• Lajcak to meet Kurti and opposition leaders during his visit today (media)
• Svecla: No Kosovar is fighting in Ukraine (euronews.al)
• “No room for disappointment; visa liberalization was never closer” (Koha)
• Kurti meets mayors; discuss rule of law and respect for human rights (media)
• President Osmani visits Thailand (media)
• ERO licenses Serbian electricity supplier in north Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)
• EU has finally buried Balkan dreams of membership (BIRN)
• Croatian MEP appointed Rapporteur on new EU Enlargement Strategy (media)
• Online learning in Kosovo left kids and parents frustrated (Prishtina Insight)

Lajcak to meet Kurti and opposition leaders during his visit today (media)

The Special Representative of the European Union for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and other Western Balkans regional issues, Miroslav Lajcak, will stay in Kosovo from Monday to Wednesday. A statement issued by the EU Office in Prishtina notes that Lajcak will meet Prime Minister Albin Kurti, leaders of main opposition parties and representatives of the international community. Lajcak is also scheduled to visit Prizren and the north of Kosovo.

“The speech of the emissary Lajcak is scheduled for Wednesday, June 29. The details will be shared with the media representatives on Tuesday, June 28,” the statement notes.

Kallxo notes that EU member states have recently agreed to extend Lajcak’s mandate of for another 18 months.

Svecla: No Kosovar is fighting in Ukraine (euronews.al)

No Kosovar citizen is currently fighting in Ukraine. This is what the minister of interior in Kosovo, Xhelal Svecla, said after the graduation ceremony at the Faculty of Public Security. “There are no Kosovar citizens currently fighting in the Ukraine war. These are just part of the Russian propaganda which continues to attempt to attack not only Kosovo but all Western countries, with an aim to justify its unjust war against Ukraine,” Svecla said.

The news website notes that recently, pro-Russian Balkan politicians published a list of around 7,000 mercenaries who are said to be currently fighting in Ukraine and according to the list there are 156 soldiers from Kosovo in Ukraine.

 “No room for disappointment; visa liberalization was never closer” (Koha)

Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj writes in an opinion piece that “that there is no room for disappointment, the same as there was no room for celebrations in the past for visa liberalization. There is no formal start of the procedure for the process. But visa liberalization was never closer. It has never happened so far to have support from many heads of states of EU and for no one to be against. This political support is expected to be followed with the formal start of the process at the Council, and for visas to be lifted around the end of the year. But although Kosovo has no more formal conditions to meet, it needs to be careful in the coming period and this requires unity in the political landscape”.

Kurti meets mayors; discuss rule of law and respect for human rights (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, met with mayors and deputy mayors of municipalities on Saturday to discuss human rights, the rule of law, economic development and investments. The first session of the meeting discussed the rule of law and human rights, with an emphasis on the implementation of the rights of minority communities. Kurti said “our commitment to establishing a climate of maximum respect for human rights, is proven through today’s organization, where, as he said, although it is not the 10th of December of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are emphasizing the actions we have taken so far and the ones we need to take in the future, so that we can make even more progress and step up our human rights area”.

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, its teachings and the obligations that derive from it, remain a daily reference of ours and our work. They serve as a guide for each of our decisions. Well, the best goal for the protection, guarantee and improvement of human rights for us is the source of every decision, as well as the cause of every action.”

Kurti also said that justice is one the two top priorities of his government. “ … and last week the opinions of the Venice Commission on the two most integral issues related to it, showed us that the reform drafted by us is both adequate and necessary,” he added.

A press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office notes that the mayors and deputy mayors considered the meeting and the topic of discussion useful. They highlighted the challenges and problems encountered during law enforcement, various projects with non-governmental organizations and foreign embassies to improve conditions for minority communities, the need for administrative reforms, problems with the lack of notaries in municipalities and others.

President Osmani visits Thailand (media)

President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, during her visit to Thailand met with the Prime Minister of Thailand Prayout Chan-o-cha and discussed the strengthening of bilateral relations. Osmani said Kosovo sees Thailand as an ally and is interested in building friendly relations with the countries of Southeast Asia with Thailand’s help.

