Albanian Language Media:

• Haxhiu: We’ll set up a task force to fight high-level corruption (T7)
• Kurti says over 25 thousand jobs were created during his governing (Kallxo)
• Tahiri: We won’t back down on demand for inquiry committee on energy (Telegrafi)
• Minister Gervalla Schwarz meets France’s representative to UN (Klan)
• Kusari-Lila: Dialogue’s success depends on Serbia’s positioning (Telegrafi)
• Von Cramon: Dialogue must be priority; Kosovo to use new US-EU momentum (media)
• European Parliament debate: EU invited to keep its promises to Kosovo (RFE, media)
• Osmani: Every candidate for chief state prosecutor must have proven integrity (media)
• President Osmani meets KSF Commander Jashari (media)
• Union leader: We’ll wait another week; we have two key demands (Kosovapress)
• Latvia President Levits to visit Kosovo on Friday (media)
• Qerkini for Kandic: We lost a very powerful friend for missing persons (Klan Kosova)
• COVID-19: 19 new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: I am concerned over threats coming from Pristina (RTS)
• Selakovic: Situation in Kosovo far from normal (Tanjug)
• Selakovic with Guterres: Continuous engagement of UNMIK crucial (Kosovo-online)
• Brnabic says Freedom House on Serbia report ‘disgraceful’ (Tanjug)
• Lajcak: Next high-level meeting discussed with Vucic (Tanjug)
• Belgrade delegation-Lajcak meeting takes place in Brussels (Kosovo-online)
• Jevtic: Belgrade-Pristina dialogue hit dead end, danger that tensions will deepen (Euronews)

International:

• Serbia, Kosovo exchange destabilisation claims at UN Security Council (BIRN)
• Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic rejects sanctions on Russia (Financial Times)

Albanian Language Media  

Haxhiu: We’ll set up a task force to fight high-level corruption (T7)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, criticised the Special Prosecution for not fighting high-level crime and corruption. She said together with Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, they are preparing to set up a task force that will fight high-level corruption. “I think that the fight against organised crime and corruption is a very challenging process. We, the government, are willing to fight organised crime and corruption, and we have zero tolerance in this respect. At the same time, the responsibility falls on the judicial and security institutions, namely the prosecution and police. We are in constant talks with the Minister of Interior Affairs, to set up a mechanism, a task force, that will deal only with cases of high-level corruption,” Haxhiu said.

Kurti says over 25 thousand jobs were created during his governing (Kallxo)

The Prime Minister of the Kosovo Albin Kurti said that 25 thousand new jobs have been created during his governing.

“We have created over 25 thousand new jobs, economic development so far according to KAS is 10.53 of GDP. Last year, the value of exports reached 2.7 billion, an increase of 80 percent compared to 2020”, Kurti said at the Kosovo-Austria Economic Forum.

“The value of exported goods has increased by 62 percent and has been accompanied by an increase in the quantity of exported goods. Capital investments have increased by 10 percent more than in 2020”, Kurti added.

Prime Minister Kurti asked Austrian companies to invest in Kosovo. “Investing in Kosovo in its economy, with high probability it will be a success for you, if you have been reluctant so far to invest in Kosovo, I can assure you that many of the key factors have changed, and Kosovo has become a very friendly environment for doing business,” he said.

According to Kurti, his good governance is making the country successful in all areas.

Tahiri: We won’t back down on demand for inquiry committee on energy (Telegrafi)

Abelard Tahiri, head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, said today that they won’t take part in any voting process in the Assembly or parliamentary committees until an inquiry committee on energy is formed. He said the presidency of the Kosovo Assembly had a lengthy debate on the issue. “The meeting lasted for two hours, and it focused almost entirely on the inquiry committee. There was a lengthy debate, with arguments and counter arguments. We claim there have been great manipulations [on the energy] … We won’t back down from our legitimate demand. Parliamentary inquiries are a tool of the opposition and there is nothing more important than transparency,” Tahiri said.

Tahiri also said that the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) is failing to respect a decision by the Basic Court of Prishtina to annul the increased energy tariffs. He said they will file individual charges against every member of the ERO board on Friday. “This is extortion against our people and we will not tolerate it. Our teams have already prepared the charges,” he added.

