Serbia
As Yugoslavia dissolved, Serbia and Montenegro formed a confederation. In 1999, Serbian paramilitary forces drove a big group of ethnic Albanians from their homes. This percipitated an international intervention conducted by NATO-forces.
Population: 7.3 million
Area: 77 474 km2
GDP (PPP): 80,49 billion dollar (2010 estimate)
GDP per capita (PPP): 11 000 $ (2010 estimate)
Rate of growth: 1,7 % (2010 estimate)
Head of state: Boris Tadic
Head of government: Mirko Cvetkovicc
In a referendum in May 2006, Montenegro proclaimed its independence and so did Kosovo in June 2008. This development has divided the international community. A majority of the world’s countries do not recognize Kosovo as an independent state, with Russia and Serbia being the fiercest opponents. However, USA and half of the countries in Europe currently recognize Kosovo.
The situation in terms of human rights is not satisfactory in Serbia and democratic values are not sufficiently respected. These problems pertain mainly to the legal system, the police and the military. According to Serbian law, torture is forbidden and there are no recent indications of abuses. Rule of law is weak but the situation is improving. The Serbian economy is still in a problematic state.
In 2005, EU accession negotiations were initiated but soon came to a standstill. Serbia was not perceived as doing enough in order to catch Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic. In 2008, Karadzic was caught and extradited to The Hague on suspicion of genocide. This naturally improved the Serbian bid for EU-membership, which was realized after Ratko Mladic in February 2011 was caught and and extradited. Today Serbia has candidate status to become member of the EU.
In Serbia, the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation has two cooperative parties: Democratic Party of Serbia/Demokratska Stranka Srbije (DSS) and G17Plus. DSS is the party of the ex-president and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. It was founded in 1992 and has been a major force behind the democratization of Serbia. As of the 2008 early elections, brought about by the Kosovian declaration of independence, the DSS is in opposition. G17+ is a party of conservative liberal orientation founded in 2002 by a group of researchers. It forms the government together with Democratic Party/Demkratska Stranka (DS) in a coalition called For a European Serbia.
The Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation is involved in three principal projects in Serbia. The first project concerns the creation and development of democratic party structures which involves transferring knowledge in terms of developing political organisations and policy. There is also a special emphasis on women and youth. The Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation is conducting educational programs for female politicians with the ambition of providing the participants with the means to advance within existing party structures.
The second project is about encouraging the Balkan States to strive for EU-membership. This is an arduous process and there are plenty of opportunities for the Balkan States to discuss problems and solutions. One such international forum is provided by the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation.
The third project concerns minorities. Stability in the region hinges on the relations between majority and minority groups. A certain degree of distrust remains among different ethnic groups and it contributes to unnecessary tensions within and between the Balkan States.