Osmani also met with the businesses in Thailand where she presented the opportunities and potential that Kosovo offers to foreign investors, mentioning the young and educated population as the main state asset. She pointed out the need for an agreement on investment protection and the elimination of double taxation.

She also gave a speech in the Global Women’s Summit in Thailand attended by about 600 participants from more than 50 countries. “This is not my first time attending a Global Women ‘s Summit, but this is my first time visiting Bangkok and I’m happy to be with you today. I always say that you do not miss good company when you are among successful and inspiring women. So, I will be very honest with you and say that for me every woman is a unique source of inspiration,” Osmani said.

ERO licenses Serbian electricity supplier in north Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

For the next five years, the Serbian company ‘Drustvo Elektrosever’ will follow the legal framework of Kosovo while supplying electricity to and billing customers in northern Kosovo.

The Energy Regulatory Office, ERO, on Friday licensed the Serbian company Drustvo Elektrosever to supply electricity to four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo. The operating license, valid in Zvecan, Zubin Potok, Leposavic and North Mitrovica, has been issued for five years.

ERO chief Ymer Fejzullahu said the license covers all consumers in these four municipalities.

The decision comes after the Government of Kosovo and that of Serbia agreed in Brussels to adopt a roadmap for the implementation of the energy agreement within the EU-led dialogue. This was the first agreement between the two countries since EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak took office as the mediator for negotiating the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

“This license is about supplying customers with unregulated prices, which means that customers will be supplied with prices offered by this supplier,” said Fejzullahu. According to him, the tariffs for the use of the supplier’s market transmission network will be mandatory and will be implemented throughout Kosovo.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3R2FX2T

EU has finally buried Balkan dreams of membership (BIRN)

Undermined by years of mutual ignorance, disrespect and deceit, the Balkans’ EU accession process has finally succumbed to both European and Balkan leaders’ populist, short-sighted policies.

The Western Balkans’ hopes of EU membership have been hanging on for dear life, sustained by hopes, fears and absence of better options rather than any concrete ideas, for more than a decade.

The ungainly farce was finally put to rest at the Western Balkan Summit in Brussels on June 23, held on the margins of the European Council meeting, which gathered heads of EU states and governments.

What looks like the final collapse of the enlargement perspective may have serious consequences amid the deepening geopolitical crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the US, UK and EU capitals have used to wage a proxy war with Moscow.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3AaBg0H

Croatian MEP appointed Rapporteur on new EU Enlargement Strategy (media)

The European Parliament has appointed Croatian MEP Tonino Picula as rapporteur on the new EU enlargement strategy, his office said on Sunday. His task will be to formulate a proposal for the new enlargement strategy, which would then need to be adopted by the European Parliament and sent to the European Council, the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Picula said after his appointment that the proposal clearly emphasises the value of enlargement policy as a strategic investment in the security and prosperity of Europe, and that enlargement policy has already made a great contribution to restoring peace to areas previously affected by war.

He said that enlargement is the most effective EU foreign policy instrument and one of the Union’s most successful policies. “It is also important for Croatia, because as long as we do not have other EU members on our borders, we will not be able to make full use of the benefits of our membership.”

He said that enlargement is particularly important today, in the context of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, in order to give Ukraine and Moldova a membership perspective and provide fresh impetus to enlargement policy.

As regards Croatia’s neighbours, he requested that the achievements of Western Balkan countries be recognised by opening accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia and approving the liberalisation of the visa regime with Kosovo without delay.

Online learning in Kosovo left kids and parents frustrated (Prishtina Insight)

In 2020, the COVID pandemic triggered a major change in education. Schools all over the world had to switch from in-school to online learning. Lacking experience in using technology for learning, children had to meet their teachers and classmates for the first time via the screen, be that a laptop, iPad, or phone screen.

Similarly, on the other side of the screen, were teachers who had little or no training on how to integrate technology into their teaching.

Both parties faced tremendous challenges, imposing the need for increased parental involvement. But many parents had to work at the same time as their children were attending online classes.

Data from our study indicate that parents often struggled with their children’s online learning, and few saw any positive effects on their children’s education.

They also think that their children could not express themselves as much as they should both because of the noise and technological problems, which suggests that curriculum expectations could not be met.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/39Vegbe