Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 344 new cases, three deaths (media)
• Kosovo Government to ease coronavirus rules (media)
• Hoti: LDK’s victory becoming increasingly evident (Koha)
• Kurti: Sunday’s victory to be a landslide (Klan/RTK)
• Haradinaj: With me as president, KLA will not remain orphaned (RTK)
• CEC has received nearly 15,000 of ballot packages from diaspora (Kallxo)
• FAZ: Major political change expected in Kosovo (Telegrafi)
• Von Cramon: France not yet convinced to support visa liberalisation (Albanian Post)
• Former Serb fighter sentenced to 12 years in prison for war crimes (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• 37 new cases, one deceased in Serbian communities in Kosovo (KoSSev)
• Jevtic: House of Vuckovic family in village of Berkovo looted (KoSSev)
• Billboard “Freedom has a name – KLA” placed in Caglavica, Office for KiM condemns act (KoSSev)
• Zoran Djokic from Pec sentenced to 12 years in prison (RTV Puls)
• Kamberi to Vulin: By insulting minorities in Serbia, you are insulting your own country! (KoSSev)
• Half a million doses of the Chinese vaccine have arrived (B92)
• Petar Petkovic: Only Serbian List guaranties remain of Serbs in Kosovo (Kosovo-online)
• “This is quasi-democratic process in which people are told who to vote for” (Radio KIM)
• Prorokovic: Coordination between the USA and the EU on the issue of Kosovo is not enough for a final solution (Vecernje Novosti, Kosovo Online)
• Milojevic: Organized transportation from Kraljevo for IDPs who will vote in elections (Kosovo-online)
• Vucic: Good relations with France important for Serbia (N1)

International:

• COVID: Using AstraZeneca vaccine is ‘right thing to do’ for everyone, says WHO expert panel (UN News)
• Kosovo Parties’ Glittering Promises Leave Many Voters Cold (Balkan Insight)
• New air routes established over Kosovo with NATO support (nato.int)
• No “Navalnying” in the Balkans is the uncompromising message from Russia (intellinews.com)
• ‘We had to take care of ourselves’ in COVID-19 vaccine rollout, says Serbian president (euronews.com)
• 2021 Early Elections on Kosovo: Chance for New Beginning? (ifimes.org)

Albanian Language Media  

COVID-19: 344 new cases, three deaths (media)

344 new cases of COVID-19 and three deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 

230 persons have recovered from the virus during this time. 

Kosovo Government to ease coronavirus rules (media)

The Government of Kosovo in today’s meeting is expected to decide to ease coronavirus rules.

According to the new measures, there will be no more curfew in any of Kosovo municipalities, students will begin  in-person classes at the universities while economic operators will be allowed to work until from 5 a.m to 10 p.m.

Kosovo Government spokesperson Antigona Baxhaku told Koha that the meeting of the government is still ongoing but that there is general support for the easing of restrictions.

Hoti: LDK’s victory becoming increasingly evident (Koha)

Prime Minister of Kosovo and the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) election ticket, Avdullah Hoti, said his party’s victory is becoming more and more certain as the voting day approaches. 

“The reason is clear and simple: citizens of Kosovo are pro-European and the LDK is the only party integrated into the European political family, part of the European People’s Party. This path was laid by President Rugova whose political philosophy centred on Euro-Atlantic integration and permanent friendship with the U.S.” 

In a meeting with LDK supporters in Pristina, Hoti pledged to invest over 400 million euros in the capital which he said will transform Pristina into the regional point of reference. 

Kurti: Sunday’s victory to be a landslide (Klan/RTK)

Leader of the Vetevendosje Movement Albin Kurti said today in Mitrovica that he expected the outcome of Sunday’s election to be a landslide victory for his party. 

“February 14’th victory should be as in Llap, without a runoff, and with over 61 MPs to enable us to carry out many reforms with a stable government with a parliamentary majority,” Kurti is quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, acting President Vjosa Osmani said that the weather conditions will not affect the vote outcome. “Through rain and snow, no one can stop the will for change and Mitrovica reconfirms this today.” 

Haradinaj: With me as president, KLA will not remain orphaned (RTK)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj said that if elected president of Kosovo he would work to make sure the Kosovo Liberation Army is well taken care of.

“When the president is someone that comes from the KLA, the KLA will not be orphaned,” he said in Junik.

Haradinaj said one of the main things that needs to be addressed once elections are over is the economy which he said has been badly affected by the pandemic. He said the AAK has a rapid plan prepared to tackle it. 

