Albanian Language Media:

• Osmani: Member states leaders to reflect Parliament will for visa liberalisation (media)
• Kurti on energy agreement: We’re doing our best with what we inherited (Koha)
• Osmani confirms her participation in the EU Summit for the Dutch media (RTK)
• Albanian PM confirms Western Balkans leaders will attend EU Summit (RFE)
• Kosovo Foreign Minister to EU: If you do not act, others will (media)
• Kurti ready to review demarcation with Montenegro, doesn’t say when (Kallxo)
• Pendarovski: Kosovo should join the “Open Balkans” (Reporteri)
• Schneeberger writes to Macron, sends petition with 16 thousand signatures demanding visa liberalisation for Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• EU Ambassador Giaufret: No new obstacles, Serbia to take key decisions (Beta, Kurir, N1)
• Vucic, Rama, Kovacevski to attend the Brussels summit tomorrow (RTS) 
• Petkovic: ”Now everything is in our hands, no one can break into Valac” (RTS)
• Emilija Redzepi: Albin Kurti is not against Kosovo Serbs (Radio Gorazdevac, KiM radio, Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Kurti addressed minority communities in Serbian, asking for proposals from businessmen (Kosovo Online)
• Slavisa Ristic: The Government of Serbia and the Serbian List are not dealing with the return of Serbs (Beta, Danas, KiM radio)
• Jevtic: Ristic gives an alibi to those who do everything to prevent the return of Serbs (KiM radio, Beta, Radio Mitrovica sever)
• “Energy as a gift” (FoNet, KiM radio)
• Environment report warns of heavy coal plant pollution in Western Balkans (N1, bankwatch.org)
• Tuesday’s round of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue concludes in Brussels (Tanjug)

Opinion:

• Where does the Brussels “roadmap” lead? (KoSSev)

International:

• Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia could snub EU integration summit (euronews.com)
• With Police Connections, Serbian-Syrian Translator Turned People-Smuggler (BIRN)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Kurti: Strategy for Roma community will be published soon (Klan Kosova)
• Kosovo’s Deaf Community Feel Unheard in Society (Prishtina Insight)
• Decades old problem unsolved: Gracanica not visible from the dust from the tailings pond (KiM radio)
• NGOs concerned over lack of progress on Western Balkans Green Agenda (N1)

Albanian Language Media  

Osmani: Member states leaders to reflect Parliament’s will for visa liberalisation (media)

President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, met in Brussels today with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and discussed visa liberalisation for the citizens of Kosovo. Osmani said in a Facebook post that the European Parliament has clearly and continuously expressed the will of the peoples of the EU for visa liberalisation for Kosovo “and the need to accelerate our European perspective”. “In an open and substantial discussion with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in Brussels, we discussed the need for leaders of the member states to reflect the will of the Parliament, and send a clear signal that democratic and freedom-loving countries that are committed to European values, belong in the EU,” Osmani wrote.

Kurti on energy agreement: We’re doing our best with what we inherited (Koha)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said today that his government was doing its best with what it has inherited, one day after Kosovo and Serbia pledged to implement the agreement on energy in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo. “We have inherited many things that we did not want. We are doing our best with what we have inherited. As we have pledged, after 20 years we are stopping injustice and financial bleeding in that part of the country, and we are ending a problem in the energy sector. This sector has priority for the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, because it affects every aspect of the lives of our citizens,” Kurti said in today’s meeting of the government.

The website notes that the Kurti-led Vetevendosje was criticised by opposition parties on Tuesday for implementing an agreement which it had criticised while in opposition.

Osmani confirms her participation in the EU Summit for the Dutch media (RTK)

The President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani Sadriu, in an interview for the Dutch media NRC, among other things spoke about her participation in the EU Summit in Brussels that will be held today and tomorrow.

“At this Summit, we will talk about the Western Balkans and the expectations are that the visa liberalisation for Kosovo will also be discussed,” she said. She added that she leaves with hope to join the Summit, but not with great expectations.

“I always go there with hope, but without much expectation. Let us hope that it will not be another disappointment”, Osmani was quoted as saying for the NRC. She said that the lack of visa liberalisation for Kosovars is a great injustice.

She further mentioned the states that have won this right before Kosovo, even though Kosovo had fulfilled the criteria either before them or at the same time.

“Citizens from Ukraine, Georgia, and various Latin American countries are allowed to travel freely. But I am the only one who needs a visa to attend the summit in Brussels,” Osmani said.

