• COVID-19: 11 new cases, one death (media)
• Kosovo to receive additional vaccines from EU states (RFE)
• After Croatia, other countries too promise to donate vaccines to Kosovo (Koha)
• Kosovo government “no hand” in drafts of two regional agreements (Koha)
• Opposition asks government for US envoy in dialogue with Serbia (Exit News)
• PM Kurti to meet LDK leader Abdixhiku at 11:00 today, source say (Telegrafi)
• Rohde praises government’s stance to improve regional cooperation (media)
• Hajdari: I was misinterpreted (media)
• Svecla: Poor presence of the state in the north (Kallxo)
• President Osmani meets representatives of Heinrich Böll Stiftung (media)
• Recommendation to dismiss the Privatization Agency of Kosovo Board (media)
• Surroi: I will be advisor to negotiating team in dialogue with Serbia (media)
• “Mini-Schengen and regional cooperation” research to be published today
• Civil Registration Agency head dismissed (media)

COVID-19: 11 new cases, one death (media)

Kosovo has recorded 11 new cases of COVID-19 and one death in the last 24 hours. At the same time, 258 recoveries have been confirmed over the same time period.

There are 3,303 active cases of coronavirus in Kosovo.

Media report that the Ministry of Health has received additional 3,510 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, part of the EU’s assistance, and that so far, over 58,000 citizens have been vaccinated against coronavirus in Kosovo.

Kosovo to receive additional vaccines from EU states (RFE)

European Union leaders during a recent summit in Brussels announced that by the end of the year the bloc will donate at least 100 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries, which will include Kosovo and the rest of the Western Balkans, Radio Free Europe reported.

Sources said that Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia will soon donate vaccines to the Western Balkans region, following Croatia which also pledged to provide 10,000 doses to Kosovo and similar amounts to Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The EU, reports RFE, has also allocated €70 million to help the region’s efforts in purchasing vaccines.

After Croatia, other countries too promise to donate vaccines to Kosovo (Koha)

The paper’s Brussels-based correspondent reports that at the EU Summit, heads of states and governments have pledged to donate at least 100 million doses of vaccines to less developed countries by the end of this year. Countries like Hungary, Austria, Poland and Slovenia said they will donate vaccines to Kosovo and other countries of the Western Balkans.

Kosovo government “no hand” in drafts of two regional agreements (Koha)

The daily reports in its front page that Kosovo government representatives said on Tuesday that they have no authorship in the drafts of two regional agreements on freedom of movement. While working groups have been set up to provide comments on the contents of the documents, opposition representatives have accused Prime Minister Albin Kurti of putting the government in the service of a new Yugoslavia by making Kosovo part of the mini-Schengen initiative. Members of Kurti’s cabinet however said that the two agreements have nothing to do with the mini-Schengen initiative.

Opposition asks government for US envoy in dialogue with Serbia (Exit News)

Former Prime Minister of Kosovo and the leader of the opposition party Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj requested that a US representative be part of the dialogue process between Kosovo and Serbia.

Haradinaj’s request came during a meeting held with Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Tuesday. Kurti has invited opposition leaders to discuss the upcoming European Union mediated dialogue on the normalization of relations with Serbia.

“What we’re seeing is that the United States of America are not part of the dialogue. We think that this is not a good situation for Kosovo, as it upsets the balance of Kosovo’s interests in the dialogue,” Haradinaj said.

According to a statement issued by the Government on Tuesday, Kurti has informed Haradinaj of the meetings he held with EU high officials in Brussels in late April.

On Wednesday, Kurti will meet the leader of the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku.

The acting head of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Enver Hoxhaj, refused Kurti’s invitation.

Kurti is consulting with opposition leaders prior to his meeting with President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic which is expected to be held in Brussels during June.

“There will be a meeting [with Vucic] to discuss on how to proceed further with the dialogue, what the new chapter of this dialogue should be, the agenda and so on. We need to agree on the process forward, because we can not continue [the dialogue] the way previous governments have carried them out in the past,” Kurti stated last week.

PM Kurti to meet LDK leader Abdixhiku at 11:00 today, source say (Telegrafi)

Citing sources in the Kosovo government, the news website reports that Prime Minister Albin Kurti will meet Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) leader Lumir Abdixhiku today at 11:00. The meeting is part of Kurti’s consultations with leaders of opposition parties before his meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels.

