Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 645 new cases, 12 deaths (media)
• Borrell: Kosovo-Serbia land swap, once an option but no longer one (Telegrafi)
• Hoti: Selmanaj’s remarks have been misconstrued (Kosovapress/Koha)
• Vetevendosje calls for dismissal of Deputy Prime Minister Selmanaj (media)
• KWN writes to PM Hoti asking for DPM Selmanaj’s dismissal (media)
• Kosovo Assembly fails to adopt resolution on missing persons (media)
• Osmani: Unfortunate that Kosovo is not allowed CoE membership (media)
• Kosovo delegation meets Croatian PM Plenkovic (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: SPC Patriarch Irinej loved Serbs everywhere, his main concern was Kosovo (N1)
• MP Adem Hoxha joined the Serbian List (KiM radio, Kosovo Online)
• Vesic prohibited from entering Kosovo (KoSSev, KiM radio, Kontakt plus radio)
• The inscription “KLA” on the board at the entrance to Kisnica (KiM radio)
• Gracanica mayor on attempted flag burning (KIM radio)
• Four charged with the murder of Ivanovic in a new indictment, hearing to be held on December 4th (KoSSev)
• BCSP: 70% of Serbs do not believe there will be an armed conflict, 47% of them are ready to take part in a Kosovo conflict (KoSSev)

Opinion:

• Serbs Should Mourn Quiet Patriarch Who Avoided Conflict (Balkan insight)
• Cause for Optimism in Albeit Slow Western Balkans Recovery (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Hidden economy at very high levels and increasing throughout the Western Balkans (EWB)
• WHO official says Serbia close to lockdown (N1)
• Over 2,600 migrants in Kosovo, majority of them from Syria (RTK)

Albanian Language Media 

COVID-19: 645 new cases, 12 deaths (media)

645 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths from the virus have been recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 

353 persons have recovered from the virus during this time. The highest number of new cases is from the municipality of Prishtina (248).

Borrell: Kosovo-Serbia land swap, once an option but no longer one (Telegrafi)

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said the EU expects to have a close partnership with the new U.S. administration concerning the Western Balkans region noting that there is no competition between Brussels and Washington when it comes to the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

In an interview to two media outlets in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borrell noted the EU will not impose a solution and that it is up to Belgrade and Pristina to find one. He also said that the dialogue is going ‘quite well’. 

“We want to be facilitators knowing that even for us there are some things that are unacceptable as solutions. Several months ago there was a proposal for territorial exchange. That is no longer an option,” he said.

Hoti: Selmanaj’s remarks have been misconstrued (Kosovapress/Koha)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti commented today on criticism directed at his deputy Driton Selmanaj over his statements regarding missing persons.

“If ever there was commitment for resolving the issue of missing persons, there is in this government. There was no absence of commitment in previous governments either. Statements made by Mr. Selmanaj are being totally misconstrued by certain people,” Hoti is quoted to have said today.

He added that if there was the smallest indication that a member of the Government has insulted the families of the missing persons, he would take adequate measures. “If someone from the missing persons families or someone else felt bad from the distorted statements of Mr. Selmanaj I am sorry for that but the truth is not as it is publicly being portrayed.”

Vetevendosje calls for dismissal of Deputy Prime Minister Selmanaj (media)

The Vetevendosje Movement has demanded the dismissal of Deputy Prime Minister Driton Selmanaj over his remarks about missing persons at the Assembly of Kosovo last week.

Acting head of Vetevendosje parliamentary group Liburn Aliu said in a news conference today that Selmanaj’s comments are unacceptable and showcase a lack of respect for victims and their families.  

“The issue of missing persons constitutes a pillar of Kosovo’s identity. The citizens are rightfully offended and hurt by these positions that come at a time when negotiations with Serbia and Vucic are ongoing,” Aliu said. 

At the same time, the Vetevendosje parliamentary group also announced it will not allow any plenary session of the Assembly where Selmanaj is present to take place.