“It’s a major injustice: discrimination against our people. We live in a ghetto,” she said.

“We have done our homework.”

The President referred to international reports in which Kosovo has good results for democratic development, such freedom of media and human rights. In the interview, Osmani expressed her confidence that the war in Ukraine will end and that the new wave of EU enlargement will include Ukraine, but also Kosovo.

Albanian PM confirms Western Balkans leaders will attend EU Summit (RFE)

Leaders of the Open Balkan initiative, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and North Macedonia Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, will attend the EU – Western Balkans Summit in Brussels on Thursday. The news was announced by Rama in a Twitter post: “We’ll attend the EU Council meeting. There won’t be much to hear about us but we’ll ask to be heard on the idea of a New European Political Community which we support, on the Open Balkan which takes forward the spirit of Europe & on our kidnapping from Bulgaria which destroys it”. Rama later also tweeted: “Just heard right now that something is moving today in Bulgaria. Too early to be optimistic and too little to change the part of tomorrow’s speech where Bulgaria is criticised as a country which has kidnapped two NATO countries while there is a hot war at Europe’s border!”

Kosovo Foreign Minister to EU: If you do not act, others will (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, warned the European Union about delays in matching the efforts of countries of the Western Balkans to become member states. In an interview with Deutschlandfunk, Gervalla said that while Europe fails to make steps in this regard, non-European influences in the region will grow stronger. “If the European Union does not act, others will,” she said.

Gervalla also said that Kosovo has a crystal-clear orientation toward the European Union and said that 93 percent of its citizens support EU membership.

Kurti ready to review demarcation with Montenegro, doesn’t say when (Kallxo)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said in today’s session of the Kosovo Assembly that a joint committee with the government of Montenegro needs to be formed for the border demarcation. “The joint committee must be formed at the most optimal political time for both countries … Then we will coordinate activities on the ground. For the Kosovo side, the documents are clear and local experts have worked more on this,” he said.

Kurti also said that what is important is the readiness of Montenegro’s President Milo Djukanovic on the matter. “I believe the government of Montenegro too will reflect on this. Our government has adopted a report with over 800 pages and hundreds of facts. We will talk to them and when the time is right we will act,” he added.

Pendarovski: Kosovo should join the “Open Balkans” (Reporteri)

The President of Northern Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski considers that Kosovo should become part of the “Open Balkans”.

Asked in an interview on TV 24 if Kosovo should become part of the “Open Balkans”, he said: “Absolutely, but from my recent conversations with President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti, I think that at the moment they are farthest from all other countries.”

According to him, this initiative does not contain political components and there is confidence that it should be strengthened in terms of economy and trade.

“What strengthens my confidence is that we will move forward towards a clear economic initiative, where for the last time we were as observers, together with the Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazovic and Zoren Tegeltija from Bosnia and Herzegovina. That is good,” he said.

Schneeberger writes to Macron, sends petition with 16 thousand signatures demanding visa liberalisation for Kosovo (media)

About 16 thousand citizens have so far signed the petition for the abolition of visas for Kosovo, which was initiated days ago by the local councilor of the European Union, Kati Schneeberger.

On the eve of the EU Summit in Brussels, Schneeberger wrote a letter to the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, asking for visa liberalisation for Kosovo, and sent the petition.

Schneeberger wrote about her good impression after her visit to Kosovo three weeks ago, saying it was not right for a people within Europe to be isolated.

Read the letter here: https://bit.ly/3xHiRWB

Serbian Language Media

EU Ambassador Giaufret: No new obstacles, Serbia to take key decisions (Beta, Kurir, N1)

EU Ambassador Emanuele Giaufret said that the Union is not setting up new obstacles for Serbia which has to take crucial decisions.

Giaufret wrote in a piece for Belgrade tabloid Kurir that rule of law, normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, key economic issues and the environment are priorities in the European integration process. “Serbia has to work on those areas,” Giaufret wrote.

According to him, the criteria have not changed in the negotiations on Cluster 3 and the request for Belgrade to align its policies with EU foreign policy has been clear from the start. “Although the criteria have not changed, Russia’s unilateral and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine has changed the world…it caused a humanitarian crisis and is a threat to the security of Europe and the entire world. That is why the EU is counting on Serbia as its close partner and candidate country to join the EU and many countries in the world in responding to Russia’s aggression,” he said.