Minister Gervalla Schwarz meets France’s representative to UN (Klan)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla Schwarz, met in New York France’s representative to the United Nations, Nicolas de Riviere.

“I reaffirmed the support of France for the EU facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade and for the European perspective of Kosovo and the Western Balkans,” de Riviere said on Twitter after the meeting.

Kusari-Lila: Dialogue’s success depends on Serbia’s positioning (Telegrafi)

Mimoza Kusari-Lila, head of the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) parliamentary group, said that she did not expect any breakthrough in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

“Dialogue is a very complicated process because of Serbia’s position and its alignment with Russia. There can be no success in the dialogue if only one side or one side and the facilitator want success. Whether there will be a success depends on Serbia’s positioning. Judging from the election result and growth of nationalist forces in the current politics of Serbia, it is difficult to see a successful agreement reached in the context of recognition,” she said. 

Kusari-Lila said that the recent attacks on Kosovo Police in the north are “concerning”. “Nothing can be left to chance and also nothing is not pre-planned. Serbia’s tendency to destabilise Kosovo is a form of imitating Russia’s actions in Ukraine which Serbia could repeat in the Balkans, particularly in Kosovo and Bosnia.” 

Von Cramon: Dialogue must be priority; Kosovo to use new US-EU momentum (media)

European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, said today that the Kosovo Government must turn dialogue with Serbia into a priority and that Kosovo must use the new momentum of cooperation between the United States and the European Union.

“Dialogue must become a political priority and we don’t want Kosovo to be seen by its key international partners as a less constructive party in the dialogue. We want Kosovo to take another step forward in terms of agreements for energy, licence plates and missing persons. Kosovo must also use the new window of opportunity with its allies while there is full trans-Atlantic cooperation for the dialogue,” Von Cramon said.

Debate in the European Parliament: EU invited to keep its promises to Kosovo (RFE, media)

The debate on the draft reports on Kosovo and Serbia took place in the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, April 21st.

Some speakers in Thursday’s debate expressed gratitude for the speed with which Kosovo had backed EU sanctions on Russia and condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Representatives of the European Commission and those of the EU External Action Service also spoke at the debate.

Vasilis Maragos from the European Commission has expressed gratitude for Kosovo’s stances on the war in Ukraine. He particularly welcomed the participation of Prime Minister Albin Kurti in the donors’ conference for Ukraine.

Maragos also said that the Commission will help Kosovo cope with the economic consequences. In particular, Maragos mentioned the need for investment in the energy sector, calling the recent energy supply crisis in Kosovo, as an alarm to wake up.

The representative of the European Commission in this debate reiterated that the assessment of the European Commission continues to be that Kosovo has met all the criteria for visa liberalization and that the support of the European Parliament in this regard remains key.

Osmani: Every candidate for chief state prosecutor must have proven integrity (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met today with representatives of civil society to discuss the election of the chief state prosecutor and thanked them for their active participation in monitoring the selection process. “It is crucial for every appointment to be a result of a fair and transparent process, and for every candidate to have a career-long proven integrity. These are basic principles that I have followed in every appointment I have made,” Osmani said. She also said she will continue discussions with other stakeholders in the process to ensure that the process will be fair and acceptable.

President Osmani meets KSF Commander Jashari (media)

Kosovo President Kosovo Vjosa Osmani met on Wednesday with the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) Commander, Lieutenant General Bashkim Jashari and discussed the situation in Kosovo and in the region, as well as the steps carried out by the KSF towards addressing potential challenges to peace and security. Jashari informed Osmani about the implementation of the KSF capacity-building programs and cooperation with friendly countries.

Union leader: We’ll wait another week; we have two key demands (Kosovapress)

The Union of Education, Science and Culture of Kosovo (SBASHK) gave the government another deadline to meet their demands before they decide to undertake union actions. SBASHK leader Rrahman Jasharaj told Kosovapress that the government has one more week to meet their demands. “The meeting we had with the Prime Minister was hopeful. The Prime Minister carefully listened to our demands, and he said he was willing to continue the dialogue. He told our representatives that he needs more time to consult with his ministers, because our demands are not addressed to only one ministry, but rather to different ministries,” he said.

Jasharaj said the key demands of the union are to continue allocating the additional payment of €100 per month after April and to include the unions in the dialogue on the Law on Wages.

