Albanian Language Media:

• O’Brien: U.S. demands full implementation of agreements (media)
• Lajcak announces next Kosovo-Serbia meeting at level of chief negotiators (Reporteri)
• Israel to lift visas for Kosovars, Osmani calls it a positive development (RTK)
• Haxhiu meets head of EULEX, discuss reforms in justice and vetting (media)
• Haradinaj at U.S. Department of State, meets Escobar (media)
• CEC starts verifying signatures from citizens’ petition in the north (Koha)
• Kurti and Svecla visit Police Inspectorate (media)
• Weber: West aware that Serbia’s high levels are involved in attack in Banjska (Reporteri)

Serbian Language Media:

• Lajcak met Vucic, says they discussed next steps in normalization of relations (Kosovo Online, social media)
• Andric Rakic: Implementation of cash operations regulation would mean recognition of Serbian institutions in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)
• Lucic: We explained that Competition Authority operates contrary to European practise norms and regulations (Kosovo Online)
• Protest over timber poachers from Kosovo held in Kursumlija (N1)
• Portal: Plaque of Kosovo institutions placed on center for social welfare, firefighters’ station in Zubin Potok (KoSSev)
• Vucevic: We are not preparing for wars, but we will be ready to defend Serbia (Tanjug)

Albanian Language Media

O’Brien: U.S. demands full implementation of agreements (media)

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, James O’Brien, has welcomed the visit of the EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak to Kosovo and Serbia. 

“Strong U.S. support for EU-facilitated Dialogue. Need full implementation of agreements, including ASM. New local elections in Kosovo’s north should go forward; coordination before implementing new currency regulations. Serbia must hold accountable those involved in Banjska attack,” O’Brien wrote on X.

Lajcak announces next Kosovo-Serbia meeting at level of chief negotiators (Reporteri)

The Special Envoy of the European Union, Miroslav Lajcak, during his official visit to Belgrade met with President Aleksandar Vucic, and also with the chief negotiator of Serbia in the dialogue with Kosovo, Petar Petkovic.

After the meeting, Lajcak said that with Petkovic, they had a deep discussion about some dialogue issues. “We also talked about the prospects of a future meeting of chief negotiators in Brussels”, he said.

Israel to lift visas for Kosovars, Osmani calls it a positive development (RTK)

Kosovo President, Vjosa Osmani, received the Ambassador of the State of Israel to Kosovo, Tamar Ziv, who informed her that after the President’s request to Israel’s institutions, the Israeli government has expressed its compliance with the approval of the visa waiver agreement for the citizens of Kosovo.

“In this regard, the two relevant ministries will continue with the procedures of signing the agreement and the citizens will be notified as soon as the decision comes into force. Through this agreement, citizens of Kosovo will be able to travel without visas to Israel for tourist purposes”, the announcement states.

President Osmani thanked Ambassador Ziv for this decision, as a positive development which will pave the way for deeper cooperation between the two countries. Also, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Holocaust Remembrance Day, President Osmani reiterated that Kosovo remembers the millions of innocent people lost in one of the darkest chapters of human history, and that this day serves as a reminder of the devastating consequences that stem from hatred and prejudice.

Haxhiu meets head of EULEX, discuss reforms in justice and vetting (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, received on Monday in a meeting the head of EULEX, Giovanni Barbanome. They discussed the processes and achievements in the rule of law and other reforms of the Ministry of Justice so far, announced the ministry on Facebook.

The reforms in justice, vetting and addressing domestic violence were also discussed. They agreed to continue cooperation further in these important areas.

Haradinaj at U.S. Department of State, meets Escobar (media)

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, met at the U.S. State Department with the U.S. emissary for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar.

“I started the first day of my visit to the United States of America with a meeting at the U.S. Department of State, with the emissary of the U.S. government for the Western Balkans, Mr. Gabriel Escobar. In the meeting, I emphasized that the achievements so far as a state, apart from being the merit of the sacrifice of many generations over the years, definitely have the stamp of America”, Haradinaj wrote on Facebook.

Haradinaj has asked to raise the level of bilateral relations, especially in the field of security, with the accelerated membership of Kosovo in NATO.

“The alliance between our two countries is eternal and we will work tirelessly to develop and strengthen it every day”, concluded Haradinaj.

