[House Hearing, 114 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES IN
THE WESTERN BALKANS
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE, EURASIA, AND EMERGING THREATS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
APRIL 29, 2015
__________
Serial No. 114-30
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida BRAD SHERMAN, California
DANA ROHRABACHER, California GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TED POE, Texas BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
MATT SALMON, Arizona KAREN BASS, California
DARRELL E. ISSA, California WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
MO BROOKS, Alabama AMI BERA, California
PAUL COOK, California ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas GRACE MENG, New York
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
RON DeSANTIS, Florida TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
TED S. YOHO, Florida ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
CURT CLAWSON, Florida BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania
SCOTT DesJARLAIS, Tennessee
REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin
DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan
LEE M. ZELDIN, New York
TOM EMMER, Minnesota
Amy Porter, Chief of Staff Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats
DANA ROHRABACHER, California, Chairman
TED POE, Texas GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
MO BROOKS, Alabama THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
PAUL COOK, California WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan
C O N T E N T S
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Page
WITNESSES
Mr. Hoyt Brian Yee, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of
European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State........ 3
Ms. Susan Fritz, Acting Assistant Administrator, Europe and
Eurasia Bureau, U.S. Agency for International Development...... 14
Mr. Ivan Vejvoda, senior vice president, Programs, German
Marshall Fund of the United States............................. 36
The Honorable Joseph J. DioGuardi, president, Albanian American
Civic League (former Member of Congress)....................... 47
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
Mr. Hoyt Brian Yee: Prepared statement........................... 6
Ms. Susan Fritz: Prepared statement.............................. 16
Mr. Ivan Vejvoda: Prepared statement............................. 39
The Honorable Joseph J. DioGuardi: Prepared statement............ 50
APPENDIX
Hearing notice................................................... 64
Hearing minutes.................................................. 65
The Honorable Joseph J. DioGuardi:
Article by Ms. Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi entitled ``Confronting
the Roots of Kosovo's Downward Spiral''...................... 66
Article by Erwan Fouere entitled ``Gruevski Must Resign and
Make Way For Transition Process''............................ 69
PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES IN THE WESTERN BALKANS
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2015
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2 o'clock
p.m., in room 2200 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Dana
Rohrabacher (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Rohrabacher. I call to order this hearing of the
Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats. Today's
topic is progress and challenges in the Western Balkans.
After the ranking member and I each take 5 minutes to make
opening remarks, each other member, if they so choose, will
have the opportunity for making an opening statement as well.
We will then proceed with our first panel of witnesses and
without objection, all members will have 5 days to submit their
statements or questions or extraneous material for the record.
Hearing no objection, so ordered.
It has been almost exactly 2 years since the last time the
subcommittee held a hearing on this region. I am pleased to
again be returning to this important topic and to be able to
hear from such informed witnesses. We all know the tragic
history of the breakup of Yugoslavia during the 1990s. Yet, it
is remarkable that today, every country in the region,
including Serbia, is in some way seeking greater integration
with European institutions. I congratulate Croatia, for
example, which is perhaps the foremost example of this on their
successful accession into the European Union in 2013. And while
the region has witnessed some major steps forward over the last
two decades including the independence of Kosovo, the pace of
progress appears to have slowed and perhaps even regressed in
certain cases.
Later this year, we will celebrate the 20-year anniversary
of the Dayton Peace Accords which ended the Bosnian War.
Reaching that agreement was an admirable diplomatic
accomplishment. Yet, the political framework that ended the
fighting has proven structurally unable to build a state which
governs effectively or meets the expectations of its people.
I noted that over the weekend, the leader of the Republic
of Srpska called for a referendum to determine if the Serb
enclave in Bosnia should break away unless it is granted
further autonomy. Clearly, the current arrangement in Bosnia is
not working. In Macedonia, the exposure of a massive internal
surveillance scheme has rocked that small nation, highlighting
the immense challenges of building a state which respects the
rule of law and the rule of law both inside the government and
the rule of law outside the government.
Next door, EU brokered peace talks between Serbia and
Kosovo just a few years ago, resulting in an agreement entitled
``Principles of Governing the Normalization of Relations.''
While we are all happy that a solution was reached between
these two sides, there remains ample reason for concern. I
remain doubtful about the prospect of integrating Serbs, for
example, who live in the northern part of Kosovo and I am
somewhat doubtful about them integrating into the rest of the
country. If the Serb community in the northern part of Kosovo
which is to be governed by Belgrade, we should acknowledge
their right to determine for themselves what country they will
live in and make their own self-determination. This is the same
principle, I might add, that led us to support the Albanian
Kosovars in their desire for self-determination two decades
ago.
In closing, the Western Balkans collectively have been
aided by deployment of at least three separate NATO missions
which included a significant contingent of U.S. military
personnel who I visited over the years. Billions of dollars
have been spent by the European Union and our own Government to
support economic development, reduce ethnic tensions, and build
modern states. Between 1990 and 2012, USAID spent over $1.7
billion aid dollars to help the Western Balkans. And what has
that huge sum of money accomplished over the years? What about
the diplomatic accomplishments, what have they achieved or what
are their efforts anyway? And has outside engagement reached an
effective limit there in that part of the world? And to get
answers for some of those questions and others, we will hear
from our witnesses today.
Panel 1, first of all--Mr. Sires, would you like to have an
opening statement? And then I will introduce the witnesses.
Mr. Sires. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this
hearing today to evaluate the state of the affairs in the
Balkans. Since the mid-1990s, the region has undergone a great
transformation as the wars have ended and political and
economic reforms have set in. The region also progressed toward
greater integration with European and transatlantic
institutions. While great improvements have been made in the
Balkans, various challenges still remain including dealing with
the impact of Kosovo's independence and the on-going fight
against organized crime and corruption in the region.
As we have witnessed over the past year, Russia continues
to get influence outside of the borders, forcing the
surrounding regions, including the Balkans to be on high alert.
More than ever, it is imperative that we continue to be engaged
in the Balkans to ensure democracy, security, and prosperity in
the region. And I look forward to hearing from the esteemed
panels that we have today. Thank you.
Mr. Rohrabacher. All right, we will proceed. And when
Congressman Meeks arrives, he will be free to have his opening
statement as well.
Our witnesses for Panel 1 are Deputy Assistant Secretary
Hoyt Yee who is appointed to his current position in the Bureau
of European and Eurasian Affairs in September 2013. He is a
career foreign service officer and previously stationed in
Montenegro, in Greece, and most recently, as the DCM in
Croatia. So he obviously knows the region.
Susan Fritz is the Acting Assistant Administrator for USAID
in Europe and Eurasia Bureau. She is a 25-year veteran of USAID
and has significant experience in the region as well. She
served as the Mission Director in Serbia and the Deputy Mission
Director for Kosovo. So with that said, I will introduce the
second panel when you are done. If you could proceed with 5
minute opening statements. The rest of your statement will be
made part of the record and then we will proceed.
Mr. Yee.
STATEMENT OF MR. HOYT BRIAN YEE, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY,
BUREAU OF EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
STATE
Mr. Yee. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Chairman
Rohrabacher, Representative Sires, members of the subcommittee,
I want to thank you for inviting me and my colleague, Susan
Fritz, to appear before you today to discuss the Western
Balkans 20 years since the Dayton Accords were signed. We are
deeply grateful to the Congress and this subcommittee, in
particular, for your interest in the Western Balkans which are
an integral part of our vision of a Europe, whole, free, and at
peace. Your engagement with senior Balkan officials, both here
and in the region has sent a powerful signal that the United
States remains committed to the region's future.
Today that vision is more under threat than any time since
the end of the Cold War. Russia's aggression in Ukraine and
ISIL's reign of terror in Syria and Iraq have underlined the
geostrategic importance of a strong, stable Europe including in
the Western Balkans. In this new context, our work with Balkan
partners to create a space for free markets and free peoples is
more important than ever.
EU and NATO membership, aided by U.S. engagement and
assistance remains the transformative political and economic
force for the Western Balkans. Progress is happening. Albania
and Croatia joined NATO in 2009. Croatia became the 28th EU
member in 2013. Montenegro is making steady progress on EU
accession negotiations and is intent on qualifying for NATO
membership. Albania's recent elections were the best democratic
transition in that country's history. Serbia and Kosovo are
making landmark progress toward normalization. And lastly,
Bosnia and Herzegovina has negotiated its EU Stabilization and
Association Agreement. I would like to give just a quick update
on the region's seven countries.
Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina remains one
of the poorest countries in Europe and lags far behind the rest
of the region in reforms needed for membership in the European
Union and NATO. To catch up, Bosnia and Herzegovina will need
to accelerate reforms. We and our European partners have urged
Bosnia and Herzegovina to begin with socio-economic reforms
that can make a tangible impact in the lives of Bosnia and
Herzegovina citizens. These initial reforms must lead to
institutional and political reforms that Bosnia and Herzegovina
needs to become a stable, functional state, fully integrated
with the rest of Europe. We believe that the future of Bosnia
and Herzegovina lies in the EU and NATO, and like all other
candidates Bosnia and Herzegovina will have to undertake
substantial reform.
With the recent establishment of new state and entity-level
governments that have reaffirmed their commitment to reform, we
are hopeful the countries' leaders can deliver results.
Serbia. Serbia continues to improve relations with its
neighbors and to build a stronger partnership with the European
Union and the United states.
In January, Serbia assumed the chairmanship of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE,
and Serbia's leadership thus far has shown a strong commitment
to supporting the organization's founding principles. We
continue to support Serbia's aspirations to join the European
Union and to commend Serbia's progress toward this goal.
Serbia has also recently taken steps to maintain
constructive relations with neighbors, including Belgrade's
hosting of Albanian Prime Minister Rama in November 2014, the
first visit at that level between the two countries in 68
years. Most encouraging, Serbia's commitment to the EU-led
Brussels dialogue with Kosovo has resulted in more normalized
relationships, increased regional security, and mutual
understanding.
