• Kurti: Agreement is de facto recognition, that’s why Serbia is not signing (media) 
• EU doesn’t talk about Kurti’s offer for Association, mentions consequences in case of non-implementation of agreement (Koha) 
• Osmani calls on non-recognising countries to recognise Kosovo (media) 
• Government: Term “forcibly disappeared persons” will be part of Kosovo-Serbia Declaration (Koha) 
• Elections in north, KFOR: No indicators of security threats (Gazeta Express) 
• Kurti: Government made concrete steps for gender equality (EO) 
• Rafuna: We will meet the Serbian Chamber of Commerce tomorrow (Klan)
• Bashkim Nurboja takes post of Central Bank temporarily (Kallxo) 
• Rakic meets UNMIK chief, calls for formation of Association (media) 

Kurti: Agreement is de facto recognition, that’s why Serbia is not signing (media) 

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in an interview with TV Dukagjini on Wednesday that the agreement on normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia is de facto recognition and that this is why Serbia is refusing to sign it. “If you read the basic agreement, you will see the de facto recognition. It notes that all points of the agreement must be implemented. In the meeting in April, we will discuss the agreement in its entirety. There will be no emphasis on one article or another,” he said.

Kurti said that the Ohrid agreement is not excellent but that it does not threaten the future of Kosovo. “This is not an excellent agreement but is valuable is that it does not threaten our possibilities to move forward. Previous agreements had this problem, they had a low ceiling, and we could not stand up,” he argued.

Asked to comment on statements he made in 2010, Kurti said that he hasn’t changed his positions in relation to his past and that he had those positions when the Vetevendosje Movement did not run in the elections. “When I started running in the elections, many problems were already facts. It is not possible to change everything I want from the reality, even if I don’t like a single millimeter of it,” he said.

He said that it would have been better for Kosovo if he were Prime Minister in 2010 but that this cannot happen. “Would I have liked to be Prime Minister since 2010, I believe it would have been better for Kosovo too, but I am Prime Minister now in 2023,” he said.

Asked if he would oppose the European proposal and the Association of Serb-majority municipalities if he were in the opposition, Kurti said that his self-determination position has not changed. “Do not ask me to be in the opposition, because we have been voted by 480,000 citizens, which is 36 percent more than all parties combined … I am Prime Minister of Kosovo, and I have inherited previous agreements, therefore, I am trying to do what is best for our country,” he argued.

Kurti also said that his position on the Association has not changed. “Then and today, I say no to ‘Zajednica’ [the Association]. The strategy has changed, but the concept remains the same,” he said.

Kurti denied that self-management for the Serb community has to do with self-governance or self-administration. He said that self-management is not territorial and that it involves the Serb community. “Self-management is in Article 7; it notes self-management for the Serb community not for the municipalities, and if there was self-management for the municipalities it would involve local self-governance. Self-management does not refer to Serbs in the territory where they lie, but to the identity they have,” he added.

EU doesn’t talk about Kurti’s offer for Association, mentions consequences in case of non-implementation of agreement (Koha) 

The European Union has said that there will be no other solution for Kosovo and Serbia except for the implementation of agreements reached in Ohrid on March 18. This is what the EU told Koha when asked about their position on Prime Minister Kurti’s offer to propose a draft statute for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities.

EU officials spoke in general terms about the importance of implementing the agreement, when asked to explain their position on Kurti’s offer.

EU spokesperson Peter Stano only referred to a statement after the meeting of European leaders calling on Kosovo and Serbia to implement swiftly and in good faith their obligations from the Ohrid meeting. “Both parties agreed in Ohrid to immediately start implementing all provisions of the Agreement and the Annex. The text that was agreed notes clearly: ‘Kosovo and Serbia fully commit to respecting all articles of the agreement and the annex’. The High Representative, Josep Borrell, informed the European leaders about the talks in Ohrid and said that Kosovo and Serbia now need to implement what they agreed upon. He also noted that any speculation about the signing or validity of the agreement is futile. The history of dialogue has proved that the importance of the agreement depends on the level of its implementation, not the signature. He was very clear that the agreement has been accorded, it needs to be implemented and that there is no room for other solutions,” Stano said.

Stano also said that the provisions of the Agreement, including the Annex, will now be incorporated in Chapter 35 for Serbia and in the agenda of the Special Group for Normalisation for Kosovo.

