• Osmani: Parties in the dialogue have not been treated equally (RTK)
• Dialogue dominates the agenda of Emissary Peach in Kosovo (RFE)
• Lajcak: Spain is supporting my work in the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue process (media)
• French Ambassador: Association is not another “Republika Srpska”, Kosovo to define what it will be (Express)
• International organizations demand an end to attacks on journalists in Kosovo (RFE Albanian)
• Kosovo and EUROPOL reach agreement on information exchange (media)
• We distance ourselves from Rama on Open Balkan, says PDK chair (euronews.al)
• COVID-19: 717 new cases, four deaths (media)

Osmani: Parties in the dialogue have not been treated equally (RTK)

The President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani stressed that the dialogue process between Kosovo and Serbia should be focused on mutual recognition.

In an interview for RTK, Osmani said that in the meeting with the British envoy, Sir Stuart Peach, she expressed her position regarding the dialogue process.

She said that Kosovo has so far implemented all the agreements that have been signed in the protracted dialogue process, while from Serbia there are dozens of agreements that have not been implemented.

Osmani said that the parties were not treated the same in this process, adding that Serbia was treated as a spoiled child by the European Union.

“Therefore, Kosovo should not be silent, because this is not right. Therefore, these must be said publicly, the EU must put pressure on Serbia to implement the agreements,” Osmani said.

She stressed that the dialogue process between Kosovo and Serbia should be focused on mutual recognition.

She said that when it comes to the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, she has the same stance that she had in 2013, when she voted against that agreement in Brussels.

“The association as foreseen in the Brussels agreement has been among the most harmful documents in terms of sovereignty and internal functionality of Kosovo. But, it was good that the Constitutional Court banned it as such, but the damage still continues as in some cases, there are still people in the EU who demand that it be applied as it was signed in Brussels. However, we are fortunate that after numerous meetings, the U.S. has made it clear that it will not support any Republika Srpska, any intermediate power or executive powers. This is one of the most important developments in terms of association. There can be no model that leads us to the Bosnianization of Kosovo, no model that gives executive powers and creates the association as a third power and no model that makes Kosovo dysfunctional because in the end, we do not need a seat in the UN if we are totally failed a state internally, a state that does not function and a state in which a region will always want to secede,” she said.

Osmani added further that Ahtisaari Package also did not foresee that Serb-majority municipalities can come together to create a third power, which creates dysfunction, which takes sovereignty from the national level and which tomorrow or the day after tomorrow can be turned into a Republika Srpska.

She said that the Belgian model has never been discussed and will not be discussed. “The association is a prelude to partition and is being used to defunctionalize Kosovo,” Osmani added.

Dialogue dominates the agenda of Emissary Peach in Kosovo (RFE)

The dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia was the topic of the meeting of the British Ambassador to the Western Balkans, Sir Stuart Peach, and the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, on Thursday in Pristina.

President Osmani said that Kosovo is committed to dialogue, as a process focused on mutual recognition and that this process should treat the parties equally.

According to Osmani, while Kosovo is constructive in this process, Serbia is causing obstructions by not implementing the signed agreements.

Among other things, President Osmani stated that “The United Kingdom is among our main allies, with a key role in the process of liberation, independence and state-building of Kosovo. “The greater the role of this state in the important processes of our region, the greater and more useful the results will be for our citizens.”

The dialogue was also the topic of discussion of the emissary with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti. In this regard, Kurti said that territorial integrity, sovereignty, state functioning, constitutionality and legality must remain intact.

The office of the Prime Minister states that Emissary Peach expressed his readiness and willingness to assist in the dialogue process.

Stuart Peach’s visit to Kosovo follows his visits to the countries of the region. According to the announcement of the Serbian Presidency, in the meeting with the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vuicic, Peach stated that together with the partners from the EU and the USA, he will work in support of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3HKE7ye

Lajcak: Spain is supporting my work in the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue process (media)

The European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, met Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Thursday in Brussels, media report.

EUSR Lajcak said that he discussed with Spanish Foreign Minister the Dialogue on normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia and regional developments in the Western Balkans. “Very happy to meet with Foreign Minister of Spain today José Manuel Albares in Brussels. We discussed the Dialogue on normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia and regional developments in the Western Balkans. Grateful for Spain’s support to my work,” Lajcak wrote on Twitter.

