Albanian Language Media:

• Hoxhaj to Guterres: Kosovo should become UN member (RTK)
• CEC: Diaspora ballot count not expected to begin today (Kosovapress)
• Daka after Supreme Court decision: We are obliged to count ballots (Telegrafi)
• Rule of law, main topic of today’s LVV-LDK meeting (Telegrafi)
• EULEX: Kosovo did not ask us to be involved on Astrit Dehari’s autopsy (Express)

Serbian Language Media:

• UNSC on Kosovo today, Belgrade will indicate the real situation on the field (RTS)
• Russian Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko: Kosovo should be the main focus of the UN Security Council (Tanjug, TV Most, TASS)
• Odalovic: What Kurti advocates for moves us away from dialogue (Danas)
• In case of EU accession plan failure, Serbia has a “plan B” (Tanjug, Kurir, B92)
• Bregu: EU in deep crisis, region to connect and focus on reforms (BETA, N1)
• Joksimovic: Serbia was first to start EU accession under new rules (N1)
• Vucic: Peace, stability and cooperation in the region are Serbia’s priorities (Tanjug, B92)
• Fajon: Continuation of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia EU priority (RTK2, Tanjug)
• British policy in Western Balkans unchanged, UK ambassador in Belgrade says (BETA, N1)

Opinions:

• Macron is Gambling Away EU Influence in Balkans (Balkan Insight)

International:

• Serbia Vows to Adopt New NATO Plan Soon (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian and Development:

• NGOs call for halt to hydropower (Prishtina Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Hoxhaj to Guterres: Kosovo should become UN member (RTK)

Acting Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo Enver Hoxhaj, had a brief meeting with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, during the Sixth Istanbul Mediation Conference. Hoxhaj told Geterres that Kosovo should become a UN member as soon as possible, in order for stability and security to prevail in Western Balkans.

He also told UNSG that UNMIK presence in Kosovo is already unnecessary, and that they must be used at conflict zones, not in a safe country with political stability such as Kosovo.

During the Conference in Istanbul, Hoxhaj also met with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. “Organising this kind of conference plays a significant role in building and keeping peace,” Hoxhaj said.

CEC: Diaspora ballot count not expected to begin today (Kosovapress)

Central Election Commission (CEC) is expected to meet today following the Supreme Court’s decision instructing the CEC to count 4,639 ballots that arrived from Diaspora voters.

CEC spokesperson Valmir Elezi said however that technically it is not possible to begin the counting process today as the ballots will first have to undergo verification which may take up to two days to conclude. 

“Verification is aimed at determining whether a ballot is sent by a successfully registered voter from abroad or a different person that does not meet this requirement,” Elezi said.

Daka after Supreme Court decision: We are obliged to count ballots (Telegrafi)

Valdete Daka, head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) said after the decision of the Supreme Court, that over four thousand ballots that arrived from Diaspora voters, have to be counted.  “We have a verdict of the Supreme Court and based on this verdict we are obliged to count the ballots from out of Kosovo. I think there is no need to comment on this verdict, we have an obligation and I do not believe we have something more to add to this,”she said.

Rule of law, main topic of today’s LVV-LDK meeting (Telegrafi)

Working teams from the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) are expected to meet today and according to Vetevendosje’s Albulena Haxhiu the main topic will be the rule of law.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion in Pristina organised by the Group for Legal and Political Studies, Haxhiu said that the vetting process of the judiciary is paramount to restoring the citizens’ trust with justice institutions. 

“It is our obligation to restlessly work for creating independent judicial institutions. There needs to be a verification and checks of prosecutors, high ranking police officials and AKI (Kosovo Intelligence Agency),” she said. 

EULEX: Kosovo did not ask us to be involved on Astrit Dehari’s autopsy (Express)

The news portal reports that even though an EULEX representative was present during the autopsy of Astrit Dehari, who died under suspicious circumstances at Prizren detention center, Kosovo institutions did not request help on shedding light on the case from the EU mission for the Rule of Law EULEX. 

