Serbia step closer to EU - finally

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Well, it finally happened. Serbia just signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU.
It's not much, but it's a start. I for one am happy.

Our local politicians have already begun fighting over it. The normal ones support it, the other kind hates it. (I hate the other kind.)

This deal is mostly about trade it seems, but there's a bit about easier travel too.
Who knows, I might be able to visit the rest of the world like normal people do, from next year on.

I just wanted to share the good news with you guys.

I like being a part of humanity.

P.S. I don't remember using this many smileys, ever.

 

Hehe, welcome to the family. I should warn you, streets will not automatically be paved with gold just because you enter the EU.

Last piece of news I heard from Serbia was that a whole bunch of people were preparing to give all homosexual Eurovision fans a warm welcome. Those people claimed that Serbia would be invaded by 20k European queers or something but that they would stand fast.

Thats the thing with not truly being a part though, the only news that get out are the bad news. The only people who get interviewed are the nutters.

Why can't you visit now? Is it because Serbia withdrew their embassies (omg I have never used the plural of embassy and I am supposed to be an English teacher and now I don't even know if it is correct, googled it. It was correct) because of that independent Kosovo issue?

 

I remember the fairly recent(ish) addition of Poland to the EU. As soon as their acceptance was confirmed, hundreds of thousands of young Polish workers came streaming into Britain. Loads of businesses took them on as fairly cheap manual labourers. Do we reckon that it will be the same with Serbia? We're getting a bit crowded here!

 

I think Serbia still has a lot of work until we get into the EU, mostly because a large number of our politicians deserve to be committed for life.

As for visiting, joacqin, I could in theory, we have embassies, but the problem are the visas. If I wanted to go, say in August, I should start preparing the paperwork now. I think you need someone living in the country you plan to visit to vouch for you... etc. Pretty complicated.
There are student field trips (Prague, Paris... ) that last a week or so, but you're going as a part of a huge group and that limits the fun, imo.

When I tried to go on vacation last summer with my brother, the only countries we could go were Egypt, Tunisia and FYR Macedonia because he couldn't get a visa at all. He's nineteen, he finished high school and started to work, but he was apparently a flight risk, because he still hasn't served his mandatory turn in the Army. (meaning they thought he wouldn't go back to Serbia when the vacation was over). I felt awful over the matter.

So, I'm planing to wait a year or so, and then to plan my summers with just budget and sightseeing as issues, not international politics.

Barmy, I think it will take a few years at least for us to join EU, so no crowding.

The independent Kosovo issue is just the current issue. We seem to be good at ruining our chances at anything.

As for the nutters you mentioned, joacqin, I haven't heard of them. Believe me, they are a minority, and I only hope everything will be ok with Eurovision.
As far as I'm concerned, everyone is welcome.

And you are right, nutters are usually the ones being interviewed. Our politicians are constantly on the TV. (Apologies to the few relatively normal ones.)

 

Ah, yes since Serbia has been a bit of a black sheep in the international community I guess you have no treaties with other countries about tourist visas and such. I as a Swede do not need a visa to most of the western countries in the world and visas to other parts of the world are fixed on a week or two. Just one more of those small things many of us take for granted but which isn't natural at all for billions of people.

Your brother and the army thing, well that isn't a Serbian only thing. Quite a few countries are restrictive with visas to youths who have not done their mandatory military service yet. I have a Greek friend who after medical studies in Belgrad can't go back to Greece as he would be tossed straight into the army.

 

Good luck, and try to impress on your politicians to a) read the fine print and b) take the whole stuff seriously. Ours seem to think that any criticism coming from Brussels is just background noise, but then again, I doubt there are more than 5% who do enough to earn their wages.

 

The only way to impress something on our politicians seems to be my signature problem solver, version 2.

However, I agree with both of your points. We need to clean up our act and start acting like a normal country.

P.S. Without the politicians, we're not bad at all.

 

I read about this in the paper, seems like the treaty in question will not go into power until after the election and it seems like the likely winners of the election do not want this treaty. How many Serbians share your attitude Loreseeker? Is it enough or will they elect another ultranationalist who want to have nothing to do with the rest of Europe?

 

According to the last elections, the ratio is unfortunately close to 50-50. The Europian option won those, but it was way too close for comfort.

However, elections seem to be happening every few months here nowadays. Every time they (politicians) can't agree on something they disband the parliament/goverment/ or something, and run a new elections.

The young people are usually for the democratic-let's go to Europe option, but not always, and the older population (people in retirement especially) for the idiotical other option.

The problem is that even normal people get sick and tired of nothing changing and feel betrayed by the politicians they used to vote and turn to the radical party (nutters!). The DSS party is a hidden supporter of them.
I have nothing nice to say about either. The first are lunatics, in my opinion, the second spineless garbage. All are in it for the money.
Example: we have a minister who is a red neck, and he holds the Minister of Capital Investments title. That position didn't exist prior to his apointment, I think. He's building a highway to his hometown, and that highway technically leads nowhere, a dead end.

I hope that there are enough normal, pro Europe people here, joacqin. Sometimes I get scared, to tell you the truth. I find it hard to believe that so many people behave like sheep and don't think about their actions. Still I hope things will turn out okay.

Another problem is that old people are devoted voters. They are retired, have little else to do, and they show up at every election, usually voting the worst choices. Demographically there's a significant percentage of them here.
Young people don't always vote. Personally, I do.