Kosovo. Seven years after its declaration of independence,
Kosovo has taken great strides to develop as a full sovereign,
independent state. We continue to support Kosovo in its efforts
to build a modern, multiethnic state with inclusive, democratic
institutions. With the strong support of EU High Representative
Mogherini, considerable progress on the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue
has been made since both sides reconvened in February 2015,
including with agreements to unify Kosovo's judicial system and
to integrate the Kosovo-Serb Civilian Protection Corps into
Kosovo institutions.
We also support the establishment of a Special Court to
deal with the allegations contained in the 2011 Council of
Europe report and urge Kosovo's leaders to take steps to
approve the necessary legal framework.
Albania. Albania has seen significant democratic progress
since the ending of oppressive communist rule 20 years ago.
Last June, the European Council granted Albania EU country
candidate status. In granting the status, the Council
highlighted Albania's efforts at countering corruption and
organized crime, and implementing judicial reform.
With over 1 year in office, the new government continues to
hold Albania's strong partnership with the United States as a
key strategic priority. We recently signed a U.S.-Albania
strategic partnership, outlining key areas of cooperation,
including security, rule of law, economic development and
energy security. Nevertheless, much work lies ahead.
Despite receiving EU candidate status, Albania will face
significant challenges implementing the reforms necessary for
beginning EU accession talks.
Montenegro. Montenegro which began EU accession talks in
June 2013 has come a long way. However, the European Union
noted in October, a lack of credible investigations,
prosecutions, and final convictions in corruption cases and
serious concerns regarding freedom of expression and the media.
NATO has also urged Montenegro to strengthen the rule of
law to improve its case for receiving an invitation to join
NATO by the end of 2015. We agree with our NATO allies that no
one outside the 28 member states, including Russia can
interfere with or veto NATO's decisions on membership. We are
also concerned about the relatively low level of Montenegrin
public support for NATO membership, currently about 38 percent.
Our hope is that Montenegro will accelerate the pace of its
efforts and put its best case forward this year.
Macedonia. We support Macedonia's aspirations to join NATO
and the European Union. Recently, however, we and our European
partners have been following with concern the domestic
political crisis in Macedonia related to the release of wiretap
information by the head of the main opposition party. We are
urging the government to address the leaked information in a
way that demonstrates its commitment to Euro-Atlantic
principles. We are encouraging the opposition which is
currently boycotting Parliament to return to that body and help
resolve the crisis. We are also concerned about a growing
divide between the ethic-Macedonian majority and ethnic-
Albanian minority communities.
Macedonia's integration into the EU and NATO remains
important for achieving lasting peace and stability in the
region. With a new government in Athens, we continue to urge
both sides to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution to the
so-called name issue which has blocked the country's Euro-
Atlantic prospects.
Croatia. In July 2013, Croatia became the newest EU member
and is now sharing lessons it learned with its neighbors who
aspire to join the EU and NATO. Yet, challenges still lie
ahead. The economy has contracted for the last 6 years, causing
high unemployment and deterring further foreign investment. We
encourage Croatia to take steps to improve the business
climate, attract more investment and foster private sector led
growth. Although much more work needs to be done, we welcome
the recent tender for a business plan to develop the liquid
natural gas, or LNG, terminal on Krk Island. The realization of
this terminal will not only help Croatia reduce dependency on
Russia or any other single source of gas, but also provide
energy diversification for other central European countries who
are much more dependent on Russian energy supplies.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Meeks, members of
the subcommittee. I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Yee follows:]
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----------
Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you very much. We have been joined
by Mr. Meeks and with your permission, Mr. Meeks, I will have
Ms. Fritz' testimony and then you will be able to give your
opening statement, etcetera.
STATEMENT OF MS. SUSAN FRITZ, ACTING ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR,
EUROPE AND EURASIA BUREAU, U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Ms. Fritz. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Chairman Rohrabacher,
Ranking Member Meeks, and Congressman Sires. I want to thank
you for the opportunity to appear before you today, along with
my colleague, Hoyt Yee, to discuss USAID's assistance and
priorities in the Balkans
The mission of the U.S. Agency for International
Development is to partner to end extreme poverty and promote
resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security
and prosperity. In the Balkans, USAID has played a key role
since the breakup of Yugoslavia, helping raise standards of
living and assisting countries on their path toward Euro-
Atlantic integration and to becoming more tolerant, stable, and
democratic societies. USAID is committed and focused on how we
build on this momentum to address the serious remaining
challenges as part of a coordinated U.S. Government strategy.
Corruption, democratic drift, fragile economies, and uncertain
domestic political climates all threaten the gains made since
the Dayton Accords were signed 20 years ago.
Today, I would like to build on Deputy Assistant Secretary
Hoyt Yee's updates on the five individual countries where USAID
continues to work with a particular focus on how our programs
have impacted some of the foreign policy priorities DAS Yee
mentioned, such as preventing violent extremism, supporting
governments and societies in becoming more stable and resilient
to potentially detrimental external influences, and
strengthening the region's economic health.
USAID's longstanding role in the Balkans and across Europe
and Eurasia is to work with host countries, civil society,
private sector and international partners to build the
institutions of government, the economic systems, and the free
civil societies that lead to democracy and prosperity. Our job
is to help build the foundations of ``a Europe Whole, Free, and
at Peace.''
Let me highlight a few examples of our democracy and
governance activities in the region. In Bosnia and Herzegovina,
USAID's assistance to Parliament staff and members has helped
them to complete their legally mandated budget process which
includes public debates on priorities and impact analyses,
leading to more functional and accountable institutions across
the entire government that better meet the needs of the
citizens.
In Serbia and Kosovo, our activities have strengthened rule
of law by improving the independence, transparency, efficiency
and professionalism of the judiciary. Our anti-corruption
assistance in Serbia has been pivotal to increasing the
transparency and overall capacity of key independent agencies
to execute their mandates.
In Macedonia, USAID's media program has increased the
legitimacy of independent media and strengthened freedom of
expression by promoting investigative journalism and
establishing a media fact-checking service which has published
online more than a thousand peer reviews of media articles.
In Albania, USAID is providing assistance to strengthen
local government accountability, financing and services
including the crafting of a fiscal decentralization framework
and a critical law for the structuring of local government. In
the economic sphere, USAID programs in the Balkans are
bolstering entrepreneurs as well, as the laws and policies have
let them thrive in stable financial systems.
We help governments to establish energy policies, to
diversify supplies, and connect to European markets, increasing
safe, clean power for industry and citizens.
Let me highlight a few examples of our economic growth
efforts. In Bosnia, USAID's assistance and loan guarantees,
particularly to small agribusinesses is helping to increase
sales and exports. Our Farmer Project, for example, reported
increased sales for companies assisted by USAID of 54 percent
over 4 years. USAID helped the Albanian Government to achieve
critical reports in the energy market, resulting in the
electricity company saving $75 million last year through
implementation of practical loss reduction techniques that were
provided by our advisors.
USAID's critical support to Kosovo's Government to unbundle
electricity distribution and supply enabled it to privatize the
Kosovo Energy Corporation resulting in improved infrastructure
investment, billing and collections, reducing technical and
commercial losses.
In Macedonia, we are helping streamline laws and
regulations for clean, renewable energy to promote more
investment in the sector. We have also expanded access to
finance for small and medium businesses.
In Serbia, USAID assistance was instrumental in reforming
Serbia's labor law, reducing the burdens of its inspection
system and is modernizing its outdated construction permitting
system.
USAID is working to improve the competitiveness of the
private sector, especially economically disadvantaged regions
populated by ethnic minorities.
Mr. Chairman, since Dayton, the Balkan countries have made
remarkable progress in the reforms needed to further integrate
into Euro-Atlantic institutions and to build resilient
democracies. With that said, we know that our work in this
region is far from done. We recognize, as you have pointed out,
that there has been political and economic stagnation in the
region. The Balkan countries where USAID works, Albania,
Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina need
continued U.S. engagement and attention.
We look forward to working with you and your colleagues in
Congress to strengthen U.S. engagement and more specifically,
USAID's activities in the Balkans to build on the progress that
has been made to achieve our goal of a Europe, free, whole and
at peace.
Thank you again and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Fritz follows:]
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----------
Mr. Rohrabacher. We have had two very optimistic pieces of
testimony here.
Mr. Meeks, would you like to have an opening statement? And
then you may also proceed with any questions that you have for
the witnesses.
Mr. Meeks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank you
for holding this hearing to provide us with the status update
on the Western Balkans region and I look forward to working
with you in this 114th Congress on this region and as we have
been talking about look forward to visiting this region soon so
that we can go and see for ourselves what is going on on the
ground.
With the West's attention justifiably being attracted to
the Ukraine and related issues, we must not forget the
importance and the delicate state of progress in the Western
Balkans and I am encouraged by this hearing on the region to
reaffirm our stance support for its peaceful and prosperous
future.
Today's hearing is for me an opportunity to examine the
tough issues and potential for advancements for a region that
has a lot of promise. The quagmire of the Balkan Wars of the
1990s gives us a reference point for today's hearing. As the
region spiraled into chaos, the United States and NATO led an
international effort to put an end to the killing. The war set
the region back in its move toward democracy and free-market
capitalization and continued to haunt its citizens and policy
makers. Western thinkers tend to present the Western Balkans'
history and current events through two different lenses in my
opinion, one that reckons that outside involvement played the
leading role in getting us to the wars and consequently the
current situation, while the other claims that the fate of
Yugoslavia was doomed regardless of what outsiders did.