“An EULEX member was present during Astrit Dehari’s autopsy. However, this EULEX member only observed this process,” EULEX informed. 

“This member of EULEX has been informed by the Kosovar forensic doctor about the findings,” it is announced.

The EULEX press office told Express that Kosovo authorities have not asked them to contribute to the autopsy report on Dehari, nor to draft a new report.

EULEX stated after conduction of the autopsy that while monitoring this case, they believed that the investigation and autopsy were carried out accurately, professionally and carefully. Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) objected this statement saying that this mission could not provide independent investigations, because it lacks the minimum credibility to be involved in such a case.

The reason why the Ministry of Justice had asked EULEX to have only an observing role and not to submit their findings for this report, or to contribute to what was drafted, has not been disclosed.

However, the Dehari case is considered one of the most enigmatic deaths of the recent years. The family never accepted that their son might have committed suicide as found in the first report in Kosovo. Therefore, a new expertise was submitted to the Lausanne Institute of Forensic Medicine. Its results disputed the authorities’ conclusion that Dehari committed suicide and adviced further investigations into the case.

Serbian Language Media

UNSC on Kosovo today, Belgrade will indicate the real situation on the field (RTS)

The United Nations Security Council will today consider a report on the situation in Kosovo, reports Radio Television of Serbia (RTS). 

The report stressed the importance of continuing the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Serbia will be represented by Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic.

Ahead of the session, the UK has launched an initiative for delay to November, when the country will chair the Security Council. As an official reason, it was stated that Pristina ambassador Vlora Qitaku could not come due to obligations. However, the initiative received the support of only three UN Security Council members and the British found themselves in a situation where they had to accept the session, according to an RTS correspondent from Washington. 

Vlora Qitaku will nevertheless attend the UN Security Council session, which will be the last one this year on Kosovo. 

From next year, there will be two sessions per year, every six months. The first will be in April and the second in October.

The RTS correspondent says that the UN report stressed the importance of continuing the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Concerns were also raised about the slow return of displaced to Kosovo. Of particular interest will be the presentation of UNMIK’s investigation into the attack on a member of UNMIK of Russian descent. 

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic is also expected to reiterate that the return of displaced persons is slow, and point to the need to abolish tariffs and that he will say that Serbia is ready to negotiate with anyone whom Pristina designates.

Serbian Foreign Ministry Secretary General Veljko Odalovic told the RTS Morning news that one group of countries in the UN did all to remove the topic of reporting from Kosovo from the public arena.

The reason for the request to postpone the session, the alleged obligations of Pristina representative Vlora Qitaku, Odalovic called an obstruction and said it was ridiculous that a serious country such as the UK was trying to delay the session with such frivolous arguments.

Odalovic points out to RTS that whatever the deal is, it will have to find the epilogue before the UN Security Council. 

He says the report is touching on all serious issues but does not give them full weight and formulation. He states that the situation on the ground is much more difficult than what is stated in the report and that it must be said before the UN Security Council.

Talking about the situation in Kosovo, Odalovic says that one month after the election, there were still no election results, that something was being counted and that we have “camouflage suits and space equipment” as something that entertains the world.

However, he believes that Pristina will have to complete the process and open space for Albin Kurti and some who think they are still campaigning to stop speaking what they speak.

Veljko Odalovic says the math is simple and Kurti, who received the most votes, will be the first to get a mandate to form a government.

However, he says the question is whether his attitude, towards obligations that Pristina does not implement, will be tolerated.

Russian Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko: Kosovo should be the main focus of the UN Security Council (Tanjug, TV Most, TASS)

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko told Russian news agency TASS that one of the most important issues in the Balkans, internationally, is the crisis in Kosovo and that the Kosovo problem should be solved at the initiative of Belgrade, Belgrade based agency Tanjug reports. 

