Albanian Language Media:

• Scholz: I believe this process will soon be successfully completed (media)
• Stoltenberg: NATO takes situation in Kosovo seriously, parties should find solution (Koha)
• Rohde: Opposition should be constructive vis-a-vis European plan (media)
• Haziri: None of Lajcak’s 16 models for Association suits Kosovo (teve1)
• Slovak Foreign Ministry: We expect constructive approach in upcoming talks (Express)
• LDK leader Abdixhiku invited to official visit in Paris (media)
• Citizen puts his property for sale in Shterpce, blames Serbian List for pressure (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

• Lajcak with Vucic on March 13 and 14 on the implementation of the plan for the normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina (RTS)
• Serbian List: KLA leaders as a logo on official emails (Beta, Danas)
• Raskovic-Ivic: We will launch initiative to impeach Vucic for violation of Constitution (Danas)
• Part of opposition to request Constitutional Court’s assessment of Vucic’s acts (Danas)
• Rakic Vodinelic: Vucic violated the Constitution to the extent that Kosovo is recognized (NMagazin, Nova, Beta)
• Judge Petrov: Possible violation of the oath and the preamble of the Constitution cannot be the basis for the president’s responsibility (NMagazin, Politika, Beta)
• Dacic: No need for new discussion in Parliament, nothing has been signed (N1, FoNet, Politika)
• Miljan Adzic released pending trial (KoSSev)

Opinion:

• Short public letter to fellow journalists, civil society and politicians in Serbia (AP) 

International:

• EU Plan Puts Kosovo In ‘Better Strategic Position Than Serbia’ – Foreign Advisor (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media  

Scholz: I believe this process will soon be successfully completed (media)

The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, has said that he supports the proposal of the European Union for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

He made these comments, during the joint press conference with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz in Germany.

“We strongly support the peace and normalisation plan between Kosovo and Serbia. In our view, it is a very substantive and very realistic plan that brings about the necessary and long-awaited normalisation that both sides must tackle with all the necessary courage,” he said.

Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz speaking about the European proposal said ‘I believe that it will soon end successfully.’ He added that the European plan is a well thought out proposal and expressed optimism that it will soon be finalised successfully.

“Perhaps for the question you asked me, we are really dealing with a very significant proposal of Germany and France, which is supported by the EU and America, and which was also reflected in the decisions of the European Council. In this context, I believe that this process will soon be successfully completed,” he said.

Stoltenberg: NATO takes the situation in Kosovo seriously, parties should find solution (Koha)

The President of Albania Bajram Begaj held a meeting with the head of NATO Jens Stoltenberg today in Brussels, where among other things, they discussed the situation in Kosovo.

While guaranteeing that NATO is present and takes Kosovo’s security very seriously, Stoltenberg appealed to the two countries to make maximum efforts for agreement in the dialogue between them.

“The NATO alliance has been present in Kosovo for many years. Allies are committed to continue contributing to the continued presence in Kosovo. We also work with the European Union in Kosovo. We also appreciate the EU-mediated discussions between Serbia and Kosovo. We think that this is the only way for stability in Kosovo. We have a historic opportunity that could be very important for the entire region. The parties show flexibility and willingness to find a final solution. So, NATO is present in Kosovo, and we take the situation there very seriously,” Stoltenberg said. 

Rohde: Opposition should be constructive vis-a-vis European plan (media)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, said today that he expects the two biggest opposition parties in Kosovo – the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) – to be constructive vis-à-vis the EU plan for the dialogue. In an interview with Radio Kosova, he said that the opposition should not use the issue for internal political games.

“Personally, I expect the opposition to act with state political responsibility and I want to say that the entire international community, especially Kosovo’s closest partners, stand strongly behind the proposal. Therefore, I want to hope that the opposition will have constructive behaviour and will not use this political issue for internal political games as has happened in the past. Now it is about securing the future and here everyone has their political responsibility, especially the opposition,” Rohde is quoted as saying.

Haziri: None of Lajcak’s 16 models for Association suits Kosovo (teve1)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lutfi Haziri, said in an interview with teve1 that none of the 16 modalities mentioned by EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities does not suit Kosovo.

“We have analysed the 16 European models and there is no plan or practice in Europe that we did not analyse in Vienna as a modality. In no case does it match Kosovo. Everything is very narrow for Kosovo, very narrow. You can mention any model, take the list, I am ready to give details about the way of organisation, the Germans in Belgium, Danes in Germany, or the Italians. All modalities, there are modalities even beyond Europe,” he said.

