Albanian Language Media:

• Thaci on Lajcak’s visit: Kosovo to be treated as a state (media)
• Hoti: We are waiting clarification of the dialogue process (RFE, media)
• Hoti receives congratulating telegram from EPP (media)
• LVV rejects Hoti’s roundtable (media)
• Hoti: Rakic did not remove Kosovo state symbols from his office (media)
• Zemaj: We lacked COVID-19 tests (media)
• Kurti invites citizens at Friday’s gathering (media)
• EU to open borders for Western Balkans on 1 July? (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

• Does continuation of dialogue open the option of replacing UNSC Resolution 1244? (Vecernje Novosti)
• Brnabic: No talks about territories, Kosovo is Serbia (RTS)
• “Missing persons issue must be part of Belgrade-Pristina agreement” (Radio KIM)
• Spokesman says EU ready to continue Kosovo dialogue (N1, VoA, FRE)
• Independent Liberal Party removed from political parties’ registry (Radio KIM)
• More than 50 trucks with Serbian goods entered Kosovo in two days (KoSSev)
• Rakic met Abbott, discussed political situation and pandemic (TV Most)
• European Commission recommends opening borders (BETA, N1)

International:

• At a Crossroads, Kosovo’s Vetevendosje Ponders Change of Strategy (Balkan Insight)
• Kosovo Speaker Rejects President’s Accusations About ‘Collaborator’ Father (Balkan Insight)
• ‘Lame’ Kosovo president boycotts EU talks (euobserver.com)
• Faces Of The Balkans, 100 Years Ago (RFE)

Humanitarian/Development: 

• Reporting Democracy Report Warns of ‘Democratic Emergency’ in Region (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Thaci on Lajcak’s visit: Kosovo to be treated as a state (media)

The President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci paid homage to the statue of Zahir Pajaziti on the occasion of Pristina’s liberation day.

He commented on the reporting about Monday’s visit of the EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, Miroslav Lajcak.

Thaci said he is not officially informed about the visit, but added that he would respond to the invitation for a meeting. He stressed that it is important to treat Kosovo as a state.

Thaci added that this is not the time to measure pulses, but the time of mutual recognition between two countries.

Speaking about the liberation day of Pristina, Thaci said ‘it remains to us now to work on the third phase after freedom and independence: Kosovo’s integration in NATO and EU. Kosovo has a safe future and no one can stop or impede it,’ he said.

Asked who would be leading the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Thaci said the dialogue will be led by legitimate representatives of Kosovo. 

“We are not in competition with each other, we will complement each other. We, even united, will face sufficient difficulties and obstacles. The President of the country represents the country at domestic and international level, and everything is defined in the Constitution of Kosovo. Competencies are clear. There is no dilemma in this regard,” Thaci said. 

Hoti: We are waiting clarification of the dialogue process (RFE, media)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Avdullah Hoti, welcomed the active role of the United States and the European Union in the negotiations with Serbia, saying that this does not mean two types of negotiations, but that neither can work without the other.

Hoti is not certain if an agreement on normalising relations with Serbia can be reached before November, when the U.S. elections are expected to take place. According to him, Kosovo has made compromises in the Ahtisaari Package when it has declared independence and that it does not make other compromises.

Speaking in an interview with Radio Free Europe, Hoti said he was not afraid his government would fall and added that he saw no problem with the government completing its mandate. Hoti said he has not yet decided whether parliamentary elections in Serbia will be held in Kosovo.

Hoti receives congratulating telegram from EPP (media)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Avdullah Hoti, received a congratulatory telegram from Manfred Weber, Chairman of the European People’s Party Group in the European Parliament and Andrey Kovatchev, Deputy Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament responsible for Enlargement, the Western Balkans, the Southern Neighborhood, and Euromed, who have congratulated him on taking up the new post at the head of the executive.

“We want to express our heartfelt congratulations on your election as the new Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo! We are convinced that this success will further advance the political achievements of the partner party and our close friends from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).