KWN writes to PM Hoti asking for DPM Selmanaj’s dismissal (media)

Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) has written a letter to Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti asking him to relieve Driton Selmanaj of his duty as Deputy Prime Minister following remarks deemed offensive to the plight of the missing persons.

KWN said that the issue of missing persons is a human rights issue and among the most important issues that Kosovo citizens want to see the government address as a way to achieve sustainable peace in Kosovo and the region. It added that for two decades the Government of Kosovo has failed to appropriately address the issue.

“Among our political leaders, Saranda Bogujevci has served as one of the few strong voices that we have had, herself a survivor of several atrocities. Since the moment she was elected to the Assembly of Kosovo, she has represented the interests of Kosovo citizens by raising the important issue of missing persons. She has fulfilled her duty, as a deputy, to represent our interests and to address this serious human rights violation.

“In contrast, we have a government official, Deputy Prime Minister Driton Selmanaj, who not only is utterly failing to represent the interests of Kosovo citizens, but is directly offending citizens and political leaders like Saranda Bogujevci, who has represented our voices. As Deputy Prime Minister, his statements do not merely represent himself as an individual, but rather they represent the Government of Kosovo. Thus, through him, the government is offending its own citizens.”

KWN recalled that when in 2015 the then Minister of Local Governance Aleksandar Jablanovic offended the families of missing persons, Prime Minister at the time Isa Mustafa dismissed him following public outcry. “This is the second time that such an offence comes from the government, and the result should be no different.”

“Therefore, we join the thousands of other citizens, including those who have already signed the online petition, in calling for Selmanaj’s immediate dismissal. This is the right of the people: to demand accountability from our political leaders to represent our interests.”

Kosovo Assembly fails to adopt resolution on missing persons (media)

The Assembly of Kosovo did not endorse a draft resolution on missing persons in its session today, media report. 

The resolution, proposed by Vetevendosje Movement MP Saranda Bogujevci, accused the Government of Kosovo for ‘damaging’ treatment of the missing persons issue in the Washington agreement of 4 September and urged it to tackle it in line with international standards. 

“The Government of Kosovo should not accept to discuss with any official from Serbia without immediate provision of information regarding the whereabouts of the persons unaccounted for since the last war,” Bogujevci said when presenting the draft resolution last week. 

Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Arberie Nagavci, said the draft resolution will be reintroduced for vote in one of the upcoming sessions. 

Osmani: Unfortunate that Kosovo is not allowed CoE membership (media)

Acting President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani said at a conference organised to mark the 70th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) that this document represents the most important tool in protection of human rights in Europe and that it was unfortunate that Kosovo is not being allowed to join the Council of Europe.

“It is truly unfair that Kosovo is not yet a member of the Council of Europe as this in itself constitutes a violation of human rights and denial of the right to access justice for citizens of Kosovo,” she said. 

Osmani however noted that in Kosovo, ECHR is directly implementable as part of the Constitution. 

Kosovo delegation meets Croatian PM Plenkovic (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Tahiri and Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla met today Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

“On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo I asked Prime Minister Plenkovic to support Kosovo in its aspirations towards the EU, in strengthening economic cooperation and state administration reforms,” Tahiri wrote on social media after the meeting in Zagreb.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: SPC Patriarch Irinej loved Serbs everywhere, his main concern was Kosovo (N1)

Late Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Patriarch, Irinej, loved Serbia and Serbs everywhere in the world and the future of the Serbs in Kosovo, as well as in Bosnia’s Serb-majority entity of Republika Srpska, were among his main concerns, Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic, said at the funeral of the religious leader on Sunday.

Patriarch Irinej died due to COVID-19-related complications at a military hospital in Belgrade early on Friday.

“Patriarch Irinej died as he lived, in peace with himself, God, the Church and the people. That life had clear goals – God, love and Serbia, the entire Serbian people, wherever they may live,” Vucic said.            

“Love was the basis of his faith because he knew that faith and hope are impossible without love. His Serbia was the one he was creating. A Serbia of peace, which understands and gathers, which wins through work and wisdom,” he said.            

