• EU Envoy says agreement reached by leaders of Kosovo, Serbia is turning point on road to normalisation (Radio Free Europe)
• Kurti: Vucic declined generous offer of self-management for K-Serbs (media)
• Starovic reacts to Kurti’s offer for self-management for K-Serbs (media)
• Vela reacts to Vucic saying Serbia won’t agree to Kosovo UN membership (media)
• NATO chief on Ohrid agreement: Parties to fully implement it (Klan Kosova)
• Kurti: We’ll address shortcomings identified in State Department report (media)
• State Department report: Domestic violence still a problem in Kosovo (BIRN)
• Szunyog meets Krasniqi, discuss opposition’s support for agreement (media)
• Lajcak, ICRC President discuss missing persons cases in Balkans (Express)
• Hasani: South Tyrol can be a model for the Association in Kosovo (T7)
• Kurti meets generals Hoppe and Hammerstein (media)
• COMKFOR Ristuccia meets Mojsilovic in Belgrade (media)

EU Envoy says agreement reached by leaders of Kosovo, Serbia is turning point on road to normalisation (Radio Free Europe)

Miroslav Lajcak, the European Union’s special representative for the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, believes that an agreement reached over the weekend between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti represents a turning point in the process of normalization of relations.

Both sides now must implement all articles of the agreement on the road to normalization of relations, Lajcak said on March 21 in a joint interview with RFE/RL and Euronews Serbia.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced on March 18 that the two sides had reached agreement on ways to implement the EU-backed deal.

Borrell made the announcement after talks with Vucic and Kurti in Ohrid, North Macedonia, noting that the implementing commitments from both sides are preconditions for their integration into the EU.

The agreement envisages that Belgrade will not recognize Kosovo under international law but will take note of its statehood and recognize Kosovo’s passports and custom documents.

Kosovo is a former Serbian province with an ethnic Albanian majority. Even though Kosovo declared independence in 2008, Serbia still claims it as its territory.

One of the sticking points has been the formation of the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo.

Kosovo has an obligation to immediately start implementing the agreement related to the community, Lajcak said, while Article 4 of the agreement states that Serbia will not oppose Kosovo’s membership in any international organization.

Lajcak called the agreement “an important milestone,” but admitted in the interview that the EU had a more ambitious plan that included the signing of an agreement and a draft annex with clear timeframes and tasks.

“It is no secret here that we, as mediators, initially prepared a more detailed implementation annex with a sequence of steps and clear deadlines,” Lajcak said.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3lEYp6x

Kurti: Vucic declined generous offer of self-management for K-Serbs (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Tuesday that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic declined a generous offer of self-management for Kosovo Serbs. “After refusing to sign the February 27 Agreement and before refusing again to sign it with the March 18 Annex, Serbia’s President declined my generous offer of self-management for Kosovo Serbs, in an association that I’d draft and propose. Is he Dr No or Mr Nyet? Well, we know he’s not a doctor,” Kurti wrote in a Twitter post.

Starovic reacts to Kurti’s offer for self-management for K-Serbs (media)

State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Serbia, Nemanja Starovic, reacted to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s statement about his offer for self-management for Kosovo Serbs. Starovic tweeted that “the CSM [Community of Serb municipalities] is defined by the 2013 Brussels Agreement which Kosovo signed and ratified. By offering to establish it as an act of generosity, Kurti is both making mockery of the dialogue and insulting the Serbs. Previous agreements clearly stipulate who will draft the CSM Statute and it’s definitely not Kurti, but local Serbs themselves.”

Vela reacts to Vucic saying Serbia won’t agree to Kosovo UN membership (media)

Chief of Staff to the President of Kosovo, Blerim Vela, took to Twitter on Tuesday to react to a statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic who said that Serbia would not agree to Kosovo’s membership in the UN. Vela tweeted: “Even though Vucic committed to implement obligations from the agreement with Kosovo, including membership to any international organisations (art. 4), he acts in bad faith and says Serbia won’t agree to Kosovo membership to the United Nations, its institutions, agencies & organizations! A violation that should be penalized!”