In today's hearing, I would like to argue the role of the
Balkan people themselves who are often dismissed in these
discussions. As much as recently written histories and
international bodies affect the current situations here, it is
the decisions of local politicians, businesses, and citizens
that will definitely decide where this region will go. It is up
to us and Congress to support healthy democratic, economic, and
peaceful progress on the ground. We, the United States, have
invested billions of dollars and many lives in order to ensure
peace and prosperity in the region. The people there who have
sacrificed more deserved it. In fact, there are signs of
promise across the region. The regions are over a decade
without armed conflict. Croatia, a reliable NATO partner,
joined the EU in July 2013. And Serbia is technically on track
to follow suit later this decade.
Freedom House named Kosovo, an electoral democracy for the
first in their 2015 report. Montenegro recently passed
substantial reforms to the rule of law and the defense and
intelligent sectors, taking it closer to NATO membership. These
are all encouraging steps in the right direction that should be
recognized and supported.
Nevertheless, change is rarely linear and we will examine
the breaks that impede progress as they apply to specific
states. Sluggish economic growth, continuing problems in the
fight against corruption, and serious questions with regard to
the rule of law beset the region with an undertow pulling
against the progress that had been made.
How can Congress support regional actors in combating these
forces? And what about the EU? How much progress can be made
without a bold accession strategy from the regional power, the
EU. Ensuring the success of the region's development and
encouraging democratic progress is of strategic importance to
the United States and our interest are critically linked.
So I hope, as I have heard some of the testimony already,
the opinions on this fascinating region, the leaders of the
governments there should know that we are concerned with the
state of affairs and after this hearing we look forward to
following up on what is discussed. The fragile piece of the
region is one that we, together with our EU partners must work
hard at and encouraging.
I look forward to a fruitful discussion and questions that
we can explore what Congress can offer and do to help to ensure
economic growth, equality and peace for all in the region.
Thank you for giving me that opportunity, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rohrabacher. If you would like to go straight to
questions, we will let you go first.
Mr. Meeks. Let me first deal first with whole piece on EU
accession. And some said, the European Union has lost its magic
in the sense, but not its importance in the region. And they
fault EU expansion fatigue or the lack of progress on the part
of the countries applying to join, but the EU integration
process has definitely slowed.
One could question the specific state of accession in each
Western Balkan country, but how do you assess the progress as a
whole and the trends associated with it?
Mr. Yee?
Mr. Yee. Thank you, Representative Meeks, for that question
and for your comments. I believe the European Union remains
committed to enlarging the Union and to fulfill its commitment
to the Western Balkans to continue to integrate all the
countries of the Western Balkans as part of the European
project.
I would agree with you, Representative Meeks, that the
process has slowed. I think this is clearly a dynamic process
in which on both sides there are requirements. On the European
Union side the Union, the members of the Union want to be sure
that by adding new members they will be, in fact, strengthening
the Union, not weakening it, and that the members, the
countries which are aspiring to membership are truly ready to
meet all of the obligations including economic, as well as
political to join before, in fact, they are taken into the
Union.
On the candidate side, the aspiring country side, I think
there is also the need to know that by joining the Union, they
will be, in fact, helping their people, their citizens. They
will not be joining an economic union in which they cannot
compete, in which they cannot afford to contribute. So I think
on both sides, there are reasons for the decision to be taken
extremely seriously. We, the United States, support very
strongly the continued integration of the Western Balkans into
the European Union and into NATO for that matter.
Obviously, it is up to the European Union to decide the
pace and the process and the rules for how it is going to take
place. What we can do in order to assist the process and to the
extent possible to facilitate it is to help the candidate
countries meet the standards necessary in order to qualify for
EU membership. There is a long list of reforms that each
country needs to make, both economic, social, and political
that in each of the cases of the aspiring countries we are
doing our best from our Embassies, from our capitals, to help
the country meet the reform requirement.
In many cases, it is an issue of rule of law. The European
Union understandably wants to ensure that corruption and
organized crime which is, of course, a factor in all of the
countries of Europe is something that the new members, the
aspiring members are going to be able to effectively address so
they don't bring additional problems into the Union when they
join.
Mr. Meeks. Let me ask this question and then I will yield
and come back. One of the biggest issues that I think and that
is of concern is how the aligning of energy in the region is
dealt with and the climate policies with the principles of the
EU. And I understand that this is one of the most demanding
chapters that the EU and the EU accession, both in cost and
legislation that you were talking about needed to be passed.
Coal no longer can play such a role in these countries' energy
future.
Furthermore, when we see things like Greece is entertaining
Russia's plans to solve some of its energy questions, what
messages, if any, have we been sending from the U.S. on this
front and how can we be sure to kind of integrate the Balkan
countries in a new energy system? And how can we reverse this
trend and aid the countries in their energy plans so this is
lined up so that we can make sure we are working collectively
together in that regard?
Mr. Yee. Thank you for that question. I think the European
Union, along with the United States and the members, the
countries that are aspiring to EU membership, are all very much
focused on the need to align energy strategies, national
strategies in a way that makes each country as diversified as
possible, as energy independent as possible and as efficient as
possible in its use of available energy sources.
One of our big emphases now is to help countries in the
Western Balkans which are dependent on natural gas from a
single source, in this case Russia, also Central Europe the
same case, to be less dependent and to diversify the supplies
and routes of gas to their countries. This is a particular
emphasis now because in recent years, in 2009 and 2006 there
have been cases in which natural gas has been cut off in the
winter and countries have realized the need to diversify. So
this has been identified as a priority by the European Union.
We are working very closely with our European Union
partners and the aspiring countries to try to develop pipeline
systems that will ensure there is a flow of gas to the
countries that are reliant on gas imports, so they are not
reliant on one source. They can have more than one pipeline
supply.
Also, we are encouraging diversification of energy types,
so it is not only gas. It is renewables. It is also domestic,
indigenous exploration and exploitation of energy sources. So
it is not entirely just one country or one source.
We are also supporting the European Union's efforts to
develop a common energy market in which the countries cooperate
in how they align their energy strategies so that it is more
efficient and they are able to deal with energy exporters, such
as Russia, in a way that they are not divided or worked one off
the other in a way that is not advantageous to the aspiring
countries.
Mr. Meeks. Ms. Fritz, is there anything you want to add to
that?
Ms. Fritz. Yes, I would like to add the problems of energy
supply and energy issues in the region are pretty broad. They
include short fall for a generation. They also include aging
infrastructure. As DAS Yee mentioned, they rely on Russia for
gas supply. They also have low tariffs and high subsidized
energy prices, or I am sorry, highly subsidized energy prices
and that also continues to hinder capital investment in the
sector as well as promote inefficiencies.
USAID is supporting these countries on diversifying their
energy supply by supporting infrastructure investments. We,
over the last 10 years, have worked with transmission operators
within the countries to highlight and outline and identify the
most at-risk infrastructure and to bring World Bank and local
resources to the tune of $1 billion. So we have improved the
connectivity between the countries so that when you have an
excess producer like Bosnia or Albania, that they can share,
they can trade their energy resources with countries that don't
have enough.
We also work heavily in improving energy efficiency. We do
that because these systems are highly inefficient. If we can
save the amount of energy that they are using, then that not
only is it environmentally better, but financially it helps
them as well. The example I used in my testimony was an example
of Albania where we provided $300,000 worth of technical
assistance and advice to help them to reduce losses in their
system. They basically reaped $75 million worth of rewards from
that effort.
In addition, the World Bank is putting up a loan of $150
million to Albania for energy and USAID has been asked by the
Albanian Government to help them to manage those resources in
the best way possible. So our assistance is helping to
facilitate trade in the region, improve energy efficiency and
also to address some of the infrastructure issues in the
region.
Mr. Meeks. Thank you.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you, Mr. Meeks. So you just
mentioned energy efficiency. Is the level of energy production
increased in these last 20 years in that region?
Ms. Fritz. I will have to get back to you on actual
figures. I do not know.
Mr. Rohrabacher. You know about efficiency, but you don't
know if there is more energy available for the region?
Ms. Fritz. I do know that the needs will grow as the
economies do grow in the region and I can get back to you on
that.
Mr. Rohrabacher. The economies are growing in the region?
Ms. Fritz. Yes, they are.
Mr. Rohrabacher. What is the growth rate for these
countries?
Ms. Fritz. They have slowed. After 2008, the economy slowed
and in some cases reversed.
Mr. Rohrabacher. No, but I mean do you have a growth rate
like they have grown at an average of 2 percent a year, 3
percent a year or something like that?
Mr. Yee. Overall, in the Balkans, the growth rate has been
about 10 percent since 1990.
Mr. Rohrabacher. 10 percent since 1990, so that is \1/2\
percent per year, is that what you are talking about?
Mr. Yee. It has been very slow.
Mr. Rohrabacher. So that is not really good growth at all,
is it? That, in fact, would be considered pretty much
stagnation, wouldn't it?
Ms. Fritz. Well, for countries coming out of war, I think
it is understandable.
Mr. Rohrabacher. In fact, it is just the opposite, is it
not, when someone is coming out of a conflict that is when they
have the highest rate of growth as compared to later on once
their economy has been solidified? I think your calculus is
wrong there.
Let me ask you this about--so it doesn't appear that there
has been much economic progress because everybody seems to be
looking about being in the EU and that is going to be the big
solution and we know Croatia has at least become part of the
EU.
What is it that they have to do? What are some of the
requirements for all these other countries that the EU is
making demands that they do this, this, and this? Could you
give me three of the demands that are being made of these
struggling countries?
Mr. Yee. Well, thank you for the question, Mr. Chairman.
The answer is that for each of the countries it is slightly a
different case on what they need to do. One of the main things
that each country needs to be able to do is to make the economy
competitive with other members of the European Union. So it is
spending levels with respect to GDP. It is ability to meet
expenses, state expenses, maintain a budget in other words. It
is ability to collect taxes, pay pensions, basic things that
any economy in the world would need to do, it needs to be done
in a certain level.