“Serbia has to take crucial decisions in this difficult context which could also be a new opportunity,” Giaufret said.

See at: https://bit.ly/3OzTfBw

Vucic, Rama, Kovacevski to attend the Brussels summit tomorrow (RTS) 

RTS reported, citing the statement of the Presidency of Serbia, that after detailed and comprehensive consultations with associates and members of the governments, Aleksandar Vucic, Edi Rama and Dimitar Kovacevski made the decision to go to the EU-Western Balkans summit together.

“After detailed and comprehensive consultations with associates and members of governments, the leaders of the three countries decided to go to the summit together, agreeing on principles that will be the main backbone of talks with numerous European Union officials,” RTS reported, citing the statement.

The statement emphasized that these three countries consistently represent the interests of their citizens and the entire region of the Western Balkans in all relevant international forums.

“The decision on participation and joint approach at the summit in Brussels is another step in the fight for the progress of our countries, but also a clear signal that despite numerous obstacles, we continue to make a constructive contribution on the path to European integration,” the presidency said.

The leaders of the six countries in the region have been invited to a meeting with the leaders of the European Council, which should be held tomorrow before the beginning of the regular June summit of the Union, at which enlargement will be discussed. There will be no opening of any cluster at the summit for Serbia, recalled RTS.

Petkovic: ”Now everything is in our hands, no one can break into Valac” (RTS)

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic told RTS this morning that the adoption of guidelines for the implementation of energy agreements meant that ”we have a Serbian company in Kosovo that provides distribution services and has the ability to import and export electricity, thus electricity will be delivered again from central Serbia to the north of Kosovo”, reported Radio Television of Serbia.

Petkovic pointed out that after almost 10 years, a roadmap has been adopted which started the  implementation of the agreements from 2013 and 2015 on energy.

“It is a very important and significant step. I would say that we managed to reach a pretty good agreement, although we never rejoice and do not speak with euphoria because many more steps need to be done in order to complete the implementation,” said Petkovic.

He said that after the last round of talks in Lajcak’s office, Besnik Bislimi said that Pristina was ready to start talking about the Community of Serbian Municipalities when an agreement on energy was reached, reported RTS.

“With the roadmap, we managed to agree on energy and the way for talks on the Community of Serbian municipalities opened. We have been waiting for 10 years for the implementation of the energy agreement, we have been waiting for 10 years for the Brussels agreement, and the first six points related to the Community of Serbian Municipalities,” emphasized Petkovic.

He pointed out that Pristina does not charge anything to Serbs in the north of Kosovo, and that the roadmap accurately determined the steps, deadlines, and responsibilities of both sides.

“Deadlines begin to run the moment Pristina issues a license to Elektrosever. That is what we have been waiting for years and what was Pristina refusing. That is what Pristina did not even want to talk about,” says Petkovic.

Petar Petkovic pointed out that they have now managed to agree on everything that was written in 2013 and 2015.

“This means that we have our Serbian company Elektrosever, which provides distribution services, which has a supply, and which has the ability to import and export electricity. This means that we will be able to deliver electricity from central Serbia to northern Kosovo and Metohija,” Petkovic said.

He pointed out that in addition to the road map, there were two very important documents, one of which was Lajcak’s letter stating that Elektrosever will be permanently present at the Valac substation.

“Now, these guarantees have recognized the status of Elektrosever as the operator and its workers will be permanently present in Valac, which means that no one can invade Valac, no one can occupy Valac,” Petkovic told RTS.

He said that KOST and KEC operators would be able to access only with permission of Elektrosever and in company with them.

“Elektrosever will have its contractual relations with KOST and the Turkish company KEC. The talks we had recently in Istanbul are also very important, where we managed to agree with the Turkish company KEC on all important distribution services to be provided by Elektrosever, which means issuing and collecting invoices, maintaining the network, and physically connecting consumers,” stated Petkovic.

He pointed out that Elektrosever would independently supply consumers with electricity.

Petkovic also said that the legal responsibility of consumers begins to apply from the moment of the contract with Elektrosever, which was why, as he said, no one could charge Serbs in the north of Kosovo because the electricity that came was electricity paid by Belgrade for years, reported RTS.

Emilija Redzepi: Albin Kurti is not against Kosovo Serbs (Radio Gorazdevac, KiM radio, Radio Mitrovica sever)

Deputy PM for Minority Issues and Human Rights, Emilija Redzepi told Radio Gorazdevac in an interview that many issues concerning non-majority communities are still relevant.

