• Osmani talks with Quint ambassadors about European proposal (media)
• U.S. Embassy: Biden and Blinken confirmed EU Proposal will lead Kosovo towards EU integration (Klan)
• U.S. Embassy: Concerned about opposition’s opposition to European proposal (media)
• Lajcak to stay in Kosovo on Friday (media)
• Wider Europe briefing: Will Serbia and Kosovo finally seal deal? (RFE)
• EU Plan offers Serbia and Kosovo the promise of hope (Prishtina Insight)
• Svecla proposes Gazmend Hoxha as new police director (Reporteri)
• CEFTA: European plan for Kosovo and Serbia, good for regional market (Klan)
• Spain doesn’t change position on Kosovo; seeks solution via dialogue (RFE)
• Konrad: Failure to normalize relations blocks many capacities (Reporteri)
• Kosovo commemorates 25^th anniversary of Prekaz Massacre (Anadolu Agency)
• Art in quarantine: COVID-19 brought muses to Balkan authors (BIRN)

Osmani talks with Quint ambassadors about European proposal (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani hosted on Monday the ambassadors of Quint countries and the head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog. Osmani said that the implementation annex for the basic agreement should not affect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, constitutionality, and functionality of the state of Kosovo.

Osmani said that Kosovo continues to remain a constructive party in the dialogue. “The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, today received the ambassadors of the Quint countries in Kosovo, namely, the ambassador of the United Kingdom, Nicholas Abbott, the ambassador of Germany, Jorn Rohde, the ambassador of Italy Antonello De Riu , the ambassador of France Olivier Guerot, the Deputy Head of the United States Mission Alyson Grunder, as well as the Head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog. The meeting discussed the latest developments in the country, including the dialogue with Serbia, the next steps, as well as the ongoing coordination of the Republic’s institutions with allies. Furthermore, President Osmani emphasized that the agreement about the annex for the implementation of the basic agreement must take into account the principles approved in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo regarding the inviolability of sovereignty, territorial integrity, constitutionality and functionality of the state of Kosovo. President Osmani also emphasized that Kosovo continues to remain a constructive party to the dialogue with Serbia, and continues to be committed to a process that contributes to peace, security and lasting prosperity in the country and the region,” a press release issued by Osmani’s office notes.

U.S. Embassy: Biden and Blinken confirmed EU Proposal will lead Kosovo towards EU integration (Klan)

The U.S. Embassy in Kosovo told Klan Kosova on Monday that U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have confirmed that the European Plan will send Kosovo towards economic development and European integration.

“At the highest levels of government, the United States has made this support clear. President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken, in their recent communications for Kosovo’s Independence Day, underlined that the proposal has our strong support and will greatly advance Kosovo towards greater regional stability, economic prosperity and European and Euro-Atlantic integration,” the embassy said.

U.S. Embassy: Concerned about opposition’s opposition to European proposal (media)

The two biggest opposition parties in Kosovo – the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) – have criticised Prime Minister Albin Kurti for accepting the European proposal. The parties argued that by agreeing to the proposal, Kosovo lost the chance for mutual recognition and agreed to form the Association of Serb-majority municipalities.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the United States Embassy in Pristina expressed its concern over this, Reporteri reports. “We are concerned with the statements made by leaders and officials of the opposition parties expressing their opposition to the EU proposal. These views do not match the U.S. support for the proposal,” the spokesperson said.

MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Avdullah Hoti said in a Facebook post on Monday that “the LDK is against deception and not against the partners of the state of Kosovo”. According to Hoti, “the political force that is leading the country has been deceiving the people for 15 years”.

Lajcak to stay in Kosovo on Friday (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, will stay in Kosovo on Friday. Citing unnamed sources, several news websites report that Lajcak will meet government officials and leaders of opposition parties.

Wider Europe briefing: Will Serbia and Kosovo finally seal deal? (RFE)

What You Need To Know: On February 27, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic endorsed an EU-facilitated proposal in Brussels titled, the “Agreement On The Path To Normalization Between Kosovo And Serbia.”

The agreement, which has been in the making since the fall of 2022 and covers numerous facets of the two countries’ relationship, is not signed yet but has been officially published by the EU’s foreign policy corps, the European External Action Service.

There are some caveats, though.

A senior EU official familiar with the talks told me that the text lacks any validity without the annex, which the two sides will work up before their next meeting in Ohrid, North Macedonia, on March 18.

This makes the final article in the 11-point agreement, which simply states that “both Parties commit to respect the Implementation Roadmap annexed to this Agreement” the most crucial one. A blueprint of this road map with a timeline of the implementation of the agreement exists but it is still very much a work in progress.

Deep Background: The agreement is essentially an addition to the landmark 2013 Brussels agreement between Belgrade and Pristina that set out to normalize relations between the pair after Kosovo declared independence in 2008 — a move Serbia has never accepted.

Serbia, Kosovo, and the EU are trying to update the deal struck a decade ago, to help the Balkan pair kick-start their EU membership quests but without any formal obligation for Belgrade to recognize Kosovo’s independence — at least for now.

Read more at: http://bit.ly/3ZHMzXD

EU Plan offers Serbia and Kosovo the promise of hope (Prishtina Insight)

Opinion piece by Demush Shasha, head of Pristina-based European Policy Institute of Kosovo, EPIK  Institute.

Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic have a chance to lead their countries towards a future they seek rather than the one they fear. If they find the courage to lead their people where they have not yet been, history will judge them kindly.

If you are confused about what happened during the last round of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, you should find comfort in the fact that you are not alone. The last meeting between the parties was straight out of the EU institution negotiations’ playbook: parties with opposing views, all-nighter meetings, drama, but in the end success. Well, kind of.