Haradinaj further said that his candidacy for president is a guarantee that Kosovo will finish the work that remains to be done concerning agreement with Serbia.

CEC has received nearly 15,000 of ballot packages from diaspora (Kallxo)

Head of the Central Election Commission Secretariat, Burim Ahmetaj, said that to date they have received 14,987 ballot packages from diaspora members. Ahmetaj said the CEC is continuing to receive packages and is in regular contact with the Kosovo Post. 

The representative of the Vetevendosje Movement to the CEC, Sami Kurteshi, requested the CEC to accept ballots arriving through post until 13 February. 

Ahmetaj at the same time said that the CEC Secretariat is working on training election bodies and that so far over 12,000 members of the polling councils have been trained.

FAZ: Major political change expected in Kosovo (Telegrafi)

The German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported about the upcoming elections in Kosovo saying that a significant change is expected.

“A large part of the Kosovo society has great hopes with Kurti. His promise that he would support justice in acting against corruption is being seen as a credible promise. The fact that Kurti is popular especially with the youth is an advantage for him as Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe.” FAZ said as reported by Telegrafi.

The paper then went on to describe how the previous government under the Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti fell and that at the background of this was the pressure put by then U.S. envoy Richard Grenell who viewed Kurti as an obstacle to reaching a quick agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.

“A year after Kurti’s fall many things have changed to his benefit,” the German paper notes. “Trump is history, Hashim Thaci needs to face charges of war crimes at the Hague while Vetevendosje never stood better than now in polls.” 

“Anything less than a landslide victory would be a surprise. Supporters of Kurti’s party even hope they will be able to govern without a coalition partner,” the paper concluded.

Von Cramon: France not yet convinced to support visa liberalisation (Albanian Post)

European Parliament’s rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, said that France is the most unconvinced country when it comes to giving Kosovo the green light for visa liberalisation and that as far as the European Commission is concerned Kosovo has already met the required criteria.

In an interview with Albanian Post, von Cramon said she hoped the Council of European Union would include the issue in its upcoming meeting agenda. “At the same time, the government of Kosovo should be involved in discussion with those EU countries which hesitate and Kosovars should address their questions,” she said. 

Von Cramon also commented on the Washington agreement between Kosovo and Serbia achieved last September: “The Washington agreement was not a well organised meeting and its goal was not to achieve something between Serbia and Kosovo; it was a campaign event for U.S. elections.”

“Serbia and Kosovo need a comprehensive agreement which will be a result of long negotiations; it cannot be treated only as a good photo opportunity,” von Cramon said. She noted that the EU has a crucial role in the talks between Kosovo and Serbia.

She added that Kosovo lacks political stability in the sense that the previous governments have had short terms in office. “A government can only be successful if it remains in place for more than just a few months.”

Former Serb fighter sentenced to 12 years in prison for war crimes (media)

Former member of Serbian forces, Zoran Djokic, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Pristina Basic Court for his role in war crimes against the Albanian civilian population.

According to the indictment, the defendant, together with an organised criminal group of Serbs wearing military, paramilitary and police uniforms committed war crimes in which 33 Kosovo Albanian civilians were killed in a neighborhood of Peja in 1999.

Serbian Language Media

37 new cases, one deceased in Serbian communities in Kosovo (KoSSev)

In the Serbian communities in Kosovo one person died during the previous 24 hours, while out of a total of 130 tested samples, 37 were positive for coronavirus, the North Mitrovica Crisis Staff announced.

Of the total number of newly infected, 30 are from northern Kosovo, while 7 are from central Kosovo.

The new cases by municipalities: North Mitrovica – 15, Zvecan – 9, Leposavic – 5, Gnjilane – 4, Strpce – 2 and one each from Gracanica and Zubin Potok.

During the past day, one person from Zvecan died as a result of Covida-19, and the total number of deaths since the beginning of the epidemic is now 103.

The number of people who came out of the fourteen-day isolation is 14, and the number of active cases in Serbian communities in Kosovo is 269.

So far, a total of 3,950 coronavirus-positive people have been registered in Serb areas in Kosovo, out of 14,015 tested samples.

Jevtic: House of Vuckovic family in village of Berkovo looted (KoSSev)

A house was robbed in the returnee village of Berkovo, Klina municipality, said the Minister for Communities and Returns in the outgoing Kosovo government, Dalibor Jevtic, reported portal KoSSev.