“The situation regarding unemployment of all of us in institutions is still ongoing, the law on employment of non-majority peoples is not respected-not only in public institutions but also in the private sector, bilingualism is not respected, use of Serbian language in administration, use of Bosnian language in Pec,” Redzepi said.

She said that this government was fighting to create one society equal for all, equally for everyone, without any form of discrimination based on nation, religion, or language.

“You know that this is one of the most difficult problems we are facing, but we want to approach this issue openly, honestly, cleanly, fairly and talk about it. So, only through dialogue, communication, mutual understanding, and common life can we move forward,” Redzepi told Radio Gorazdevac.

“I have many years of experience in politics, I want to share good and bad with everyone and with Albanians and with Serbs, Turks, Bosniaks, with everyone equally,” Redzepi said.

“I advocate the thesis of mutual coexistence, respect, and esteem. We are all different, but we are all the same, we are all human beings no matter who we are, what we are, where we come from, we are all citizens of this country, and we all live together, and we must live together because there is no other alternative. The extent to which we face such problems as soon as possible, with the daily challenges that plague us, and slowly solve these problems individually, is the extent to which we will be a more normal society,” Redzepi said.

When asked how she perceived the fact that the Prime Minister of Kosovo did not have good communication with Kosovo Serbs and their representatives, the Deputy Prime Minister claimed the opposite.

“I have the absolute support of the Prime Minister, and I cannot accept the fact that the Prime Minister, Mr. Albin Kurti, is against Kosovo Serbs and that he is against Serbs in general because I have known him for 20 years and because I know that as much as he allows me, and he allows me to do this work without limitations, this extent certainly applies to the Serbian community as well,” Redzepi concluded.

Kurti addressed minority communities in Serbian, asking for proposals from businesspeople (Kosovo Online)

Kosovo Online reported that Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, addressed “the minority communities in Kosovo in Serbian language, talking about the economic results of his government and calling on companies owned by members of minority communities to show him what kind of support they would like to have from their government”.

“We want to ensure that all communities in Kosovo benefit from a new approach to the economy with new energy. Therefore, we call on all companies owned by members of minority communities to respond to this call and give us the opportunity to hear from them what kind of support they would like to receive from their government,” Kurti said.

Among other things, he said that Kosovo has the potential to become a place of versatile development.

“I am open to your suggestions, write to me, I wish you all the best” Kurti said, cited the portal.

Slavisa Ristic: The Government of Serbia and the Serbian List are not dealing with the return of Serbs (Beta, Danas, KiM radio)

Slavisa Ristic, the only opposition MP from Kosovo, member of the United for Victory of Serbia list – Marinika Tepic, told Beta news agency that an increasing number of young people were leaving Kosovo every day “due to the obvious negligence of the Belgrade authorities and the inability to find employment”.

He said that in recent years, “since Aleksandar Vucic and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) have been in power”, the departure of many young people from north Kosovo has been particularly noticeable, who, due to the lack of economic perspective and employment opportunities go to Serbia, and even abroad.

Ristis told Beta that the departure of Serbs was especially pronounced after the acceptance of the Brussels Agreement, when almost all Serbian institutions in north Kosovo were closed.

Asked by Beta about the effects of the Ministry of Communities and Return, led by Serbian List, on the return of displaced persons, according to Ristic, the process of return had lost all prospects precisely from the moment the Kosovo ministry began looking after the returns.

“The effects of their work can only be measured by the amount of their personal wealth and personal privileges they acquire in so-called Kosovo institutions. We have had the opportunity all this time to hear numerous announcements from the Serbian List that they will leave Kosovo institutions on many issues, but never because of the returns. They are just a decoration in Kosovo’s institutions and an extended arm of the SNS in Kosovo and Metohija,”  Ristic said.

According to him, the Serbian list’s basic task was to force Serbs to vote for SNS and the interests of the government by force and extortion in all elections, reported Beta agency.

“What can be heard among numerous displaced Serbs is that many of them are not planning to return precisely because of the Serbian List and the way they govern in Serbian communities,” he added.

Asked how he assesses the role of the Serbian government and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija when it comes to the return of displaced persons, Ristic said that the Serbian government and the Office for KiM hardly dealt with the issue of Serbian return.