One of the main achievements of the late Patriarch was the construction of the Saint Sava Temple in Belgrade, Vucic said, arguing that had the religious leader not been there, “we would have been building the Temple for decades.”            

“He loved Russia infinitely and Patriarch Kirill (of Moscow), he was grateful to Putin for supporting the construction of the Temple and he believed in the closeness of our two peoples. He was not against anyone from the West, he waited for them to change their attitude towards our people.”         

Vucic argued that the Patriarch renewed the “culture of memory.”        

“We have been ashamed for years and silent about the suffering of our people. Thanks to him, we speak proudly about the heroes from Kosare, we mark the anniversary of the NATO aggression, we are not afraid to tell the truth directly to the whole world,” he added. The Patriarch did not separate Serbia from Bosnia’s Serb-majority Republika Srpska (RS) entity, Vucic said.          

“Thanks to him, there were no conflicts among Serbs east and west of the Drina river. Kosovo was his main concern. He approached that issue rationally, seeking ways for us to not recognise the independence of Kosovo and understanding our difficult reality, he believed in the growing force of the Serbian state. He was a great Patriarch, he united the divided Church in America, established a partnership with the state,” he said.           

The Serbian President said he loved Patriarch Irinej “infinitely.”      

He said that in one of the last conversations the two had, Irinej urged him to take care of Republika Srpska and Kosovo.

See at:https://bit.ly/33a2ljl

Vesic prohibited from entering Kosovo (KoSSev, KiM radio, Kontakt plus radio)

Deputy Mayor of Belgrade Goran Vesic was prevented from entering Kosovo this morning.

The office for KiM announced that it was because the Kosovo authorities consider him to be a “danger to security”, reported the media. 

Vesic’s visit to North Mitrovica was announced on November 2, the visit was confirmed to some local media only last night. The plan for today’s visit, which was published by Tanjug agency this morning at around 9 am, was not submitted to KoSSev. 

Vesic was supposed to sign the Charter on the twinning of Belgrade and Kosovska Mitrovica today, on the Day of the Municipality. 

Other members of the delegation continued their visit to Mitrovica, the media reported. 

Office for KiM reacted today and said that ban to Vesic and his associates to attend  the celebration of the Day of the Municipality of Kosovska Mitrovica, was “the most open demonstration of Pristina’s unwillingness to contribute to the creation of normal interethnic relations and social climate in Kosovo and Metohija”. 

“This is also the most flagrant violation of the Agreement which regulates freedom of movement, and Pristina’s explanation that Vesic’s stay in Kosovo and Metohija would be a “danger to security” is so absurd that it does not deserve a serious comment”. 

“The Office for Kosovo and Metohija will inform the representatives of the international community on the ground and the mediators in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina about the latest act of Pristina’s arbitrariness”. 

“Cooperation of Belgrade and northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica aims to create normal living conditions for Serbs in that part of Kosovo and Metohija, and any obstruction of that cooperation is a direct attack on the rights and position of the Serbian people in the province,” concluded the office.  

Deputy Mayor of Belgrade Goran Vesic in a statement to TV Prva, confirmed that the Belgrade delegation was stopped by Kosovo police and banned from entering Kosovo. 

He said that this was what cooperation looks like based on the Brussels Agreement, to which Pristina committed itself, just as it had pledged to establish the Community of Serbian Municipalities. 

Vesic reminded that the Belgrade delegation duly announced its visit, according to all regulations, as well as that it was also announced in the media. 

“This is the third or fourth time in the last few months that I am visiting Kosovo and Metohija and that the City of Belgrade is trying to help our communities there. They probably expected us to make some incident, although the policemen were more than proper and they themselves apologized. It just says that ordinary people want cooperation. If Hoti wanted to build a children’s playground in Presevo, we would not have prevented it because we believe that it is normal to build children’s playgrounds,” Vesic emphasized and added that a message was sent today that cities in Serbia must not cooperate with cities in Kosovo. 