Mr. Rohrabacher. So before they can become part of the EU,
demands that are being made are that they have to set up a
system that is approved by the EU in terms of their tax
collection would you say?
Mr. Yee. It has to meet the EU standards, Mr. Chairman. So
across the board in economic criteria of what is needed in
order to have a healthy economy within the European Union, the
EU has certain standards.
Mr. Rohrabacher. So it has been 20 years and you are just
talking about structural changes that what you are suggesting
now are sort of what could be made by democratic government.
They could say we are going to collect our taxes in a different
way, etcetera. So what is the hold up?
Mr. Yee. Well, the economy, of course, Mr. Chairman, is one
big factor. There is also the judiciary. There is the public
administration. There is the rule of law overall that needs to
be met, the ability to fight corruption and organized crime,
the ability of a government to meet its defense and security
needs, basically to fit in with the rest of the other 28
members. And as we have seen in the case with Croatia, it was
able to meet the standards with difficulty, of course, with
numerous reforms, changes including to its constitution.
Croatia was able to meet those demands.
Montenegro is also making progress. They have opened, I
believe, about 18 negotiating chapters with the European Union,
so they are moving ahead. It is a slow and difficult process,
but countries have shown that with the right political will,
with the right economic conditions, discipline, they are able
to make progress on that track.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Making progress means nothing then unless
they are part of the EU. I mean I hear this making progress, I
mean I managed to get up and get out of bed today. It seems to
me what we have is a total stagnation for 20 years in the
largest part of what was a conflict situation.
And Ms. Fritz, I am sorry, that after wars is when
economies grow at their fastest rate actually. And it is when
you are rebuilding your economy that you have growth. That is
by definition, but we haven't had that growth. And it seems to
me what we are doing today is we are not celebrating the Dayton
Accords. We are marking the fact that they happened 20 years
ago.
And it didn't sound like, to me, that you were telling me
that we are actually making progress toward taking care of
parts into the corruption issue. So the corruption issue is one
of the issues keeping these countries out of the EU. Is that
correct?
Mr. Yee. That is correct, Mr. Chairman. The ability to
fight corruption, organized crime, other serious criminal
issues is an important factor being weighed by the European
Union as it considers members.
Could I also add, Mr. Chairman, that I would agree with you
completely that the progress in Western Balkans has not been as
fast and as far as we would like and I think the countries of
the region themselves would agree that the European Union would
agree. However, as you mentioned yourself, Mr. Chairman, in
your opening remarks, there has been progress. Croatia has
joined the European Union and the NATO alliance.
Mr. Rohrabacher. We can keep talking about Croatia, but let
us talk about, for example, Serbia. Would you say that they
continue to have high level corruption problems in Serbia?
Mr. Yee. Serbia, Mr. Chairman, is actually, I think, a
bright spot on the Western Balkan map. In terms of its
accession to the European Union, they have reached an agreement
brokered by the European Union with Kosovo on normalization of
relations. This has allowed them to become a candidate--to open
accession negotiations with the European Union, so they are
moving ahead.
Mr. Rohrabacher. I think the question was about corruption.
Mr. Yee. Fighting corruption is one of the challenges that
they as well as the other Western Balkans countries face. It
certainly is an issue of concern. It is one of the areas in
which----
Mr. Rohrabacher. So give me a reading there for Serbia, the
Serbian Government in terms of their effort to eliminate
corruption. Sounds like you are giving them an A, but when I am
listening, I am trying to figure out if that is an A or----
Mr. Yee. Mr. Chairman, I wouldn't want to assign a rating,
but there are international organizations, Transparency
International, World Economic Reform.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Is there any indication that there are
politically-motivated persecutions going on and prosecutions
going on in Serbia today?
Mr. Yee. Politically-motivated prosecutions?
Mr. Rohrabacher. Prosecutions, yes.
Mr. Yee. None come to mind, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rohrabacher. You are not aware of any politically-
motivated prosecutions, all right.
Let me just, well, we will go through a second round, but
Mr. Sires, you may proceed.
Mr. Sires. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can you tell me what
the level of influence, Russia's influence is in the Western
Balkans today, the Russian influence?
Mr. Yee. Thank you for that question, Mr. Sires. Russia,
like many other countries in Europe, is interested in
increasing its influence and its business interests in the
Western Balkans. We have seen an increase in Russian interest
in the Western Balkans through finance, banking, through
energy, where it has been present for some time. I think I want
to start by saying that Russia has played a positive role in
the Western Balkans in such instances, in such countries as
Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Russia is a member of the Peace
Implementation Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina. We have
worked successfully with Russia at advancing shared interests
in the Balkans which are including stability and security of
the region.
We, of course, are watchful of what Russia is up to the
Balkans, particularly in light of what has happened Ukraine. We
listen very carefully, follow very closely what Russian
diplomats are saying. We noticed of late in last September,
last fall, Mr. Lavrov made a statement saying that Russia
considers NATO enlargement or NATO accession of Western Balkans
to be a provocative act. We, of course, disagree with that. We
don't believe NATO is directed at any country. It is a
defensive alliance. It is a positive factor of stability in the
Western Balkans. So I point that out as an area which we
disagree, but we are still able to work with Russia. I think it
is important that we remain vigilant as to what they are
actually doing, both in terms of their business and their
political actions in the Western Balkans.
Mr. Sires. Are they nervous at all on what has happened
with the Ukraine? Are the Balkans nervous at all after seeing
what happened in Crimea and Ukraine?
Mr. Yee. I think, Mr. Representative, it is fair to say
that many countries in Europe, including the Western Balkans,
have watched what Russia has done in Ukraine with great
consternation and concern about, first of all, the stability,
security of Europe, the strength and integrity of the European
order of principles on which----
Mr. Sires. But, you know, it struck me that you said the
Russians have been helping these countries, and you have been
working with the Russians, so which is it? I mean----
Mr. Yee. Mr. Representative, it is both. Russia in some
occasions, in some instances is a partner with which we work
not only in the Western Balkans. As you know, Mr.
Representative, we work with Russia in fighting, countering
violent extremism, counterterrorism, on the Iran nuclear
negotiations.
In Ukraine, we clearly have a different position. We have
been urging our European partners and working with our
Europeans to insist that Russia abide by its agreements that it
signed.
Mr. Sires. Ms. Fritz, do you have anything to add to this?
Can you add something to this?
Ms. Fritz. USAID is not engaged on countering Russian
pressure or aggression in any way. We are a development agency,
so no, sir.
Mr. Sires. You don't want to say anything. Can you tell me
what progress has been made since Serbia and Kosovo signed the
agreement of principles governing the normalization of
relations in 2013?
Mr. Yee. On what basis?
Mr. Sires. Any progress that they have made. I mean,
obviously----
Mr. Yee. Yes, Representative Sires, thanks very much. That
is actually another area where we feel there has been some
progress made in the Western Balkans. That is the agreement
between Kosovo and Serbia to normalize the relations in
accordance with an agreement brokered by the European Union in
April 2013.
The progress in implementing that agreement has been slow,
but it has been steady. We have seen even in February where the
two sides, both countries met to work out an agreement on the
integration of the judicial system throughout Kosovo for all
Kosovo citizens, there are now agreements being worked out on
other basic issues affecting citizens lives, telecoms, energy.
Eventually, there will be----
Mr. Sires. Do you feel that in 2015, they remain fully
committed to this?
Mr. Yee. Yes, absolutely, Mr. Sires. Both sides have been
negotiating in good faith. Both sides see their futures linked
to this process of normalization in order to gain what they
both want which is to be integrated with the European Union.
Mr. Sires. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rohrabacher. We will have a short second round. Mr.
Meeks, go right ahead.
Mr. Meeks. Let me ask Ms. Fritz. How has the USAID programs
in the Western Balkans helped to build tolerance between
communities? And how much work remains to be done to heal some
of the scars of the 1990s? Because to me, we want to make sure
that we don't ever go back there and the question of the
different ethnic groups. And what I hope our work is is to help
build that kind of tolerance so that we can have a more
prosperous future.
Ms. Fritz. Thank you for that question, Mr. Meeks. We have
continuing programs on ethnic reconciliation in all four of the
former Yugoslav republics in which we are working. So, for
example, in Bosnia, we have a variety of activities. We work in
the schools to promote ethnic tolerance. We are working with 15
pairs of communities that were divided during the war to
promote ethnic reconciliation between those communities. We
worked with youth on building ethnic tolerance through sports.
In Kosovo, our effort has been a little bit different. We
have focused on helping to establish the ethnically Serb
majority municipalities that came out of the Ahtisaari Plan and
helping Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs to work together in
building those institutions.
In Macedonia, our focus has been totally related to the
schools. Schools in Macedonia are mostly mono-ethnic, meaning
that ethnic Macedonian children are in one school, ethnic
Albanian kids are in another. So our efforts have been
connecting over 260 mono-ethnic schools with one another so
that kids have a chance to know kids from other ethnicities. We
partnered with the Department of Defense on that project where
we have renovated over 40 schools and have worked also with the
Macedonian Government which has put up almost $800,000 to also
renovate the schools. And local communities, local
municipalities have also put up on average 30 percent toward
the cost of those projects. This effort has impacted more than
20,000 kids in Macedonia.
And then in Serbia, our efforts have been a little bit
different. We focus on economic development in the southern
part of Serbia, so in south Serbia where ethnic Albanians live,
and in Sanjak where ethnic Bosniaks live, to build economic
development and build ties between the central government and
these disadvantaged regions. So we have different approaches in
each country. It remains front and center of our concerns and
our programming because of the scars from the war.
Mr. Rohrabacher. There has been a vote called, and so I
will have a couple of minutes for my second round of questions
and then we will be in recess until the end of the next vote
that we have or whatever that vote is.
Let me ask, I guess we are opposing, Mr. Yee, the Serbian
request for a referendum that they might become, leave their
part of the government with Bosnia, is that right? And we are
opposing that?