NATO chief on Ohrid agreement: Parties to fully implement it (Klan Kosova)

The news website reports that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg commented on the recent agreement between Kosovo and Serbia in Ohrid to which he referred as “an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina”. He called on Kosovo and Serbia to fully and swiftly implement the European agreement. “I welcome the agreement and the most important thing now is the full and swift implementation of the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina. We certainly support the EU-facilitated dialogue. NATO allies and NATO provide political support. We were in close contact with the EU but also with Pristina and Belgrade. And we certainly support efforts to find a peaceful solution through the 4,000 troops of our mission in Kosovo, who are key to facilitating and supporting a political process,” Stoltenberg said.

Kurti: We’ll address shortcomings identified in State Department report (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Tuesday that his government will seriously and accordingly address the criticism and remarks in the U.S. State Department Human Rights report. Kurti said: “we are doing the best we can, and we have spared neither willingness nor knowledge. Over the last two years Kosovo has marked serious progress. We are not where we want to be yet, but all ministries are doing their best now that we mark two years since we took the power … we try to take remarks and criticism seriously and address the shortcomings”.

State Department report: Domestic violence still a problem in Kosovo (BIRN)

In the annual report of the U.S. Department of State on human rights it is underlined that during 2022, problems such as lack of investigation of and accountability for gender-based violence, serious government corruption and impunity were high up on the respective agenda in Kosovo.

Serious government corruption and impunity, lack of investigation and accountability for gender-based violence, including domestic or intimate partner violence, sexual violence and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting ethnic minorities or other marginalized communities, are some of the main issues underlined in the report of the State Department on Human Rights for Kosovo.

The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – the Human Rights Report for 2022 was published on Monday.

It is emphasized that the Kosovo government took steps to identify, investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, but at times lacked consistency.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3lvp2uD

Szunyog meets Krasniqi, discuss opposition’s support for agreement (media)

Head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, met on Tuesday with leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi and senior member Abelard Tahiri. “Met today with PDK’s MemliKrasniqi and Abelard Tahiri to discuss the opposition’s support for the immediate implementation of the Agreement on the path to normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia, and the effective functioning of the Kosovo Assembly,” Szunyog tweeted after the meeting.

Lajcak, ICRC President discuss missing persons cases in Balkans (Express)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, met on Tuesday in Brussels with the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger. Lajcak tweeted after the meeting: “Good to see ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger in her new capacity in Brussels. We discussed prospects and challenges resolving the remaining Missing Persons cases in the Western Balkans. EU fully supports ICRC efforts and commitment”.

Hasani: South Tyrol can be a model for the Association in Kosovo (T7)

Former President of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, Enver Hasani, said in an interview with T7 on Tuesday that South Tyrol could be the most implementable European model for an Association in Kosovo. He said that recent and more frequent visits by Italian diplomats to Kosovo and Serbia lead him to believe that this could be the model upon which the Association of Serb-majority municipalities will be formed in Kosovo.

“The Italians have increased their visits in the last couple of months. South Tyrol could be a model for the Association. Although Italy has also other territories, but South Tyrol is the most successful in Europe, together with the Aaland Islands,” he said.

Kurti meets generals Hoppe and Hammerstein (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met on Tuesday with General Joachim Hoppe and General Ralf Hammerstein, head of the NATO Advisory and Liaison Team in the Kosovo Ministry of Defense. Hoppe will soon conclude his mandate as head of NALT and Hammerstein will take over the duty. Kurti thanked him for his cooperative and constructive approach with Kosovo’s institutions, with special emphasis for the unreserved support that he and his team gave to increasing the professional capacities of the Kosovo Security Force and the Ministry of Defense.

COMKFOR Ristuccia meets Mojsilovic in Belgrade (media)

KFOR Commander, Major General Angelo Michele Ristuccia, met with the Chief of Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, General Milan Mojsilovic, in Belgrade, KFOR announced in a Twitter post. “They discussed the security implications of the positive outcomes of the #Ohrid meeting on 18 March and consolidated their cooperation,” the tweet notes.