“The Vuckovic family, returnees to the village of Berkovo, are again the target of robbers. Is it necessary to protect returnee houses with walls, and I don’t know what else to stop these attacks?” Jevtic stated in a post on Twitter.

A fire was set in the house of this returnee family in May, which was built by the Ministry of Communities and Returns, Jevtic also confirmed at the time.

Billboard “Freedom has a name – KLA” placed in Caglavica, Office for KiM condemns act (KoSSev)

A large billboard “Freedom has a name – KLA” was placed on a pedestrian bridge in Caglavica village, KoSSev portal reports, citing Radio KIM.

“This is about glorification of a criminal organization and open provocations to the Serbs and other non-Albanian population”, Office for Kosovo and Metohija said in reaction to the act.

As RTV KIM further reported, the billboard glorifying leaders of a former KLA, currently at detention at The Hague, pending trials for war crimes committed in Kosovo, was placed on a spot where until this morning an electoral banner of AAK was.

“It is inadmissible and dangerous, although not unexpected, that at the end of the election campaign in Kosovo and Metohija a new billboard celebrating crimes of a terrorist KLA appears”, the Office said in a statement.

It added that over the previous day there has been “a race in radicalism and extremist rhetoric against Serbia by Albanian political representatives”.

The Office sent yet another appeal to the international representatives in Kosovo to ensure peace and security there, and urged Serbs to exercise restraint and remain calm, since, as the Office said, “their state will never allow pogrom against the Serbs to take place ever again”.

KoSSev portal recalled that a campaign with billboards “Freedom has a name – KLA” was ongoing for months and they were placed across Kosovo.

A campaign that is also run on some Pristina-based TV stations was welcomed by Kosovo officials, but also condemned by some representatives of the civil society, official Belgrade and Serb political representatives, in particular when one such a billboard was placed on a road in the village of Kisnica, near Gracanica.

This billboard was subsequently burned down, followed by an incident in Kisnica when a group of young men chanted “KLA” and pelted Zoran Trajkovic with glass bottles in front of his house, not far from the billboard.   

Zoran Djokic from Pec sentenced to 12 years in prison (RTV Puls)

The judge of a department for serious criminal offences in Pristina announced today the decision of the court by which Zoran Djokic from Pec has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, RTV Puls reports.

As the judge said Djokic was found guilty of the crime “he with criminal groups committed against civilian population in April and March 1999, in settlements Soliter and Kristal in Pec”.

Djokic was convicted based on charges that he took part in psychological and physical mistreatment and expulsion of Albanians from their homes, the judge said.

Zoran Djokic was arrested at Jarinje crossing point and has remained in detention since February 2, 2019.  

Kamberi to Vulin: By insulting minorities in Serbia, you are insulting your own country! (KoSSev)

By the decision of the court of this country, as of today, I am a ‘Shiptar’ – not an Albanian. One day Aleksandar Vulin woke up and decided who I am and what my ethnicity is, and this was legalized by the state court! – United Valley MP Shaip Kamberi said in the National Assembly of Serbia yesterday.

Kamberi compared yesterday’s rejection of the lawsuit of the National Council of Albanians against Vulin – who was sued by Ragmi Mustafa for using the derogatory term ‘Shiptar’ – to Germany in 1930. ”When Minister Hermann Goring decided who and what the Jews were called, and then the Gestapo courts legalized it.”

The court thus ”already legalized general hatred, intolerance, and xenophobia against Albanians, in Serbia in particular,” Kamberi said, urging international representatives to react.

United Valley Serbian MP from Bujanovac, Shaip Kamberi addressed the latest convocation of the Serbian parliament in the Albanian language for the first time yesterday.

In his speech, Kamberi spoke of the decision of the Higher Court in Belgrade, which rejected the lawsuit of the President of the National Council of Albanians, Ragmi Mustafa. The lawsuit was filed on June 25. against Minister Aleksandar Vulin for hate speech, i.e. the use of the derogatory term ”Shiptar”.

In the last few years, Vulin has regularly used this term in his official addresses, both as Minister of Defense and now as Minister of the Interior.

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

Half a million doses of the Chinese vaccine have arrived (B92)

Another 500.000 doses of Chinese vaccine “Sinopharm” arrived in Serbia, B92 reports.

As announced by President Aleksandar Vucic earlier, it was ensured that a total of another 88.000 doses of Pfizer would arrive on February 15 and 22, 42.000 on the first occasion and 46.000 on the second.