Mr. Yee. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the question. I
believe you are referring to the Republic of Srpska's
announcement or one party within the Republic of Srpska
announced over the weekend in its party congress that if its
goals for a greater autonomy were not met by, I believe, 2018,
it would want to move toward independence.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Right.
Mr. Yee. So I think as a general principle, Mr. Chairman,
our view is that we need, the United States, needs to continue
to support wholeheartedly the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that there is, in fact, a
reform process underway that is led by the European Union and
the United States, that is designed to address the desire of
the people, not only the Republic of Srpska, but of the
federation of the whole country in getting adequate----
Mr. Rohrabacher. Got it. Well, let me note that it doesn't
seem to me we backed the Kosovars right, so determination. And
the Serbs certainly didn't like that. And now when you have
some Serbs who don't want to--who want their right of self-
determination, we just seem to have a double standard. And I
think that double standard is quite demonstrable over these
last 20 years.
Now what we have is then from what I am getting, I keep
hearing the word progress, but it seems to me that what we have
got is stagnation and when you have 1\1/2\ or just \1/2\
percentage economic growth a year over a 20-year period what
you have are people living in desperation because that growth
generally would not impact on some of the people who are
struggling there to earn a living and live decent lives. But
instead, quite often that type of growth pattern services an
elite and or is syphoned off into the government in some way.
So I am from the--I know we can use the word progress over
and over again. I don't get that from your testimony. I will
just have to say that right off the bat and I think if things
are not acceptable, if the status quo is not acceptable, it is
only giving us this very low growth rate. And I might add
people who are on hold to get into the EU for all of these
years, it seems that some decisions need to be made to change
the situation, not simply to stay on hold until accession into
the EU will solve all of these problems.
This hearing is now in recess and the next panel will come
up as soon as we get back with this vote. Thank you.
[Recess.]
Mr. Rohrabacher. This hearing will come to order. I wonder
if someone could close that door.
Mr. DioGuardi. The reason why they opened it was it got so
warm, but now that a lot of people have left, maybe it is
better. Just close one side. All right, close them both. The
State Department has left, so it is nice and cool now.
Mr. Rohrabacher. All right. For our next panel we have Ivan
Vejvoda, senior vice president of programs, German Marshall
Fund here in Washington, DC, from 2010 to 2013, he was the
executive director of the Balkan Trust for Democracy Program.
And before that, he was the advisor to the Serbian Government
and a long-time advocate for democracy in the region.
Next we have Joseph DioGuardi.
Mr. DioGuardi. ``DioGuardi,'' in Italian, means God
protects.
Mr. Rohrabacher. A former Member of Congress, and a
prominent Albanian-American leader. He worked to focus the
attention of the American Government on the Balkans. He is
responsible for helping to bring about the first congressional
hearing on Kosovo that we ever had. That goes all the way back
to 1987 and today he is president of the Albanian American
Civic League and is very active in the region. So we are very
pleased to have both of you with us today. I would ask you to
take 5 minutes and then we will go into questions from there.
First, Mr. Vejvoda.
STATEMENT OF MR. IVAN VEJVODA, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PROGRAMS,
GERMAN MARSHALL FUND OF THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Vejvoda. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for your
kind introduction and thank you again for organizing this
hearing. As you said, there hasn't been one in 2 years and I
would submit to you that that is already a sign of progress.
That means that there hasn't been anything radical in the
region that would provoke a hearing. And I would like to try
and say why I believe there has been progress over all these
years and it is an honor to be testifying with the Honorable
DioGuardi. Thank you so much.
This is about the integration post Second World War Europe,
a part of Europe that was left behind the Iron Curtain. Of
course, the former Yugoslavia was not. It was in between NATO
and the Warsaw Pact, a relatively independent country in terms
of its foreign policy. And it slumbered into complete
destruction when everybody thought there would never be war in
Europe at the end of the 20th century. My country disappeared
in front of me and is today seven countries.
Why has there been progress? Well, very simply because
there has been serious reconciliation. We haven't talked at all
about regional cooperation which is very intense. Just to give
you two examples, the military intelligences of all the
countries regularly meet twice a year to exchange experiences,
youth meets, cultural festivals. There has been a
reconstitution of the cultural and societal space after a
conflict rather rapidly. We like to say in the region, I am
from Belgrade myself, that wars are quick to happen, but they
also subside very quickly and people get back to their
business.
In spite of all the difficulties that remain, I need not
remind you and this country that the scars of the Civil War
remain after a long time, after that conflict as we celebrate
150 years of the end of the War. I think here we have moved
very rapidly. And the fact that we have a European Union that
is, in essence, a peace project after World War II and having
to impede war is the main reason why these countries want to
join, because they were not democratic. They were not
encompassed by this peace project and the fact that the
European Union has been so long as peace is one of the key
reasons why they want to join. Nobody in the region is
oblivious to the fact that Europe has problems, that the Euro
zone is in crisis, that growth rates are slow.
And let me just give you one financial statistic. Greece,
at the height of the crisis in 2010, had a GDP of $300 billion.
If you put all the GDPs of all the former six Yugoslav
republics, it barely reached $200 billion. What I am saying is
these are small countries. They are weak economies. They had
growth rates up until Lehman Brothers disappeared off the
streets of New York of 7 to 8 percent. And thus, we suffered
with the rest of the world back to low growth rates of 1 to 2
percent, minus 1 percent. And I would say there is nothing
unusual in the Balkans about that because that is what happened
to the rest of the world.
These countries are highly dependent on foreign direct
investments. If you look at the trade patterns, we are fully
trading with the European Union and the United States. We have
many companies from the U.S. in the region. And in fact, they
were calling from the Senate, Chris Murphy visited the region
recently and was able to see for himself.
In comparison, Russia is very low on all of those charts in
terms of aid and public forums and we can get back to that if
you wish.
So what I am saying is that the European Union has put in a
lot of money. USAID has been a key actor as has been the U.S.
Government. Only yesterday, the German Foreign Minister
Steinmeier visited Belgrade to see how things were progressing.
He gave high marks for the reforms in Serbia and of course,
complimented both Kosovo and Serbia on the advance they were
making. These are historical, difficult challenges. And the
fact that the leaders of both Kosovo and Serbia have found it
in themselves to make this historical compromise and to move
forward with all the difficulties, I would submit to you that
it is great progress.
Of course, the fact that the growth rates are low that we
have very high youth unemployment. In Bosnia, youth
unemployment is above 60 percent. And the fact that we have a
brain drain again is not unusual. Look at Spain. Look at Italy.
Look at Portugal. Lots of young professionals, IT, are moving
north into Scandinavia and into Germany. Again, I want to
relativize the fact that we have problems because those of us
around us have problems.
But I would like to underscore that it is about politics
and geopolitics here. This region is what I call the inner
courtyard of Europe. We are surrounded in the Western Balkans
by full EU, full NATO member states. And all of the governments
for the past 15 years, I take the fall of Milosevic as kind of
the last hurdle, as the region moves forward, have determined
to both join the EU and to join NATO except Serbia that still
seeks a situation of neutrality. And the fact that there is
this determination in spite of all is very important. And thus,
I think, an invitation coming to Montenegro to join NATO, of
course, if the marks are high in the boxes that it has to tick
off, is most welcome because it demonstrates that the open-door
policy of NATO is the reality. After 2009, so it is 6 years
since the last enlargement round of NATO, and taking in
Montenegro which would make the full northern coast of the
Mediterranean, that is the only little part that remains not
part of NATO would be symbolically and geopolitically very
important.
And so the EU is working very hard and I would like to
underscore the role of Germany. Along with other EU member
states, it has taken a lead role. Chancellor Merkel has
convened something called the Berlin Process. All the prime
ministers of the region were convened to Berlin. They will meet
again in Vienna in August and they were in Brussels just 10
days ago with the High Representative Mogherini to look at
concrete infrastructure projects. Serbia and Kosovo are
negotiating a highway that they will build together. A railroad
is being built, a high-speed one between Belgrade and Budapest.
So in spite of these difficulties and no one wants to
underestimate them or neglect them, that is what life is about,
to confront the challenges. I would say that there is
leadership.
And I would also like to underscore the importance of civil
society and the strength that it has and it requires full
support from donors like USA, from the Balkan Trust that is
still active. And thus this combination of leadership with
support from the United States and the European Union, I think,
will help us achieve that Europe whole, free, and at peace that
is, I think, a common goal to all of us.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Vejvoda follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
----------
Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you. Joe, you are on.
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JOSEPH J. DIOGUARDI, PRESIDENT,
ALBANIAN AMERICAN CIVIC LEAGUE (FORMER MEMBER OF CONGRESS)
Mr. DioGuardi. Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for this
hearing. I know we have many problems to deal with, the United
States of America, around the world. Your questions to the
State Department were excellent. As an American, I am
embarrassed with the lack of clarity and the lack of substance
on the answers you got from the State Department and the USAID.
Now you know me as an advocate for human rights, but you
may have forgotten that I am the first certified public
accountant ever elected to the U.S. Congress. So let me talk
about the numbers, because the numbers you heard don't add up.
When you discover that the State Department thinks that our
growth rate is less than 10 percent over a long period and as
you rightly pointed out that is \1/2\ percent growth annually.
Think about now the Albanian people in Kosovo and Macedonia.
They have the highest birthrate in Europe today. Now think
about the fact that there is no visa liberalization, so there
is no way for the youngest population in Europe to go West.
They are forced to go to Turkey. But not where there is some
real growth like in Germany. That has to be resolved, number
one.
