• COVID-19: 3,917 new cases, six deaths (media)
• Assembly does not approve opposition’s motion to amend Covid measures (media)
• United States commit additional $3 million for pandemic response (media)
• Kosovo’s New Anti-COVID Measures Anger Businesses and Travelers (BIRN)
• Escobar: Status-quo in dialogue not working, Association does not violate Kosovo’s sovereignty (Reporteri.net)
• Bislimi: Kosovo negotiating a non-aggression deal with Serbia, through EU (Kanal 10)
• Ombudsperson: Non-inclusion of four municipalities in energy tariff plan, unacceptable (KP)
• Kosovo Businesses Welcome Expected Customs Office in Albanian Port (BIRN)
• KSC pre-trial judge extends Thaci’s detention (media)

COVID-19: 3,917 new cases, six deaths (media)

3,917 new cases of COVID-19 and six deaths have been recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said in its daily report. 617 persons recovered during this time.

There are 28,751 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Assembly does not approve opposition’s motion to amend Covid measures (media)

The Assembly of Kosovo did not endorse the draft resolution presented by three opposition parties – the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) – for amending COVID-19 measures.

The draft resolution called on the Government of Kosovo to urgently review the restrictions and present to the Assembly vaccination plan for 2022. The Government is further asked to adopt a COVID-19 strategy in consultation with health experts and increase capacities while measures that affect freedom of movement, according to the opposition, should be coordinated with countries in the region, particularly Albania and North Macedonia.

United States commit additional $3 million for pandemic response (media)

The United States, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has provided an additional $3 million in urgent COVID-19 assistance for Kosovo, aimed at strengthening the protection of vulnerable children hit by the pandemic.

According to a press release issued by USAID, the assistance will also improve outreach services within the primary health care system to promote vaccination and digitalize the COVID-19 case-management database to facilitate rapid information sharing among health institutions.

Kosovo’s New Anti-COVID Measures Anger Businesses and Travelers (BIRN)

After 10,578  positive cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Kosovo in the last week, the government on Friday approved tough new restrictive measures to enter into force on Saturday. The new measures remain valid until February 4.

On January 26, Kosovo registered a record number of new cases recorded in one day – 4,397 cases. Since the pandemic in Kosovo began, 194, 710 positive cases of COVID-19 have been recorded. There are currently 28,751 active cases in the country.

After the spike in cases in the third week of January, many schools in Kosovo have switched back to online learning.

The latest measures, meanwhile, restore a curfew lasting from 10pm to 5am. Cafes and restaurants may only operate from 5am to 9pm and music is forbidden after 8.30pm.

Under the same decision, enclosed spaces must not allow more than 50 per cent of the space to be full. Open spaces may be used up to 70 per cent of capacity. The area is calculated as the area where food and drinks are served.

Kosovo’s Chamber of Hospitality and Tourism criticised the restrictions on Facebook as unnecessary. “Hotel and gastronomy have not been and are not a hotbed of infections,” it said by way of response.

It complained that COVID measures have never been fully eased for the hotel and gastronomy industry and that some restrictions have always been present.

The Kosovo Business Alliance agreed, saying in a post on Facebook that the new measures will not stop the virus. “The curfew does not remove the virus; it is more active when there is movement during the day, not when there is no movement at night,” it said in a post.

Hospitality businesses are not the only ones affected. Access to public and international transport without a mask is prohibited, and fitness centres, gyms and other public sports and recreational venues are all closed, with the exception of professional sports clubs.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3rWoywP

Escobar: Status-quo in dialogue not working, Association does not violate Kosovo’s sovereignty (Reporteri.net)

Gabriel Escobar, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary and envoy to the Western Balkans, said ahead of his visit to Pristina and Belgrade that the current, status-quo situation in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue is not working as the youth continue to leave the region. He also underlined that the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities would not undermine Kosovo’s sovereignty.

In an interview with Pristina-based Reporteri.net news portal, Escobar said that the joint visit with the EU Special Representative for Dialogue Mirosal Lajcak will be focused on advancing the EU-facilitated dialogue: “The U.S. goal is a comprehensive agreement that normalizes Serbia-Kosovo relations centered on mutual recognition.”

He said that the message that he will deliver in Serbia will be the same. “Prioritizing the EU-facilitated Dialogue is the best way for leaders to deliver for their citizens. The status quo is not working, as we can see by the continued exodus of young people who believe their future is elsewhere. I have hope that leaders in Serbia and Kosovo understand the importance of moving forward, not backward, through the EU-facilitated Dialogue toward comprehensive normalization of their relations, which remains essential for their respective EU paths.”

