cabinet. Still, we cannot neglect or ignore that which is not so good, said Langbakk, who presented the Institute's latest Gender Equality Index in Belgrade. Langbakk pointed to violence against women as the biggest obstacle. According to her, over 45 percent of women in Serbia have suffered psychological violence. She said that she hoped the Serbian government would take this up as it had other forms of violence against women. The second obstacle, Langbakk said, is that men frequently refuse to do household chores, while society and the media need to explain that men's inclusion brings benefits to all. The family is also another place with the biggest inequality in Serbia. Work in the family, labor that is not measured or paid for, this is where inequality is the highest, as my understanding is that Serbian men do not help their partners. I think that they lose out here, not the children or women, because inclusion helps them lead a healthy life and relieves stress, said Langbakk. Speaking about women in high places, Langbakk said that politics, like any other sphere, required a critical mass. If we want changes, we must reach a critical mass, both men in health care, social services and other places where they are the minority and women in parliament, if you want to hear their voice, she said.

ECONOMY

EUROSTAT: INDIVIDUAL EXPENDITURE IN SERBIA 45 PERCENT OF EU AVERAGE

BRUSSELS, December 13 2018 (Beta) - Individual expenditure in real terms in Serbia last year equaled 45 percent of the EU average, while GDP per capita equaled 36 percent of the EU average, Eurostat announced on Dec. 13. According to the European statistical service's report on spending in the EU, surrounding countries and candidate states, individual spending in real terms and in terms of GDP per capita in Serbia have not changed significantly since 2015. In Serbia, individual spending in real terms has declined by 46 percent of the EU average, which was what it equaled in 2016 and 2015. Meanwhile, GDP per capita in Serbia in 2015 equaled 36 percent of the EU average in 2015, 37 percent the following year and 36 percent last year. In the EU spending per capita in real terms ranges from 54 to 132 percent of the EU average, while GDP per capita equals from 49 percent up to 253 percent. Among candidate states, the highest individual spending per capita in real terms is in Turkey with 68 percent of the EU average. In Montenegro spending is 56 percent, Macedonia 41 percent, Albania 39 percent and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has yet to become a candidate country, spending equals 41 percent of the EU average. The highest individual spending in the EU is in Luxembourg with 132 percent, Germany 122 percent and Austria - 117 percent. The lowest is in Bulgaria - 54 percent and Hungary and Croatia - 62 percent.