No one can cut deals with state, deputy PM says

BELGRADE First Deputy PM Aleksandar Vucic says that Serbian citizens can now see that nobody can cut deals with the state when it comes to crime and corruption. “I am satisfied and proud even though I know that I made a bad choice for myself in the future, but I am sure that this is good for Serbia,” he told Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) on Wednesday evening. No one can cut deals with state, deputy PM says Commenting on threats made by Delta Holding owner Miroslav Miskovic, who was arrested on Wednesday morning, Vucic said that he knew what he had said and that he understood that he had said it in a moment of rage. “This is not the first time he said it and many others say it. I do not have a problem with it but I do have a problem with how much money of the Serbian citizens has been taken and abused,” he added. According to him, it is up to the state to allow the prosecution and police to do their job without any pressure, noting that Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac and Organized Crime Prosecutor Miljko Radisavljevic were appointed by the previous government. The deputy PM stressed that prosecutors had a “clear case against Miskovic”. When asked what would happen to employees in Miskovic’s companies, Vucic expressed belief that 7,000 people would keep their jobs and that the real question was how many companies had been deliberately destroyed in privatizations. He said he was happy with a reaction of Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) leader Vojislav Kostunica to Miskovic’s arrest. The deputy PM said that Serbia had come to a phase in which people get to do their job and that they did not even know if it was possible before. He warned that combat against corruption was not a political or economic game and that it was not meant to last for a day. “This is a difficult and serious work,” Vucic explained. “Businessmen’s power does not stem from a great economic knowledge and activities and their capital was created primarily at the state’s expense and we therefore have a fact that some ministers from previous governments are richer than most of the Serbian companies,” he added. When asked how certain ambassadors would react to Miskovic’s arrest, he said that “ambassadors, you or me do not decide against whom investigations would be conducted, but prosecutors do”. “For combat against corruption political will is necessary in order to create a system, meaning institutions,” Vucic said. “We create institutions. Our prosecution, our police, those are not organs anyone can make fun of. We create serious institutions and it will take us years to bring them to a level of well-developed Western countries,” he explained. When asked when indictment in certain cases could be expected, Vucic said that some draft indictments had already been finished and that several verdicts would be delivered next year. Aleksandar Vucic (Beta, file) Vucic on media, Kosovo, EU Vucic said that media in Serbia were free and that he had never called any editor to tell them in what way they should write about anything. He added that he only expected media not to ruin Serbia's chances for the arrival of foreign investors by their reporting. “There is a complete freedom of the press in Serbia, we do not own any media,” Vucic said, announcing that the state would withdraw from the media in a year-year and a half at the latest. Serbia's deputy prime minister said that the new parliamentary elections were not the intention of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), as it wanted to bring order in Serbia. “We are not afraid of the elections. No one is threatening us with elections, no one is blackmailing us. We place trust in our coalition partners, and we are doing our job in impossible conditions,” the SNS leader noted. “The new government has managed to achieve a kind of stability in many fields, and that is the reason for insistence on obtaining a start date for the EU accession talks,” he said. “That is a pragmatic, rational, and reasonable approach which would open doors to many foreign companies, which would not enter the countries where markets and profits are not secure,” believes Vucic. He confirmed that everything that was happening in Kosovo was difficult, even the introduction of integrated crossings which had earlier been agreed on. “We cannot say that we decline to implement the agreements that have been reached so far, as in that case, Serbia would not be a credible state, not only in legal terms, but it would not have a chance for economic recovery,” Serbia's deputy prime minister said. “At the moment, Serbia has the best relations with the Russian Federation in the last 25 years,” he said, noting that Russia backed this government. However, he noted that the EU accounts for 56 percent of Serbia's overall foreign trade. “We are not on the way to the EU because we take a dogmatic approach, or because it has become a kind of mantra, but rather because we have to take care of the interests of our people. That is why this is the only normal and rational approach,” he explained, noting that the EU market was the largest and closest to Serbia. Speaking about the conclusions reached by the EU foreign ministers that the EU Council should recommend the opening of accession talks with Serbia in the first half of 2013 if it continues carrying out the reforms and achieves sufficient progress in the dialogue with Pristina, Vucic said that was a good decision that had been expected. “Only three months ago, we had terrible opinions of the European Commission, no one could hide that three months ago we had some grave problems,” he underdscored Beta Tanjug

No one can cut deals with state, deputy PM says

Commenting on threats made by Delta Holding owner Miroslav Mišković, who was arrested on Wednesday morning, Vučić said that he knew what he had said and that he understood that he had said it in a moment of rage.

