• Education Union suspends strike until January 2023 (media)
• Krasniqi: Government made teachers start school year with heads down (media)
• Kosovo to participate for in inaugural meeting of new European forum (RTK)
• Svecla calls on Serbs to change plates to RKS, highlights benefits (media)
• Petkovic: Kurti, Svecla videos about license plates do not scare Serbs (Koha)
• Kurti invites Albanians living in Serbia to participate in census (RTK)
• Sarrazin: We won’t accept creation of a “Republika Srpska” in Kosovo (media)
• Konrad: Ukraine and Kosovo, two completely different situations (media)
• “If visa liberalisation happens, a merit of all citizens and govts” (Indeksonline)
• Serbs in the north also part of the population census in 2023 (Klan)

Education Union suspends strike until January 2023 (media)

The Union of Independent Trade Unions of Kosovo (BSPK) has decided to suspend the strike that started a month ago and start work from Monday. Head of BSPK, Atdhe Hykolli, told a press conference in Prishtina that the strike was legitimate. “The strike was a union obligation and was used as a last resort in relation to the government,” he said.

Rrahman Jasharaj, head of the Union for Education, Science and Technology (SBASHK) said that after a long journey with union actions to encourage dialogue and meet the demands of the employees, they were forced to go on strike. “I wish the government learns from this strike and not act like this time,” he said.

“We ask the government to continue the dialogue, to approve the law on wages and the health insurance law. The government and the public must know that the strike is not ending but is being suspended until January 2023,” he said.

Krasniqi: Government made teachers start school year with heads down (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi has welcomed the beginning of the new school year on October 3, after the decision of the Union to suspend the strike. “At the time when the students will go to school with their heads held high, the government of Kosovo, through numerous attacks, for the first time made the teachers start the school year bent, insulted and injured. However, we must remember that, beyond propaganda, teachers remain one of the most respected categories of our society. But they also deserve fair treatment that preserves their dignity. Therefore, their demands, with or without a strike, must be addressed and fulfilled as soon as possible,” he wrote.

Kosovo to participate for in inaugural meeting of new European forum (RTK)

Kosovo and 16 other non-member states of the European Union have been invited to participate in the first meeting of the new European forum, the European Political Community, which will be held on October 6 in Prague, Czech Republic. International relations experts consider Kosovo’s participation in this forum important.

Professor of international relations in Prishtina, Dritero Arifi, said that with this invitation the position of the European Union is changing towards Kosovo. “Decisions are not expected to be made there, but it is a forum that offers the countries which in the near future will be candidate countries to harmonize the policies and standards of the European Union,” he said.

Professor of diplomacy and international negotiation at the University of Paris, Valon Murtezaj, told Radio Kosovo that this is a good opportunity for deepening cooperation between the states that are members of the European Union and others that are not yet members.

Svecla calls on Serbs to change plates to RKS, highlights benefits (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, in a video message in Serbian, called on Kosovo Serbs to convert plates issued by Serbian authorities into Kosovo plates (RKS) by October 31. Svecla said the process provides great facilities, including the exmpetion from the customs tax, the administrative tax, the license plate tariff and the certification tariff for the registration of vehicle. “Dear citizens, the process needs to be concluded successfully until the foreseen deadline, October 31, 2022. Therefore, we call on you to use this opportunity without losing any time. After this date, vehicles that have illegal license plates will no longer be able to travel in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo and in border crossing points. Freedom of movement, equality and the rule of law throughout our territory, remains our priority. Therefore, we call on you to until October 31 to use these facilitations and to convert the illegal plates into the legal plates RKS,” Svecla said.

Petkovic: Kurti, Svecla videos about license plates do not scare Serbs (Koha)

Head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, said that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the Minister of the Interior, Xhelal Svecla, with their video messages, will not succeed to “scare the Serbs to change license plates”.

On Saturday night, Minister Svecla posted on his Facebook another video message in the Serbian language, where he called on the Serbian citizens of Kosovo to change the illegal license plates and get the RKS license plates by October 31.

“KM license plates cannot be illegal, because they are issued by the authorities of the Republic of Serbia in accordance with the legal procedures in its territory and are accepted anywhere in the world. What is illegal is Prishtina’s removal of KS neutral status plates, the construction of illegal ROSU bases in the north of the province and the refusal to form the Association of Serbian Municipalities for almost ten years, although it is their obligation deriving from Brussels talks,” Petkovic said.

Kurti invites Albanians living in Serbia to participate in census (RTK)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti through a video message, has invited all Albanians living in Serbia, and in particular those of Presheva, Medvegja and Bujanovac, to respond positively to the population census in Serbia that started on Saturday and lasts until on October 31.

Kurti said that the Albanians living in Serbia are constantly faced with national and human discrimination and finally with the deactivation of their addresses. “Therefore, the census, which begins today and ends on October 31, is not just a matter of statistics for Albanians. I invite you to respond to the press by registering,” Kurti said.

Sarrazin: We won’t accept creation of a “Republika Srpska” in Kosovo (media)

Special Representative of the German Government for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin, said that it was important not to have taboos in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

Asked about the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, Sarrazin said Kosovo should not be afraid from this discussion. “On the other hand, it is also clear that the worst-case scenario is sometimes wrong. It could be the creation of a new Republika Srpska, and this is not in anyone’s interest. We would not accept such a result. I think the majority of the people of Kosovo, and no politician of Kosovo, would accept this,” he was quoted as saying.

Konrad: Ukraine and Kosovo, two completely different situations (media)

German Ambassador to Serbia, Anke Konrad, said that the cases of Ukraine and Kosovo are “two completely different initial situations”. He made this statement when asked to comment the statement of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, in the UN General Assembly, that many countries refer to the UN Charter in the case of Ukraine, which has been violated in the case of Serbia.

“If visa liberalisation happens, a merit of all citizens and govts” (Indeksonline)

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Elmi Recica, who is also a member of the Kosovo Assembly Committee for European Integration, told the news website on Sunday that if visa liberalisation for Kosovo happens it will be a merit of all its citizens and governments.

He said that governments and opposition parties were always united around the “European agenda”. “All governments worked on the European agenda. Some worked more than others, but if governments and opposition parties, MPs from ruling parties and opposition, were united on one issue, it was precisely the European agenda. Visa liberalisation must happen, and the European agenda must move forward. Visa liberalisation is only one part of the European agenda of Kosovo toward integration in the European Union and NATO,” Recica added.

Serbs in the north also part of the population census in 2023 (Klan)

The government has decided in its last meeting to commence the census of the population, household, and housing, starting from September 1 until October 17 of 2023. This is considered to be an important step towards European integration.

The recording of demographic data, which will happen every 12 years, will be done electronically.

In addition to the advancement of the method from 2011, this time the north is also expected to be included by adapting the materials.

The Prime Minister’s Office is expected to in the meantime chose a unifying name that could lead the process.

The population census was planned to take place in 2021, but it was postponed due to the pandemic, and due to the two elections that took place that year in Kosovo.