French Ambassador: Association is not another “Republika Srpska”, Kosovo to define what it will be (Express)

The French Ambassador to Kosovo, Marie-Christine Butel, in an exclusive interview for Gazeta Express spoke about visa liberalization, the agreement on the Association of Serb Municipalities, Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, and the final agreement between Pristina and Belgrade.

Butel said that France is one of the sceptics of liberalization due to the fear of potential migration if the visa regime for Kosovo is lifted. As for the Association, she says that there is an agreement to which Kosovo is committed as a serious state to implement, emphasizing that it is neither a second “Republika Srpska” nor a compromise to the functioning of the state of Kosovo. Commenting on a final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, she says that it is up to the two states to reach an agreement, mentioning the period 2022-2024 as a time they should use to reach such an agreement.

International organizations demand an end to attacks on journalists in Kosovo (RFE Albanian)

The European Center for Media Freedom, the European Federation of Journalists, and several other organizations for the protection of journalists have called on Kosovo institutions to ban discrediting and denigrating language against journalists.

“We call for an immediate end to the discrediting and denigrating language of media publications by officials and individuals affiliated with the ruling party, Levizja Vetevendosje, the Office of the President and other high-level institutions,” the letter published by the European Center for Media Freedom reads.

The letter, which these media organizations have sent to the President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani, and the Prime Minister Albin Kurti, states that in recent days, on social networks there have been messages from politicians and officials who have incited the public against journalists and reporters.

The letter mentions the Facebook posts of spokesmen and advisers of the Vetevendosje Movement and the Office of Prime Minister Kurti, who “speaking on behalf of the parties they represent, said that the media tried to undermine the president through their reporting.”

These organizations also single out the comments of President Osmani’s husband, Prindon Sadriu, addressed to journalists.

On February 8, Sadriu, through a Facebook post, described journalists in Kosovo as “representatives of joint criminal enterprises”, criticizing the media for their links to “parapolitics” and other abuses. He also said that journalists are trying to tarnish the work of President Osmani.

He then deleted this post.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/35TbEs3

Kosovo and EUROPOL reach agreement on information exchange (media)

Kosovo’s Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla announced on Facebook that he has been informed that an agreement with EUROPOL was signed by its executive director Catherine de Bolle.

Svecla said this is the third agreement between Kosovo and EUROPOL and that it defines procedures for exchange and protection of information. “This agreement will deepen our cooperation with EUROPOL, will guarantee state building with confident steps and will contribute to our joint objectives for the rule of law,” he wrote.

We distance ourselves from Rama on Open Balkan, says PDK chair (euronews.al)

The political scene in Kosovo has maintained a unanimous stance when it comes to the Open Balkan initiative, and we need the Albanian government to understand this and where we’re coming from.

This is what the chair of the Democratic Party in Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, said during an interview for Euronews Albania, during which she added that despite the excellent relations his party shared with the Albanian government, the Open Balkan initiative is an issue that remains unchanged in Kosovo.

“Our party has always had the best relations with all political parties in Albania, even with the Socialist Party (SP). But we don’t agree on everything…When it comes to the Open Balkan initiative, the political scene in Kosovo has its own reservations, including us, but we believe that we have your understanding. We believe that Kosovo should be equal in all regional roundtables,” – said Krasniqi.In addition, Krasniqi emphasized that taking up such economic initiatives in the Western Balkans, where many political issues remain unresolved – like the one between Kosovo and Serbia – becomes difficult if they aren’t mediated by our partners in the EU.

“In cases when Serbia tries to violate Kosovo’s sovereignty, we can’t simply look past this and think that things can just be solved on an economic level. But this doesn’t mean that we are against regional cooperation. And we hope that in the future, we can find a solution for Kosovo so that it can one day feel equal,” – said the PDK chair.

COVID-19: 717 new cases, four deaths (media)

717 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths have been recorded in Kosovo in the last 24-hour period, the Ministry of Health said. 2,370 persons recovered during this time.

There are 16,849 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.