“…Instead of raising the issue of the return of Serbs as a precondition for dialogue with Pristina and representatives of the international community, the Serbian government has negotiated only those issues that were in the interest of so-called Kosovo,” Ristic emphasized.

He stated as the best evidence, the Brussels Agreement, by which “Serbia gave everything for nothing”.

“Kosovo side is not ready to allow the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities. Instead of strong pressure and insistence of the Serbian government towards the international community on the right of Serbs to return to their homes, especially in urban areas, we have unfortunately witnessed various ideas of partitions and demarcations. We have often heard claims from the President of Serbia that we have nothing in most of Kosovo and Metohija,” he explained.

According to him, every responsible government in Serbia should return the issue of the right of return of Serbs to the negotiating table in talks with Pristina.

Asked how he assessed the role of the Pristina authorities when the return of Serbs and other non-Albanians was in question, Ristic said that the goal of the Pristina authorities was for Serbs not to return to Kosovo.

“They are doing everything to make the remaining Serbs leave their homes. All their previous governments have worked with the goal of ethnically cleansing Kosovo and Metohija, primarily of Serbs, and other non-Albanian communities. They need Serbs only as a decoration to create a false image of multiethnic Kosovo. Unfortunately, they almost succeeded in that, because only Serbs who are ready to stand in their institutions are acceptable to them,” Ristic pointed out.

He added that the international community bears the greatest responsibility for the exodus of Serbs.

“The fact that even after 20 years more than 200,000 expelled Serbs could not return to Kosovo and Metohija is their greatest responsibility. Most of the displaced were expelled in the presence of the international community, after the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement. There is not a single valid excuse to explain the fact that they managed to secure the return of 800,000 Albanians within two months but failed to secure the return of four times fewer Serbs in more than 20 years, which only confirms the fact that their goal is the same as the Kosovo authorities, which is ethnically pure Kosovo,” Ristic pointed out.

He said that the Albanian side and the representatives of the international community are deliberately reducing the current number of Serbs in Kosovo, but this was often done by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic as well.

“What is worrisome is the fact that in his public appearances, President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic often reduces the number of remaining Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. Probably with the goal of making it easier for the public in Serbia proper to accept the possible renunciation of Kosovo. Unfortunately, what is true is that there are significantly fewer of us today than ten years ago. A smaller number of students at the University is noticeable, and a smaller number of children are being born in the Kosovska Mitrovica maternity ward than before,” Ristic said.

When asked by Beta where does more than 600 million euros end up, which according to official data, was how much Kosovo “costs” the Serbian government annually, Ristic said that publishing such data aims to make taxpayers in Serbia aware that the fight to preserve Kosovo costs too much and is not worth it.

“If it is true that Serbia spends 600 million euros every year on Kosovo and Metohija, then that is 21 billion euros in 21 years and six months, which is an incredible amount. That would mean that all remaining Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija became millionaires, but unfortunately, they did not. Most of them have a tough time living and surviving by sharing the fate of the citizens of Serbia. What is the real amount of money coming from the Serbian budget to Kosovo and Metohija and how it is spent can and must be determined because the Serbian public should know that,” he said, reported the agency.

Jevtic: Ristic gives an alibi to those who do everything to prevent the return of Serbs (KiM radio, Beta, Radio Mitrovica sever)

Serbian List  Vice President and Mayor of Strpce Dalibor Jevtic, reacting to a statement by Serbian MP Slavisa Ristic for Beta, wrote on Twitter that it was “a classic example of giving alibis to those who make false accusations against Serbs, usurp the property of displaced Serbs and in any other means are doing everything to prevent the return of Serbs to Kosovo”, reported KiM radio.

“And instead of Mr. Ristic criticizing the Albanians, he gives them an alibi and blames the Serbs for the low rate of return. Because Serbs are guilty of everything  to Slavisa Ristic. He attacks and blames the Serbian List and the Serbian Progressive Party, because only the Serbian List and the Serbian Progressive Party, and especially President Aleksandar Vucic, protect and defend the Serb people from all attacks and fight for the survival and return of Serbs to Kosovo. I must admit that Slavisa is certainly to blame both, President Vucic, and the Serbian List, but also the Serbian people. We are guilty that he won only 95 Serb votes in the elections. That is how much the people trust Ristic,” Jevtic wrote, KiM radio reported.

“Energy as a gift” (FoNet, KiM radio)

The day after the adoption of the roadmap for the implementation of energy agreements between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels, part of the Serbian public vehemently criticizes the agreement reached, reported KiM radio, citing FoNet agency.