And think about the fact that you have this continuing
adversarial relationship between the Serbs and the Albanians,
at least at the government level. You heard from the State
Department that they see hope and integration and
normalization. How can there be normalization when every
opportunity Serbia gets it says they will never recognize the
independence of Kosovo. How can you have European integration
when 5 countries today out of the 28 are not recognizing the
independence of Kosovo? I don't think they know who the
Albanian people are. They are the most pro-American, most pro-
democracy, and the most tolerant people in terms of inter-
religious tolerance in perhaps, the world today. They share
four religions. There are even synagogues. A recent one was
built in Albania. So you have Orthodox Christians, Roman
Catholics, Muslims, and Jews. They intermarry. This is not a
reality for the rest of Europe. This is what we should be
supporting. These are the people that on 9/11, from Kosovo and
Macedonia, were crying, walking with candles in the street,
while the Serbs, the Greeks, Montenegrins, and Macedonians,
ethic Slavic Macedonians that is, were dancing for joy in the
streets. I just want to remind you, Mr. Chairman, who our
friends are in the Balkans.
You are continuing in the path of great chairmen. We
started the first hearing with Congressman Dante Fascell, a
Democrat. Then Congressman Gilman. Then Congressmen Hyde and
Lantos, and now you. And thank God we have this progression,
and that America understands that their best friends in the
Balkans are the Albanian people.
Now why is this hearing so important? We want to see
Southeast Europe integrated into Europe. But the answers you
heard--and your questions were excellent but got very few
answers--tell us that unless the United States remains not only
present, but active in Southeast Europe, there will be no
European integration. There will be something that will happen
before that that could create violence again. And I hope not.
Nobody wants to see that. The problem is that the Albanian
people can only take so much. So let us focus on Kosovo and
then a few comments on Macedonia.
We had a Pristina-Belgrade agreement 2 years ago heralded
by Catherine Ashton. It is now been almost 2 years. Very little
of the 15-point agreement has been implemented. And yet, you
heard the State Department say that it is mostly done. It is
not. In fact, Serbia has yet to dismantle the parallel
structures in the north. Now I understand your philosophy and I
love it, about ``self-determination.'' But there is a big
difference in the self-determination that the Kosovars wanted
and the Serbs want. Kosovars were under a genocidal maniac,
Slobodan Milosevic. And a lot of that is continuing today.
There is racism by the Slavic Macedonians and Slavic Serbs.
There is actual racism against the Albanian people today. As
you know, they are not Slavs. They should have never been put
in a state called Yugoslavia. That was the biggest mistake that
was made after World War I.
So where are we going with this at this point? If the State
Department thinks that things are in regular order, when Serbia
is refusing to recognize Kosovo, refusing to take away the
parallel structures and what not. The other problem the State
Department has is that it has been much too involved in
decisions that have been made within Kosovo. For instance,
there was an election. There was an impasse. People did not
want a return of the regime of Hashim Thaci. Many people feel
he is corrupt and we can say the same thing about some
politicians in Macedonia. But what happened was that our State
Department--well, I hope not, but it is probable. But the
problem is that we have a State Department now that forced the
issue. There was a coalition, an opposition that was trying to
regularize things in Kosovo and now we have a return of the
political elite just switching chairs. Now Mr. Thaci is the
deputy to Isa Mustafa who was rated yesterday with the
population of Kosovo at 24 percent popularity, but our State
Department engineered that back.
Another thing----
Mr. Rohrabacher. You have 60 seconds. We are way over
already.
Mr. DioGuardi. Let us look at Mr. Dell. He forces the
creation of a road that is supposed to cost $1 billion to
connect Albania and Kosovo. It goes to $2 billion. We need jobs
in Kosovo, not a road. That road could have been built by local
contractors for half price. And where does he end up? In a
senior position in Bechtel, the company he aided to get the
job. I would say, Mr. Chairman, that we need the U.S. Inspector
General for the State Department to look at that.
Let me just conclude with Macedonia. And by the way, I want
to be sure that all my written comments are on the record. And
in the case of Kosovo, there is an article that was written by
our Balkan affairs advisor, Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi,
``Confronting the Roots of Kosovo's Downward Spiral.'' And I
would like to make sure that this article is put on the record.
Mr. Rohrabacher. It will be submitted and put into the
record without objection.
Mr. DioGuardi. And on Macedonia, we have another article by
Irwin Fouere and he was someone who was the former EU Special
Representative in Macedonia from 2005 to 2011. I think he knows
what he is talking about. And that article is entitled,
``Gruevski Must Resign and Make Way for a Transition Process in
Macedonia.'' That article was dated March 23, 2015, so that it
is recent, as is the alleged corruption he talks about in that
article----
Mr. Rohrabacher. The article will be put into the record at
this point without objection.
Mr. DioGuardi. And let me conclude just on the two points,
Kosovo and Macedonia. It is in my written comments here, but I
would like to make just one concluding comment here on both.
Regarding Kosovo, if the EU is serious about integration,
there must be a much more aggressive approach taken for the
recognition of Kosovo by all EU countries including Serbia.
Regarding Macedonia, Albanians need to be treated as an
equal partner in a state that does not have an ethnic majority,
no majority. You have Bulgarians. You have Slavs. And you have
the Albanians. But in that state, when it was formed, the
constitution in 1992 was formed as a Macedonian state and that
still rankles the Albanians today because they are not treated
as equal and that is a big problem. The only other option, Mr.
Chairman, is federalization. It was talked about back in the
early '90s, but that is what Albanians would need if they
didn't get a constitution that treated them as an equal state-
forming group. They want federalization that will allow them
administrative, social, and financial control over their own
destiny as part of a Macedonian federation of ethnic Albanians
and Slav Macedonians.
The problem we have got in Macedonia is so simple, it is
black and white. Macedonia is an apartheid state in the middle
of Europe. The Albanians do not live with the Slavs. They live
separately, but unequally, and this is the problem today. And
now you have Mr. Gruevski being exposed by his own opposition
Slavic leader as one of the most corrupt leaders in Europe and
the poor Albanian people are sitting there trying to figure out
where we fit in all of this.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Joe, thank you for your time.
Mr. DioGuardi. Thank you so much for this opportunity.
[The prepared statement of Mr. DioGuardi follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
----------
Mr. Rohrabacher. I will proceed with some questions and
then Mr. Meeks will follow and the second swing, we will do
that as well.
Let me ask our friend from the German Marshal Fund, has the
debt like for these Balkan countries in the last--we have 20
years. Okay, we have got 20 years since the Dayton Accords. We
know that they are--and I know you believe that this is just a
global trend in terms of an economy that was not producing a
great deal of growth. We noticed that there was a World Bank
loan of $150 million. How much debt are these countries in now?
And what does that mean in terms of their economic viability
and in terms of being able to function while paying the
interest on the debt?
Mr. Vejvoda. Well, again, nothing special about the
Balkans. Like most of the countries in the world, they have a
varying level of debt. In Serbia, I know it is 75 percent of
GDP to the debt which is around $25 billion, I think. Other
countries also, Croatia, Slovenia, I mean EU member states
also, not only Bosnia and Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, and
Montenegro.
The IMF has just concluded an agreement with Serbia just I
think a month ago to the level of $3 billion to support the
reform process and also the structural reforms that are
required. Basically, in the case of Serbia----
Mr. Rohrabacher. So we are asking for structural reform
while burdening them with $2 billion of debt?
Mr. Vejvoda. The structural reforms cannot happen without
that support because structural reforms mean that you have to
close down companies, so-called public enterprises that are
working at a loss in Serbia. When you put them all together,
there are roughly 300 companies or more that make a loss of $1
billion a year. So what the IMF and the World Bank are saying,
you need to close this down, but of course, there are human
stories behind that because that means laying off thousands of
people who, in an economy without growth, you know, the state
will have that burden to carry it and thus the support from the
outside----
Mr. Rohrabacher. Are we bailing out owners of these
companies?
Mr. Vejvoda. No. These are all state-owned companies.
Mr. Rohrabacher. I know. So it is just a state-owned
company and there is no business class of people who are
receiving the loan?
Mr. Vejvoda. No. These are loans that--of course, there is
the privatization in place, not dissimilar to what is being
asked of Greece or Ukraine at this moment. Of course, Greece
should have done this a long time ago. It has been a member
state of the EU for more than 40 years and a member of NATO for
more than 60 years. So I think again, in comparison, things are
moving. Yes, at a slow pace. And as a citizen of that region, I
am also frustrated by it, but as an analyst, as a political
scientist in my previous life, I think it is moving.
Mr. Rohrabacher. We have Greece as a next door neighbor, as
an example, and they are a member of EU and NATO. And then we
have all of these other Balkan countries who have been waiting
20 years thinking that NATO and EU would be their economic,
give them economic deliverance. By the way, when you say this
$2 billion loan, who is that repaid to? Who actually gets the
money at the end?
Mr. Vejvoda. It has to be, just as Greece is repaying it to
the IMF and the World Bank, Serbia will repay this IMF loan of
$3 billion to the IMF.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Is there actually any private banks that
end up being paid for by this? Or is this all a government?
Mr. Vejvoda. This is all in IMF loans. These are not
private banks.
Mr. Rohrabacher. This debt isn't, we are not putting these
people in debt to some big German bank some place?
Mr. Vejvoda. No, this is not like the case of Greece.
Mr. Rohrabacher. You know, I am not sure that people can
borrow their way into prosperity. And I know that we are saying
that getting these loans are predicated on the reforms
necessary for closing up unprofitable operations, that it would
be better to having the money spent on things that actually are
self-sustaining. I understand that is a good point. But it does
seem that all the time when people are talking about all the
progress that has been made, all we hear about is Croatia and
for the rest of these countries, we are talking about fairly
large unemployment. Certainly, of course, right next door we
have Greece that is a member of the EU and is a member of NATO
and they seem to be having big problems as well.
Are you--let me just get this, are you optimistic that
these things are going to be overcome? We have had 20 years now
and I am sorry, I don't buy our own Government's analysis of
this is a progress line. I know that you wanted to suggest that
you thought there was progress as well.