“The Serbian leadership is perfectly aware of this and is taking the lead. It has been repeatedly stated at the highest level that Russia is providing all possible support to Serbia as a friend and partner and a permanent member of the UN Security Council. We assume that Kosovo is an important issue on the agenda of the Security Council and should be the main focus of this UN body. The Security Council is also one of the guarantees and premises for resolving the Kosovo issue,” Kharchenko told TASS.

Botsan-Kharchenko assessed that the Russia-Serbia relations have never been at such a high level, and that they were accompanied by intense trust-based dialogue.

“Bilateral cooperation has reached an extremely high level with intense trust-based political dialogue. Russian-Serbian relations are developing fully in line with the Strategic Partnership Declaration. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that this was a working document that provided concrete results,” said the ambassador. 

He stressed, however, that Serbia and the Balkans needed greater representation of Russia in the media. Botsan-Kharchenko recalled the visit of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to Belgrade and his presence at the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of liberation in World War II, talks with Serbian President Alexander Vucic and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, as well as Serbia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

According to the Russian ambassador, the most important area of bilateral cooperation is major strategic projects in Serbia, implemented by Russian companies. 

“For starters, it is the work of NIS (Oil Industry of Serbia), which is expanding its activities and production. Projects involving Russian Railways are quickly put into action. Of course, it is also the Turkish Stream, as Serbia is the most active country in its implementation after Turkey. It should be noted that the efforts in recent years have been strategic, regarding bilateral cooperation and the economic and energy presence of Russia in the region and Europe in general,” Botsan -Kharchenko emphasized.

Odalovic: What Kurti advocates for moves us away from dialogue (Danas)

Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Veljko Odalovic said anything that would be agreed on Kosovo must have its final epilogue in the UN Security Council and therefore it is important to speak about developments in Kosovo there, Danas daily reports.

Odalovic told RTS it is funny and unserious how one serious country, referring to the Great Britain, attempted to postpone the UN SC session on Kosovo.  

Speaking about the report on Kosovo that would be presented at the UN SC session today, Odalovic noted the situation in Kosovo is much more difficult and Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic would talk about it.

Commenting on a series of statements of Self-determination Movement leader Albin Kurti, Odalovic noted it is about a man “who negates everything, neutralizes everything” because he sees “neither international community, nor Serbian List or Serbian community”.

I would say that Kurti wishes “to pull some Serbs out of a hat as a décor,” Odalovic said and urged the international community to “take a stance on Kurti”.

“What Kurti advocates for moves us away from the dialogue, peaceful and sustainable solution,” Odalovic underlined.

In case of EU accession plan failure, Serbia has a “plan B” (Tanjug, Kurir, B92)

As news emerges from the EU that partnership could be offered to the Western Balkan countries instead of a full-fledged membership, plan B emerges. According to Tanjug, as Belgrade media report, the plan on enhanced regional co-operation was designed on the insistence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

According to an unnamed source from diplomatic circles, this would be a model of an economic union of the countries within the region, which would cooperate with the EU until full membership is reached by each country individually.

“The Western Balkans need to better connect. It would be a model of an economic union in which all countries cooperate, strengthen their markets economically and, when the time to join the EU comes, enter the EU as economically strong countries”, daily Kurir’s source explains.

According to this daily, Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic supported Vucic’s idea of establishing close regional cooperation.

See at: https://bit.ly/2Ws8qTE

Bregu: EU in deep crisis, region to connect and focus on reforms (BETA, N1)

The European Union is in deep crisis with its promises to the Western Balkans, and until it decides what to do with the region it should focus on reforms and linkage, Majlinda Bregu, the Secretary-General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) said in Albania on Wednesday, BETA news agency reports.

She added the focus also should be on the brain drain, people in the region should have free movement with IDs and the work on the digital platform should continue.

