• EU denies authenticity of non-paper for dialogue framework (BIRN)
• EU invites Kosovo to first meeting of European Political Community (RFE)
• Osmani: Eternal friendship and steadfast partnership with USA (media)
• Lajcak after meeting Osmani: Need for concrete solutions (media)
• Rama: Serbia should recognise Kosovo and apologise (media)
• PDK’s Pajaziti denies opposition is misusing the crisis, blames Kurti (KTV)
• Assembly’s committee on education to discuss ongoing strike today (media)
• AAK leader Haradinaj meets head of EULEX (media)
• Board member public company linked to ruling party quits after BIRN report
• Banks’ healthy capital base must be put to good use in Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

EU denies authenticity of non-paper for dialogue framework (BIRN)

Brussels has denied that a so-called non paper leak published in a Kosovar online portal is authentic. The EU has denied that the leak of a so-called non paper published in the Albanian Post portal on 18 September is authentic.

“Usually, we do not comment on media publishing alleged EU documents, we neither comment on the authenticity nor substance, but in this case, what [was] published claiming to be [the] ‘new framework for the Dialogue’ is completely wrong, we have never seen such [a] paper before and it does not come from the EU team dealing with the Dialogue,” Peter Stano, spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the European Union, told Prishtina Insight by email.

The article published on Saturday claims that the non-paper follows the involvement of French President Macron and German Chancellor Scholz in the dialogue process with Serbia.

The so-called non-paper lays out a 10-year vision for the future of relations between Kosovo and Serbia and says this “new framework” has been introduced to both Kosovo and Serbia PMs.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3qZj30a

EU invites Kosovo to first meeting of European Political Community (RFE)

Kosovo and 16 other non-member states have been invited by the European Union to take part in the first meeting of the new European forum, the European Political Community, which will be held on October 16 in Prague, an EU official said. Participants are expected to discuss security, immigration, and climate changes and also the current economic situation. So far there are no plans for a joint statement after the meeting.

French President Emmanuel Macron presented in May the idea for creating the European Political Community. He argued that the forum’s objective is to facilitate exchanges between EU member states and countries that are outside the bloc, including those that aspire to join the EU.

Osmani: Eternal friendship and steadfast partnership with USA (media)

During her stay in New York, President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, attended a dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden with world leaders. Accompanied by her husband, Osmani posted a photo with Biden and his wife Jill Biden and wrote “Permanent friendship and steadfast partnership with the USA”.

Osmani also met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Delighted to catch up with U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at the reception organised by U.S. President Joe Biden. Updated him on the latest developments since our last meeting and thanked him for his continued engagement for peace and stability in our region,” Osmani tweeted after the meeting.

Lajcak after meeting Osmani: Need for concrete solutions (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, met with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani in New York. Lajcak tweeted after the meeting: “In New York, I met with President @VjosaOsmaniPRKS. We continued our discussion about the way forward in the Dialogue on normalisation of relations with Serbia and the need for concrete solutions.”

Rama: Serbia should recognise Kosovo and apologise (media)

Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, said in an interview from New York, that he and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti share the position that Serbia should both recognise and apologise to Kosovo. He said that he and Kurti however do not agree about the timing when this should happen. “I think that recognition and the apology are at the end of the process. The process does not begin with recognition and with an apology,” he said.

Rama also said he has fantastic relations with Kurti. “We have a very sweet and very friendly communication. We talk about different topics, and we express opinions about not the same political philosophies. Our communication is in reality sweet, brotherly and friendly. It is as it should be, a very civil and friendly relationship. We don’t have to agree on everything. We don’t agree about the approach toward Serbia, about the way we need to reach recognition and an apology, and we also don’t agree on the Open Balkan, but this does not stop us from agreeing on many other issues,” he said.

PDK’s Pajaziti denies opposition is misusing the crisis, blames Kurti (KTV)

Former Minister of Interior Affairs and senior member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Zenun Pajaziti, reacted to claims by Prime Minister Albin Kurti that opposition parties were using the ongoing general crisis as a weapon against him.

“Under no circumstance have the PDK and other opposition parties misused the strikes. In fact, we have even prepared a plan how to operate at a time when this government is under attack from the strikes. We believe it would be immoral of us to take advantage of the situation. In fact, there wasn’t a single act by any PDK MP that would further fuel the fire in this situation,” Pajaziti said.

Assembly’s committee on education to discuss ongoing strike today (media)

Kosovo Assembly’s Committee on Education will meet today to discuss the ongoing strike in the education sector. Attending the meeting will be Education Minister Nagavci, Finance Minister Murati and Union of Education (SBASHK) leader Jasharaj. Indeksonline notes that the meeting will be another attempt to end the strike.

AAK leader Haradinaj meets head of EULEX (media)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, met on Thursday with the head of the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) Lars-Gunnar Wigemark and discussed the situation in Kosovo and the support that this mission provides to Kosovo institutions. “I thanked Mr. Wigemark for his continuous contribution and expressed our readiness to cooperation with everyone who shares with us their experiences in the rule of law, especially with EU countries,” Haradinaj wrote on Facebook.

Board member public company linked to ruling party quits after BIRN report

A member of the board of the “Gjakova” water company has stepped down after BIRN revealed that he belonged to the governing Vetëvendosje party.

A member of the board of the public utility “Gjakova”, Jeton Haxhijaha, has resigned after BIRN reported his position as a member of the ruling party.

His resignation comes after BIRN reported that he was elected a board member of the public company even though he is a member of the ruling Lëvizja Vetëvendosje party.

Haxhijaha confirmed his resignation to BIRN on Wednesday, insisting that the reasons for his resignation were personal.

“Yes, I resigned. No, I had no pressure from anyone … I had to withdraw, the problem is with me. The reason is personal,” he said.

“I did not get along with my private employer due to internal procedures. I was not able to get the management’s approval to continue work on the board,” he added.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3r0XCMl

Banks’ healthy capital base must be put to good use in Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

Banks and government must work together on a relief strategy to get the country and the economy through a painful winter.

There are 11 commercial banks operating in Kosovo. Nine are foreign owned and, with an overall $6,184.6 (bn) in assets (you read that, yes that is in billions), they operate in a very healthy credit environment with healthy returns and robust balance sheets; every one of these institutions is highly profitable with low levels of leverage (No debts). This is all good so far! Or is it really?

As someone who has worked in the financial services, albeit not in Kosovo, I feel a slight uneasiness about the current prospects of the banking ecosystem in Kosovo. This is for the sole reason that, at the current pace, the banking system is not providing that edge that the economy of Kosovo needs.

What do I mean by that? The time has come to grasp that this level of healthy capital base of these banks should be put in use more broadly in the overall economic system of Kosovo. How can this be done? First by focusing the right minds (Government) and the financial operators (Banks) into an urgent relief strategy that will entail a coordinated effort to ease the financial and economic pain that is coming this winter.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3R8On7v