• Price: We asked Kurti to postpone deadline, not implement in stages (media)
• EU: Decision on plates is legitimate, but should be within the dialogue (RTK)
• Kryeziu: All terms of the Agreement have expired (Koha)
• Police publish reprimand form for illegal license plates (Kallxo)
• Svecla: Kosovo Police will start issuing reprimands from Tuesday (media)
• UK Foreign Secretary meets Kurti, values Kosovo achievements (media)
• Serbs: New decision, a choice between burned or confiscated cars (Telegrafi)
• In Northern Kosovo, Tensions Threaten to Boil Over (Foreign Policy)
• Compromise on license plates doesn’t abate intl pressure on Kosovo (Exit)
• KFOR’s Regional Command-East welcomes new maneuver battalion (army.mil)
• The right to act does not necessarily mean the right act (Euractiv)
• We need to empower women, engage them as active agents of peace (media)
• Roma language becomes official language in municipality of Prizren (media)

Price: We asked Kurti to postpone deadline, not implement in stages (media)

Spokesman for the U.S. State Department, Ned Price, in a press conference held on Monday, said that the United States of America is disappointed and concerned that the government of Kosovo has rejected the request and advice of its closest international allies on the issue of extending the deadline for the implementation of the decision on license plates.

Price has said that the U.S. along with other partners have made it clear that they want a full postponement.

“We have made it clear that Kosovo should postpone the implementation period. We are desperate and concerned that the government of Kosovo has rejected the request and the advice of the closest international partners for implementation,” Ned Price said.

Asked about the new decision of the government of Kosovo to divide the implementation of such a decision into several stages, Price said that the USA has been clear both publicly and privately and that they have requested a complete postponement.

“We have been clear, both publicly and privately, that the U.S., together with other allies, demand a full postponement of the implementation. We are not asking for partial implementation or phased implementation. The international community has requested from Kosovo a full postponement of the implementation,” Price said, adding that the discussions are still continuing.

EU: Decision on plates is legitimate, but should be within the dialogue (RTK)

Spokeswoman for the European Union, Nabila Masrali, told a press conference in Brussels that Kosovo has the right to implement the decision to convert license plates in stages, but the process must be developed in an agreed, comprehensive manner and through dialogue.

She emphasized that the EU would continue to work with Belgrade and Pristina to find a permanent solution to the license plate issue. She called on both sides to remain calm to avoid new tensions.

“This decision is not in accordance with the agreements from the dialogue between the two parties and in accordance with the 2016 agreement,” she said adding that this decision is a step in the right direction, but it is not part of the dialogue that is binding on both sides.

Answering the question of what the next steps of Brussels regarding the issue of license plates will be, Masrali emphasized that the EU continues to work with partners to find a permanent solution.

“Again, we call on all parties to remain calm so that there are no new tensions on the ground,” Masrali said.

Kryeziu: All terms of the Agreement have expired (Koha)

The spokesperson of the government of Kosovo Perparim Kryeziu said that all the deadlines set with the preliminary agreements in Brussels have already expired.

“All the deadlines foreseen with the preliminary agreements in Brussels have already expired. The deadline for these agreements was in September 2021. We are on October 31, 2022, while from September 1 of this year, we have opened the possibility for their conversion. This period will last until March 31, 2023,” he said.

Kryeziu recalled that the license plate issue was addressed in Brussels when the previous agreement expired. According to him, in the meetings of the last few weeks, Brussels officials did not request the implementation of the point of the agreement that was recently mentioned in the communiqué.

“With the mediation of Mr. Lajcak, on September 30 of last year, an agreement was reached to commit to finding a permanent solution. But even after seven meetings of technical groups and 6 months of efforts, due to the destructiveness of the Serbian side, there was no agreement. Therefore, apart from the fact that every deadline for illegal license plates has passed, as of April 21, the issue of license plates does not constitute a process in which Brussels is directly involved,” Kryeziu said.

“With the latest decision on the timely sequencing and graduating sanctions for the implementation of the previous decision on illegal license plates, we have acted responsibly in relation to our obligations to respect the rule of law and at the same time in relation to our commitment to peace and security. With our partners we have discussed the joint concerns and taking them into consideration we have come to a solution that places side by side the rule of law and order and peace and security. International partners have been notified in advance of our approach, solution, and decision”.

