Page 62 - bne IntelliNews monthly magazine December 2023

62 I Eastern Europe bne December 2023
important legal decisions are made are the most important detected weaknesses in the latest report of the European Commission,” Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said on the release of the report.
The opening of the first negotiation cluster with Albania is also expected by the end of the year. The Commission was positive on Albania’s determination to implement EU reforms, while warning that further efforts are needed in areas such as freedom of expression, minority issues and property rights.
Conflict between Serbia and Kosovo
For both accession candidate Serbia and potential candidate Kosovo, the Commission stressed the need to
normalise their relations in order to progress on their EU path.
It pointed out that despite the agreement reached (but not signed) earlier this year as part of the EU-facilitated dialogue between the two countries, “both Serbia and Kosovo are yet to start the implementation of their respective obligations, which are binding for the parties and a key part of their European paths”.
The report also called on Serbia to align its foreign policy with the EU’s by joining sanctions on Russia.
Regarding Kosovo, the Commission acknowledged legislative progress during the reporting period, particularly highlighting a significant electoral reform.
Nevertheless, there remains unfinished business, notably in the development of an action plan for justice reforms.
No accession prospects for Turkey
Commenting on Turkey, the report described the country as a “key partner” for the European Union but stressed that progress in accession talks has stalled since 2018.
“The country has not reversed the negative trend of moving away from the European Union, and it pursued accession related reforms to a limited degree,” said the statement.
A report on EU-Turkey relations is due to be submitted to the EU Council in November.
Report links Ukraine’s top general Zaluzhny
to the Nord Stream 1 & 2 pipelines bombing
bne IntelliNews
Roman Chervinsky, a colonel in Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, was an integral part of the destruction of the Nord Stream
1 & 2 pipelines, an investigation by the Washington Post and Der Spiegel reported on November 11.
The report revealed that Chervinsky,
a senior Ukrainian military officer with strong ties to the country's intelligence services, played a central role in the bombing of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline last year.
Chervinsky is a decorated 48-year-old colonel who served in Ukraine's Special Operations Forces. He is said to have acted as the "co-ordinator" of the Nord Stream operation, overseeing logistics and support for a six-person team that carried out the sabotage. On September 26, 2022, three explosions damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, leaving only one of the four gas links intact.
www.bne.eu
Evidence is mounting that Ukrainians were behind the attack on the pipelines, after initially Russia, the US and the UK were each blamed for the explosions that massively reduced the delivery of Russian gas to the EU. What remains unclear is whether the attack was authorised by the Ukrainian government or whether the government had any knowledge of the plan.
Analysts worry that the Washington Post revelations could be part of infighting inside the Ukrainian government and highlight that at a time when Ukraine fatigue is building, this could be very damaging for the Ukrainian cause.
"The conflict between Zelenskiy's office and Zaluzhny is apparently real. Within this conflict, people close to Zelenskiy leaked to WaPo what is effectively an admission that [it] is responsible for Nord Stream.
The purpose of the leak is to blame Zaluzhny for the Nord Stream attack
while claiming that Zelenskiy did not know about it," said Ilya Matveev, a political scientist formerly based in St Petersburg, Russia, and who is currently a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, in a tweet.
"In effect, a leak to WaPo becomes a weapon in the internecine struggle, but the admission itself puts Ukraine in an
Roman Chervinsky, a colonel in Ukraine’s
Special Operations Forces, has been accused of masterminding the operation to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipelines and is said to have reported to Ukraine's top general Valery Zaluzhny.