Latvia President Levits to visit Kosovo on Friday (media)

The President of Latvia, Egils Levits, will stay in Prishtina on Friday and is scheduled to meet Kosovo’s leaders. Levits will hold a joint press conference with his Kosovo counterpart, Vjosa Osmani.

Qerkini for Kandic: We lost a very powerful friend for missing persons (Klan Kosova)

Bajram Qerkini, head of the Missing Persons Resource Center, reacted on Wednesday after heads of associations of missing persons walked out of a debate on missing persons when Serbian human rights activist Natasa Kandic took the floor. Qerkini said: “She talked about information that we did not know until now. She worked a lot to shed light on the fate of missing persons. I don’t know where the idea came from [to walk out of the meeting] and what kind of patriotism this is. We need to listen to what an internationally acclaimed doctor who fights for human rights has to say. They walked out of the meeting because they are not directly affected and they deal more with politics and rumours”.

COVID-19: 19 new cases, no deaths (media)

22 new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 21 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 434 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: I am concerned over threats coming from Pristina (RTS)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Belgrade hopes for continuation of a dialogue at high level, but that he is very much concerned over, as he said, threats of all kinds coming from Pristina, RTS reports.

Vucic said he voiced his concerns during the meeting with EU Special Representative for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak, regarding the threats coming from Pristina, disrespect of the Brussels agreement, respectively lack of willingness to implement what has been agreed upon, but also because of taking over the electro-economic facilities, and violent attitude relating to the licence plates.

“My plea to Pristina and the EU is to take care of those who talk every day about their own endangerment, while their only goal is to attack Serbs, additionally pressure them and (undertake) further actions primarily in the north of Kosovo. We are kindly asking them not to do so. It is important for the stability of the region, for all our people, both Serbs and Albanians, to preserve the peace”, Vucic said.

Talking about recent meetings with US senators in Belgrade Vucic said he has repeated the stance of Serbia regarding the Ukrainian crisis, adopted at the National Security Council session on the crisis, adding he is convinced that Serbia will continue cooperation on all crucial issues with the US, and advance relations further.

Touching upon calls to impose sanctions on Russia, Vucic said that Serbia pays ‘high price’ for its policy not to impose sanctions and will continue to uphold principles that others do not respect.

“Sometimes in politics, and in particular international one, it would be good, or perhaps it would be the best, to do it all the time to respect principles, moral and international law, the way Serbia is doing it”, he said.

He also said he is proud of the fact that “there is neither anti-Russian nor anti-Ukrainian hysteria in Serbia”.

Talking about EU integration, Vucic said that Serbia’s place is in the EU, and the country will continue its European path, pursue a dignified fight for that path, but also preserve its own interests.

“To preserve what is ours, independence and individuality in decision-making, at least until we become an EU member state. Because, once you are a member of the club, then everything gets different, but also then no one takes away your vote, brain or language from you”, Vucic said. 

Selakovic: Situation in Kosovo far from normal (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Selakovic said on Wednesday the situation in Kosovo and Metohija was far from normal and stable and that, by refusing to establish a Community of Serb Municipalities, Pristina was not only undermining the dialogue with Belgrade, but also sending a message that Serbs should disappear from Kosovo, Tanjug news agency reports.

Addressing a UN Security Council session on a semiannual report on the work of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Selakovic said Serbs and other non-Albanians were “facing each new day with great apprehension because they are uncertain if their fundamental human rights could be violated or denied”.

“Such feelings are a reaction to the instability generated by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina. The goal of Pristina, based on everything we have been witnessing on the ground, is to have even more Serbs and other non-Albanians leave Kosovo and Metohija and to terminate any form of cultural and national diversity”, he said.

He noted that the report should have been “more elaborate and explicit when it comes to the assessment of events and their causes, so that we can examine the developments in Kosovo and Metohija more comprehensively and in the true light”.

“There are evident problems in Kosovo and Metohija, and it is necessary to precisely identify the causes in order to solve them”, he said, adding that “creating an artificial balance and putting a sign of equality between the two sides when looking at crisis situations does not contribute in any way whatsoever to reaching a substantial solution to the problem”.

Unless we clearly define what causes the problems, they will recur and become more complex, Selakovic further said.