Haziri said that they did not accept the Association in previous talks and that they managed to reach a compromise solution in Vienna [talks]. “We managed to remove it from the table in Vienna with creativity. We did not accept the Association and the alternative or asymmetrical organisation of the north as a region within Kosovo, because that was the plan for several weeks. We managed to convince them, and we reached a compromise solution. The compromise solution was to have additional duties for the municipalities and not allow municipalities to join and have shared duties,” he said.

Slovak Foreign Ministry: We expect constructive approach in upcoming talks (Express)

The Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement to the news website that the result of the last meeting in the EU-facilitated dialogue was an important step toward the normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. “This can be an important impetus for further negotiations that lead to a legally binding agreement for the full normalisation of their relations,” it noted.

Slovakia shares the position of the European Union about the future of the dialogue. “We expect both parties to implement all previous agreements and a constructive approach in the upcoming rounds of negotiations. Lajcak and Borrell have our full support in the facilitation of the dialogue,” it added.

Spain remains unconvinced and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the news website on Monday that it will not change its position on Kosovo’s independence even after the latest meeting in Brussels. “Spain maintains its position not to recognise the unilateral declaration of independence that Pristina adopted in 2008,” the response notes.

“We support the need for the issue of Kosovo’s territory to be resolved through the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. It is time to make final efforts to resolve the Kosovo issue. We support the great interest of the EU High Representative to help resolve the conflict and we fully support the work of the envoy for dialogue, Lajcak”.

LDK leader Abdixhiku invited to official visit in Paris (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, has been invited by French authorities for an official visit to Paris. A press release issued by the LDK notes that Abdixhiku will be meeting institutional officials to discuss the latest political developments, the dialogue and Kosovo’s integration path toward Euro-Atlantic structures.

Citizen puts his property for sale in Shterpce, blames Serbian List for pressure (RTK)

At one of the main points in Shterpce still stands the announcement that Lazar Milenkovic is selling his property in the village of Sevce. According to the announcement, the reason why he wants to sell his house are the Serbian List and the mayor of the municipality, Dalibor Jevtic.

Milenkovic did not agree to an interview, telling the RTK that he has nothing to say and that an answer should be sought from the mayor.

Another citizen in Shterpce, who agreed to an interview, said that things are not going well since the Serbian List came to power. “The municipal leadership cancelled my construction permit, instead of offering me other documentation, which are required, and I don’t know what they are. I have gone to the municipality several times, but they did not want to meet me. My building can rot and collapse,” Stale Staletovic, a citizen of Shterpce, told RTK.

Some citizens that were reading Milenkovic’s sale announcement preferred not to comment.

Officials of Shterpce municipality did not agree to talk in front of the camera, but about the allegations raised through a written response they explain two cases. The first they say has to do with the parallel system and they blame everything on Mayor Jevtic. Whereas for the second case, it is said that they did not allow a citizen to build gas stations in inhabited areas and near a kindergarten which is 100 metres away from the area.

Serbian Language Media 

Lajcak with Vucic on March 13 and 14 on the implementation of the plan for the normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina (RTS)

EU Special Envoy Miroslav Lajcak will talk to the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic on March 13 and 14 in Belgrade, about the plan for the normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina and the roadmap for its application, said EU spokesperson Peter Stano, reported RTS.

Peter Stano emphasised that these talks were part of the preparation for the meeting at the highest political level on March 18 in Ohrid.

RTS recalled that Lajcak will visit Pristina on March 9 and 10, for separate talks with Pristina Prime Minister Albin Kurti. 

“Lajcak in Belgrade and Pristina will discuss the modalities of the implementation of the ‘Agreement on the path to normalisation of relations’, which the two parties accepted at the previous meeting and agreed that no further discussions are necessary,” Stano said, and stressed that the 18th of March in Ohrid, the emphasis will be on the implementation. 

According to Stano, the ultimate goal of dialogue is the signing of a legally binding agreement on the normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, which would be reached at the end of the dialogue, “but the process is not yet at that stage”, reported RTS.

Serbian List: KLA leaders as a logo on official emails (Beta, Danas)

The Serbian List announced yesterday that the Kosovo authorities, without notice or legal basis, imposed a logo with the image of three members of the Jashari family, the leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), in the signature of all employees’ official emails, including Serbs, Bosniaks, Gorani and other peoples, reported daily Danas.

In a statement, SL asked the international representatives to “clearly define themselves on this issue and show that no one has the right to discriminate against people and impose single mindedness”, especially in “the light of the criminal proceedings that are being conducted before the Special Court for crimes committed” in Kosovo.