The new government will have to face the difficult consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, while using renewed momentum to implement key reforms in the interest of Kosovo’s citizens and find a permanent and mutually acceptable solution with Serbia. We look forward to working with you and Kosovo’s institutions on your path to European integration.

We wish you all the best during your mandate and hope to continue the fruitful cooperation,” reads the telegram.

LVV rejects Hoti’s roundtable (media)

The Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) Spokesman Arlind Manxhuka took to Facebook to inform that his political party rejects the invitation of the government to participate at the meetings where the future dialogue with Serbia is planned to be discussed.

“Two days ago we received at the Vetevendosje headquarters a letter in which the leader of the LVV Albin Kurti was invited to discuss with the current government the future dialogue with Serbia. A government dependent of Serbian List and formed by Thaci and for him, as well as a government which lifts Kosovo’s reciprocity with Serbia, does neither have credibility nor legitimacy. Therefore, we did not respond to that invitation because we will not be part of these meetings,” Manxhuka wrote.

Hoti: Rakic did not remove Kosovo state symbols from his office (media)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti said today that none of Kosovo’s state symbols has been removed from the office of the Deputy PM Goran Rakic. “Recent information are not true. Symbols of Kosovo state are there as they used to be.”

He added that MPs who suspect this, can verify it as it is their right to have access at all offices.

“I communicated yesterday about this matter – Kosovo state symbols at the office of the local government and at the office of the Deputy Prime Minister are there, and they will remain where they used to be,” Hoti said. 

Zemaj: We lacked COVID-19 tests (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Health, Armend Zemaj, said that the Institute of Public Health has informed that there has been a lack of tests for coronavirus in the last two days.

“Today, with great appreciation to the diaspora, 12 thousand tests will be provided and submitted to Kosovo’s National Institute for Public Health”.

Zemaj said at the Assembly that two days after taking office, 13 thousand citizens have entered Kosovo, which according to him has been impossible to manage if they are self-isolated.

Kurti invites citizens at Friday’s gathering (media)

The Vetevendosje Movement will hold on Friday a gathering at the Skanderbeg Square in Pristina. Today, LVV leader Albin Kurti invited through a video-message all citizens of Kosovo to join their gathering, for which he said they have two reasons: 21 years of the liberation of Kosovo and 15th anniversary of the creation of the Movement that he leads.

Kurti added that during these 15 years, they made an unprecedented opposition, while during four months, they proved to be better at governing than anyone else. “Come tomorrow at this peaceful gathering with music and speeches. Come en masse at our 15th anniversary, as we remember the 21st anniversary of the liberation of the country and the high price paid by all generations for us to live much better than today,” Kurti said in this video message.

EU to open borders for Western Balkans on 1 July? (RTK)

The European Commission is asking member states to agree on opening the borders for travelers of a list of non-EU countries starting from July.

“It will apply to all countries in a similar or better situation to the EU,” EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson said, clarifying that not all external borders should open from July 1.

The EU has recommended that travel restrictions are lifted for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

Serbian Language Media

Does continuation of dialogue open the option of replacing UNSC Resolution 1244? (Vecernje Novosti)

The possibility of replacing UN Security Council Resolution 1244 with another would give Western countries sitting in the world government a chance to take off the label of someone who tramples on their own decisions, writes today Belgrade based daily Vecernje Novosti. 

The daily adds that by ”recognizing ‘Kosovo’ as a state, they violated this document, and in order to reach their “younger brother”, Western countries would have to make an effort to find a solution to the Kosovo issue not only in Pristina but also in Belgrade”.

Russian ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko suggested that there was no change in Resolution 1244 without an outcome in the negotiations that would suit Serbia. He reiterated yesterday that Russia would always support Serbia and that only a solution that suited Belgrade would be acceptable to Moscow.

On the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the adoption of this document, a discussion was opened about its weight in international relations and its significance for Serbia.