The presidency of the Movement for the Defense of Kosovo and Metohija announced that the government of Aleksandar Vucic, by signing the “Roadmap for the implementation of the energy agreement”, renounced the distribution and electricity system of Serbia on the entire territory of Kosovo.

“The electricity system has been formally handed over to a Turkish company, and essentially to Greater Albania, Kosovo and its NATO sponsors, among whom Turkey plays one of the most important roles,” reads a statement signed by Mitra Reljic, Slobodan Samardzic, Milos Kovic, Caslav Koprivica and Dusan Prorokovic.

“Kosovo has finally been handed over a key electricity facility in the north of Kosovo and Metohija – the Valac substation, as well as the entire Serbian infrastructure for the transmission and distribution of electricity,” the movement claims, reported the radio.

In the north of Kosovo, PE EPS Elektrokosmet ceases to operate, to “establish Elektrosever in the Albanian quasi-legal system”, it was added.

“According to the Petkovic – Bislimi Agreement, the list of Serbian electricity users – companies, but primarily individuals, will be handed over to Pristina without any protective guarantees and clauses, including numerous personal data, and from now on it will charge them for its electricity services through Elektrosever,” explained the movement.

The statement concluded that this tactic “continues step by step with the surrender of the sovereign power of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija and rushes into high treason, recognition of Kosovo as an independent state.”

Ristic: Now more than ever

Member of the Presidency of the People’s Party in charge of Kosovo and Metohija, Zarko Ristic, said today that after more than seven years, Aleksandar Vucic’s government managed to achieve another very important “victory” and give the authorities in Pristina the remaining part of the energy system in Kosovo, reported KiM radio.

”Serbs living in the north of Kosovo should be most pleased with this great ‘victory’.  They will have to close one eye to the promise that they will have a stable electricity supply, when their electricity bill arrives, because there will be symbols of an unrecognized state on it,”     said Ristic, the People’s Party announced.

He stated that, in addition to ”the symbols of the state they do not recognize, there will be text in a language they do not understand, but which is well known to them, because they see the same after every ‘victory’ achieved by a man to whom they gave their vote and future”.

Ristic pointed out that the citizens learned about the “victory” from the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, who used the opportunity to promise the Serbs in Kosovo, but also himself, that we are now more ready than ever for the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities.

“Roadmap a step towards surrender”

The adoption of the Roadmap for the implementation of energy agreements between Kosovo and Serbia is another step towards the complete handover of the electricity system into the hands of Pristina and the fact that Aleksandar Vucic’s government is moving towards “creeping recognition” of Kosovo, the Patriotic Bloc announced today, reported KiM radio.

“Those who have any dilemmas about the essence and consequences of signing the Roadmap for the implementation of energy agreements should read points 1 and 5 of this, for Serbia and its citizens, devastating document,” the Bloc said, adding that the points contained Vucic’s operations of renouncing the energy sovereignty of Serbia in Kosovo.

As stated, Article 1 of that document, produced under the auspices of the EU, stipulates that the license for Elektrosever will be issued in accordance with the “Kosovo legal and regulatory framework”, which unequivocally recognizes the competence of “false state” institutions in the functioning of the electricity system in northern Kosovo.

Article 5 of the agreement explicitly stipulates that KEDS (Kosovo Electricity Distribution Company) and KOSTT (Kosovo Electricity Transmission, System and Market Operator) will have access to the Valac substation, as well as other electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure in northern Kosovo, which has not been possible so far, according to the Patriotic Bloc.

They point out that the agreement is “a picture and an opportunity of complete disastrousness of Serbia’s participation in the dialogue under the auspices of the European Union, whose only goal is the recognition of the false state of Kosovo by Serbia”, reported KiM radio.

Representatives of the Patriotic Bloc state that the only correct and nationally responsible response of Serbia to the pressures from the European Union is to withdraw from the Brussels Agreement and insist on returning the negotiation process under the auspices of the United Nations.

Environment report warns of heavy coal plant pollution in Western Balkans (N1, bankwatch.org)

The Western Balkans are heavily polluted by the coal-powered thermal plants across the region, the CEE Bankwatch Network said in its latest report, reported N1.

A press release said that in 2021, Western Balkan coal plants flagrantly breached air pollution legislation under the Energy Community Treaty for the fourth year in a row, emitting five times as much sulphur dioxide and 1.8 times as much dust as allowed.