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

Selakovic with Guterres: Continuous engagement of UNMIK crucial (Kosovo-online)

Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Selakovic met yesterday ahead of the UN SC session on Kosovo in New York with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and noted that “continuous deliberation of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija at UN Security Council was of crucial importance both for Serbia and international community”, Kosovo-online portal reports.

As far as protection of the territorial integrity and sovereignty is concerned, Selakovic underlined that the UN is the most important international organisation for Serbia, adding that continuation of the engagement of UNMIK, in undiminished scope and unchanged mandate, was of crucial importance.

Selakovic also informed UN SG Guterres about frequent attacks against the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, their properties and Serbian Orthodox Church facilities, noting that such attacks unequivocally demonstrate endangerment of the Serbian people there and fragile security situation.

He said Serbia remains committed to preserving peace and security, as well as that it will continue insisting on the protection of the Serbian population in Kosovo.

Brnabic says Freedom House on Serbia report ‘disgraceful’ (Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on Wednesday slammed as “disgraceful” the latest Freedom House report, according to which Serbia has been the most regressing Western Balkan country in the past year, while Pristina has made the most progress, Tanjug news agency reports.

“Anyone who knows at least a little about the political circumstances, human rights, media freedoms and rule of law knows that is not true”, Brnabic told reporters in Kursumlijska Banja, southern Serbia.

“In 2021, we finished a public debate and completed a process of constitutional amendments, and on January 16 we had a successful referendum that, for the first time in the history of Serbia, ensures full prosecutorial and judicial independence”, Brnabic said.

She noted that, on the other hand, the number of attacks on Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija had risen by 20 percent last year. That culminated in Pristina’s ban on participation of Kosovo Serbs in the referendum and, subsequently, in the April 3 Serbian elections, Brnabic said.

“Pristina banned a fundamental human right, the right to vote, and then you have Freedom House saying that Serbia has made the biggest regression and Kosovo the biggest progress”, Brnabic said.

Brnabic also spoke about Brussels dialogue and the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities.

“Pristina does not want to engage in negotiations. That is clear to Washington, Brussels, Paris, London and Berlin. We will see what they will do about that. Nine years have passed since the Brussels Agreement, we still have no Community of Serb Municipalities, and Pristina is openly saying it will not implement the Brussels Agreement and that, for them, it does not exist”, Brnabic noted.

Reacting to the Freedom House report, Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic said the assessments made were “tendentious, not based on facts and ungrounded when it comes to proven and measurable indicators recognized by the European Commission and Council of Europe”. 

President Aleksandar Vucic sarcastically commented on the report by saying “had Serbia imposed sanctions on Russia it would be the best democracy, a world wonder others should learn from”. According to him this report was a sort of pressure on a free and essentially democratic country, adding Serbia will continue to act in relation to the situation in Ukraine in line with conclusions of the Serbian National Security Council.  

Lajcak: Next high-level meeting discussed with Vucic (Tanjug)

EU Special Representative for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and other regional issues in Western Balkans, Miroslav Lajcak said on Wednesday he had held a discussion with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic about the way forward in the dialogue and a new high-level meeting between Belgrade and Pristina, Tanjug news agency reports.

“Today in Belgrade, I had an in-depth discussion with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic about the issues currently on the agenda and the way forward in the dialogue, including the next high-level meeting”, Lajcak said in a post on his official Twitter account.

Belgrade delegation-Lajcak meeting takes place in Brussels (Kosovo-online)

The meeting of the Belgrade delegation headed by Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic and EU Special Representatives for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak started in Brussels, Kosovo-online portal reports. Previously Lajcak and Petkovic met in a tête-à-tête format.  

RTS reported later today that the first round of talks between the Belgrade delegation and Lajcak ended, and the main topics discussed included the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, registration plates, missing persons and energy. The talks will continue later in the afternoon.

According to unofficial findings, the meeting of the Pristina delegation with Lajcak should commence.   

The meeting of Belgrade and Pristina chief negotiators Petar Petkovic and Besnik Bislimi should also take place in Brussels today, aiming at finding a lasting solution to the licence plates issue. 