MP Adem Hoxha joined the Serbian List (KiM radio, Kosovo Online)

Adem Hoxha, a member of the Kosovo Assembly, joined the Serbian List today, which now has 11 members, reported KiM radio.

Hoxha left group 6+ and joined the parliamentary group of the Serbian List, which means that the parliamentary group 6+ will be abolished because there are not enough members for the parliamentary group, reports Indeksonline portal.

Three days ago, a court in Prizren acquitted the accused, MP Hoxha, of charges of assault and intimidation, the radio reported.

The inscription “KLA” on the board at the entrance to Kisnica (KiM radio)

KiM radio reported that in Kisnica, on the signpost for the village, unknown perpetrators spray-painted the inscription in Serbian in red and wrote “KLA” on the name sign for the village.

KiM radio recalled that a few days ago, at the entrance to Kisnica, which belongs to the municipality of Gracanica, a billboard with the emblem of the so-called KLA was placed, then the billboard was damaged and finally removed, and in the same village Zoran Trajkovic was attacked with glass bottles and stones, and his wife was provoked the following day.  Then there was a group of unknown perpetrators who tried to set fire to the Serbian flag next to the monument to Milos Obilic, in the center of Gracanica, reported the radio.

There was no information in the report of the Kosovo Police that any of the perpetrators were arrested, reported KiM radio on Sunday.

Petkovic: Another provocation directed against Serbs in Kosovo

 “Writing of the symbols of former KLA and repainting of Serbian inscription on the traffic sign for Kisnica settlement near Gracanica is a new provocation, in a series of provocations directed against Serbs in the central part of Kosovo and Metohija,” said the Director of the Office for KiM Petar Petkovic on Sunday. 

“This is the fourth provocation in a series of provocations against Serbs in that part of Kosovo and Metohija in just one week, for which no one has been held accountable thus far,” Petkovic said.  

He added that “this is a message that Serbs are not wanted in Kosovo and Metohija and that their security has been compromised, especially after the arrest and trial of former KLA leaders in The Hague”. 

Petković told the international security forces in Kosovo to provide security for the Serbian people, and he urged Serbs to remain calm and unified and not to respond to provocations. 

Gracanica mayor on attempted flag burning (KIM radio)

KiM radio reported that on Saturday evening a group of unknown individuals tried to set fire to the Serbian flag, next to the monument to Milos Obilic, at the roundabout in Gracanica. 

As eyewitnesses told KiM radio, four young men came out of a black Astra caravan, which had KS plates, two jumped over the fence around the monument and threw a flammable agent. They did not manage to reach the flag, so only the pillar burned and the grass around the monument. 

On the occasion of the latest incident, Gracanica mayor Srdjan Popovic said that those responsible must be found.

After the installation of a billboard with the symbol of the KLA in Kisnica, its burning, as well as the attack on the Trajkovic family, the incidents continued with the attempt to burn the Serbian flag in Gracanica, said Mayor Srdjan Popovic.

“We warned that setting up the billboard could be a trigger for unpleasant events. Last night we had an attempt to burn the flag. We contacted eyewitnesses, after which we called the police, who carried out an investigation. We expect those responsible to be found. Whether these cases are connected, we will see, I expect the police to tell us how far they have come with the investigation, and to finally find out whether we are safe or not,” Popovic said.

Popovic added that people stayed in Kosovo, because they want to build a future, but not a future that will be constantly undermined by various incidents and provocations, reported KiM radio. 

Popovic demanded reaction from the international community and said that the police and KFOR must increase their presence.

Four charged with the murder of Ivanovic in a new indictment, hearing to be held on December 4th (KoSSev)

KoSSev portal reported on Friday evening that the Special Prosecutor’s Office in Pristina filed a new – third indictment against suspects in the case of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic on November 11th. Lawyer Jovana Filipovic revealed that the new indictment charged Nedeljko Spasojevic, Marko Rosic, Silvana Arsovic, and Rade Basara with the crime of aggravated murder.