EU High Representative Borrell basically proclaimed success by saying that the leaders have “agreed that no further discussions are needed on the European Union proposal” and therefore the proposal “will be published on the European External Action Service website”.

And then there was radio silence. Everyone was wondering what just happened? What does “no further discussions” mean? Is the proposal adopted or not? Vertiginous Borrell’s press point was a harbinger of confusion to come. Shortly afterwards, Kosovo’s Albin Kurti agreed with Borrell’s positive assessment, whereas Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic basically denied everything Borrell and Kurti had said. Amidst all of this, the American kept quiet and only said: “There is still a lot of work to be done”. Memoirs of Kosovo–Serbia dialogue will remember this chapter as the Night of Great Confusion.

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

Svecla proposes Gazmend Hoxha as new police director (Reporteri)

Gazmend Hoxha, head of the operations department in Kosovo Police, is expected to be appointed as Director of Kosovo Police on Wednesday. Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, confirmed that after the completion of all procedures, Hoxha’s name has been sent to the government for voting.

“According to the law, according to the constitution, I submitted a name, not too many names, not too many names, of a senior superior of the Kosovo police, to be elected at the meeting, of the government… Yes, it is the name of Gazmend Hoxha, the senior director of the operation, who is waiting to be voted for the new director of the Kosovo police,” Svecla stated.

However, former heads of the Kosovo Police and the Ministry of Interior Affairs are calling for the announcement for the post of Police Director to be repeated.

CEFTA: European plan for Kosovo and Serbia, good for regional market (Klan)

The European Plan, agreed in Brussels by Kosovo and Serbia, also facilitates the operation of the Free Trade Agreement. Therefore, the director of the CEFTA secretariat, Emir Djikic, says that the basic agreement also contributes to the regional market.

“If the agreement is as published on the website of the European Union, yes, it has a positive impact, to speed up the operation of the CEFTA agreement, which would bring additional benefits to all parties and make companies more competitive in the regional market as well as in the European market. So, this is the multiple benefit we can have,” Djikic told Klan Kosova.

However, Kosovo constantly complains about violations of the CEFTA agreement by Serbia. Djikic says that they accept many such, from all parties.

“We constantly receive complaints from all parties, for all parties. It depends on the cases, mostly they have to do with blocking each other’s transit routes. We have received a complaint, for example, from Kosovo to Bosnia, for a truck that did not turn back, because there were signs that were not agreed upon in CEFTA,” he said.

“We, as the CEFTA secretariat, are the technical body of the agreement, so it is not up to us to accept Kosovo as a state or to do anything. In the last meeting of the joint committee, this topic was raised from Kosovo, but there was no consensus among the parties,” he said.

However, he estimates that Kosovo has made progress in regional trade, as over the years it has increased exports with CEFTA member countries.

Spain doesn’t change position on Kosovo; seeks solution via dialogue (RFE)

Spain continues to hold the same position regarding the non-recognition of Kosovo’s independence, although it said that it is time to make final efforts to resolve the disputes between Kosovo and Serbia.

Radio Free Europe asked the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs if Madrid has changed its position on Kosovo, after Pristina and Belgrade agreed on the European proposal for the normalization of relations. The minister said that the “issue of the territory of Kosovo” should be resolved through the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which is mediated by the European Union.

“It is time to make final efforts to resolve the Kosovo issue,” Elena Aljarilla Cortezón, communications advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, told Radio Free Europe.

Madrid said that there is still work to be done in terms of reaching an agreement for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

“The result of the February 27 meeting was a step forward, but there is still work to be done in terms of reaching an agreement on the normalization of relations based on the EU proposal, which was welcomed by the European Council in February. Although it is positive that both Pristina and Belgrade have agreed on the text of the proposal without any changes, there will be no firm agreement without a clear plan on how it will be implemented,” a response to the news website noted.

Konrad: Failure to normalize relations blocks many capacities (Reporteri)

German Ambassador in Belgrade, Anke Konrad, said on Monday that the European Union is open to Serbia. However, she emphasized that the lack of normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade is blocking many capacities in the country.

She also emphasized that the focus should be on the challenges ahead and that the normalization process should continue as soon as possible.

“Once that happens, there will be more potential and a faster path to the EU.”

Asked what are the minimum expectations from Serbia for the next meeting in the dialogue and what are the consequences if nothing changes by then, Konrad said that the consequences are debatable and that when it comes to Kosovo, there is no immediate solution for the problem between the two countries.

Kosovo commemorates 25^th anniversary of Prekaz Massacre (Anadolu Agency)

Kosovo commemorated the 25^th anniversary of the Prekaz Massacre on Sunday with a ceremony in the capital.

The Prekaz Massacre was known as an attack in which Adem Jashari, one of the founding commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK), and his family were murdered.

Jashari is one of the symbols of Kosovo’s independence.

President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti addressed soldiers and the public in a ceremony held at a barracks in Pristina.

“This freedom and this state bear the stamp of the legendary commander Adem Jashari, his family, the 3,000 martyrs of the UCK and the thousands of soldiers who are still with us today,” said Osmani.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Yo2zxa

Art in quarantine: COVID-19 brought muses to Balkan authors (BIRN)

Three years ago, Balkan countries were hit by a pandemic which cost many lives and created social disorders. But while it was a time of isolation for many, authors drew inspiration from the disaster.

Publishing houses and booksellers were caught by surprise at the beginning of March 2020 as COVID-19 was announced as a world pandemic; there was a boom in sales of Albert Camus’ famous novel The Plague (“La Peste”), and of other plague-themed literature.

The virus took thousands of lives in the Balkan region, infected millions, caused havoc in economies and instilled, albeit only temporarily, a new social disorder of distancing people as a precautionary way of saving lives.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3mub0tp