“This is another type of institutional pressure and a classic example of discrimination against Serbs and other peoples who are just doing their job, and who are not allowed to have their own opinion on the events of the past,” Serbian List said in a statement.

On the official emails, the picture of the KLA leaders, brothers Adem and Hamez and their father Shaban, was shown in a red and black frame with drawn eagle heads resembling the Albanian flag, Serbian List added.

Daily recalled that Adem Jashari was killed in a two-day conflict with the Serbian police that began on March 5, 1998, in the village of Prekaze near Drenica, and more than 50 members of his family, including women and children, were also killed.

Raskovic-Ivic: We will launch initiative to impeach Vucic for violation of Constitution (Danas)

“The Peoples’ Party advocates for initiating a proceeding against (President Aleksandar) Vucic at the Constitutional Court and will coordinate the collection of signatures from MPs at the Assembly of Serbia necessary to initiate this proceeding. Vucic permanently violates the Constitution but this time he has gone too far. We are ready to work with other caucuses on elaboration”, an MP and Peoples’ Party (NS) Vice President, Sanda Raskovic-Ivic told Danas daily.

Commenting on reluctance by some pro-European parties to support calling an extraordinary session of the Serbian Assembly to discuss the European proposal on Kosovo, Raskovic-Ivic said their decision “to abstain” was wrong, but that this is a moment when ideological differences should be left aside. She noted the situation is different when it comes to initiating a proceeding at the Constitutional Court. “Everybody agrees that Vucic violates the Constitution, and an attempt should be made to stop him from doing it”, she said.

Speaking of the European plan for Kosovo, Raskovic-Ivic said she would not agree that this plan is ‘inevitable’. “Better lives for the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija should be ensured, but there is not a single word about it in the European plan. How will you ensure economic safety and progress, access to justice, and restrain the violence? If you truly wanted to deal with those people, then it was necessary to include people from the ground in those negotiations. Who is representing women from Serbian enclaves left to mercy and disfavour, consigned to oblivion? To make a long story short, dealing with people on paper by the Brussels offices is not caring about the people, because their needs are agreed upon by those who know nothing about them or understand them”, she argued.

She said the European proposal should have been rejected as a whole, as it is a paper attempting to resolve the status of Kosovo outside of the UN Security Council, thus violating international law and facilitating seizing Kosovo from Serbia.

“And yes, I consider that by accepting this plan Vucic recognized the independence of Kosovo and violated his oath and Constitution of Serbia”, she said. She added once you accept an agreement as a whole, then you have to implement it because it is “not a buffet table you could pick from what you want”.

Part of opposition to request Constitutional Court’s assessment of Vucic’s acts (Danas)

Some opposition parties in the Serbian Parliament said that the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic should have been impeached a long time ago over violation of the Constitution, Danas daily reports. 

“Democratic Party (DS) would support the proposal for impeachment of the President of the Republic of Serbia for violating the Constitution. It requires the support of one-third of the MPs, and the opinion of the Constitutional Court that violation of the Constitution occurred. After that opinion two-thirds of MPs relieve the president from duty”, DS Vice President Dragana Rakic told Danas daily.

According to her, the problem is that “the Constitutional Court is unfortunately a political body under control of President Aleksandar Vucic and not an independent institution”.

Nebojsa Zelenovic, co-chair of We Must – Together party opined that President Aleksandar Vucic violates the Constitution on a daily basis and discussion in the Assembly should be demanded to discuss it. He expressed the opinion that, no matter how complicated it may seem, it was possible to find a way for the agreement on Kosovo to be harmonised with the Constitution.

Leader of Movement for Renewal of the Kingdom of Serbia (POKS) Vojislav Mihajlovic said President Aleksandar Vucic by accepting the Franco-German proposal violated the Constitution, as the said proposal places Kosovo and Serbia on equal footing “as states respectively”.

He added POKS will support the request to impeach the President no matter who proposes it.

Tamara Milenkovic Kerkovic, Dveri Movement MP said they requested resignation of President Aleksandar Vucic already and will insist upon it. She said institutions, including Constitutional Court are blocked, which as it was the case with Brussels agreement can declare the agreement as “a political act” and not as “a status-legal agreement of international public law by which sovereignty of other side is recognized, that of a fake state of Kosovo”, adding that however, the Movement will insist and the Constitutional Court must take a stance, same as Prosecution for violating constitutional order of Serbia.

According to her “had not Serbia drowned into autocracy, these very same institutions should have made such assessments themselves, and the Assembly Speaker would have had to call an extraordinary session”.