Jevtic: Belgrade-Pristina dialogue hit dead end, danger that tensions will deepen (Euronews)

Mayor of Strpce and Serbian List Vice President Dalibor Jevtic in an interview with Serbian edition of Euronews said that “nine years have passed since the Brussels Agreement was signed, and the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina has reached an impasse”. He also opined that dialogue was “clinically dead” and it does not exist because Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti does not want it.

Q: It is the anniversary of the signing of the Brussels Agreement, what do you think has been implemented and what has not?

“I would rather call it another anniversary of disappointment, in that we are still in a situation to talk about the Brussels dialogue in a way of what was and what wasn’t implemented, and not what we have achieved so far through what has been implemented. Of course, both Belgrade and Pristina would comment from different angles, as they comment on the Brussels dialogue and unimplemented agreements, but what it is, it seems to me, is that most ordinary people suffer because of all that (…)”. 

Q: The institutions in Pristina say dialogue is not their priority at all, they have much more important things. We hear messages from Belgrade that dialogue should be a priority, it seems that dialogue is currently “dead”. If so, who “killed” it?

“The dialogue is definitely dead, and perhaps a milder word would be clinically dead, we don’t want to bury it fully now. First of all, I repeat, by Pristina’s relation, and that is completely clear. There is no dialogue because Kurti does not want to have it and because someone in Pristina thinks today that only things which are in Pristina’s interest should be discussed in the dialogue and within the dialogue. That is a big mistake”.

Q: Is there a fear and danger if dialogue does not continue, there will be an increase in tensions, not only in the north, but where it is much more dangerous, in the south of Kosovo?

“I have to say there is a real danger that this situation will get worse, that unfortunately those tensions will deepen and that is not good”.

Q: We have four special representatives for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, we have German, British, American and EU, will those four representatives manage to force both sides, and as you said especially Pristina, to sit at the negotiating table?

“If they really sincerely want it, they can do it, so that it wouldn’t end only with some verbal or written criticism, but to force Pristina to solve problems concerning the lives of people here, to solve problems concerning the relations of the people in this area, because it is ultimately a matter of security, and even the economy. It seems to me that the different interests of each of these representatives and perhaps different countries, and that they have not yet agreed between them on what it is and how this issue should be resolved. I repeat, things have changed dramatically since the conflict in Ukraine started, and in that sense the positions of these envoys are not the same”.

International 

Serbia, Kosovo exchange destabilisation claims at UN Security Council (BIRN)

At the first UN Security Council meeting about Kosovo since the war in Ukraine began, Pristina accused Belgrade of being Russia’s satellite in the Balkans, while Belgrade accused Pristina of “malignant nationalism”.

At the latest UN Security Council meeting to discuss the UN Mission in Kosovo on Wednesday in New York, both Serbia and Kosovo sought to portray the other as an agent of destabilisation in light of concerns that the security situation could deteriorate in the Balkans while war is ongoing in Ukraine.

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said that “the malignant nationalism of the authorities in Pristina … creates an atmosphere of complete insecurity and leads to the exodus” of the Serb minority from Kosovo.

Selakovic said the authorities in Pristina were “ignoring the political representatives of Serbs” and making decisions without their participation, while targeting leaders of the Serb community with “politically-mounted investigations and judicial proceedings”.

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla-Schwarz meanwhile accused Serbia of being a source of instability in the region.

“Our people made their choice a long time ago, we are part of the West, while Serbia, our northern neighbour, remains Russia’s satellite,” Gervalla-Schwarz said.

“This is quite unique in the Europe of today and it shows the main reason why our region remains unstable,” she added.

Read full article at: https://bit.ly/3xEzHXH

Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic rejects sanctions on Russia (Financial Times)

Serbia will not jeopardise its national interests by joining western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, according to the country’s re-elected president, who also defended his country’s purchase of a Chinese missile system despite EU objections.

Aleksandar Vucic said in an interview that Belgrade would not “choose sides” despite EU calls for countries seeking membership to align with Brussels in tightening economic penalties against President Vladimir Putin.

Serbia, a candidate for EU membership, has long had strong political, economic and security ties with Russia, which also supplies gas and backed Belgrade’s refusal to recognise independence for its former province Kosovo.

“We have a sort of protection [from Russia]. What do [western countries] want? Leave all our national interests because someone needs something for themselves?” he said, referring to Ukraine and a western desire for unity over the Russian invasion.

Read more at: https://on.ft.com/3rG0Iq2