CEC starts verifying signatures from citizens’ petition in the north (Koha) 

“The Central Election Commission has started the process of verifying the signatures collected in the petition organized in the municipalities: North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposaviq and Zubin Potok. CEC, in accordance with the legislation in force, will verify these lists with signatures, i.e. if the people who have signed are citizens with the right to vote in the respective municipality. Of course, this process will take us time since the data we have received is collected in physical format, so I cannot give an exact date, but after its completion, we will notify the Ministry, the Chairpersons of the Municipal Assemblies, the Mayors of Municipalities, and Initiative Groups. Of course, the response of the CEC will also be made public”, said the spokesperson of the CEC, Valmir Elezi.

Kurti and Svecla visit Police Inspectorate (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, have visited the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo. During the meeting with the head of the PIK, Kushtrim Hodaj, the handling of citizens’ complaints, inspections, and other commitments of the PIK towards strengthening police integrity were discussed. 

In this meeting, Kurti was informed about the work and achievements of the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo.

“At the end of the meeting, Chief Hodaj thanked Prime Minister Kurti for the visit and the continuous support that the government has given in the implementation of the legal mandates of the IPK as an important mechanism of the rule of law in the Republic of Kosovo”, says the announcement of the IPK.

Weber: West aware that Serbia’s high levels are involved in attack in Banjska (Reporteri) 

Balkan expert Bodo Weber said that despite the success of the negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia, the French-German initiative has failed. “The officials of the European Union, in my opinion, know this, but they will not accept it”, he said.

Weber in an interview for N1 television said that he does not see any particular development since the arrival of the special representative of the European Union, Miroslav Lajcak, in Belgrade and then in Pristina. “This is the continuation of the simulation of negotiations for the implementation of the Brussels and Ohrid agreement”, said Weber.

According to him, under normal conditions this would mean the continuation of the ‘status quo’, but it has been troubled for a year and a half, namely after the abandonment of the institutions by the Kosovo Serbs, the events in Banjska, which, according to him, caused instability.

According to him, there are still a few months left until the summer and the departure of the current commission and the possible departure of the main negotiators Lajcak and Joseph Borrell. “Then a dangerous vacuum will be created”, he emphasized.

Speaking about Banjska, Weber pointed out that the West somehow insists on an investigation of Serbia into what the wider background was, but that, he reckons, it seems to be more of a simulation and that the West “pretends to expect results”.

“The Westerners know that the high levels of Serbia are involved in the attack in Banjska”, believes Weber.

According to him, the non-reaction to Banjska, the “shock simulation” is a kind of green light for the post-election events in Serbia.

He said that for more than a decade we have seen the failed policy of the West, that is, as he says, “looking through a magnifying glass” at what (Serbian President Aleksandar) Vucic is doing in relation to democracy and the rule of law, for the sake of a constructive relationship in the dialogue with Kosovo.

The West is trapped in a symbiosis with the power of the Vucic regime, but this has not brought any of the expected results, he emphasized and added that there is no force in the international community for a decisive overthrow of the regime in Serbia.

Serbian Language Media 

Lajcak met Vucic, says they discussed next steps in normalization of relations (Kosovo Online, social media)

EU Special Envoy for Belgrade-Pristina talks Miroslav Lajcak met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade yesterday and said that they discussed next steps in normalization of relations with Pristina, Kosovo Online portal reported.

“Arriving in Belgrade this morning, I met with @predsednikrs @avucic. In our discussion, we focused on the strategic outlook for 2024, took stock of the state of play in the Dialogue and spoke about the next steps in the normalization of relations with Kosovo”, Lajcak wrote in a post on X social platform.

While in Belgrade, Lajcak also met the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director, Petar Petkovic. “Had an in-depth discussion with Serbia’s Chief negotiator @PetkovicPetar about a range of concrete Dialogue files. We also spoke about the prospects for a next Chief negotiators meeting in Brussels”, Lajcak wrote in a post. Following his meetings in Belgrade, Lajcak is due to visit Pristina today.

Andric Rakic: Implementation of cash operations regulation would mean recognition of Serbian institutions in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

Milica Andric Rakic, New Social Initiative program manager told Kosovo Online portal that implementation of the cash operations regulation would only be possible if Kosovo recognized Serbian institutions as legal. She emphasized that, based on the reaction of the Kosovo Central Bank governor, it was evident that he did not understand the implications of his decision.