Independent MP Aleksandar Olenek recalled that he supports signing of the European plan for Kosovo and that after its signature he “absolutely supports its constitutionality to be checked by the Constitutional Court”.

Rakic Vodinelic: Vucic violated the Constitution to the extent that Kosovo is recognized (NMagazin, Nova, Beta)

Retired Law Faculty professor Vesna Rakic Vodinelic said today that by accepting the European agreement on Kosovo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic violated the Constitution to the extent that Kosovo is recognized, reported NMagazin, citing daily Nova. 

Rakic Vodinelic told today’s Nova edition that it is “now a matter of interpretation”, and that “if the Constitutional Court interprets that Kosovo was recognized by that agreement, then he violated the Constitution”.

She added that it is unlikely that the Constitutional Court will deal with the Agreement on the Road to the Normalisation of Relations between Serbia and Kosovo, which, according to the media, Vucic and Kurti agreed to fully accept in Brussels in February, since it is not about the ratified agreement.

She said that the Constitutional Court could deal with this agreement only together with the implementation plan, which, as announced by Vucic, will be signed.

“If ratified, the Constitutional Court could review whether it is constitutional or not,” said Rakic Vodinelic.

Judge Petrov: Possible violation of the oath and the preamble of the Constitution cannot be the basis for the president’s responsibility (NMagazin, Politika, Beta)

The Constitutional Court Judge Vladan Petrov assessed that a possible violation of the oath taken by the President of Serbia upon taking office cannot be a basis for liability, reported NMagazin, citing daily Politika. 

“Although its text is in the Constitution, it does not create any legal obligation. The oath, like the preamble of the Constitution, although it is also an integral part of the Constitution, carries a moral-political, not a legal obligation,” said Petrov, in op-ed for Politika daily. 

He also said that the accusation that he violated the Constitution cannot be based “on assumptions, media and any other speculations that the president did something, that he signed something, promised verbally or in any other way”.

Petrov, Professor of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law in Belgrade, did not want to analyse the content of the political document “which is called a European, Franco-German proposal for the normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina”.

“Although in everyday speech, on our public stage, the term ‘unconstitutional action’ of the President of the Republic is relatively often used, unconstitutional can only be general legal acts, not political acts that are not in accordance with the Constitution, about which the Constitutional Court decides,” said Petrov.

Dacic: No need for new discussion in Parliament, nothing has been signed (N1, FoNet, Politika)

Reacting to a request of the Dveri movement, New Democratic Party of Serbia, Oathkeepers and Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia for a new Parliament session to discuss the European Agreement on the path to normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia, Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) leader Ivica Dacic said that nothing has been signed and so that there is no need for a new discussion in the Parliament.

“I have repeatedly said, publicly and clearly, that it is very important that, by accepting to work on the implementation (of the European proposal for Kosovo), except on what he explicitly said was unacceptable to him and Serbia, (Serbian) President (Aleksandar) Vucic showed great statesmanship, wisdom and determination not to bring Serbia into a position in which it would be blamed for the failure of the (Belgrade-Pristina) dialogue,” Dacic, who is also the First Deputy Prime Minister and Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister, told the daily Politika.

Dacic said this is precisely what Vucic had talked about in the Serbian Parliament and added: “We absolutely support the policy of President Vucic.”

Miljan Adzic released pending trial (KoSSev)

Miljan Adzic, a local Serb from Zvecan, arrested in December last year, at Jarinje crossing point was released pending trial, following closure of a two-month detention, but also a bail of 20.000 euros posted by his family, his lawyer Milos Delevic told KoSSev portal.

The lawyer also said Adzic will prove his innocence. He is feeling well and is with his family, the lawyer added.

Miljan Adzic spent three months in a detention unit in Podujevo, although his defence lawyer requested his transfer to Mitrovica so the family would visit him easier. He was arrested for “assaulting an official person”. Kosovo police said in a statement on the day of his arrest that Adzic was suspected of allegedly carrying out a criminal act of “attempting grievous murder”, respectively for “armed weapon assault on official persons”. 

Release of Miljan Adzic and Sladjan Trajkovic, a former Kosovo police member, arrested in the same period, was one of the demands by local Serbs in northern Kosovo to dismantle barricades they placed there following the arrest of Dejan Pantic, also former member of Kosovo police. The barricades were dismantled after Dejan Pantic was sent to house arrest, the portal recalled.

