• COVID-19: 260 new cases, seven deaths (media)
• Zemaj: COVID-19 vaccines to reach Kosovo in February (RTK)
• Hoti: If Serbia pursued legal ways, vaccines would be allowed into Kosovo (Klan)
• Di Maio: EU should buy vaccines for Balkans (ANSA/Koha)
• LDK announces Avdullah Hoti as candidate for prime minister (media)
• Hoti: LDK is main favourite to win elections (media)
• Hoxhaj: Kurti and Hoti governments brought degradation in Kosovo (Telegrafi)
• Konjufca: Hoti and Hoxhaj together have fewer votes than LVV’s Haxhiu (T7/Telegrafi)
• Osmani’s initiative in coalition talks with Vetevendosje (Klan)
• Rama: KLA leaders being kept hostage (media)
• UK Embassy sends protest note to Ministry of Education over €1.8 million bid (Koha)

COVID-19: 260 new cases, seven deaths (media)

260 new cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths have been recorded in Kosovo over the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, 622 recoveries have been reported over the same time period.

There are currently 9,611 active cases of coronavirus in Kosovo.

Zemaj: COVID-19 vaccines to reach Kosovo in February (RTK)

Kosovo’s Minister of Health Armend Zemaj said he expects the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to reach Kosovo by February of next year.

In an interview with RTK, Zemaj said: “I just received an e-mail officially confirming that the first contingent of vaccines will arrive in February. This is excellent news for the citizens of Kosovo.”

Zemaj however pointed out that it could be possible for a different type of COVID vaccine to arrive even sooner since Kosovo’s efforts to obtain a vaccine are spread in different fronts.

Hoti: If Serbia pursued legal ways, vaccines would be allowed into Kosovo (Klan)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti commented on the delivery of vaccines to the north of Kosovo by Serbia saying that they would not have been prevented from coming into Kosovo is official channels of communication had been used.

“We have a Brussels agreement that allows for a formal and official communication through liaison offices. Had Serbia and its president been serious, they would have pursued legal ways for the vaccine and no one would have prevented that,” Hoti said. He continued: “There is no state or humane logic to ban the vaccines for a certain minority.”

Hoti said it was clear the vaccines entered the territory of Kosovo illegally and that authorities in Brussels have been made aware of this. “We have taken the necessary steps and the judicial mechanisms are investigating the ways these vaccines entered.”

Di Maio: EU should buy vaccines for Balkans (ANSA/Koha)

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio called on the European Union to buy COVID-19 vaccines for States in the Balkans during a visit to Kosovo on Wednesday.

“Italy did not duck the challenge in this difficult situation and it made its contribution to supporting the Kosovo authorities in the fight against COVID thanks to the capacity of the nation’s military in the medical field,” Di Maio said as he greeted the Italian contingent in Kosovo. “In the same way that we are asking the European Commission to accelerate with the acquisition of vaccines for Italian citizens, I think that now it is important and urgent for the Commission to take an initiative dedicated specifically to directly acquiring additional doses of vaccines for the peoples of the Western Balkans, who had been put under extreme strain by the pandemic.

The Italian minister said he spoke to the Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi about the initiative which he said would make it possible to ensure adequate and timely vaccine coverage in the countries of the Western Balkans.

He argued that this would send an important signal of neighbourliness and concrete solidarity to the Western Balkans. “Thirdly, it would prevent a vacuum, in terms of a lack of European initiative, being filled by other competitor parties.”

LDK announces Avdullah Hoti as candidate for prime minister (media)

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has chosen Avdullah Hoti to be its candidate for prime minister in upcoming elections.

In making the announcement, LDK leader Isa Mustafa said the current government of Kosovo is not ending because of poor performance. “The government has worked well and Avdullah Hoti as prime minister successfully led the work of the government”, Mustafa said adding that this was the reason the party decided to continue with Hoti as candidate for the future prime minister of Kosovo.

Mustafa said the party leadership also discussed the selection of candidates that will run for election. He noted that the candidates will be people that believe in the LDK, remain faithful to the party programme and have not have any runnings with the law.

Mustafa further said that LDK will have no red lines for any political party this time around and also that the party will run on its own. “The agreement for a coalition will not depend on red lines but on the programme, communication and mutual trust”.

Hoti: LDK is main favourite to win elections (media)

The outgoing Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti thanked the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) for nominating him to be the party’s candidate for prime minister saying he was grateful for the trust given towards the work of the government which he said was ‘extraordinary’.

Hoti said LDK stands to win forthcoming elections. “In a week or two I will present to the citizens my governing plan. I am convinced we are the main favourite to win these elections based on the result of this government’s work”.