– Items 10 and 11 establish the presence of the UNMIK administration, plus the temporary Pristina authorities, thereby derogating the presence of Serbian, not only police and military forces, but also civilian, and at the beginning it is said that they must withdraw from Kosovo and Metohija – said President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic. 

According to Vucic, many elements were put in place at the time, which would later “enable Ahtisaari and others to come up with their plans”, the 2004 pogrom, the self-proclaimed independence of 2008 and the position of the International Court of Justice, the daily writes. 

Vucic assessed that Serbia still has a difficult situation, because 93% of Albanians are in Kosovo, but that “we fight well in these conditions and we must adhere to parts of the Resolution on our integrity”. 

Analyst Nemanja Starovic told Novosti that Botsan – Kharchenko’s statement, which emphasized the possibility of Resolution 1244 being changed, spoke of Moscow’s readiness to take a more active role in concluding the dialogue before the UN Security Council:

– Such a possibility arises from the fact that Resolution 1244 is temporary, although it is not time-limited, and that it foresees the need for a future final solution for the status of Kosovo and Metohija. In that context, Resolution 1244 itself would have to be repealed at some point, but this is possible only with the adoption of a new UN Security Council resolution, for which the consent of the Russian Federation is necessary.

Brnabic: No talks about territories, Kosovo is Serbia (RTS)

We fully agree there are no talks on territories and change of borders, Kosovo is Serbia, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said, commenting on the dialogue platform presented by the new Kosovo Prime Minister Avdulah Hoti, RTS reports.

“I want to thank Mr. Hoti for clarifying once again there is no need to talk about territories. I think that we and approximately 70 percent of the world population agree to it, and also the majority of UN member states,” Brnabic told Tanjug news agency, adding that the UN SC Resolution 1244 points to that as well.

She expressed gratitude to Hoti for acknowledging and accepting there are no talks about territories, adding that “the so-called Republic of Kosovo is nonexistent and it is a territory of the Republic of Serbia, as it was.”

“I think it would mean destabilization for an entire region and the world if we would discuss change of borders”, Brnabic said.

She recalled that approximately 70 percent of the world population, respectively 96 UN member states and UN SC Resolution 1244 do not recognize Kosovo.

“I could see that Mr. Hoti accepts that as well. There are no talks about territories and borders. I thank him for that,” Brnabic said.

“Missing persons issue must be part of Belgrade-Pristina agreement” (Radio KIM)

Missing persons issue must be dealt with at the highest level, respectively; it should be on the agenda of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, participants in a conference organized by Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture in Mitrovica North agreed, Radio KIM reports.  

Representatives of the Serbian and Albanian associations of missing and kidnapped persons in Kosovo recalled that the destiny of 1.642 persons still remains unknown; adding they would not stop until they find out what happened to them, Radio KIM reports.

Society as a whole and institutions in particular are not sufficiently committed to resolving the missing persons’ issue, participants further noted.

“It is indicated with a fact they didn’t try hard enough to include the missing persons issue on the agenda of Belgrade-Pristina negotiations,” Kosovo Humanitarian Law Center Director Bekim Blakaj said.

Coordinators of Missing Persons Resource Center in Pristina, Bajram Qerkinaj and Milorad Ttrifunovic also agreed that the missing persons issue should be among priority topics of the talks in Brussels. However, as they said, although up to now negotiators promised to do so, they never brought up this issue.  

Blakaj added that representatives of the institutions, both domestic and international claim much was done to shed light on the destiny of missing persons. They refer to the list composed by the International Red Cross Committee which included more than 4,000 names of missing persons, adding that at present the destiny of 1.642 persons remains unknown.

“We from the civil society and families in particular, can’t be satisfied because members of the missing persons’ families in line with international conventions have the right to know the truth about their loved ones (…),” Blakaj said.

He opined that even if the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina is reached, then this agreement would not be the best one if it doesn’t include the missing persons’ issue.