The lawyer of the accused Silvana Arsovic, Jovana Filipovic confirmed in a statement for KoSSev that the hearing regarding the new indictment filed by the prosecution in the case of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic has been scheduled for December 4th.

She added that the new indictment contained significant changes when compared to the previous ones and called the court to file the case under a new number.

Filipovic stated that two new persons – alleged participants in an organized criminal group – are included in the new indictment, noting that their names have not been revealed.

At the same time, one of the accused, police officer Nedeljko Spasojevic has now been accused of transporting the perpetrators of the murder in an official police vehicle, Filipovic added.

”An official police Golf 4 vehicle is mentioned, which Nedeljko Spasojevic allegedly used to transport the perpetrators of the murder to an Opel Astra vehicle, from which the late Oliver was shot at,” said Filipovic. 

According to her, the new indictment no longer charges the accused with the criminal offense of ”assistance in committing the act of aggravated murder”  – but with aggravated murder.

”They dropped Article 33, which refers to assistance in committing a crime, and the accused are now charged with aggravated murder. They are now categorized as perpetrators, and not as persons who assisted the perpetrators, ” Filipovic added.

She revealed that this change refers to the accused – Nedeljko Spasojevic, Marko Rosic, Silvana Arsovic, and Rade Basara.

Another addition to the latest indictment is that everyone has been charged with abuse of official duty, Filipovic added.

She emphasized that accusing Nedeljko Spasojevic and Dragisa Markovic, who were police officers, of this crime would be understandable, adding that it is illogical to accuse Marko Rosic of this crime, as well as her client, former secretary of Oliver Ivanovic, Silvana Arsovic.

This defense lawyer added that this indictment no longer contains the crime of evidence tampering – unlike the previous indictments.

”That act is still mentioned in the clarification of the indictment, while it is not listed in the qualification of criminal acts,” she added.

Filipovic and other defense lawyers of the accused criticized the indictment, alleging that it is incomplete and unsubstantiated. Filipovic further claimed that the new one is ”even more incomplete and poorly done”.

”The first two might have worked, and this one, in my opinion, cannot remain as such,” she added.

The Court of Appeals in Pristina decided on September 25th to return the case of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic to the beginning, based on the appeals of the defense counsel.

”The indictment was returned to the Special Prosecutor’s Office for a review. That is, the time, place, and manner of committing the crime must be determined and it should be confirmed whether there are grounds for suspicion that the persons charged with crimes actually did commit them,” Jovana Filipovic confirmed at the time.

The defense lawyers Faruk Korenica and Mahmut Halimi, however, subsequently confirmed in a statement for KoSSev that the Special Prosecutor’s Office filed a new indictment.

The leader of the GI SDP, Oliver Ivanovic was gunned down on January 16th by several shots to the back while entering his party premises in North Mitrovica. The Special Prosecutor’s Office of Kosovo filed the first indictment almost two years later – on December 2nd.

So far, only one preparatory hearing was held on February 11th, after the first one scheduled for December 30th was postponed because the then prosecutor Syle Hoxha, who has since retired, submitted a new, amended indictment. This indictment was not translated into Serbian, prompting the defense to request for it to be translated into Serbian.

The second preparatory hearing of the suspects in the case of the murder of the leader of the GI SDP, which was supposed to take place on March 16th, was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the trial led by the Kosovo Special Prosecutor’s Office before the Basic Court in Pristina, the defendants are Marko Rosic, Nedeljko Spasojevic, Silvana Arsovic, Zarko Jovanovic, Dragisa Markovic, and Rade Basara. Also, Milan Radoicic and Zvonko Veselinovic are accused of being the leaders of a criminal group.

BCSP: 70% of Serbs do not believe there will be an armed conflict, 47% of them are ready to take part in a Kosovo conflict (KoSSev)

Over half (52%) of respondents in a study conducted by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) believe that Serbia should intervene with military force in Kosovo in the event of a conflict, while 47% of respondents would personally join their compatriots in the case of such a conflict.