By February 20, 125.000-150.000 AstraZeneca vaccines will arrive in Serbia, for which a contract has been signed, Vucic said and reminded that an additional 50.000 first doses of the Russian vaccine have already arrived in Serbia, while other doses will arrive in 15 days.

“By the end of February, we will have a total of two million doses of vaccines, which will be used to vaccinate millions of citizens”, Vucic emphasized, adding that this speaks of the great work and effort of all those who participated in that process.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Ambassador of Peoples’ Republic of China to Serbia, Chen Bo welcomed a new contingent of Chinese vaccines.

Brnabic said on this occasion that Serbia, with half a million doses of Chinese vaccines that arrived has a total of as many as 1.5 million doses.

See at: https://bit.ly/2Z8T08W

Petar Petkovic: Only Serbian List guaranties remain of Serbs in Kosovo (Kosovo-online)

Extraordinary parliamentary elections on Sunday in Kosovo were an opportunity for the Serbs to demonstrate unity given that only when we acted under one flag we managed to achieve the most important victories, Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said.

He added it is important that on Sunday, we all stand by the Serbian List.

“Until now, Serbian List in all elections was winning all ten seats at the parliament in Pristina, which brought it positions of the ministers at the Kosovo Government. Many today in Pristina and other centers of power are not in favor of the Serb unity. You may rest assured, they will not succeed. Only the Serbian List that has support of Belgrade and President Vucic and only this list guarantees the remain and survival of our people in Kosovo and Metohija”, Petkovic said.

In an interview to Belgrade-based Informer, Petkovic also spoke about importance of having Serb representatives in Pristina institutions, given that only through institutions in Pristina and support and coordination with the Serbian President, we may fight for the benefit of our people and have the power and possibility to make sure Serbian voice is heard.

Commenting on earlier statement of Kosovo Serb politician Rada Trajkovic and announced coalition with leader of Self-determination Movement Albin Kurti, Petkovic said “that Rada Trajkovic and her associates are fake Serb representatives, aware that Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija do not want them and have despised them long time ago (…)”. He added that they, out of pure personal interests and desire for positions, are now trying to get support of the Albanian parties and make profit.  

“This is quasi-democratic process in which people are told who to vote for” (Radio KIM)

Electoral process and the entire political environment in Kosovo over the last couple of years reflect a complete deficit of democracy, Aleksandar Stojanovic from the Center of Local Areas Development said, Radio KIM reports.

According to him, the “Serbs are passive observers” told who they should vote for.

Stojanovic, who is also a Secretary at the Serb National Forum, said for many years there were no public debates on elections and citizens do not  take part in making political solutions, but are imposed by Belgrade who they should vote for.

“Since SNS (Serbian Progressive Party) took power, one must admit there is a complete deficit of democracy and the Serbian List established as a list that should represent the interests of different political determinations of Serbs and bring them together, today it is simply not that. It is a group of people from SNS, and all those who are not part of the Serbian List are being demonized, persecuted, exposed to pressure”, Stojanovic said.

According to Stojanovic the essence of democracy is that people are free to elect and be elected. He added the Serbs are completely excluded from decision-making processes, and all solutions are being made at some high levels, among Brussels, Belgrade and Pristina.

Stojanovic also said that Rada Trajkovic was the only true opposition. “If we look at all those people, among them we must single out Rada Trajkovic as someone who actively participates in the political life and fights in a manner she can against all those injustices and different things that are happening. And as such she is an active opposition leader and recognizable compared to all others who are much more passive”, he said.

Prorokovic: Coordination between the USA and the EU on the issue of Kosovo is not enough for a final solution (Vecernje Novosti, Kosovo Online)

Although not at the negotiating table at which Belgrade and Pristina are trying to reach an agreement on the Kosovo issue, Russia has repeatedly stressed in the past that the solution must be approved by the United Nations Security Council, thus sending a message, between lines, that without Russia’s approval there is no solution, portal Kosovo Online quoted an article of Belgrade based Vecernje Novosti. 

“Russia’s position is known and will not change. The long-term permanent solution must correspond to Belgrade’s interests and be within the limits of international law. That solution is based on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and what the Security Council could confirm,” the Russian ambassador to Serbia, Aleksandar Bocan-Kharchenko said.

The Kremlin also said after a telephone conversation between the two presidents, Vladimir Putin and Aleksandar Vucic, seven days ago, that Serbia can count on Russian support “in a well-balanced solution to the Kosovo problem that should be approved by the United Nations Security Council.”