“This is not the first time he said it and many others say it. I do not have a problem with it but I do have a problem with how much money of the Serbian citizens has been taken and abused,” he added.

According to him, it is up to the state to allow the prosecution and police to do their job without any pressure, noting that Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac and Organized Crime Prosecutor Miljko Radisavljević were appointed by the previous government.

The deputy PM stressed that prosecutors had a “clear case against Mišković”.

When asked what would happen to employees in Mišković’s companies, Vučić expressed belief that 7,000 people would keep their jobs and that the real question was how many companies had been deliberately destroyed in privatizations.

He said he was happy with a reaction of Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) leader Vojislav Koštunica to Mišković’s arrest.

The deputy PM said that Serbia had come to a phase in which people get to do their job and that they did not even know if it was possible before.

He warned that combat against corruption was not a political or economic game and that it was not meant to last for a day.

“This is a difficult and serious work,” Vučić explained.

“Businessmen’s power does not stem from a great economic knowledge and activities and their capital was created primarily at the state’s expense and we therefore have a fact that some ministers from previous governments are richer than most of the Serbian companies,” he added.

When asked how certain ambassadors would react to Mišković’s arrest, he said that “ambassadors, you or me do not decide against whom investigations would be conducted, but prosecutors do”.

“For combat against corruption political will is necessary in order to create a system, meaning institutions,” Vučić said.

“We create institutions. Our prosecution, our police, those are not organs anyone can make fun of. We create serious institutions and it will take us years to bring them to a level of well-developed Western countries,” he explained.

When asked when indictment in certain cases could be expected, Vučić said that some draft indictments had already been finished and that several verdicts would be delivered next year.

Vučić on media, Kosovo, EU

Vučić said that media in Serbia were free and that he had never called any editor to tell them in what way they should write about anything.

He added that he only expected media not to ruin Serbia's chances for the arrival of foreign investors by their reporting.

“There is a complete freedom of the press in Serbia, we do not own any media,” Vučić said, announcing that the state would withdraw from the media in a year-year and a half at the latest.

Serbia's deputy prime minister said that the new parliamentary elections were not the intention of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), as it wanted to bring order in Serbia.

“We are not afraid of the elections. No one is threatening us with elections, no one is blackmailing us. We place trust in our coalition partners, and we are doing our job in impossible conditions,” the SNS leader noted.

“The new government has managed to achieve a kind of stability in many fields, and that is the reason for insistence on obtaining a start date for the EU accession talks,” he said.

“That is a pragmatic, rational, and reasonable approach which would open doors to many foreign companies, which would not enter the countries where markets and profits are not secure,” believes Vučić.

He confirmed that everything that was happening in Kosovo was difficult, even the introduction of integrated crossings which had earlier been agreed on.

“We cannot say that we decline to implement the agreements that have been reached so far, as in that case, Serbia would not be a credible state, not only in legal terms, but it would not have a chance for economic recovery,” Serbia's deputy prime minister said.

“At the moment, Serbia has the best relations with the Russian Federation in the last 25 years,” he said, noting that Russia backed this government.

However, he noted that the EU accounts for 56 percent of Serbia's overall foreign trade.

“We are not on the way to the EU because we take a dogmatic approach, or because it has become a kind of mantra, but rather because we have to take care of the interests of our people. That is why this is the only normal and rational approach,” he explained, noting that the EU market was the largest and closest to Serbia.

Speaking about the conclusions reached by the EU foreign ministers that the EU Council should recommend the opening of accession talks with Serbia in the first half of 2013 if it continues carrying out the reforms and achieves sufficient progress in the dialogue with Priština, Vučić said that was a good decision that had been expected.

“Only three months ago, we had terrible opinions of the European Commission, no one could hide that three months ago we had some grave problems,” he underdscored