Mr. Vejvoda. There is.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Outside of Croatia, is this figure correct
that 60 percent of youth, young people, are unemployed?
Mr. Vejvoda. In Bosnia.
Mr. Rohrabacher. In Bosnia. Sixty percent? Do you think
that might lead to perhaps when we have ethnic differences and
especially when you have people, for example, is there any
evidence, for example, that you have that perhaps some of the
unemployed youth of this region who are Muslims might be
engaged in being recruited to participate in radical Islamic
terrorism?
Mr. Vejvoda. There are, but in comparison to countries like
France or Belgium or Sweden, we have very low numbers in the
region throughout. Maybe from each country, 20, 30 people have
gone, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, a little more, Macedonia. There
are now statistics. In fact, just yesterday, the European Union
has decided to give $10 million euros to the region for greater
interoperability between the civilian intelligence services so
that they can do their job better, but I think they are doing
very well.
Let me just add, and this is something that we didn't
mention, there has been very intense cooperation between the
United States, DEA, and our domestic civilian services on
countering serious organized crime, especially cocaine
trafficking from Latin America. A lot of these people are in
jail and being tried. So I would like to underscore the
interdependency, whether it is of the region with Europe or in
this case of the United States with the region. There are FBI
offices, I think, in all of these countries and there is very
intense work together. So we are not an island separated from
the rest of the world. So we share both the travails and the
problems.
And I would like simply to make a distinction, Mr.
Chairman, if you will allow, between political progress and
economic troubles that the rest of the world is seeing. I would
say that there has been huge political progress. We were
communist countries. There was no freedom of speech, no freedom
of association, no human rights. We have made huge strides. You
heard from Deputy Assistant Secretary Hoyt Yee that Albania was
now given a clean bill of justice on their last elections. It
was the last country that didn't have elections that were
considered free and fair. The rest of us in the region have
that. We go home at 10 in the evening and we know that the
votes are well counted. There is, of course, now this
allegation of fraud in the case of Macedonia that is being
investigated. You heard about that. But I think that citizens
now do have the possibility of----
Mr. Rohrabacher. So you don't really take these charges of
corruption and ballot stuffing and----
Mr. Vejvoda. That is what is being investigated, these wire
taps and we will see what the prosecution in Macedonia comes up
with up. They are very serious allegations. I do not----
Mr. Rohrabacher. So if we are only going to focus on the
political progress, because the economic progress has been so
low, we end up having to close our eyes to the other things?
Mr. Vejvoda. No, not at all, not closing our eyes at all. I
think, again, the journalists, the citizens, there are strikes
in our countries. People stand up for themselves and when they
see unemployment or difficulties in government in going about
the reforms, people are very supportive of these reforms. In
fact, they are more supportive of reforms than joining the EU
or NATO because they know it is about us.
So when we talk about the EU and NATO, what has been very
clear and we talk about 15 years again in countries like Serbia
because it is the fall of Milosevic that really marks the
turning point for the region, when that authoritarian ruler was
beat by us citizens at the polling station in a free election
which we defended in the street, half a million of us went down
into the street on October 5, 2000 to defend our freedom.
The case is that people know that freedom is valuable and
they defend it, but we again are not an island in the Pacific
that lives off coconuts. We are dependent on the world markets.
For example, in Serbia we have a huge car plant that is owned
by Chrysler-Fiat that has been doing well, but not everyone has
the fortune to work in that car factory. So it is about
foreign-direct investments. There is no economic domestic
capacity in any of our countries. They are not billionaires.
They are not Bill Gates or Warren Buffets who can invest. We
need to await support either from international financial
institutions and I would add the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment
Bank.
Mr. Rohrabacher. I would have to suggest that if the
economic situation does not improve and it continues to be more
like Greece than like other countries in the world, I predict
that the democratic institutions you are talking about will
come under even greater pressure and we have to understand that
if young people can't find jobs, do end up getting recruited,
and if they see that their own Government has certain levels of
corruptions, it tends to destabilize the whole country.
Mr. Vejvoda. Mr. Chairman, if I could just add one
sentence.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Yes, sir.
Mr. Vejvoda. To put it all to bluntly, we have done war and
we have been there in the '90s. And we have learned what the
cost of conflict is. And that is why progress is a fact in this
region. Nobody wants to go back there, not the Bosnians, not
the Albanians, not the Serbs, because it has been a huge cost
to their lives. We have lost 10 years. I had to change my
career. I suffered also with my family and others as has
everyone in the region and that is why we want to join the
European Union and most countries want to join NATO.
Mr. Rohrabacher. I think you are right and----
Mr. Vejvoda. And so in spite of the resilience, the
resilience is important to understand why we want, but of
course, there will be examples of young going to fight for the
Islamic states.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Only if they are chronically unemployed
and they have no hope in their life. I would certainly agree
with your assessment that when people have been through the
kind of war, and we have a situation now maybe I should ask you
about it. There is a group, there were actually three brothers
that were murdered by the Serbians and we were told that there
would be some kind of action taken to bring justice to that
case. Is there justice being brought to that case, for example?
Mr. Vejvoda. Yes, this is a well-known case. The Bitici
brothers and their brother who fortunately is alive met the
Serbian prime minister who promised him a face-to-face, that
this would be dealt with.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Has that been dealt with?
Mr. Vejvoda. It has not yet been dealt with, but the
prosecution is working full steam on this. I think the Serbian
prime minister will be visiting Washington soon at the
invitation of Vice President Biden.
Mr. Rohrabacher. The prosecutor is working full steam and
how long has it been?
Mr. Vejvoda. It has been long. It has been long.
Mr. Rohrabacher. If that is full steam, I wonder what slow
pace, if that is full steam. They are not working full steam on
it. And there is a lot of things that need to be done full
steam and they are not doing it.
Mr. Vejvoda. And unfortunately, it is not only the case
with this, but there are journalists who were assassinated
under Milosevic's time whose cases are not closed yet also. So
it is not only----
Mr. Rohrabacher. Right. Well, let me put it this way. I
think that we have to--we are marking the 20th anniversary. I
think if progress continues at the rate that it has been within
the next 20 years, you are going to see a disintegration rather
than anywhere--anybody could be optimistic about it. Because
the political reform--it is not reform, it is political
realization of people don't want to kill each other. That will
dissipate with time if you have people who are living hopeless
lives in these various countries.
And I do not--look, if the EU will loan them, I guess it is
not the EU loaning $2 billion, but sitting right next to the EU
and the EU has all of these hoops that these countries have got
to jump through before they can benefit like the rest of the
Europeans and they have been waiting for 20 years and they are
still not in the EU. I mean Croatia is the one country that has
made it. None of this gives me reason for optimism or
especially to use the word progress.
Mr. Meeks, you may go right ahead.
Mr. Meeks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I think what we may
have here is between the chairman and I a classic case of is
the glass half full or is the glass half empty. And from what I
hear from the chair he says it is half empty. I think I side
that it is half full.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Is there vodka in the glass?
Mr. Meeks. Not for me. So for me, 20 years is not a long
time. And 20 years where we are starting to see that
integration is substantial. And I think of--I can't help to
come to these--my thinking and to my positions without also
looking at a nation that has been here for over 238 years, the
United States of America. And I don't see how we can be
critical of countries that are trying to get together and work
and have the integration in 20 years when we really haven't--
still, we are striving to be a more perfect union.
I mean I couldn't help but think about what has taken place
just a few short miles from here today, yesterday, in Baltimore
where you have got a group of young men, unemployed, no sense
of hope, none of those things exist. This is in the United
States of America. When I think about the number of individuals
who are being recruited from al Qaeda or for ISIS or whatever,
right here from the United States of America. So I don't see
how I can be so critical of others who are trying to strive and
prove themselves just 20 short years when the United States has
been trying to do it for over 238 years. It is a fact that the
globe is now much smaller than it has been. And we do need to
figure out how we integrate it and work collectively together
and that is why in my estimation it is important for us and the
United States and for the EU to work with other nations who are
also striving to be better. There are ethnic differences, so
that is why I asked the question before about that, just as
there are ethnic differences still in the United States of
America. But the only way that we can work that out is to try
to figure out how we can talk and work that out and do it
collectively as a human community and as a world community.
So I would like to think that the progress that I have seen
over the last 20 years where we have come from the slaughtering
of human beings on a massive level to where now we are really
starting to talk about the corruption that may be there, fixing
the economy, fixing this and fixing that, on figuring how we
work together better as opposed to how we destroy one another,
to me that is truly a glass that is half full.
Now we have still got a long way to go. We have still got
to make sure that we would like the full glass and that is what
I think that I am hearing some. And Mr. Vejvoda, I am hearing
you say that what we are striving to do is to get better. And
the economy, Lord knows, we just came out of the greatest
recession since the Great Depression here in the United States.
And everybody in the EU economy has been suffering when I look
at the unemployment rates as going up.
So it is important to me that we have this hearing and we
have this kind of dialogue on both ways though because by doing
that then maybe we can realize and try to figure out how we can
improve and have a better situation.
Now I get concerned because all areas of the world are
important and oftentimes when I travel some say well the United
States being the world's largest economy is focused here and
not there. And that is why I think this hearing is important
because the Balkans has to be still on the United States' place
as we tend to look at some other places whether it is dealing
in Ukraine or dealing in Asia or dealing in some other part, we
have to make sure the Balkans is still in our focus because it
is such still a key part of the world. And until we can do
that--so I get concerned, for example, in the U.S. budget as I
look as we put a lot of dollars now toward the Ukraine
situation. I look that the focus is less on what is taking
place in the Balkans. And so I am wondering how we make up for
the lower levels of funding that remain so that we can continue
being a leading force in the region along with the EU and
keeping hope up because with a slow accession gives me concern,
keeping hope up from the countries that are trying to get in,
of gaining access into NATO or the EU that it, in fact, can
happen. And what do we need to do to make sure that that
happens?
