• COVID-19: 301 new cases, eight deaths (media)
• Hoti: The country to return to normality by early spring (RTK/Kallxo)
• Kurz says vaccine to roll out in all Western Balkans at the same time (media)
• Zemaj appeals for respect of Covid rules, days after flouting them (Koha)
• Lajcak warns against land swap idea, calls it ‘dangerous’ (media)
• Parties appeal ECAP decision with Supreme Court (media)
• Mustafa says he would prefer to see Kurti lead VV’s ticket (Lajmi/RTK)
• Haradinaj: Not allowing Kurti to run is not good for democracy (media)
• Rasic accuses Serbian List of vote theft in the north (Kallxo)
• CEC has so far approved 46,000 voter requests from Diaspora (Telegrafi)
• Kosovo justice institutions put in service of Veseli’s defence (Koha)
• Kosovo Must Take Three Crucial Steps During Biden’s Presidency (Balkan Insight)
• Ceremonies Mark Holocaust Remembrance Day Across Balkans (Balkan Insight)
• TI: Kosovo and Albania have made no progress in fighting corruption (Telegrafi)

COVID-19: 301 new cases, eight deaths (media)

301 new cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 181 persons have recovered from the virus during this time.

There are 6,400 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Hoti: The country to return to normality by early spring (RTK/Kallxo)

Outgoing Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti said he expects Kosovo to return to normality by early spring as the vaccinations against Covid are set to begin in February.

“The vaccination of categories at risk will be completed in March and April and we will bring the country to normality in the beginning of spring. Businesses can begin as of now to make preparations to return to normality,” he told the public broadcaster RTK.

Kurz says vaccine to roll out in all Western Balkans at the same time (media)

The outgoing Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti had a virtual meeting with Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and discussed current political developments, the Covid pandemic, vaccine distribution, visa liberalisation, and bilateral cooperation, a press release issued by the Government of Kosovo notes.

“Prime Minister Hoti received confirmation from Chancellor Kurz that the vaccine rollout for all the Western Balkans countries will be done simultaneously,” the press release adds.

Zemaj appeals for respect of Covid rules, days after flouting them (Koha)

Outgoing Minister of Health Armend Zemaj has called on citizens to adhere to anti-Covid measures, days after he faced criticism for attending an event in Decan where the measures seemed to have been flouted.

“I urge everyone to protect each other’s health and the public health, because overburdening of hospitals is an increased risk for both professionals to provide care, and for patients and families who expect a quality health care. I urge all citizens to implement the recommendations for fighting Covid 19,” Zemaj wrote.

Zemaj had posted a picture on his Facebook account where he is seen along with dozen activists from his Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), few of whom wore masks or respected social distancing measures.

Lajcak warns against land swap idea, calls it ‘dangerous’ (media)

The EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak told the French paper Le Monde that the option of a territorial exchange between Kosovo and Serbia would be “very dangerous”.

He said the countries in the region oppose the idea because “they fear events could get out of hand” while the EU has invested a great deal in integration of the Balkans, namely in the building of multiethnic and democratic societies. “Redrawing of borders is in conflict to this ideal and it would imply we failed,” he said.

Lajcak said that the dialogue has been temporarily been put on hold due to Kosovo getting ready to head to parliamentary elections and that as far as the reaching of a comprehensive agreement is concerned, “nothing is settled until everything is settled.”

Lajcak said the new U.S. administration feels a historic responsibility to the region. “American-European unity is crucial factor for success in the Balkans.”

Parties appeal ECAP decision with Supreme Court (media)

Several parties have addressed the Supreme Court in appealing the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel ruling on certification of election tickets confirming earlier decision of the Central Election Commission to bar from running candidates convicted in the last three years.

The Vetevendosje Movement (VV), the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA) sent their arguments to the Supreme Court which now has 72 hours time to decide on the claims.

VV’s representative Blerim Sallahu said they presented sufficient arguments to the court to certify the party’s candidates which also include its leader Albin Kurti. Sallahu said they believe the Supreme Court will rule in their favour but did not rule out of the issue being forwarded to the Constitutional Court for interpretation in case the court delivers an unfavourable ruling.

Mustafa says he would prefer to see Kurti lead VV’s ticket (Lajmi/RTK)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Isa Mustafa commented on whether the decision not to allow Albin Kurti to be part of the Vetevendosje Movement (VV) election ticket will actually be beneficial for his own party to which he said the LDK has in the past run against Kurti and would do so without a problem this time around.

“In fact, if there had been no Constitutional Court ruling, it would have been desirable for the LDK if Kurti led the ticket because this way he is playing the victim’s role when in fact they are a victim to themselves,” Mustafa said.

Haradinaj: Not allowing Kurti to run is not good for democracy (media)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj commented on the decision of the Central Election Commission to exclude Vetevendosje Movement (VV) leader Albin Kurti from running in upcoming elections due to a previous conviction. “Not allowing the opposition leader to run in elections is not a good indicator for a democracy,” Haradinaj said in a TV debate.

“When I read in the papers that [Vladimir] Putin does not permit the opposition leader to run in elections, I immediately think of the country being a dictatorship. I am surprised how we in Kosovo have come to a situation where an opposition leader is not allowed to compete,” he added.

Haradinaj also commented on his previous statement concerning unification of Kosovo and Albania. “If obstacles that Serbia has imposed on us remain including from a part of the international community regarding recognitions or our NATO membership, since security is a priority for us, we will be left with no other option but to head towards a referendum for unification with Albania.”