He argued that the non-implementation of what has been pledged risks the international reputation and credibility of the parties vis-à-vis the EU.

Osmani calls on non-recognising countries to recognise Kosovo (media) 

All news websites report that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani called on the five non-recognising EU member states on Wednesday to recognise Kosovo. “I want to use the opportunity today to call on friendly nations all over the world to stand with Kosovo and to those that have not yet recognised our statehood and our democratic institutions, to join the majority of nations in the world and do so,” Osmani said during the plenary session of the Summit for Democracy organised by U.S. President Joe Biden.

Osmani pledged that Kosovo’s authorities will work with allies in strengthening democracy in the region and the world.

“Democracy is the path that our people continue to choose every day, through model elections, the peaceful transfer of powers, upholding the freedom of the media and protecting the rights of minorities. But there is a lot of work to be done and we will continue our work,” Osmani said.

Government: Term “forcibly disappeared persons” will be part of Kosovo-Serbia Declaration (Koha) 

Head of the Kosovo Government Committee on Missing Persons, Andin Hoti, said on Wednesday that “the term ‘forcibly disappeared persons’ is included in the declaration for missing persons, which among other things, include getting classified information from Serbia, as well as the dignified treatment of forcibly disappeared persons. And we expect that this declaration will now become mandatory for both sides, after guarantees from the EU’.

The implementation annex of the Agreement however does not refer to forcibly disappeared persons. “The parties agree to endorse the Declaration on Missing Persons, as negotiated under the EU-facilitated Dialogue, as a matter of urgency,” the annex notes.

The Office of the European Union on Wednesday did not respond if the terminology mentioned by the government will be used.

Elections in north, KFOR: No indicators of security threats (Gazeta Express) 

The news website reports that there are growing concerns given that the main party of Serbs in Kosovo – the Serbian List – will not take part in the extraordinary local elections in the north of Kosovo. KFOR told Gazeta Express on Wednesday that currently there are no indicators of any security threats in the north. “KFOR is monitoring the situation. Even though security is in the responsibility of the Kosovo Police, there are no new indicators at this point about security threats in the upcoming elections in the north of Kosovo … KFOR, in line with UNSC Resolution 1244, upholds the freedom of movement and a safe environment by maintaining a high level of readiness to face any possible scenario,” the response notes.

Kurti: Government made concrete steps for gender equality (EO) 

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti called for interinstitutional cooperation to combat violence against women and girls and pledged for more commitment for their employment. During the launching ceremony of the project “Approximation of laws and policies with the Istanbul Convention”, Kurti said scholarships were given for women and girls in the amount of €2 million. He also said that last year, 5,000 women were employed through government measures and that with the project “Superwork” 1,400 women have been employed so far.

“We have adopted the strategy against violence. We have enabled free legal aid for the victims, and we have continued our support for victims of sexual violence in conflict. This year we will increase the budget for the shelters. We need to address the needs of women, therefore, with the aim of empowering women we have made concrete steps for equality between men and women,” Kurti said.

Rafuna: We will meet the Serbian Chamber of Commerce tomorrow (Klan)

Chairman of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, Lulzim Rafuna, said in an interview with Klan Kosova on Wednesday that the commerce chambers of the Western Balkans will meet today in Skopje. He said they will meet the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia separately too to discuss the complaints of local producers.

“This is a regular meeting where we discus issues of common interest for all economies of the Western Balkans. We will meet in the presence of the European Commission, while with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce we will discuss barriers that Kosovo businesses have,” Rafuna said. “We will ask for the removal of barriers that are impeding Kosovo businesses from exporting goods to Serbia”.

Bashkim Nurboja takes post of Central Bank temporarily (Kallxo) 

Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK), Bashkim Nurboja, will temporarily hold the post of CBK Governor, while the other two members of the board will temporarily hold the posts of deputy governors.

The news website notes that Nurboja was former candidate for the mayor of Peja and later candidate for MP from the Vetevendosje Movement.

Rakic meets UNMIK chief, calls for formation of Association (media) 

The Serbian List met on Wednesday with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh. The meeting was announced by the leader of the Serbian List, Goran Rakic, through a post on his Facebook account.

Rakic in his meeting with Ziadeh said it was urgent to form the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and to withdraw the special police unit from the North. “Political persecutions and arrests must stop in order to enable a peaceful life of Serbs in these areas and to maintain stability and survival,” Rakic wrote on Facebook.