Rohde praises government’s stance to improve regional cooperation (media)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, said on Tuesday that he was encouraged by the Kosovo government’s stance to improve regional cooperation. He wrote on a Twitter post: “Encouraged by proactive stance of Kosovar government to improve regional cooperation ahead of the Berlin Process summit with third country visas and traveling with ID cards in region. All important steps promoting European integration through regional connectivity beneficial for citizens.”

Hajdari: I was misinterpreted (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, said that her remarks on Tuesday about reciprocity measures were misinterpreted. She denied that she said reciprocity is not the solution to problems but that she doesn’t want to impose reciprocity measures with Serbia immediately.

“Reciprocity is a principle of normal relations between states. We don’t have reciprocity as a weapon of revenge, but rather as a principle that derives from the concept of equality. We will establish reciprocity, not to build barriers but rather to remove them,” Hajdari wrote in a Facebook post.

Svecla: Poor presence of the state in the north (Kallxo)

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, in an interview with Kallxo on Thursday, commented on the cryptocurrency mining in the northern part of Kosovo. “We have a presence of the state there, but it is poor. The problem of the north cannot be solved with a police operation,” he said.

Svecla suggested two ways to solve the problem: “the problem has two phases: electricity is being stolen and their import in most cases is illegal, they don’t pay customs or any other fees.”

He also said that there should be greater public security all over Kosovo. “What we need to do is provide greater public security throughout Kosovo regardless of geographical borders,” he argued.

President Osmani meets representatives of Heinrich Böll Stiftung (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani received on Tuesday representatives of the German foundation of the Greens, Heinrich Böll Stiftung. At the meeting the parties discussed about the importance of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans and for the Republic of Kosovo in particular. Osmani said that sustainable development and the protection of the environment are and will be a priority during her term. She said that the pandemic has made the importance of preserving the health of the citizens clear to us, in which case she stressed the importance of environmental protection to achieve this goal.

Osmani said Kosovo should embrace a model of economic development that is aligned with the green agenda, because the facts from the field prove that such a thing is not only possible, but also economically more reasonable.

The parties also discussed about the importance of the Declaration from the Sofia Summit on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, emphasising that on the eve of the next meeting of leaders within the Berlin Process, the means and policies for implementing the commitments in practice should be identified.

Recommendation to dismiss the Privatization Agency of Kosovo Board (media)

The Kosovo Assembly’s Committee for Economy, Industry and Trade has recommended to the Assembly to dismiss the board of the Privatisation Agency of Kosovo (PAK) citing poor performance results. The committee made the recommendation on Tuesday after it decided not to adopt the annual report of PAK. Representatives of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Serbian List were against the recommendation.

After the meeting, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, chair of the committee, said their recommendation has paved the way for the government to propose a new board and to conclude the transitional phase of PAK. “The further operation of the agency, especially the tendency to speed up liquidation and sale, is a tendency to benefit the interests of a very small group of interest, but now is the right time for this to end, and for the Assembly to pave the way to new developments in the sector and for the management of assets that serve the country’s economic development,” she said.

Surroi: I will be advisor to negotiating team in dialogue with Serbia (media)

Publicist Veton Surroi said in an interview with Klan Kosova on Tuesday that he will serve as an external advisor to Kosovo’s negotiating team in the dialogue with Serbia. he said he will advise Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi, and Prime Minister Albin Kurti whenever needed.

“Mini-Schengen and regional cooperation” research to be published today (RTK)

The news website reports that the Prishtina-based Institute Democracy for Development will hold a discussion today and publish the research “Mini-Schengen and regional cooperation: It takes six countries for cooperation in the Western Balkans”. The research looks into the origins of the mini-Schengen as a regional initiative and analyses its future based on several sources. It also pays special attention to Kosovo’s initial refusal to join the initiative and offers information from polls conducted in December last year in Kosovo. The research also highlights the main differences between the mini-Schengen and the Common Regional Market (CRM) by offering a possible scenario on how the future of the mini-Schengen will look like given the current circumstances.

Civil Registration Agency head dismissed (media)

Most news websites report that the head of the Civil Registration Agency, Bekim Hoxha, was dismissed on Tuesday, following a decision by Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla. Indeksonline reports that the reasons behind the dismissal were not made public, but recalls that the Interior Minister recently cancelled a tender worth €21 million for personal identification documents.