Escobar further called on Kosovo and Serbia to fully implement agreements and commitments they made in Brussels noting that this will require “flexibility, creativity, and, in some cases, compromise.” “The Government of Kosovo has made a commitment for the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities (ASM) to exist. The United States has not and will not dictate what this ASM should do or what its authorities should be; that’s a sovereign decision for the Government of Kosovo. There are workable models available including many that would allow for better local coordination without adding additional layers of government or executive power. We encourage the Government of Kosovo to carefully consider these models.”

Reiterating the view that Kosovo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are “firmly established”, Escobar said that it was important to conclude the negotiations on a comprehensive normalisation agreement centred on mutual recognition.

He also noted in reference to Serbia’s referendum that Kosovo has every right to determine the terms under which other countries’ elections take place in its territory. “However, we believe it’s important for residents of Kosovo that have the right to vote in Serbian elections to be able to do.”

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3G9pVNZ

Bislimi: Kosovo negotiating a non-aggression deal with Serbia, through EU (Kanal 10)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and chief negotiator in dialogue with Serbia, Besnik Bislimi, said that they were negotiating an agreement with Serbia in Brussels whereby the parties would pledge not to attack one another. He said such a deal was being negotiated with the EU but that the bloc likes to paraphrase it as a “trust-building agreement”.

In an interview with Kanal 10, Bislimi was asked to comment on the position of the Government of Kosovo on whether Serbia’s elections would be allowed to take place. “For as long as there is no decision, I don’t want to state publicly what the executive thinks. I have my own opinion but I will express it at the meeting of the Government.”

Bislimi said there were ongoing meetings between the working groups in Brussels focusing on missing persons, license plates. He said Kosovo was also discussing with the EU a solution for the energy in the north and that there were efforts underway to lay the groundwork for a high-level meeting in the near future, before elections in Serbia in April.

“It is true that the pace of progress in dialogue is not one that we as government are pleased with, nor is the EU. I think the pace is more or less also determined by incentives or disincentives offered to the parties. For the moment I think there is zero pressure on the Serbian side to be more constructive in dialogue.”

Bislimi also commented on the EU High Representative Josep Borrell’s criticism of the Kosovo side for, as he said recently, reluctance to sit at the negotiating table with Serbia. Bislimi said such a statement does not represent the position of the EU.

Ombudsperson: Non-inclusion of four municipalities in energy tariff plan, unacceptable (KP)

Naim Qelaj, Kosovo Ombudsperson, commented on the Energy Regulatory Office’s proposal on the increase of energy tariffs which has not included the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo. Qelaj said such a move is “unacceptable”.

“While we are waiting for the decision on future developments, the idea to differentiate prices amongst different territories where the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo live is unacceptable for us, as was the case of non-payment of electricity in the four northern municipalities of Kosovo and billing the citizens of the rest of the territory of Kosovo for the consumed energy,” Qelaj is quoted by Kosovapress.

He said that if indeed such a decision is taken, the institution of the Ombudsperson will take measures to oppose it.

Kosovo Businesses Welcome Expected Customs Office in Albanian Port (BIRN)

The Kosovo business community told BIRN they welcome the agreement between the governments of Albania and Kosovo on “collaboration and reciprocal assistance in customs matters,” which would eventually translate into Kosovo having its own customs office at the Albanian port of Durres on the Adriatic. The office will ease customs procedures and save businesses time.

“We have passed a bill to ratify the agreement with Kosovo on mutual facilities in customs procedures, as well as the control of products entering and exiting the country,” Albania’s Finance Minister, Delina Ibrahimaj, said on Wednesday, referring to an agreement reached by the two countries in November 2021. “The agreement provides for the opening of Kosovo customs point… at Durres port,” Ibrahimaj added.

Besir Cmega, owner of a Kosovo transport company, Railtrans LLC, told BIRN that a Kosovo customs at Durres would help his company by speeding up the arrival of goods in Kosovo.

“Clearance procedures would be carried out while the containers are still in port,” Cmega told BIRN, adding that costs would also be reduced because currently all inspections of goods arriving in Albania for Kosovo have to be done separately by both Kosovo and Albanian customs.

Berat Rukiqi, director of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, told BIRN the aim was “to facilitate the transit and the clearance of goods at the arrival point. This will facilitate the circulation of goods by easing the bureaucracy and reducing time”, he said, as trucks would no longer go through double or triple checks.

Minister Ibrahimaj added: “This deal will make it easier for our two countries to trade. All licenses issued by all border customs authorities will be recognized. It will unify the two countries’ customs controls, lowering the time it takes to complete them.”

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3s33Ziy

KSC pre-trial judge extends Thaci’s detention (media)

The pre-trial judge of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Nicolas Guillou, issued a decision for continued detention of former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci, charged with war crimes.

The judge said that there are risks that if less restrictive measures are applied, Thaci “will obstruct the progress of SC proceedings or commit further crimes.” The judge also ruled that the time Thaci has spent in pre-trial detention, which has exceeded one year, is not unreasonable.