• COVID-19: 676 new cases, 15 deaths (media)
• Hoti announces new package of €182 million for economic recovery (media)
• Muhaxheri: Government has votes to pass economic recovery bill (media)
• Kosovars trust Kosovo Security Force the most, research shows (media)
• Haradinaj: We were close to an agreement with Thaci and Veseli (media)
• Agreement with Decan Monastery; road to be used for local traffic only (Koha)
• Surroi: New elections within three months (Klan Kosova)
• Hoxhaj meets Norway’s Special Representative for Western Balkans (media)
• Ambassador Kosnett holds virtual meeting with AAK leader Haradinaj (media)
• MP Haxhi Shala’s son appointed general consul in Prague (Koha)
• Appointment of Haxhi Shala’s son to diplomatic post sparks reactions (media)
• Campaign for elimination of violence against women to kick off (media)

COVID-19: 676 new cases, 15 deaths (media)

676 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths from the virus have been recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 369 patients have recovered from the virus during this time. The highest number of cases is from the municipality of Prishtina (276).

There are 13,778 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Kallxo reported on Tuesday that 10 doctors and 12 nurses are infected with COVID-19 in Peja hospital.

Hoti announces new package of €182 million for economic recovery (media)

Most news websites reported on Tuesday that Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti held a virtual meeting with members of the National Council for Economy and Investment in Kosovo, which links the activities of the Government and addresses the challenges of the private sector. A press release issued by Hoti’s office after the meeting noted:

Prime Minister Hoti said stressed that despite the challenging situation at the time we are facing the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has nevertheless ensured the functioning of most businesses.

Prime Minister Hoti recalled that during October, 87 million Euros were allocated, of which 60 million were allocated to the business community, helping them to stay in the market.

In this meeting, Prime Minister Hoti requested that the members of this Council agree on a new package for economic recovery for 2021, in the amount of 182 million euros, as well as a list of reforms for a new fiscal package, which is expected to be finalized early next year.

Muhaxheri: Government has votes to pass economic recovery bill (media)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) deputy leader and Peja Mayor, Gazmend Muhaxheri, said in a debate on Dukagjini TV on Tuesday that “the government believes the economic recovery law will be passed at the next session of the Assembly”.

“Based on my information, the government has secured the required votes in the Assembly to pass the economic recovery law. It would be good to pass the budget for next year too and then discuss on other problems,” Muhaxheri said.

Kosovars trust Kosovo Security Force the most, research shows (media)

The Prishtina-based Kosovo Center for Security Studies (KCSS) published on Tuesday the tenth edition of the Kosovo Security Barometer, a tool through which the Center measures public perceptions. The report titled “Kosovo citizens’ trust towards security and justice institutions” notes that the citizens of Kosovo have the biggest trust in the Kosovo Security Force (KSF).

Following are the key findings of the report: respondents of the Kosovo Security Barometer continue to have more trust in security institutions compared to central and judicial institutions. The Kosovo Security Force is still the most trusted institutions. The Kosovo Intelligence Agency, the Kosovo Customs and the Kosovo Correctional Service are security institutions least trusted by the citizens. In general, security institutions are perceived by the citizens as less corrupted than judicial and central institutions. The judicial institutions, namely the courts and the prosecution, are still as seen corrupted. Over 40 percent of respondents said these institutions are corrupted or very corrupted. The Kosovo Government is considered the most corrupt institutions, with 72 percent of respondents saying that it is corrupted or very corrupted.

Haradinaj: We were close to an agreement with Thaci and Veseli (media)

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj said on Tuesday that for his candidacy for the post of Kosovo President he held meetings with all political leaders, including the heads of the ruling coalition and also with former President Hashim Thaci and former PDK leader Kadri Veseli.

“I have met everyone. Limaj, Pacolli, Mustafa … the other communities, and I told them about my candidacy. I also met with Thaci and Veseli and I maintained my respect for them and presented them with my project. Our positions were close but as they are not here, I will not reveal further details,” he said.

Haradinaj said he was close to reaching an agreement with Thaci and Veseli. “We had another meeting on the day that Veseli travelled to The Hague. I also met with Enver Hoxhaj, Uran Ismaili and Sami Lushtaku. The process is underway. The point is to reach another agreement with the PDK, because we are in a coalition with the LDK. We need a joint meeting where we would agree on the President,” he added.