He said this would not imply Kosovo renouncing its statehood. “Our goal is a Kosovo-Albania union. The state of Kosovo remains in a union with Albania. Kosovo’s current institutions remain. Responsibilities of Kosovo given to it by the Constitution remain but later there would be a constitution of the Kosovo-Albania union,” Haradinaj continued.

Rasic accuses Serbian List of vote theft in the north (Kallxo)

Former Kosovo Serb minister and leader of the Progressive Democratic Party Nenad Rasic has accused the Serbian List of what he said is massive vote theft in the north of Kosovo.

“Every time, especially in the north, there is vote theft,” Rasic said in a TV debate hosted by BIRN’s Jeta Xharra. “When the OSCE was observing, there were diplomats who told me they personally saw a same person vote three-four times. Serbian List does not do it itself. It has allies within central institutions. Serbian List is allies with all political parties, except Vetevendosje.”

Rasic said the Serbian List is damaging the Serbs living in Kosovo and added that there is a huge influx of Serb youths leaving Kosovo. “The Serbian List has managed in eight years to change the mindset of Serbs so as not to see a future in Kosovo.”

Rasic also said the Serbian List is planning to, as he said, smuggle MPs from other parties or initiatives so that they end up with more than ten MPs in the next legislature.

CEC has so far approved 46,000 voter requests from Diaspora (Telegrafi)

The Central Election Commission spokesperson Valmir Elezi said the verification of registration of voters from the Diaspora is ongoing and that so far 130,000 applications have been inputted to the data base, of which around 46,000 have been approved.

Elezi said that according to information from the voting service, there are still 27,000 e-mails that the CEC has received that are not yet opened. “Only once all these review procedures, assessment and application verification are completed, can be have a final and detailed report on how high is the number of applications to register to vote from abroad and how many will have been successfully registered.”

Kosovo justice institutions put in service of Veseli’s defence (Koha)

Ben Emmerson, defence attorney for former PDK leader Kadri Veseli, had addressed an urgent request to Kosovo institutions asking them to provide guarantees that they would oversee Veseli if granted provisional release by the Specialist Chambers judge, Koha reports.

Minister Selimi had forwarded Emmerson’s request to the Minister of Interior Agim Veliu and Kosovo Police Director Samedin Mehmeti. In the letter, Emmerson said he spoke to Mehmeti and proceeded to enclose a draft testimony which the police director could have intervened in and sign it. Mehmeti’s reply to Emmerson stated that the Kosovo Police is ready and has sufficient capacities to perform duties and responsibilities set out by the applicable legislation.

Koha however notes that communication between Kosovo institutions and the defence are uncommon and that judicial mechanisms are not required to guarantee to the accused but to the court, if such an action is requested.

Ehat Miftaraj from the Kosovo Justice Institute think tank said the correspondence between the defence and the judicial institutions could represent a dangerous precedent as it could pave way for all the accused in detention to ask for guarantees from justice institutions in order to be granted conditional release. “This simply has no legal logic and such a precedent would have a counter effect in the justice-criminal system in Kosovo,” he said.

Kosovo Must Take Three Crucial Steps During Biden’s Presidency (Balkan Insight)

Kosovo must make use of a new, more sympathetic, administration to leverage US support on core issues affecting its security, legitimacy and energy supply, argues Visar Xhambazi,  policy researcher at Democracy for Development (D4D) Institute in Kosovo and a young professional advisor at United Europe in Germany.

With Joe Biden now inaugurated as US president, Kosovo has four years to leverage assured support. Biden has more foreign policy experience than any other recent American president-elect and is aware of the Balkan region’s complexities. We may expect a well-informed team to work on issues relating to the Balkans and on collaboration with European allies.

The momentum of progress needs to be kept high, and Kosovo should take proactive measures during the course of this administration to ensure this.

Thirteen years after declaring independence, Kosovo is still struggling to strengthen its international legitimacy. Just under half of the member states of the United Nations do not recognise its statehood, nor do five member states of the European Union, endangering its aspirations of joining international organisations.

The Kosovo-Serbia dialogue should remain a priority for Kosovo, but a comprehensive deal will be almost impossible to achieve unless Serbia explicitly or at least implicitly recognises it. And with Serbian presidential elections looming in 2022, President Aleksandar Vucic won’t consider signing any deal that might jeopardize his reelection.

Kosovo, meanwhile, holds snap parliamentary elections on February 14. At the same time, the Assembly will have to elect a new president. Forming a government has proven to be difficult in the past and this year will be no exception.

Considering these challenges, Kosovo could use assistance from Biden, a longtime supporter. However, Biden will have many other issues to tackle during his presidency, some more immediate than others, and the Balkans will not be near the top of his list. Kosovo must, therefore, move proactively to secure its future. In conjunction with support from other allies, this will strengthen the country.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3pqmj2r

Ceremonies Mark Holocaust Remembrance Day Across Balkans (Balkan Insight)

Political leaders and representatives of victims marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day with ceremonies and commemorative events in Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.

Events were held in countries across the Balkans on Wednesday to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which commemorates the victims of the Nazi genocide during World War II on the day on which Soviet troops entered the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland in 1945.

See more at: https://bit.ly/2NEpQMt

TI: Kosovo and Albania have made no progress in fighting corruption (Telegrafi)

Transparency International in its annual ranking of 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public-sector corruption as seen by experts and businesspeople has placed both Kosovo and Albania among countries with a high perceived level of corruption.

The report highlights that this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) paints a grim picture of the state of corruption worldwide. While most countries have made little to no progress in tackling corruption in nearly a decade, more than two-thirds of countries score below 50. Our analysis shows corruption not only undermines the global health response to COVID-19, but contributes to a continuing crisis of democracy.

See the report: https://bit.ly/2L1efq0