Russian support

The daily writes that these messages seem to be addressed not only to the Serbian public and officials in Belgrade, but also to those who think that the way to imposing the “desirable” outcome of the Kosovo knot will be open fast enough, with the arrival of Joseph Biden and his expected coordination with the European Union.

Professor Dusan Prorokovic, an expert on geopolitical relations and former state secretary at the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija, told Novosti that both Washington and Berlin are very aware of the Russian factor, which is why they intend to bypass the Security Council.

“They have tried to do that before with the approach that Serbia does not have to recognize Kosovo but should allow it to enter the United Nations. With Russia and China, which adhere to international law and sit on the Security Council, such a scenario will not lead to Kosovo’s membership in the United Nations. That is why they started demanding that Serbia recognize Kosovo, which we see from Biden’s congratulations on Statehood Day. But even if that recognition happened, I do not see an effective way to put pressure in that direction. Moscow would not allow Kosovo to join the United Nations,” Prorokovic said.

Prorokovic says that for Western countries is a problem to say that Kosovo is a failed project and that is why the European Union and the United States falsely represent that negotiations are nearing an end, while Albanians simulate that Belgrade will soon recognize Kosovo, and that there is a space in Serbia to offer solutions in this moment.

If we talk about Russia’s position, as Prorokovic notes, it has not changed since 2007, although there has been a spread of misinformation that it is happening.

Any solution for Kosovo, in order to be long-term, as Prorokovic points out, must have an international guarantee and imply a decision of the Security Council, and that without Russia a bill is made without an innkeeper.

Milojevic: Organized transportation from Kraljevo for IDPs who will vote in elections (Kosovo-online)

A vote for Serbian List is the only guarantor not only of the stay and survival, but also of the return of Serbs to Kosovo and Metohija, Vesna Milojevic pointed out, calling on all internally displaced persons to contact the Office for Kosovo and Metohija in Kraljevo and travel to the elections by bus, Kosovo-online reports.

Milojevic added that a certain number of internally displaced persons from Kosovo have already voted by mail, but that the largest number, organized by the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, will travel to the polls on Sunday, February 14. She added that the departure time is at 6 o’clock from Kraljevo.

“(…) I invite everyone to vote for the Serbian List, which is listed under number 119. It is important that all Serbs go to the polls, especially internally displaced persons living in Raska district, because we organized transportation to the polling station and back. The organized departure of the bus is at 6 o’clock in the morning on Sunday”, Milojevic explained.

She opined that Serbian List would win all 10 mandates reserved for the Serbian community in Kosovo.

“It is important that all 10 seats in the Assembly are won by the Serbian List, because it is a guarantee that Serbs will exercise all their rights. I invite internally displaced persons to contact the Office for Kosovo and Metohija if they need more detailed information. They can also get information on 036 336690 and 064 4668031. As in the previous elections, we organized transportation and we expect a good turnout of voters”, she told RTV Kraljevo.

Vucic: Good relations with France important for Serbia (N1)

President Aleksandar Vucic told French Ambassador to Serbia Jean-Louis Falconi on Thursday that good relations with Paris were significant for Belgrade and that he would personally follow the realization of joint projects, N1 reports.

According to the president’s press office statement, the interlocutors discussed Vucic’s recent meeting with his French counterpart Emmanual Macron in Paris. They agreed the Belgrade underground subway project was progressing in line with the planned dynamic.

Other significant projects such as works at the Belgrade airport managed by the French Vinci company, the remediation of the Vinca landfill were also on the meeting’s agenda.

On the political side, Vucic reiterated that by accepting the new European Union accession methodology, Serbia would make progress on its European road.

He also said he was glad that Macron would revisit Serbia, since “his 2019 stay left a special mark in the history of Serbia-France relationship”.

See at: https://bit.ly/2Z6s6yz

International

COVID: Using AstraZeneca vaccine is ‘right thing to do’ for everyone, says WHO expert panel (UN News)

A World Health Organization (WHO) expert panel countered concerns over the efficacy of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine on Wednesday, insisting that “it’s the right thing to do” to use it – even in countries where variants had surfaced. 

“Even if you have the circulation of a variant in a country, there is no reason that we see for now, not to use the AstraZeneca vaccine as indicated, to be able to reduce the levels of severe disease in that population”, said Dr Alejandro Cravioto, Chair of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE). 