The authors of a survey conducted on 1,200 Serb citizens between September and October of this year, Maja Bjelos, Vuk Vuksanovic, and Luka Steric discovered that, according to citizens of Serbia, the preservation of Kosovo within Serbia is the most important foreign policy priority, alongside strengthening cooperation with neighboring countries and Russia.

Regardless of their expressed readiness for conflict, more than 70% of respondents believe that no armed conflict will take place in the Balkans in the next five years – according to the results of the BCSP study.

„These results are kind of surprising when you bear in mind the extremely militant narrative that has dominated the pro-government media in Serbia about other regional actors in recent years. In 2016-2017 alone, two pro-government tabloids wrote about the possibility of war and conflict a total of 265 times. However, this positive change in public perception, despite such a narrative, should also be sought in the reporting of the same media that portray the government, the President of Serbia in particular, as the main protagonists of reconciliation and stability in the region. Another important positive impulse for the peacetime regional attitudes of the Serbian public could be the long-awaited change of power in Podgorica, which is expected to significantly contribute to improving relations between the two countries, which have been in a very bad state for years,“ the study reads.

In addition, two-thirds of the respondents believe that lasting peace between Serbs and Albanians is possible, while half of all respondents say that this could only be achieved if a peaceful settlement of the dispute over the Kosovo status is reached.

At the same time, 54% of respondents expressed concerns over the creation of Greater Albania in the future. When asked who is the most likely to start a conflict in the Balkans, 40% of the respondents chose Kosovo Albanians, 25% of respondents selected NATO, and 8% of respondents picked Albania.

On the other hand, 58% of respondents believe that Republika Srpska should secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina and become an integral part of Serbia. According to the vast majority of respondents, such an outcome would not cause a new conflict.

When asked, however, whether Serbia should recognize Kosovo’s independence if it gets Republika Srpska in return, as many as 80% of respondents rejected such an idea.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3fsahS8

Opinion

Serbs Should Mourn Quiet Patriarch Who Avoided Conflict (Balkan insight)

He may not have been that inspiring, but in a region overflowing with political firebrand priests, Irinej was a restraining influence.

In a land where politics and religion intermingle, it is no wonder that Serbs have a tradition of giving important bishops an impressively official send-off.

Crossing the Balkans in 1904 from Belgrade, the English anthropologist Edith Durham was fascinated to glimpse wailing black-clad crowds of Serbs lining the railway line from Skopje to Serbia in the freezing depths of winter after the sudden death of Bishop Firmilian of Skopje.

A rare Serbian bishop in heavily contested Ottoman-ruled Macedonia, Firmilian had been an important Serbian asset.

“A bitter blow for the Serbs,” Durham mused in a letter home, adding: “From every solider-guarded station rose the harsh and penetrating Serbian wail; a black-robed crowd lamented Firmilian.”

Serbs no longer go in for eerie “penetrating wails” as much as they did, but, as with Firmilian’s death over a century ago, Patriarch Irinej’s death last Friday is an event of much more than religious significance – which explains the three days of state mourning and telegrams from the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Irinej, who died aged 90 from COVID-related problems, was a steady and stabilizing influence as head of an organisation than has the power to make plenty of political waves – as the previous government in Montenegro found to its cost when it took on the Church over a new religion law and lost an election.

Ironically, Irinej died just after burying his exact opposite in terms of character on the bishops’ bench, Amfolihije Radovic, Metropolitan of Montenegro, a man of extreme options and vaulting political ambitions – who might have created a very different atmosphere in Serbia had he been elected Patriarch in 2010 instead of Irinej.

See more at:https://bit.ly/3kU28qn

Cause for Optimism in Albeit Slow Western Balkans Recovery (Balkan Insight)

The economies of the Western Balkans face a long, hard slog in recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. But can they spot the opportunities in the crisis?

The phrase “It will all end one day” (meaning the pandemic) sounds like unfounded optimism.

Despite – or precisely because of – the warnings of experts about a strong second (or, in the case of Serbia, third) wave of infections, citizens already low on trust in public institutions have decided ‘enough is enough’.