Another issue is that the radicals and DSS keep playing the Kosovo card. That place is historically and spiritually very important to my people, and the above mentioned two parties are exploiting people's emotions on the subject. Such behavior disgusts me.
(I don't know what would be the best solution for Kosovo, I was disappointed when foreign countries aknowledged it, only because I find the act dubiously lawful. I am saddened because that place was in my mind a part of Serbian identity, but I don't know what really happened down there, and I'm no judge. Subject closed.)
I feel that this issue pushed a lot of undecided people into the outstretched hands of nationalistic parties.

The elections you mention are on the 11th. It's Sunday, I have an exam and unless the state arranges for a makeshift election unit at the University, I'm not sure how I'll vote, as going home and back will take five hours, minimum.

Sometimes I feel like shooting half our Parliament, most of the time I can't believe what I'm hearing, and what some people believe as true.

Bottom line, politics should never have been introduced to Serbia.

 

The only sure thing in the world is that there is no limit to the stupidity of man. I wish you all the best and you can console yourself that the people that want to cling to the past rarely win in the long run even if they often do it in the short. The world is moving forward even if you have to drag it kicking and screaming from the hands of conservatives.

As I understand it the Kosovo thing is an immense can of worms when it comes to Serbia's relations to the rest of world. From what I understand most of Serbia are not at all happy about what happened and that feeling is being exploited to the max. My personal feeling is that land is only land if the people want to rule themselves let them but the fact is that it doesn't only live Albanians there. I can only hope for your and Serbia's sake that the country can finally put the past to rest and try to look forward. Serbia feels screwed but there really isn't much they can do about it, isoloting themselves and taking on the entire world will only hurt themselves so even if you think the rest of the world are jerks you still have to live with them. Find a way to vote Loreseeker, there must be some way. Can't you send someone else to vote for you or vote by mail or something?

 

Nope. Neither is an option here. You vote in person, by going to whatever unit you are registered (usually it's the one nearest to where you live, in my case it's in my home town), filling the paper and putting it in the election box.

I didn't know that it's possible to send someone else to vote for you, anywhere.

I'll think of something, though.

 

I think you can here if you get a bunch of paperwork done, think it is aimed at people too sick and such to go vote. I am not an expert, I do know that you can vote by mail though.

 

You know, things really are the same the world over. Substitute the following words:

Poland = Mexico
EU = NAFTA
Britain = US

And that is exactly like a phrase you'd expect to hear from someone in Texas.

 

You can do that in the UK - just voted by post in the London Mayoral elections (which is happening today). You don't even need to be sick or away, you just have to ask for it. I figured it would save me 15 minutes so why not.

 

Don't you have the option to register for another voting section? I'm pretty sure we have it. Then again, I only used that option for the presidential vote and the EP one, and turnout was so bad that people were practically glad to see someone step in and vote

Seriously, I think there should be an option to register to vote in the place you are currently residing. It would be worthwhile to check it out - while I have a very low opinion of our policital class, I will much rather spend 1 hour voting than have someone's vote count instead of mine and end with an even worse bunch of idiots, jerks and immoral ....s . The part about the bigger hammer reminded me of one of my favourite Chapaev and Petka jokes, btw. Unfortunately, in practice it's one of those cures that usually turn out worse than the disease.

As for Kosovo, Serbia did get the short end of the stick, and I think recognizing Kosovo was a very bad idea on our government's behalf. However, what's done is done - unless Serbian politicians want to send in the army and cause a huge mess, they would serve their country better by turning forward and not bothering about it. When people in Novi Sad earn 10 times more than in Pristina, you'll see how independent Kosovars want to be.

 

I probably could, but technically I am still residing in my home town, and since elections are scheduled on Sundays, I'm home to vote in 99% of the cases, and I wouldn't be getting anything by changing my voting unit. This is the freak 1% situation.
I'll vote, probably by going to the University makeshift unit. If not, I'll take a bus home after the exam and come back to Belgrade on Monday morning. I should make it, we can vote until 8:00 pm.

Off topic, but with regards to what you wrote, Shaman:
I don't want any blood spilled over Kosovo, in any situation. It's a done deal for me. I don't think even our nutter politicians are willing to go to war, whatever they might be saying. If they try, I believe that they will lose the support they have. Ordinary people here don't want war. We've had more than our fair share of them.

 

I am inclined to agree that there must be a process by which you can still vote if you aren't going to be in town the day of the election. I find it odd that there are no mail-in (in the US they are referred to as absentee) ballots. I know that most nations don't want a ton of absentee ballots for fear of voter fraud, but most nations allow you to request an absentee ballot if you know that you aren't going to be in town that you can mail in provided you request one a couple of weeks ahead of time.

My parents live in Pennsylvania and they actually had planned a vacation the week of the recent PA primary. (Usually the PA primary is meaningless but not this year). Before they left for vacation they filled out and mailed in their absentee ballots.

 

Aldeth, I've never heard of anyone voting through post here.
Serbia has had its share of election frauds (think end of Milosevic's rule) and there might still be a foreign observation team present during elections. If not, there used to be one, until recently.

If you are sick, as in unable to leave your bed, you might be able to get a permission to have someone else vote for you. Although, in such cases, it's not uncommon for the voting officials to visit you at your home (especially in small, rural voting units, like villages).

I think that, at this point, the legitimacy of the elections is more important to the state than the convenience of the voters. I can understand that.

 

By the way, wasn't there a minimum percentage of voters who had to vote for the election to be legitimate? I remember something like a political crisis in Serbia a while back because of this. Is it for all elections?