Police publish reprimand form for illegal license plates (Kallxo)

The Kosovo Police has made public the reprimand that drivers of vehicles with illegal number plates “PR”, “KM”, “PZ”, “GL”, “UR”, “PE”, “DA” or “ĐA” will receive. According to the Police, in cases of reprimand, drivers will be required to go to the Vehicle Registration Center to register their vehicles with RKS license plates. The letter of reprimand, according to the Police, will be applied by police officials throughout the territory of Kosovo, including at the border crossing points.

These reprimands will contain the driver’s name and surname, personal number, date of birth, date of stop, time of stop, the vehicle he was driving and license plates.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has once again called on the citizens to return the vehicles with illegal number plates to the RKS.

Svecla: Kosovo Police will start issuing reprimands from Tuesday (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, said on Monday that starting from November 1, the Kosovo Police will start issuing reprimands to owners of vehicles with illegal number plates issued by Serbia with acronyms of the cities of Kosovo. Svecla called on citizens to re-register their vehicles and get the legal licence plates RKS.

“I encourage citizens not to remain hostage to political interests and criminal groups but use all opportunities and register their vehicles at all Registration Centers, regardless of their place of residence. The Government of the Republic of Kosovo is committed to provide security and rule of law throughout the country and for all its citizens without distinction,” Svecla wrote on Facebook.

UK Foreign Secretary meets Kurti, values Kosovo achievements (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti during his visit to the United Kingdom, was received in a meeting by UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. Kurti, congratulated Cleverly, for his new position, while thanking him for the continuous support of the United Kingdom.

As announced in the government’s press release, Kurti has invited for even deeper cooperation between the two countries, especially in the field of commercial and economic exchanges.

The announcement notes that the UK chief diplomat, James Cleverly, has expressed the British kindness and admiration for Kosovo, while he highly valued the achievements of the state of Kosovo and the attitude that Kosovo has been maintaining from the beginning towards the Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Cleverly took to Twitter to inform about his meeting with Kurti. “Today I met the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti ahead of the Berlin Process Summit. We discussed the Kosovo-Serbia relationship and the need for courage and compromise to benefit people in both countries. UK-Kosovo relations are strong and long-standing,” Cleverly wrote.

Serbs: New decision, a choice between burned or confiscated cars (Telegrafi)

The local Serbs of Kosovo are assessing that the new decision of the government has placed them between two difficult decisions, the burning of their cars by criminal groups and their confiscation by state bodies. According to them, they were not consulted at all about the new decision of the government of Kosovo. A day before the start of issuing reprimands for people driving illegal license plates, many cars with KM and similar license plates were seen circulating in the north.

“They have limited our right to move. No one is interested in solutions. People here do not want this solution that the government has brought,” said citizen Ivana Andjelkovic.

However, some of them have hope that the Kosovar executive will find another solution.

“This will be resolved. Albin Kurti will solve it with these in Belgrade. Nothing can be finished in one day, but more time is needed for such solutions,” said Dragojub Milenkovic.

Serb activist Igor Markovic said that Prime Minister Albin Kurti failed to fulfill an important promise, the dialogue with the local Serbs.

In Northern Kosovo, Tensions Threaten to Boil Over (Foreign Policy)

The Kosovo government’s laws on ID cards and license plates have enraged ethnic Serbs and heightened tensions between the young nation’s fractured communities.

A Kalashnikov fires through the darkness. It’s a short staccato burst upward, north of a bridge that separates two embittered communities living in a fragile peace, more than 22 years after a brutal civil war.

The conflict ended following an unprecedented NATO military air campaign, international sanctions, and the threat of a ground invasion—all to stop the genocidal actions of Serbian nationalist leader Slobodan Milosevic’s forces in Kosovo. By October 2000, in the face of growing opposition, Milosevic resigned from office. A brittle peace and nascent independent Kosovar state then took root in the Western Balkans.

Underlying issues, however, remain unresolved. Particularly in northern Kosovo’s city of Mitrovica, where a proud Serbian minority—surrounded by ethnic Kosovar Albanians—continues to maintain close ties to Belgrade and Moscow, occasionally participating in acts of violent defiance against the ethnic Albanian-led government in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3NoXfp6

Compromise on license plates doesn’t abate intl pressure on Kosovo (Exit)

A government announcement to implement the license plate rule in stages until April was not enough to quell pressure on Pristina, as international diplomats are still pushing them to submit to Belgrade’s demands in other areas.