Lockdowns of the sort we experienced this spring are no longer possible if economies are to be somehow kept afloat. We will need a ton of creativity, (personal) responsibility, solidarity and empathy to get through the coming weeks and months.

As part of its regular reporting on the region, the World Bank recently published its assessment of the prospects for the economies of the Western Balkans, including its first cautious projections for recovery in 2021.

The slump is real. Gross Domestic Product, GDP, for the region as a whole is forecast to decline 4.8 per cent. Roughly 139,000 jobs were lost between January and June, while 300,000 people have been driven into poverty.

The pressure to keep production going despite the state of emergency led to deteriorating working conditions and treatment of employees. On the other hand, state intervention in the form of stimulus packages, pauses on loan payments and the payment of minimum wages softened the blow, somewhat.

Had there been no pandemic, the region – Serbia and Kosovo in particular – would have registered significant economic growth. Serbia’s economy, for instance, was predicted to grow 5.1 per cent in Q1.

Paradoxically, both unemployment and labour force participation have gone down (to a record 7.1 per cent). The reason is simple; restrictive measures prevented many from seeking work (183,000 of them, if a direct correlation is to be established), among whom many (132,000) worked in the grey economy.

See more at:https://bit.ly/33bJowF

Humanitarian/Development

Hidden economy at very high levels and increasing throughout the Western Balkans (EWB)

WESTERN BALKANS – The hidden employment has overall increased in five out of six Western Balkans economies. Serbia is the only country in which the hidden employment declined, while Kosovo remains with the highest shares of employees with some form of informality in the employment relations – more than 80%.

The share of workers without a labour contract has been declining, while the share of those not declaring their full actual remuneration and social security payments has been increasing.

These are the results of the SELDI’s Hidden Economy Monitoring System which provides detailed survey data on dynamics of the hidden economy in the region. The research results are part of the policy brief Hidden Economy in the Western Balkans 2020: Trends and Policy Options, published by SELDI network and recently presented at the webinar Hidden Economy in the Western Balkans: Challenges and Lessons for Economic Recovery and Convergence.

See more at:https://bit.ly/3kV5zx9

WHO official says Serbia close to lockdown (N1)

The World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Belgrade warned that Serbia is close to a lockdown because of the epidemiological situation.

“The situation has been continuously deteriorating over the past few weeks and if that continues, I’m afraid that Serbia will get to the moment that life stops… A lockdown would have grave economic consequences and we know that affects the health of the public which is why the WHO sees it as an ultimate measure… I am afraid that Serbia is relatively close to that day but that is not today,” he told the N1 morning show.  

Ivanusa said that there is no universal way to determine the moment for a lockdown adding that it depends on how the virus spreads and the country’s hospital capacities.  

The current situation in Serbia is the third wave of the pandemic, he said and warned that the coronavirus would return in waves before collective immunity which can only be achieved with a vaccine. He said that the vaccine is being developed at exceptional speed considering that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was discovered just a year ago. “The vaccine is near but there won’t be enough for everyone,” he said and added that more than 60 percent of the global population has to be vaccinated to achieve collective immunity which means that a long time will pass before the required amounts of vaccine are made.

See at: https://bit.ly/339kGNs

Over 2,600 migrants in Kosovo, majority of them from Syria (RTK)

Kosovo is recently facing a considerably high number of migrants from the Middle East who are seeking asylum. Of 2,600 migrants who arrived in Kosovo this year, 1,300 have used the right to seek asylum, while the others have illegally entered Kosovo.

Security experts have meanwhile expressed concern, and requested from the security institutions to verify the migrants’ background as they might commit some kind of terrorist attack in Kosovo. 

Director of the Department for citizenship, asylum and migration Valon Krasniqi said that while fifty percent of migrants are from Syria, the others are from Morocco, Iraq, Palestine, Libya and other countries. Krasniqi also said there are cases when the migrants have been involved in incidents which disturbed public order and peace.