The development follows the recent release of data from a study in South Africa indicating that the AstraZeneca jab provided little protection against a variant of the new coronavirus among older people. 

At a press conference in Geneva, SAGE Executive Secretary, Dr Joachim Hombach, described that study as “relatively modest”, while Dr Cravioto added that few over 65s had taken part in it. 

Dr Kate O’Brien, WHO’s head of immunization, said that the South African study’s findings were “inconclusive, albeit demonstrating a low efficacy against mild and moderate disease”.  

See more at: https://bit.ly/3p99jNL

Kosovo Parties’ Glittering Promises Leave Many Voters Cold (Balkan Insight)

With only a few days left before Sunday’s snap polls in Kosovo, voters are again having to turn their attention to the election pledges of the political leaders touring towns and villages.

The campaign has featured little in the way of new approaches, however political rivals attack each other vigorously as usual – while sidelining such key topics as the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccination, the fight against crime and corruption, economic recovery and development, social, education and environmental protection and the continued brain drain.

Analysts say the parties seem more concerned with big geopolitical topics and global power games than the everyday problems of ordinary people.

As in previous elections, Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian authorities and issues in the mainly Serb-populated north Kosovo are also in the frame.

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

New air routes established over Kosovo with NATO support (nato.int)

Civilian airlines can now use new south-west air routes in the lower airspace over Kosovo. This is an important achievement in the normalization of the lower airspace over Kosovo, which has been carried out with support through NATO’s Balkans Aviation Normalization process. It will help to significantly improve the civil air traffic routing to and from Pristina airport, with multiple benefits including faster travel, lower fuel consumption and reduced pollution.

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

No “Navalnying” in the Balkans is the uncompromising message from Russia (intellinews.com)

As major powers set out their positions after the chaos and confusion of the Trump era, Russia is sending out an uncompromising message to Western leaders that it will not tolerate interference in its internal affairs. Moscow was ready to humiliate the European Union’s foreign policy chief by expelling diplomats from three EU countries during his meeting with the Russian foreign minister, and Russian officials are even less inclined to mince their words when it comes to the small countries of Southeast Europe that are gradually slipping out of its sphere of influence. 

“Russia just laid out its position: it made it very clear that it will no longer brook any interference in what it considers to be domestic affairs,” wrote bne IntelliNews in a recent comment. Specifically, “the Kremlin will not brook any criticism or sanctions whatsoever linked to [opposition politician Alexei] Navalny or domestic politics”. 

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

‘We had to take care of ourselves’ in COVID-19 vaccine rollout, says Serbian president (euronews.com)

Serbia is going full steam ahead with its rollout of Russia’s and China’s coronavirus vaccines, and its experience so far shows these are “very much safe,” President Aleksandar Vučić told Euronews.

“Some vaccines that were coming from the East were even safer than those that we got from the West,” Vučić said in an exclusive interview on Euronews Now. “But all of them were great.”

Serbia is not a member of the European Union, and so far it hasn’t received much help from the bloc in its vaccination effort. But these days it’s well ahead of the pack in terms of results.

Alongside the Pfizer-BioNtech jab, Serbia has been administering Russias’s Sputnik V vaccine, as well as China’s Sinopharm jab. Those last two shots haven’t yet been approved in the EU, but using them has allowed Serbia to post the highest rate of vaccination per capita in continental Europe.

By comparison, as of early February, the EU had only vaccinated around 3 percent of its population. On Wednesday, European Commission Chief Ursula Von der Leyen faced a grilling in the European Parliament over the supply shortfalls that have been plaguing the bloc.

Vučić said his country had so far not received a single dose from the COVAX scheme, which the EU joined to ensure poorer countries also get access to COVID-19 vaccines.

“Many countries got their vaccines. And so far, we didn’t get a single one from the COVAX programme. We got it from our bilateral arrangement with the Americans, with Pfizer. We got it from China, we got it from Russia. But we didn’t get it from the European Union,” Vučić said.

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

2021 Early Elections on Kosovo: Chance for New Beginning? (ifimes.org)

For Kosovo, 2021 is a year of elections. The fifth parliamentary (early) elections will be held on 14 February 2021. After the establishment of the parliamentary majority the next President of Kosovo will be elected, after what regular local elections will follow. In such a situation there is no ambiance for serious work, particularly with respect to combating the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as strengthening civic and other freedoms. The entire social-political life revolves around the elections and election campaigns.

See more at: https://bit.ly/372G890