“Europe is in deep crisis in establishing its philosophy and obligations toward the region. I don’t know what’s next, but while the EU isn’t ready to tell us what is its plan for our region, it would be smart to make better links among ourselves through the regional cooperation and serious local reforms, aware that the EU membership is a program of transition and not an obsession with dates or methodologies,” Bregu told the Tirana Connectivity Forum.

The Forum’s meeting this year is dedicated to the regional cooperation in energy, to the institutional challenges in the area of transport and social links, the Western Balkans’ road to the EU, geopolitics and reforms.

Bregu said the region “needs additional support in the implementation of the necessary reforms to catch up with the EU’s pace.”

“The EU might reconsider its suggestion and include the region into the mechanism of its structural funds. They took some time, until May 2020, to work on a new approach to the enlargement. But to avoid further ‘geopolitical damage’ to the region this decision should be brought bearing in mind all six economies of the Western Balkans,” Bregu concluded.

See at: https://bit.ly/2BUC3DP

Joksimovic: Serbia was first to start EU accession under new rules (N1)

Serbian Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic said on Wednesday that Serbia was the first country to start pre-accession negotiations with the European Union under new rules, N1 reports.

“Serbia was the first to start negotiations with a new approach, immediately opening chapter 23 and 24 and then there was chapter 35 which covers normalization of relations with Kosovo,” she said, commenting on the unofficial announcement that the EU would offer a new model to the countries of the Western Balkans.  

She said that people often forget that other countries which recently joined the EU or are in the process of doing so did not face the demands that Serbia is facing.

“They opened the chapters that they were technically prepared for. The question is what is better. I don’t think it’s a bad solution to start with the hardest and most demanding chapters. I think that had good aspects for us but I want to say that a serious review of the negotiation process was implemented on Serbia and we successfully accepted it and are still in the process,” Joksimovic underlined.

See at: https://bit.ly/2N40wN2

Vucic: Peace, stability and cooperation in the region are Serbia’s priorities (Tanjug, B92)

Regional cooperation, strengthening neighborly relations, continuing reconciliation policy are our foreign policy priorities, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said, Tanjug news agency reports.

Vucic made these remarks during the meeting with the representatives of Parliamentary Committee for Stabilization and Association of Serbia and the European Union (POSP.

Vucic congratulated Tanja Fajon on her election as Chair of the European Parliament Delegation to the European Union-Serbia Stabilization and Association Parliamentary Committee. He praised the agreement of the leaders of the member states on the holders of the most important posts in the EU, expressing hope that the newly constituted EU institutions will continue to support the expansion policy and Serbia’s European path.

He underlined that Serbia welcomes the appointment of Vladimir Bilcik MEP as European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia and thanked his predecessor David McAllister for actively contributing to Serbia’s European integration.

“Serbia is advocating peace and stability in the region, while regional cooperation, strengthening neighbourly relations, continuing reconciliation policy are our foreign policy priorities,” Vucic pointed out, adding that Serbia regards Berlin Process as very significant, the importance of which is reflected in supporting European integration of the Western Balkans through concrete projects and measures.

See at: https://bit.ly/323S6cZ

Fajon: Continuation of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia EU priority (RTK2, Tanjug)

EP Chair of the Stabilization and Association Committee of Serbia to the European Union Tanja Fajon said today in Belgrade that it was important for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina to continue, adding that the  status quo was not tolerable, neither good for any of the sides, reports RTK2, quoting Belgrade based agency Tanjug. 

“We are very disappointed that there is no progress and that the whole process is at a standstill. It is our priority to renew the dialogue, and that both sides find a new opportunity for a treaty that is in line with international law and come to the normalization of relations,” said Fajon at the session of the Parliamentary Committee for Stabilization and Association in the Serbian Parliament.

She expressed her hope that a solution would be found as soon as possible, and the dialogue resumed after the Kosovo elections.

“I think there may be a new atmosphere now. I hope so. The normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade is one of the main conditions for Serbia’s accession to the EU. This means that it is very important for this process to continue,” Fajon added.