Commenting on his candidacy in an interview with Klan Kosova, Hoti said it was a decision taken unanimously by the party.”No vote against, no abstentions. Following a debate we had, it was concluded that we should continue with my candidacy for prime minister.”

He also said that his former party colleague, Vjosa Osmani, will have no political future saying that the support she received in last elections was a result of her being part of the LDK. “There is no logic of her having a future outside the LDK because this party shaped her to be where she is today,” he said.

Hoxhaj: Kurti and Hoti governments brought degradation in Kosovo (Telegrafi)

The acting leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the party’s candidate for prime minister, Enver Hoxhaj, said that 2020 was a difficult year for Kosovo.

“First the pandemic hit Kosovo and then we faced continuous crises. The Kurti and Hoti governments brought about political and economic degradation of Kosovo. Kosovo was then hit by the indictment against Thaci and Veseli. The citizens know that there can be no stability in the country without the PDK. Kurti began his term by clashing with the U.S. while Hoti was unsuccessful. It is therefore necessary for the PDK to lead the government. I have the best programme and people to do just that,” Hoxhaj said in an interview with a Tirana-based news channel.

He argued that the indictment against Thaci and Veseli transformed into force for the party and that he was convinced they would win upcoming elections: “I have been out in the field in Kosovo for seven weeks. Everywhere there is solidarity with Mr. Thaci and Mr. Veseli. The blow we received from the Specialist [Chambers] resulted in anger and transformed into force. There is solidarity after this event.”

Konjufca: Hoti and Hoxhaj together have fewer votes than LVV’s Haxhiu (T7/Telegrafi)

Glauk Konjufca, member of Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) chairmanship, commented on the candidacies of Avdullah Hoti from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and Enver Hoxhaj from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) for the post of future prime minister of Kosovo. Konjufca said Hoti and Hoxhaj put together won fewer votes than LVV’s Albulena Haxhiu in last elections in 2019.

“This is how the people of Kosovo voted them, in reference to last elections. A universal principle that all follow, the well known principle, of not changing the winning method, the LDK adopts the opposite of not changing the losing method,” he said.

“I think the people of Kosovo have an established perception on the relation of Avdullah Hoti with Isa Mustafa being the same as Enver Hoxhaj’s with Hashim Thaci or Kadri Veseli. They are puppet prime ministers and we don’t need puppet prime ministers,” Konjufca added.

Osmani’s initiative in coalition talks with Vetevendosje (Klan)

Faton Peci, associate of acting President Vjosa Osmani, confirmed they are in talks with the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) on the possibility of joining a coalition agreement.

“We are in discussions with Vetevendosje and it is very likely there will be a pre-election coalition. We are focused on many points, the main one being whether we go with a pre-election of post-election partnership with LVV. The second aspect is our aim to be separate entities entering a joint race and the third aspect include programmatic issues,” he told Klan.

“In a few days, early January, we will present the content of the list, the programming principles, the logo… Everything will be made clear in the first week of January. Osmani’s figure will be determinant as to who will be the future prime minister,” Peci continued.

Rama: KLA leaders being kept hostage (media)

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama said that the KLA commanders who stand accused for war crimes by the Specialist Chambers have in fact been taken hostage.

Following a meeting with the acting leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Enver Hoxhaj in Tirana, Rama said that the meeting was emotional for the fact that “the leaders of the KLA, Kosovo, and the PDK are currently kept hostage. They are hostage just as the Kosovo war, the war history and the truth of it have been taken hostage. Naturally the release of the hostages will require time and when I say this I don’t mean only their physical being but the greatest hostage which is the truth of the war and the war itself”.

Hoxhaj on his part said the just history of Kosovo can never be changed and thanked Rama for what he said was his dignified stance and support to KLA leaders. “We also discussed other issues of common interest of the two countries but the position of Prime Minister Rama regarding the Specialist Chambers has been clear. Kadri Veseli and Hashim Thaci are not there individually but the cause of our fight for freedom is standing before a court”, he said.

Hoti also announced the signing of an agreement with the U.S. which he said will bring millions of euros-worth of investment to Kosovo. He said the agreement is a result of the Washington one and will be signed today, 31 December.

UK Embassy sends protest note to Ministry of Education over €1.8 million bid (Koha)

The British Embassy in Pristina has sent a note of protest to the Minister of Education and Science Rame Likaj after he decided to announce a bid worth 1.8 million euros for the digitalisation system aimed to facilitate education management. The Embassy protested the announcement of the bid without the digitalisation strategy being concluded, a project which has been funded by the British Government.

The Ministry of Education did not comment on the issue while Diana Metushi-Krasniqi from the Kosovo Democratic Institute said the bid should be suspended. “Unfortunately it is neither the first time nor the last that these capital projects worth millions are left for the pre-election period and are used for political scores,” she said.