• Germany calls for agreement that serves peace and stability (media)
• Kurti: I expect Serbia to change its position on Kosovo (RTK)
• Meta: I applaud Scholz’s commitment to resume Berlin Process (media)
• Government spokesperson: Kurti will visit the U.S. this month (media)
• Varhelyi: Kosovo needs to progress with reforms (media)
• World Bank sees Kosovo’s 2022 economic growth at 3-4% (SeeNews)
• COVID-19: 3 new cases (media)

Germany calls for agreement that serves peace and stability (media)

The war in Ukraine and its brutality is an additional reason for Kosovo and Serbia to reach a comprehensive and sustainable agreement in the function of peace and security in the region and Europe, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told a joint press conference with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Berlin on Wednesday. Scholz hosted Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in separate meetings in Berlin as part of Germany’s efforts to return the dialogue at the high level of representation.

“I am confident that especially in times like these when in a region close to us there is a brutal war going on, it is of crucial importance for the two countries to resolve the conflict step by step. In doing so, they will be contributing to peace and security in the Western Balkans but in all of Europe too,” Scholz said. “The objective of the Brussels dialogue is a comprehensive and sustainable agreement between two countries that opens the perspective toward the European Union and contributes to regional stability. I encouraged Albin Kurti for constructive cooperation in the negotiations. This is an agreement that will benefit the people in both countries because it is the most important requirement for investments and jobs and stability is the perspective for the youth. First and foremost, trust in a future of peace in the region”.

Kurti said: “Regarding the dialogue with Serbia, I informed the Chancellor that Kosovo is pro-active and constructive in the dialogue, bringing proposals in line with EU values. The dialogue should be focused on mutual recognition, i.e. not on recognition that comes at the end of a long process, but as a dialogue with mutual recognition agreement at the centre. Our view and belief is that mutual recognition should be at the centre and not at the bottom. We are committed to move promptly, have concrete results and cooperate a lot.”

Scholz implied there will be added engagement in the Berlin Process, while Kurti said that Kosovo does not support any other initiatives. “We fully support the Berlin Process and welcome the Chancellor’s commitment to resume the process with a new dynamic. We also support the Joint Regional Market, under the Berlin Process and EU rules, which is comprehensive and contains the four freedoms therefore we do not support any other parallel initiatives,” Kurti said.

Read Kurti’s full address at the press conference at: https://bit.ly/3MTjDG0

In a Twitter post, Kurti thanked Scholz “for the warm welcome” adding that “our two countries are bound by shared values of freedom, democracy & equal opportunity for all. We are encouraged by your strong support for visa liberalization, membership in Council of Europe, NATO Partnership for Peace and reenergizing the Berlin Process.”

In their coverage of the meeting between Scholz and Serbian President Vucic, several news websites highlighted that Vucic “is ready for a compromise”. “We will do our best to move toward a compromise solution. We will try to reach a compromise agreement, but it is clear that this does not depend only on us but also from the other side,” Vucic is quoted as saying.

All media covered the informal dinner between EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak and the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia. In a Twitter post after the meeting, Lajcak said: “Welcome the opportunity for an informal dinner discussion about the Dialogue with Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic in Berlin. Grateful to the German government for hosting. We will continue the discussion on the level of Chief negotiators on 13 May”. Kurti tweeted after the dinner: “Recent Russian aggression in Ukraine added to our disagreements. But we remain committed to principled dialogue with Serbia for an agreement centered on mutual recognition. Tonight’s round took place at the Borsig Palace in Berlin over a working dinner”. Vucic wrote in a Twitter post after the meetings in Berlin that “Serbia will maintain peace and stability in the Western Balkans”. Vucic also shared a photo on Twitter where he was seen with Kurti, Lajcak and two senior German officials, “thanking the German hosts for organizing the dialogue between Belgrade and Prishtina”. The picture, which prompted major reactions from politicians and commentators in Kosovo, was later deleted from Vucic’s feed.

Kurti: I expect Serbia to change its position on Kosovo (RTK)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in an interview with RTK on Wednesday evening that the dialogue was the main topic of discussion in his meetings with German Chancellor Scholz and Foreign Minister Baerbock. “The meetings I had were very good. I said that Kosovo is a story of success, economic growth, and qualitative democracy and that this is a joint success story of the sustainability and work of the people of Kosovo but also of international support. Kosovo is a success story of the intervention of NATO, the EU and Euro-Atlantic orientation,” he said.

According to Kurti, “Europe is concerned because Serbia did not align with the European Union, NATO, the United States of America and did not impose sanctions on the Russian Federation … The six countries of the Western Balkans are now not together”. “I hope that Serbia will change its position, to recognize Kosovo and to distance itself from Putin now and from Milosevic in the past”.

Meta: I applaud Scholz’s commitment to resume Berlin Process (media)

Albanian President Ilir Meta said on Wednesday he applauds “the commitment of German Chancellor Olaf Schulz expressed today also to the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti to resume the Berlin Process with a new dynamic”. “Supporting this comprehensive initiative is in the best interest of Albania, Kosovo and the region for more concrete results, more financial support and more European values,” Meta tweeted.

Government spokesperson: Kurti will visit the U.S. this month (media)

A spokesperson for the Kosovo Government said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Albin Kurti will visit the United States this month. “The month of May will be full of new important meetings. Kurti continues his visits on Thursday by meeting German Defence Minister, to be followed with a visit to the United States of America,” the spokesperson said in a Facebook post.

Varhelyi: Kosovo needs to progress with reforms (media)

EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhleyi, said on Wednesday that Kosovo needs to progress with reforms. “Discussed w/ Minister of Local Government Administration of Kosovo, Elbert Krasniqi, the role of municipalities in the implementation of the 🇪🇺Economic and Investment Plan.  Significant assistance is underway. Kosovo needs to progress with reforms,” Varhelyi tweeted.

World Bank sees Kosovo’s 2022 economic growth at 3-4% (SeeNews)

The growth of Kosovo’s gross domestic product (GDP) is projected at between 3 and 4% in 2022, the World Bank said on Wednesday. The projection is based on the assumption that prices normalise in the second half of the year, as any prolonged impacts of recent external pressures may further deteriorate Kosovo’s economic prospects, the World Bank said in a statement after releasing its latest Western Balkans Regular Economic Report.

Structural bottlenecks, such as outdated energy production capacities, further add to the uncertainty, the global lender added.

“There is a pressing need to tackle constraints to higher productivity growth and to invest in human capital for Kosovo to utilize its advantage of having a young population”, Massimiliano Paolucci, World Bank Manager for Kosovo and North Macedonia, said.

Economic growth for the Western Balkans region is forecast at 3.1% in 2022, down from the 4.1% projection made in January. The region’s GDP growth reached 7.4% in 2021, after a contraction of 3.2% in 2020.

In its latest Europe and Central Asia Economic Update report published in April, the World Bank projected 3.9% economic growth for Kosovo in 2022.

COVID-19: 3 new cases (media)

Three new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 23 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 394 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.