He also said the issue of justice for the victims remains unresolved.

“We do not have court proceedings related to the missing persons’ cases. Even the Hague Tribunal did not address this issue sufficiently. They did have proceedings and in their verdicts they took into account mass graves but this was not enough. The families have the right to justice. Prosecutions must take as priority cases related to the kidnappings and missing persons.”  

He also pointed out discrepancies between the Law on Missing Persons and the Law on Civilian Victims of the conflict.

“The Law on Missing Persons defines every person who went missing in the period from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 200. This law guarantees compensation to the close family members – spouses, parents and children who undergo education until the age of 25.

However, the other law related to the civilian victims of the conflict and other categories, defines a civilian victim of the war, a person who was murdered in the period from February 20, 1998 until June 20, 1999. At this moment when you identify a person who went missing after June 20, 1999 the person is no longer considered as a missing person, but as a murdered person and family loses the right to compensation, he added.

“Therefore this law recognizes as civilian victims of the war only those affected by June 20, 1999”, Blakaj explained.

He added that the Humanitarian Law Center made recommendations to harmonize these two laws and to recognize the status of all victims in the conflict affected by December 31, 2000. He also said the issue of missing persons should be treated as humanitarian and not a political issue. 

Spokesman says EU ready to continue Kosovo dialogue (N1, VoA, FRE)

European Commission spokesman Peter Stano told the Voice of America on Wednesday the EU is prepared to continue Belgrade-Pristina dialogue immediately, adding the timing and scope of the talks would be decided by the two sides.

“Miroslav Lajcak, the EU special envoy for the dialogue, will travel to the region in the next few days to discuss aspects of the dialogue with the participants,” Stano is quoted as saying. 

Radio Free Europe reported that Lajcak is set to visit Pristina next week. 

Stano noted the talks should continue as soon as possible once the coronavirus pandemic allows it. “We have been saying for some time that the key thing is to restart the dialogue which would give the region a clear European perspective,” he said.

See at: https://bit.ly/3hhA7sp

Independent Liberal Party removed from political parties’ registry (Radio KIM)

Central Election Commission (CEC) has decided in a session yesterday to remove the Independent Liberal Party (SLS) from political parties’ registry, member of CEC Nenad Rikalo confirmed to Kosovo-online portal.

“As per proposal of the Registration and Political Parties Verification Office, which determined that the legal framework for the work and existence of this political subject has been overstepped, CEC unanimously decided to remove the Independent Liberal Party for the political parties’ registry”.

“By this decision, the Independent Liberal Party ceased to exist,” CEC said in a statement.

Radio KIM recalled that on January 29, this year in a session of the SLS main board, Slobodan Petrovic resigned as a leader of the party, 14 years after its establishment.

More than 50 trucks with Serbian goods entered Kosovo in two days (KoSSev)

More than 50 trucks with Serbian goods entered Kosovo in the last two days, after the reciprocity measures were revoked, customs spokesperson Adriatiak Stavileci confirmed to KoSSev portal yesterday.

“The trade started with a higher number of trucks (entering). Over the last two days we had more than 50 trucks with Serbian goods entering Kosovo,” he said.

He added that Serbian goods enter Kosovo via Merdare crossing mostly, differently than Jarinje where commercial traffic takes place to the lesser extent, as there is no highway.

He also said that Kosovo Customs acts in line with the latest decision to revoke reciprocity measures towards Serbia. “We have a decision of Mr. Hoti that two previous decisions on reciprocity measures are no longer applicable.”

He pointed out there were no issues with export of Kosovo goods either over the last couple of days.

Rakic met Abbott, discussed political situation and pandemic (TV Most)

Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Government Administration (MLGA) Goran Rakic met on Wednesday with British Ambassador in Kosovo Nicholas Abbott, TV Most reports.

Apart from talking about the current political situation and the pandemic caused by Covid-19 virus, they also talked about the essential importance of dialogue continuation, security and economic development.