“The entry into force of new legal standards on 1 January 2018 should have brought reductions in deadly air pollution. But the report – Comply or Close – shows that in 2021, dust emissions from coal plants included in the National Emissions Reduction Plans (NERPs) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia increased compared to previous years, while sulphur dioxide emissions only decreased slightly,” noted the report.

The Ugljevik coal plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina emitted the most sulphur dioxide in the region in 2021 – 86 774 tonnes – despite having desulphurisation equipment installed at a cost of EUR 85 million. The highest dust polluter in 2021 was Gacko in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose emissions more than tripled to 4 960 tonnes in 2021 – more than 16 times as much as allowed by the country’s NERP. The Pljevlja coal plant in Montenegro also breached the Energy Community Treaty in 2021 by operating for more than 20 000 hours from 1 January 2018 without undertaking pollution control investments.

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina approved an illegal lifetime extension for the Tuzla 4 and Kakanj 5 units and North Macedonia to start up an ancient oil-fired plant again after being in reserve for years to deal with the energy crisis, the report said.

CEE Bankwatch Network brings together environmental and human rights groups in central and eastern Europe.

Bankwatch report available at: https://bit.ly/3HHIU4i

Tuesday’s round of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue concludes in Brussels (Tanjug)

Belgrade and Pristina delegations led by chief negotiators Peter Petkovic and Besnik Bislimi concluded Tuesday’s round of discussions with EU facilitators in Brussels in the afternoon.

In the first stage of discussions, with facilitation from EU special envoy Miroslav Lajcak, the delegations agreed on a roadmap for the start of implementation of energy agreements reached in 2013 and 2015.

The roadmap is a set of steps, timeframes, and responsibilities of both sides commencing at the time of the issuance of a power supply licence to Elektrosever – a daughter company of the Serbian power company EPS – including distribution services such as billing, collection, maintenance, and physical connection of customers in the four Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo.

“That means we have independence when it comes to power supplies in the north of Kosovo-Metohija. That way, we have retained peace and stability and ensured normal electricity supplies,” said Petkovic, who also heads the Serbian government Office for Kosovo and Metohija.

He said all legal obligations of any electricity consumer in the north of Kosovo-Metohija would commence at the time of signing a contract with Elektrosever and noted that “no one can charge anything in the north of Kosovo-Metohija before that.”

He said the roadmap deal paved the way for the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities.

In the afternoon, the delegations held separate discussions with EU facilitators in the European External Action Service building about the issue of missing persons, regional cooperation, the security situation in Kosovo and deliveries of medicines from central Serbia to Kosovo, reported Tanjug agency.

Opinion

Where does the Brussels “roadmap” lead? (KoSSev)

As anticipated in recent weeks, a document titled the “Energy Agreements’ Implementation Roadmap” was concluded within the Brussels process. This 9-point document defines what should happen in the field of energy in northern Kosovo, and in this text, I will present, in the words of Major Kursula, some personal observations related to it.

The first point of the document envisages what I mentioned in my previous text as a rational solution – licensing of Elektrosever. If that doesn’t happen, all the other points don’t make a great deal of sense because the deadlines provided in them are related to this first step, that is, the first point. That procedure can be done as early as this week, if there is political will for it, or it can take another year if such a will does not exist – as that is the way the Pristina legal system operates.

In the following points, various obligations on the part of Elektrosever are listed, as well as on the part of Pristina bodies (such as the Energy Regulatory Office – ERO) and companies (KOSTT system operator and KEDS energy distribution), with the EU as the facilitator. With regard to these obligations, I would like to point out the following:

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

International

Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia could snub EU integration summit (euronews.com)

The presence of Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia at a Brussels summit tomorrow on integration with the EU is in doubt.

It comes amid frustration in the region about progress on joining the bloc.

All three countries have been given the status of candidates for EU membership but neither has made significant progress in recent years.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3yafj0g

With Police Connections, Serbian-Syrian Translator Turned People-Smuggler (BIRN)

In 2015, when the European migrant crisis erupted, a Serbian television channel ran a report on the president of a local Syrian-Serbian organisation that was handing out food and blankets to migrants and refugees crossing the Balkans on the way to Western Europe, many of them Syrians.

“I need to help my people who are running from war,” said the man, Alen Dayoub Basil, who also founded the organisation.