“In essence, what has been circulating in the Kosovo public for days is that there is a possibility for citizens to withdraw money in euros. One crucial aspect is omitted here – citizens working in Serbian institutions will not be able to open an account in Kosovo banks based on contracts they have with Serbian institutions. This is only possible if Kosovo recognizes these institutions as legal. This shows the recklessness of this solution. Either Kosovo institutions pretend not to understand, or there is a lack of understanding”, Andric Rakic stated.

She emphasized that the Kosovo authorities had not explained their actual goal because they obviously did not understand the public’s concerns. “Everything is very unclear. This statement, which was obviously supposed to be a response to criticisms that they did not inform the public well, shows that they themselves do not know what the public’s concerns are. So, they don’t understand all these things because they probably haven’t talked to anyone from the Serbian system to understand all these issues or simply do not know their job well enough”, she added.

There are two ways to solve this, she said – either the Kosovo Government recognizes Serbian institutions in Kosovo as legal or forms the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities (CSM). It is essentially a Kosovo institution, and then the CSM could take over these payments. She also said it is possible to continue with the system that has existed so far.

Lucic: We explained that Competition Authority operates contrary to European practise norms and regulations (Kosovo Online)

The General Director of Telekom Srbija, whose daughter company MTS.doo operates in Kosovo, Vladimir Lucic told Kosovo Online portal after meetings with US Ambassador and EU Ambassador in Pristina, that he was satisfied with the outcome, adding they explained to the representatives of international community in Kosovo that the Competition Authority in Pristina operated against all norms and regulations of European practice.

Lucic emphasized that after discussions with representatives of the international community, he had positive impressions and expected their support and that this issue would also be resolved in the interest of the subsidiary company operating in Kosovo.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/uTWX9

Protest over timber poachers from Kosovo held in Kursumlija (N1)

The locals in the southern Serbian village of Rastelica, Kursumlija municipality, which is located at the administrative line with Kosovo, claim that they are almost daily faced with tree poachers, Albanians from Kosovo, who are armed, invade the area and poach timber, N1 reports.

For years there has been information on Albanians from Kosovo crossing over and plundering the property of the people living in the Kursumlija villages. They have even made alternative routes that they take, and they open fire on the police. The locals have repeatedly turned to the relevant authorities for help, but there has been no response, so they decided to stage a protest, N1 further said. 

“Albanians from Kosovo invade our village, they cut down a hectare and a half of my beech forest”, Mile Koprivica from Rastelica told N1, adding that the relevant authorities have done nothing to protect them, and that only the police organize some actions, “but they are being shot at.” He said those people from Kosovo “come in a very organized manner, with tractors, with construction machines they use to build roads, with automatic weapons and security guards who keep watch while they cut down our trees”.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/rwIPW

Portal: Plaques of Kosovo institutions placed on center for social welfare, firefighters’ station in Zubin Potok (KoSSev)

The plaques bearing inscriptions of “Republic of Kosovo” and related institutions have been placed on the center for social welfare and firefighters’ station in Zubin Potok, local portal ZubinPotokInfo reported. On a plaque placed on the center for social welfare it was written that this is the department for pensions within the Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfer.

The same plaque was placed last week on the walls of institutions in Leposavic, including in front of a municipal facility where three flags have been taken off the flagpoles, that of Serbia, municipal coat of arms and United Nations. Simillary, the same plaque was placed on the center for social welfare in Mitrovica North as well. 

Vucevic: We are not preparing for wars, but we will be ready to defend Serbia (Tanjug)

Serbia is not preparing for wars, but it will be ready to defend itself, Defence Minister Milos Vucevic said in Apatin, northwestern Serbia, on Monday, Tanjug news agency reports.

At a ceremonial awarding of commemorative medals to war veterans, disabled veterans and families of fallen soldiers, Vucevic thanked the recipients for their love of their people and country and apologized to them for having had to wait to get a word of gratitude and for the fact the country had been weak for a long time and ashamed of its most courageous people.

“Let me say that we are not preparing for any wars or conflicts. Serbia wants and needs peace, but we will be ready to defend Serbia. That needs to be clear to everyone. The days when Serbia was cutting up cannons, tanks and howitzers, and when we were shutting down army barracks and had generations that did not know the basic things, are gone”, he said.