The two interlocutors agreed that close cooperation between the MLGA and the embassy is essential because it contributes to improving the living conditions of all citizens, as well as better efficiency of local governments, which is the priority of the MLGA.

European Commission recommends opening borders (BETA, N1)

The European Commission has recommended the lifting of border control within the Schengen area on June 15 and the opening of the outer borders towards the Western Balkans on July 1, BETA news agency reports.

The Commission recommended lifting limitations on travel to EU member states for the citizens of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia because the epidemiological situation in those countries is similar or better than in the EU. 

The Commission also recommended the gradual opening of the outer borders for other countries in line with the epidemiological situation.

See at: https://bit.ly/37ppMWH

International

At a Crossroads, Kosovo’s Vetevendosje Ponders Change of Strategy (Balkan Insight)

Ousted from power, Vetevendosje finds itself in a dilemma concerning its future course – whether to act as a constructive parliamentary party, or return to its roots as a protest movement.

After a few short months in power in Kosovo, the Vetevendosje party – effectively overthrown by its former partner in government – finds itself back in the ranks of the opposition. On June 3, parliament voted in a new government led by Avdullah Hoti, deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK.

This came after the LDK in late March called a no-confidence vote in the government run by Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti.

Breaking with its past tactics of organising street protests and utilizing such subversive actions as throwing tear gas in parliament to abort sessions, this time the party simply boycotted the session that elected the new government. Only a small group of protesters gathered in Pristina for the occasion.

It was a disappointment to some who had believed Vetevendosje would not give in without a proper fight.

See at: https://bit.ly/3dVRDjY

Kosovo Speaker Rejects President’s Accusations About ‘Collaborator’ Father (Balkan Insight)

Parliament speaker Vjosa Osmani and her allies have condemned allegations, repeated by President Thaci, that her father once worked for the Serbian police, calling them a calumny.

Kosovo parliament speaker Vjosa Osmani has reacted with fury to claims that her family once worked for the Serbian police when the country was under Yugoslav rule, after President Hashim Thaci repeated the allegation on Tuesday.

See at: https://bit.ly/2XSa6YR

‘Lame’ Kosovo president boycotts EU talks (euobserver.com)

Miroslav Lajčák, the EU’s new envoy on Kosovo-Serbia peace talks, is travelling to Pristina for the first time in his mandate in the next few days.

But Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi has refused to meet him in his official capacity.

More than that, Thaçi has said he will only do peace talks with the White House instead, abandoning a nine-year legacy of an EU-brokered dialogue, which began in 2011, but stalled in 2018.

See at: https://bit.ly/3fgJHdo

Faces Of The Balkans, 100 Years Ago (RFE)

In the summer of 1920, the southeastern corner of Europe was a desperate place. Conflicts — beginning with the First Balkan War in 1912, and continuing with World War I in 1914-18 — had upended countless ordinary lives.

See more at: https://bit.ly/37l3nd3

Humanitarian/Development

Reporting Democracy Report Warns of ‘Democratic Emergency’ in Region (Balkan Insight)

Report says democracy in Central and Southeast Europe was being eroded even before COVID-19 erupted, and cautions that the coronavirus pandemic has made a bad situation worse.

Democracy is deteriorating across Central Europe and the Balkans says “Democracy after Coronavirus”, the first annual trends report published on Thursday by Reporting Democracy, a cross-border journalistic platform run by BIRN, a leading regional non-profit media network.

“Even before coronavirus, the patient had underlying conditions, including allergies to good governance and a weakened immunity to populist excesses. Now, in some countries at least, the pandemic has turned chronic malaise into a democratic emergency,” the report says.

Marking the first year of the Reporting Democracy initiative, BIRN’s “Democracy After Coronavirus” report highlights the key “signals to watch” as the political and social consequences of the coronavirus crisis come into view.

See at: https://bit.ly/3e4YhVb