Basil was born in Sombor, a town in north-west Serbia not far from the borders with Hungary and Croatia, the EU’s external frontier.

The child of a Serbian woman and a Syrian man, Basil is bilingual, a skill that helped him find translation work with Serbia’s state Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, with NGOs dealing with refugees and migrants and with the Serbian police.

That wasn’t his only work, however. According to sources, 45-year-old Basil is a people-smuggler and racketeer, ready to bribe and beat his way to dominance of the highly-lucrative trafficking industry in Serbia with the help of his connections in the police.

Audio recordings, made secretly by a source with access to former associates of Basil and who passed them to BIRN, as well as photos and videos, reveal the extent to which his group has taken control of a large stretch of the smuggling region in his native northwestern Serbia.

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

Humanitarian/Development

Kurti: Strategy for Roma community will be published soon (Klan Kosova)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, talked with representatives of the Roma community today, about the challenges they face and their opportunities. He said the strategy for the Roma community will be published soon and that the Office for Good Governance has already launched the digital platform for protection against discrimination. “Encourage community members to use the platform so that the institutions can be informed about the violations … The law must be respected for all our citizens. Equality is guaranteed in our republic,” Kurti said.

Kosovo’s Deaf Community Feel Unheard in Society (Prishtina Insight)

A life without hearing is less problematic for deaf people in Kosovo than the fact that they often fail to get work as a result of institutional neglect and prejudice.

To be deaf in Kosovo has its challenges. Not only is society not well adapted to meet their needs, but they also face institutional negligence. The challenges range from education to employment, for which the necessary infrastructure is lacking. The lack of chances to get an education or the jobs they want forces them to do the jobs that are defined as appropriate to them by society. These usually relate to manual labour.

Official data from the institutions on deaf persons in Kosovo are lacking. The only data available on the community are registered with the Kosovo Association of the Deaf. According to these data, there are some 9,400 deaf people in Kosovo, of whom 4,500 have a hearing impairment and 5,000 are completely deaf. Only nine have jobs in public institutions.

Lack of registration as persons with hearing impairments reduces their ability to benefit from the Law on Vocational Training, Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities. This states that in all sectors, at least one out of every 50 employees employed by an organization or institution must be a person with a disability.

On the other hand, they are unable to secure jobs like other people because they need special conditions to be educated and are not all registered as deaf.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3HGMHz5

Decades old problem unsolved: Gracanica not visible from the dust from the tailings pond (KiM radio)

The strong wind that blew in central Kosovo at around 1 pm again raised clouds of dust from the nearby tailings pond and caused them to Gracanica, reports KiM radio and adds that the situation was the same last night.

The problem of tailings in Gracanic has been talked about for decades, but nothing is being done to solve it.

KiM radio reminds that the tailings from the Kisnica mine, which was deposited at the Gracanica or Badovac landfill, contain heavy metals such as lead, zinc, arsenic, antimony, mercury, cadmium, bismuth, and flotation reagents such as cyanide, sulphate, and hydroxide.

Videos available on the radio website:https://bit.ly/3Ng3eLk

NGOs concerned over lack of progress on Western Balkans Green Agenda (N1)

A number of civil society organizations expressed concern on Wednesday over the lack of progress in implementing the goals set out in the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, reported N1.

A press release from the Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said that the NGOs warned in a letter to European Union and Western Balkans leaders prior to their June 23 summit that the Green Agenda process “lacks transparency and the engagement of all interested parties, including the civil sector, resulting in an ambiguous Action Plan that has yielded few outcomes to date”. The letter urged EU and Western Balkans leaders to come up with realistic, time-bound, and ambitious measures to decarbonize the region and ensure the financial means for a just transition.

It warned that governments in the Western Balkans are still proposing the construction of new gas and coal infrastructure, “which will only serve to maintain the region’s fossil fuel status quo and worsen the climate crisis” and will be financed through the Western Balkans Economic and Investment Plan.

“The Western Balkans are a vital part of the European continent, and the EU leaders must increase their support to ensure the region’s energy security and independence from fossil fuels – today even more crucial in the context of the Russian war against Ukraine. The EU’s taxpayer-funded assistance to the region must be consistent with the EU’s goal of achieving a carbon-neutral continent and the Paris Agreement. It is critical that political declarations be followed by actual steps that correspond to European values and decarbonization targets,” CAN Europe Director Chiara Martinelli is quoted as saying.

Press release available at: https://bit.ly/3zRLFOD