So I will get off my bandwagon. The question, for example,
I get concerned about whether or not the dates and framework is
still salvageable. I get--the questions that I have, so I want
to throw that out. The question that I have is that since 2013,
what progress has been made since Serbia and Kosovo signed the
Agreement of Principles and Governing, the normalization of
relations, and do both sides remain fully committed to the
process. And if not, who is not? What can we do to help so that
they can be committed to the process? I want to look at it on a
positive side so that we can figure out how we can work this
thing to make it happen so that we can be--we still are
striving, we are never going to be perfect, but continue to
striving to be better and working to be better and having it
more in an integrated and therefore co-dependent scenario.
Mr. Vejvoda?
Mr. Vejvoda. Thank you very much, Congressman Meeks, for
those questions. First of all on Dayton, and the 20th
anniversary, there is a very concrete now proposal that is a
joint German-British proposal of Ministers Steinmeier and
Hammond that came out in November about how to kick start, to
put it very simply, Bosnia out of this stagnation, both
politically and economically. They both visited the region
recently. As a consequence, Bosnia, the Parliament, the new
Parliament that was voted in recently and the new government
signed on the dotted line that they would work within this
proposal on how to find socioeconomic steps forward and also
importantly, they were given the next step in EU integration
which is called the Stabilization and Association Agreement
that by the way Kosovo will be getting in a few months, if not
weeks, if my dates are correct. That was announced by the EU
Special Representation Samuel Zbogar just 2 or 3 days ago in
Pristina.
So I think again the EU, with all of its troubles and
slowness, is a tanker that moves ahead and the enlargement
progress writ large is moving in spite of what was mentioned
about the fatigue. And obviously, European countries are also
in a process of what is called renationalization because
everybody has economic and social problems and thus, they don't
want to be seen as helping others or giving aid money when
money is needed for employment.
So again, being very cautiously optimistic on Bosnia, which
has been the slowest to move, identifiably, of all the
countries, I think when the new government that has been
established and having signed this compact with the European
Union, we have to see what happens in the coming months and
then come back and assess that.
On the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina and Serbia
and Kosovo, I think as I said, it is a historical agreement.
There is no easy way around this. Both countries know, both
capitals, both prime ministers know that if they do not reach
an agreement there is no help out there. There is no movement
toward either the European Union or anywhere else. The EU made
by its own recognition a mistake by taking in Cypress as a
member state with an unresolved territorial issue. As you know,
the north of the island still is under the control of Turkey.
And it so happened people make mistakes and they said never
again. So that means that both Belgrade and Pristina have to
resolve this, sign on the dotted line in the end at the
doorstep of Europe, in the door step, just after the door step
and what is termed the process of normalization. This is going
to last several years. Nobody is at the door step of Europe
yet. I think the closest is Montenegro and after that Serbia.
They both hope to finish the negotiations by 2019, 2020. And
there is the ratification process.
So I think that the fact that we didn't have a government
in Pristina for well close to a year hindered the advance.
Again, as a citizen, I would like to see this move much more
rapidly to see more movement in this direction. But again,
because we are dealing with a conflict, a post-conflict
situation, we have leaders who have now signed, Prime Ministers
Dacic and Thachi now; today, Prime Ministers Mustafa and Vucic
met in Brussels on February 9th. They made an agreement on the
judiciary. They will be meeting again. The teams are meeting
all the time. They have, we have not Ambassadors, but
representatives on both sides sitting in Belgrade from Kosovo
and vice versa. Our foreign minister was in Pristina just a
month ago for a meeting of foreign meetings. There is more than
meets the eye. Let me put it that way. These things do not hit
the news because they are not news, if it is not something
dramatic. What I am saying is we are moving slowly up the hill.
Mr. Rohrabacher. I will give both of you a chance to give
me a 2-minute closing statement.
Mr. DioGuardi. No questions.
Mr. Rohrabacher. But only two. Two minutes, Joe.
Mr. DioGuardi. Let me reflect on what you said and what Mr.
Vejvoda said. You know, when you talk about the young people of
Kosovo and Macedonia, you are talking about 60 percent
unemployment. Think about that. When you are talking about the
young people in the province that is in southern Serbia,
annexed illegally in 1956 from Kosovo called Presheva, Presheva
Valley, three towns, Presheva, Medvedja, and Bujanovac, the
unemployment is 90 percent.
Now how much longer can the Albanian people put up with
this kind of isolation, no jobs, and with the highest birth
rate in Europe. This is why the United States has to continue
to be present aggressively in the Balkans to protect them. They
have American values. They are the most multi-religious
tolerant people in Europe. And I daresay, the way the Albanians
in the 15th century prevented the Ottoman Turks, the barbaric
Ottoman Turks, from taking over all of Europe, don't forget
they took over Albania, but the Albanians wore them down for 25
years.
Remember what Mehmetd II said in 1453 when he took
Constantinople and no one believed it could be done. He said,
``Now we will make St. Peter's Basilica a stable for our
horses.'' They were dead set on taking Italy and the rest of
Europe. And, guess what ISIS said 3 weeks ago? ``We are going
to now make St. Peter's Basilica a stable for our horses.''
Five hundred years has passed and nothing has changed.
The only people in Europe today that are going to keep ISIS
out of Europe are the Albanian people and they are doing it
right now. Because they are nominally the largest Muslim
population, because they were forcibly converted by the Ottoman
Turks over 425 years, but they are moderate, secular, American
democratic type people and we need them on our side to insure
that ISIS doesn't get a foothold in Europe.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you very much, Joe.
Mr. Vejvoda. Just very briefly, Chairman Rohrabacher, I am
very happy to hear that you will be--you are planning to visit
the region. I think that is the best way to beyond us who are
testifying here today.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Mr. Meeks, we are planning to visit the
region?
Mr. Meeks. Absolutely.
Mr. Rohrabacher. All right. There you go.
Mr. Vejvoda. I am glad we locked that in. So you will
genuinely see for yourselves and obviously you will be meeting
everyone from government and nongovernmental organizations to
representatives of our minorities and our business people which
is very important.
I would just like to mention that in Belgrade in September
there will be a meeting of business people with all the prime
ministers of the region called Southeast European Compact that
was supposed to be held in March, but was delayed. It is about
the credibility of the West, may I put it, of both the European
Union and the United States, to see to it that these countries
are finally integrated. I think there is a way to move this
forward more quickly. The countries have 90 percent of the
obligations to reform themselves, to put their institutions to
consolidate them, make them as democratic as possible and for
the citizens to be engaged and see to it that their elected
officials are accountable and responsible.
Finally, I think the whole region, all of these countries
individually have decided and have joined the community of
values that represents the transatlantic community and I think
that is the basis of the fact that this--that one can be
cautiously optimistic that we are moving in the right
direction.
Mr. DioGuardi. Mr. Chairman, can I just make one concluding
comment? Mr. Vejvoda has to understand that Serbia works
overtime to keep Kosovo out of the United Nations, although 106
countries have recognized it. And to keep them out of all
European institutions. They want them completely isolated, so
how can we say that we are happy with normalization and
stabilization?
Mr. Rohrabacher. I promised both of you the last minute and
so we are going to give you an extra 30 seconds to answer that.
Mr. Vejvoda. Actually, I would like to correct the
Honorable DioGuardi. It is 110 countries that have recognized
Kosovo, so it is going----
Mr. DioGuardi. But not Serbia or Russia or Greece.
Mr. Vejvoda. There is an example called the two Germanies
that the negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina in 2007 and
then under Ambassador Ischinger advocated. I think again, there
is nothing simple in these processes. I think we are moving to
a full normalization. I don't need to tell you that domestic
politics is the key one because politicians like to be elected
and they choose their moments of advance or waiting for the
right moment to do the difficult decisions.
Mr. Rohrabacher. I would like to thank both of you and all
of the witnesses today. I have some unconventional ideas of my
own as people know, but I generally believe in self-
determination and democratic government and respecting the
rights of other people. And I find that there has been great
double standards when people--our friends in Europe, I think
World War II created a basic yearning for stability and that
yearning for stability sometimes creates pressures that
actually lead to problems, more problems than if people were a
little bit freer and at least I would suggest less structured.
And within the EU, I don't see the EU structure and NATO as
being the wherewithal, but these other nations have been told
it is. I mean, we will see.
I frankly see the EU as also having a lot of problems with
economic elites that manipulate the rules of the game for their
own benefit, sometimes, and other times for the benefit of
their country. But whatever it is, we need to make sure that
there are evil forces in the world beyond what we are talking
about and there are evil forces. We do have an upsurge in
radical Islam that could be to our civilization what the
expansion of a fanatic Islam was a thousand years ago. And that
would be a new threat to both western civilization.
I will have to say that if el-Sisi, for example, falls in
Egypt, my guess is that Qatar, Kuwait, all of those countries
will fall and you will a radical Islamic penetration into
Central Asia and then with North Africa. That is what we are
talking about, a great, historical change in the reality that
we face today. And I think how are we going to thwart that? One
way is to make sure that those Muslims who are in Europe, the
Albanian people in particular, are treated fairly and their
children don't find a hopelessness when they look to the
future. And Joe's statistics of 60 percent unemployment in some
of these areas and 90 percent in some areas, that will lead to
problems, major problems and it has been 20 years. We cannot
mark another 20 years and with that said I am very grateful to
you, Joe, thank you, and thank to all of our witnesses. I think
this hearing has been worthwhile----
Mr. Vejvoda. Yes.
Mr. Rohrabacher [continuing]. In starting a discussion and
we will finish that discussion and I will find out personally
whether or not that glass in Belgrade is half full or half
empty. And if it is half full, I will test it. Thank you all
very much. This hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:41 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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Material Submitted for the Record
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Material submitted for the record by the Honorable Joseph J. DioGuardi,
president, Albanian American Civic League (former Member of Congress)
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