Hoxhaj: Veseli never supported Haradinaj’s candidacy for President (media)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) acting leader Enver Hoxhaj said in an interview with T7 on Tuesday that former party leader Kadri Veseli never supported AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj’s candidacy for Kosovo President.

Hoxhaj made these remarks after Haradinaj said earlier in the day that he was close to an agreement with former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and Veseli about his candidacy.

Agreement with Decan Monastery; road to be used for local traffic only (Koha)

The news website reported on Tuesday evening that it has secured a copy of a document agreed upon by Italian KFOR and the authorities of the Decan Monastery, and which was then also accepted by Kosovo’s central government and local authorities in Decan. The document has been kept secret by the authorities for two weeks now.

According to the agreement, the road that passes alongside the Monastery and leads to Plava in Montenegro will not have the status of an international road and will be limited to local traffic only. International travel to Montenegro will be made possible through a bypass road that will be built to bypass the properties of the Monastery.

Surroi: New elections within three months (Klan Kosova)

Publicist Veton Surroi said in an interview with Klan Kosova on Tuesday that new parliamentary elections will happen within three months. “One of the arguments not to go to elections in Kosovo after the war was that we would be voting for the same people. This is an attack against elections and democracy if we prejudge that a person will remain the same. We have passed the most critical phase of COVID-19 and this can produce voters in favor or against certain political parties. We have to wait and see what elections will produce,” he said.

Surroi said the government needs to find a joint solution with the opposition in order to pass the economic recovery bill in the Assembly. “If the opposition does not vote in favor of a law, you need to meet with them and see where you need to intervene, or the opposition needs to be asked beforehand if they will support the bill,” he added.

Surroi criticised the government for investing in the construction of the Dukagjini highway at a time when the country is faced with a big economic crisis as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hoxhaj meets Norway’s Special Representative for Western Balkans (media)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Acting Leader Enver Hoxhaj met on Tuesday with Norway’s Special Representative for the Western Balkans Arne Sannes Bjornstad and Norway’s Ambassador to Kosovo Jens Erik Grondahl.

Hoxhaj said in a Facebook post that the meeting focused on the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which he said must conclude with mutual recognition between the two countries.

Ambassador Kosnett holds virtual meeting with AAK leader Haradinaj (media)

The U.S. ambassador Philip Kosnett had a virtual meeting with the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj.

Haradinaj said they discussed challenges Kosovo is facing and the steps necessary to improve regional stability. “We received the full U.S. support for overcoming the situation which our country currently faces,” Haradinaj wrote on Facebook.

MP Haxhi Shala’s son appointed general consul in Prague (Koha)

Koha Ditore reports on the front page that Flakron Shala, the son of MP Haxhi Shala, has been appointed Kosovo’s general consul in the embassy in Prague, a move which the paper considers to have been part of a June agreement between then president of Kosovo Hashim Thaci and the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj with the MP Shala.

At the time Shala was refusing to vote a Hoti-led government but following a late night visit on June 3 by Thaci and Haradinaj, he changed his mind and gave his vote in favour of the government.

The paper notes that the new consul has no experience in the foreign service and that his appointment was made by a decree signed by Hashim Thaci in September 28, on recommendation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla.

Appointment of Haxhi Shala’s son to diplomatic post sparks reactions (media)

The appointment of Flakron Shala, the son of MP Haxhi Shala, to the post of general consul in the Kosovo’s Embassy in Prague is been seen as a ‘reward’ for MP Shala’s vote in favour of Avdullah Hoti government in June of this year.

Former Kosovo minister and member of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku said the appointment is a discouraging move for all the Kosovo students who work hard and dream of serving their country.

Director of the Kosovo Law Institute, Ehat Miftaraj, meanwhile commented that the people of Kosovo will be paying over €100,000 for only the consul’s salary, not including other expenses, “for the cup of tea that Hashim Thaci and Ramush Haradinaj had at Haxhi Shala’s in Malisheve.”

Haxhi Shala, who was previously member of the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA) and now with the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), announced in June he was not going to vote for a new Kosovo government led by Hoti but changed his position when he had a late night visit from Hashim Thaci and Ramush Haradinaj.

Campaign for elimination of violence against women to kick off (media)

The global campaign for elimination of violence against women beginning on 25 November through 10 December will be marked in Kosovo with a range of activities.

Today, Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti will take part in the official launch of the campaign while in the afternoon, the government building will be ‘oranged’ as part of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.