Opinion 

Short public letter to fellow journalists, civil society and politicians in Serbia (Albanian Post) 

For the first time in history, let us decide our own destiny, our own peace. Let’s not allow someone else to completely exclude us from decision-making tomorrow, appeals Baton Haxhiu

There is an ominous saying in our rocky Balkans that every third generation is doomed to go through a war. It has been 24 years since our last war ended. I think we should ask the essential question: are we really ready to go through the same tragedy every 40 years?

Albanians and Serbs are the Germans and French of the Balkans. We have the same destructive potential but also the creative and working potential to build a mini-Europe in the Balkans. I think it’s time to ditch the former and fully embrace the latter. We are really at the end of the road.

Personally, I was an ardent supporter of the idea of correcting the borders because I saw it as a path towards the realisation of my dream, the unification of all Albanians in one state. This is me being honest.

I loved this idea and was committed to this idea even though I knew very well that the correction of the borders would have a domino effect everywhere in the region. As an Albanian nationalist, I was interested in Albania and Albanians, regardless of what would happen to North Macedonia, Montenegro, or Bosnia. If for a bigger Albania, the price would be the creation of a bigger Serbia, for me it was completely acceptable.

Now, several years later, I have realised that this project has failed miserably because the major Western powers have defended, and will continue to defend, their investment in the creation and stabilisation of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia, and Kosovo. And, they don’t care who stands in their path.

Now in front of us we have the so-called European proposal. “Albanian Post” has had the honor of being a kind of official newspaper of the whole process. Time has proven that every essential reporting of ours (the content of the plan, the introduction of the Association into implementation, the February deadline and everything else), despite the initial denials, has turned out to be completely correct.

Personally, I don’t like this project at all, but, from my position, I know very well that, for both Kosovo and Serbia, not accepting the agreement is much worse than accepting it. If we reject the agreement and continue with the absurd projections of our nationalistic desires, turning them into official policy, we might end up in war. But not like the last one. That would be much bloodier, even if it only lasted three days. At the end, the ones deciding for us with be the great powers.

As stated in the last document published by “Albanian Post”, written by a very high official of a large western country, the chances of a new Yalta are very high. However, Albanians and Serbs, Kosovo and Serbia will not have any say in the case of this Yalta. 

This agreement does not satisfy our appetites, it goes against everything that Albanian or Serbian nationalists would like, including me. However, this agreement brings normality and cooperation, it brings peace. And above all, its acceptance by Kosovo and Serbia obliges the West to take more care of us.

Personally, I do not trust leaders like Albin Kurti. My friend Edi Rama really has a big ego, but Albin Kurti goes even further. Sometimes I suspect that he completely lacks the empathy to understand the consequences of his actions. As a simple citizen, I was and continue to be against Albin Kurti, but when it comes to this agreement, I will stand by him.

If Albin Kurti becomes the reason that my nephews and nieces do not inherit the Balkan curses, I will support him in everything. Please, for the sake of your nephews and nieces, help Aleksandar Vucic to do the same.

For the first time in history, let us decide our own destiny, our own peace. Let’s not allow someone else to completely exclude us from decision-making tomorrow.

International 

EU Plan Puts Kosovo In ‘Better Strategic Position Than Serbia’ – Foreign Advisor (BIRN)

Marc Weller, an adviser to the Kosovo negotiation team in the dialogue with Serbia since the historic Rambouillet accords in 1999, told BIRN the recently published draft agreement between the two countries for the first time puts Kosovo in a better strategic position than Serbia – which must make constitutional changes if the agreement is signed.

“This is the first time that, in principle, Kosovo is in a better strategic position because Serbia … has to remove the part in its constitution which claims that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia, and should recognize Kosovo,” Weller told BIRN’s Kallxo Pernime show on Monday.

Weller advised Kosovo’s President Ibrahim Rugova in the 1990s and was part of the team for the Rambouillet accords in France in 1999 between the Former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and representatives of Kosovo Albanians, and also for the Ahtisaari plan. He explained that for Kosovo to remain in a better strategic position, and benefit this time around, it “must participate constructively in negotiations”.

Kosovo and Serbia leaders Albin Kurti and Aleksandar Vucic broke their deadlock on February 27, 2023, by tentatively agreeing to a European Union plan on the normalisation of relations.

Nothing has been signed yet, however, although the EU has published the agreement on its website. It is expected that the EU’s envoy for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, will visit the two countries in the coming weeks, while the next Kurti-Vucic meeting is expected to be held on March 18 in Skopje, North Macedonia.

According to Weller, the draft agreement “is not in itself about formal legal recognition but is very close. It demands that Serbia treat Kosovo on the basis of the sovereign equality of states, and this is a very important sentence”.

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