The End of the EU school year in the Western Balkans

November 9, 2010 1 Comment

Today the European Commission released its annual progress report. Throughout the Western Balkans analysts, journalists and government are paging through the reports and interpreting their meaning. Independently of the content of these reports, it confirms the weight of these reports. The reports have increased over the years.  Just the analytical report for Montenegro is now some 132 pages long, in 2007 it was less than half the length (48 pages). Of course volume is not everything, but as the reports increase in size they are getting more detailed and are thus able to provide more specific recommendations.

More importantly, the progress reports highlight the potential when the European Commission is communicating directly to the public. Even if the reports are technical and require a careful reading, their wide audience and the weight they carry suggest that more such communications would do the integration process in the region well. At the moment, the EU is perceived to be largely silent for 364 days and just issue its opinion on one day (except large events, such as visa liberalization, or granting candidate status).  While it is commendable that the reports are increasing in length and quality, their success suggests that the EU, the Commission in particular, needs to think about ways of communicating not just with the governments of the region, but also the citizens in more regular intervals and thus help to re-energize the accession process which appears to have run out of steam lately.

 

 

Filed under European Union, Western Balkans

A Note to Hill and Knowlton and the Government of RS

November 6, 2010 8 Comments

A few days ago I received an email from a representative of “Hill and Knowlton” one of the largest international lobbying and PR companies to discuss how  “key people in the UK perceive Bosnia and Republika Srpska”. By the formulation it quickly dawned on me who was curious to find out my opinion, namely the government of the RS. Thanks, Hills and Knowlton for the offer of such an anonymous conversation (original email is below, I just removed the name and contacts of the person who wrote to me). Instead, I’d rather like to reply publicly about my views of the government of the Serb Republic:

First, it seems frivolous to spend RS taxpayer money on a big international lobbying firm.  Among the clients of the Brussels branch of H&K is not a single government of a state or a region. Instead, the company represents big business such as Unilever, Yahoo and HP. Interestingly, H&K also represents Delta Holding. In the UK, the register of the Association of Professional Political Consultants lists Hill and Knowlton and only mentions that RS was a paying client to the company in the period from 1 September to 1 November 2009. Between 1 March 2009 and the most recent reports up to the end of August of this year, Singapore and the RS are the only two governments represented by the company.

Second, if the government wants to improve the image of the RS it should fully and unequivocally stand by the report on Srebrenica issued in 2004 by the RS government of the time.  If the newly elected president of the RS continuous to downplay the number of victims, he undermines the credibility of the RS more than anybody challenging the RS from within Bosnia or outside.

Third, suggesting that the RS is a permanent category, while Bosnia and Herzegovina might not be, is undermining the legitimacy of the government of the RS. The Dayton Peace Agreement which the only basis on which the RS exist as part of Bosnia and Herzegovina clearly links the two. While Bosnia and Herzegovina can only exist with the RS, the RS can only exist within Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is no right for the RS to leave Bosnia, there is no international support for such an adventure and the RS is not Montenegro (i.e. to copy the mechanism chosen by Montenegro to leave the joint state with Serbia).

Fourth, if critical NGOs and media are repeatedly attacked and marginalized by the government, it cannot earn my respect.

Fifth, I keep hearing officials from the RS stating at public occasions that the existence of the RS is under threat and they have to defend the RS. This is of course absurd: No significant international actors is suggesting to abolish the RS. However, the government of the RS itself has over the last years significantly undermined the legitimacy of the RS.  By suggesting a referendum on independence, by undermining the state, it has gambled away a lot of international credibility.

If the government is concerned with its image, I recommend against hiring Hill and Knowlton or any PR firm and rather reconsidering its policy. No PR campaign can achieve what a different policy could.

 

 

From: K.M. …@hillandknowlton.com]

Subject: Consultation Request for Perceptions of Bosnia and Republika Srpska

Dear Dr Bieber,

I am writing to see if you would be willing to participate in a consultation we are undertaking on Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in particular, on the government of Republika Srpska.

The aim of this exercise is to ascertain how key people in the UK perceive Bosnia and Republika Srpska, as well as their opinion on the key issues facing the country including: the progress towards EU membership, the impact of recent parliamentary elections, the future of the OHR, etc.

The research will be conducted by Hill & Knowlton on behalf of the Government of Republika Srpska and, for your information, we are also carrying out a similar exercise in Brussels and several other EU member states. In the UK we will be speaking to stakeholders from government, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Parliament, think tanks and the media.

The format would be an informal interview lasting around 20 minutes and all discussions will be completely confidential and anonymous.

We do not have a ‘standard’ quantative questionnaire, but prefer to conduct an informal discussion with some questions to steer the conversation. The final consultation report will not only be totally confidential, but any quotes included will not be linked to any particular person and instead be referenced to the broader institution (eg. ‘media’, ‘UK decision-maker’ etc).

The reason why we are doing this consultation is to help the Government of Republika Srpska canvass opinions and views on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and also the upcoming challenges the country will be facing.

I realise that your diary is extremely busy, but hope that you will be able to spare 20 minutes for this exercise. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Best regards,

K.


Filed under Bosnia