“We are now in the process of appointing a new European Commission. We have a new chief for the foreign policy, Josep Borrell, but we need a new government in Kosovo that should first abolish tariffs. We have repeatedly pointed it out. This is a well-known position and we need to create an atmosphere in which negotiations then continue,” Fajon said.

Serbia, she says, is as responsible as Kosovo and should maintain this atmosphere for the dialogue to continue.

She added that the ultimate goal of the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue is to reach a comprehensive agreement on normalization of relations, which, she reiterates, is one of the key conditions for Serbia’s accession to the European Union.

“We sincerely believe that Belgrade and Pristina will follow Schuman’s idea of reconciliation and that normalization of relations will be agreed soon,” Fajon said.

British policy in Western Balkans unchanged, UK ambassador in Belgrade says (BETA, N1)

British interests in the Western Balkans remain unchanged despite Brexit, because UK foreign police does not depend on whether the country is a member of the European Union or not, British Ambassador to Serbia Sian McLeod said on Thursday, BETA news agency reports.

Speaking in a gathering on Brexit, EU and Western Balkans, the ambassador said that the United Kingdom will continue supporting reforms and regional cooperation in the region.  

McLeod also noted that media ignore British financial aid to the region, specifying that 10 million GBP has been invested into digitalization in schools and almost 40 million GBP in the fund for peaceful conflict resolution, e-administration as well as to strengthen media freedom. She added that fighting crime, corruption and strengthening the rule of law are also important in attracting investments.

Opinions

Macron is Gambling Away EU Influence in Balkans (Balkan Insight)

France’s obstinate opposition to enlargement has put the EU’s remaining influence on its own doorstep – and its ability to shape strategic development and stability in Southeast Europe – in jeopardy.

The unilateral decision by France’s President Emmanuel Macron to block the opening of accession talks with North Macedonia and – with only the support of Denmark and the Netherlands – Albania, has surprised many working with the EU. It has come as a deep shock to the Balkan region, which had hoped for reaffirmation of its EU perspective.

See at: https://bit.ly/2PBu9qS

International

Serbia Vows to Adopt New NATO Plan Soon (Balkan Insight)

Despite reports that Serbia is dragging its feet over a new partnership plan with NATO, the head of the Serbian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly said a new plan will be adopted soon – and will tighten cooperation.

See at: https://bit.ly/2JEdS0q

Humanitarian and Development 

NGOs call for halt to hydropower (Prishtina Insight)

After violence broke out at a demonstration against the construction of a hydropower plant in the Municipality of Strpce earlier this month, a coalition of civil society organizations have launched a petition calling for a halt to power plant construction and sought an investigation into the actions of the police.

On Tuesday, a coalition of civil society organizations launched a petition in support of the wave of protests against the construction of hydropower plants in the Municipality of Strpce. One such protest on October 8 ended in violence against demonstrators, some of whom were children, with the Kosovo police using pepper spray.

The petition is directed at the incoming Kosovo Assembly and Government, and demands an immediate halt to the construction of numerous small-scale hydropower plants on Kosovo’s rivers. Volunteers collecting signatures in support of the ongoing petition faced threats in Prizren on Wednesday. An unidentified individual damaged a display giving details of the petition in the city’s Shadervan Square, and ordered the volunteers to leave.

Diana Metushi, project manager at the Kosovo Democratic Institute, KDI, one of the organizations that authored the petition, told Prishtina Insight that all previous campaigns against the damage done to the rivers had fallen on deaf ears until the media storm that followed the October 8 protests in the village of Biti.

“One petition was started by the inhabitants of the town of Strpce and one by the inhabitants of Bitija e Poshtme,” said Metushi. “They were initiated by the citizens themselves and were completely ignored by both local and central government. The citizens of this municipality have held over 200 protests since 2015 but their voices mostly went unheard or ignored by the government.”

See at: https://bit.ly/2NrGbQX