On Monday, a previously postponed rule was to come into force which would mean all cars owned by Kosovo citizens must have number plates issued by Kosovo, a standard replicated amongst most countries in Europe. The problem is that ethnic Serbs living in the north of the country do not recognise Pristina’s authority and insist on using Serbian plates issued during the genocidal Slobodan Milosevic regime.

On Saturday, following much public and likely behind-the-scenes pressure, Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced the rule would be enforced in stages. First, a warning would be in place until 21 November, followed by a fine for those not complying until 21 January 2023. Then between January and 21 April, provisional plates will be placed over the others. Then from 21 April, any vehicle refusing to use legal plates will not be allowed to circulate.

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

KFOR’s Regional Command-East welcomes new maneuver battalion (army.mil)

Kosovo Force’s Regional Command-East Maneuver Battalion (Task Force Mountain Warrior) held a casing of the colors ceremony, during which authority was transferred from Task Force Mountain Warrior to Task Force Avenger, at Camp Nova Selo, Kosovo, on Oct. 29, 2022.

The 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Kentucky Army National Guard (Task Force Mountain Warrior), relinquished responsibility to the 2nd Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment, 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Indiana Army National Guard (Task Force Avenger).

During the ceremony, Task Force Mountain Warrior cased their unit’s flag, signifying the end of their nine-month mission in Kosovo. Task Force Avenger then unfurled their unit’s colors, representing the beginning of their support of KFOR’s mission.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3h402s4

The right to act does not necessarily mean the right act (Euractiv)

It is essential to find a solution to the license plate issue that respects Kosovo’s sovereignty and the rule of law, something that should be done with the backing of the US, argues Faton Tony Bislimi.

Faton Tony Bislimi, PhD, is a former member of the parliament of the Republic of Kosovo and an executive board member of the Albanian American Civic League.

In democratic societies, there is no place for ethnic or other preferences regarding the rule of law. The Republic of Kosovo is a sovereign and democratic country and, as such, has the right to act to ensure the full extent of the rule of law is applicable anywhere within its territory.

Fortunately, all of Kosovo’s key allies and especially the United States of America, have clearly declared that they recognise Kosovo’s right to act in implementing its own laws.

But, the same key allies and friends of Kosovo have also asked the Government of Kosovo to postpone the implementation of their decision to seize illegal license plates for about ten months.

Serbs throughout Kosovo, especially those in the north, have been using Serbian-issued license plates to drive their vehicles in Kosovo since the end of the war—an illegal undertaking and an explicit breaking of Kosovo’s applicable laws.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Uh0amh

We need to empower women, engage them as active agents of peace (media)

Op-Ed by EU Ambassador in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog

Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which for the first time formally acknowledged the gender dimension in peace and security and reaffirmed the indispensable role of women in conflict prevention and settlement, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction.

As the topic is high on the international and European Union’s agenda, I would like to give you an insight into the EU’s approach to the holistic engagement of women in peace and security, what we do about it in Kosovo, and pass on my main message that we need to empower women and engage them as active agents of peace.

Two weekends ago, we witnessed the organisation of the first edition of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Forum at the initiative of the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani. It was an important event for both Kosovo and the EU as it demonstrated Kosovo’s dedication to raising awareness over the need to actively involve women in peace processes and its alignment with the European Union’s commitments on gender equality and human rights, which are at the core of all EU activities and policies.

It was our honour to support the event through a panel discussion co-organised with the UNDP on the need to empower women economically to better respond to the negative effects of climate change on global economy and contribute to recovery through women-led businesses.

I mention this as the UNSC Resolution in fact broadened the scope of a traditional security policy by focusing not only on the need of protecting women and girls from conflict-related violence but also on the right of women to participate in decision-making processes and economic development, among other.

Read in full at: https://bit.ly/3TUx7Fg

Roma language becomes official language in municipality of Prizren (media)

The Municipal Assembly of Prizren on Monday adopted the decision to recognise the Roma language as one of the official languages. The decision was supported by all municipal councilors, and it was said that this decision-making will help the Roma community to preserve its identity and culture.