Albanian Language Media:

• Osmani’s message to members of PACE on Kosovo’s membership vote (media)
• PACE committee rejects all amendments of Serbian, Italian members (media)
• Woman killed in Peja, “situation is alarming” (media)
• Hoxha: Radoicic’s group is free; there is threat of another attack in north (KTV)
• Rohde on Palkowitsch appointment: Testament of growing partnership (media)
• EU conditions Serbia’s integration with normalizing relations with Kosovo (RFE)
• Osmani: At first govt meeting, I’ll propose withdrawal from Open Balkan (Express)

Serbian Language Media: 

• Dacic: PACE expected to adopt recommendation to admit Kosovo (N1, media)
• PACE Political Committee approved no amendments filed by Serbia, dismissed those from Italy related to CSM (KoSSev, media)
• Biljana Pantic Pilja: PACE Committee voted against our amendments, we will file objection (Tanjug)
• Gathering because of armed persons appearing in Suvi Do village, near Lipljan (Radio KIM, KoSSev)
• Xharra: More than 700 police officers with criminal offenses part of Kosovo police (Kosovo Online)
• Protest over the murder of women, demands to confront Osmani: Enough with the conference, introduce a state of emergency (Kosovo Online)
• Vucic meets with Lajcak in Mostar (Tanjug, social media)
• Dacic, Bayramov discuss strategic partnership between Serbia, Azerbaijan (Tanjug)
• Petkovic: A new round of dialogue on Thursday (Tanjug) 
• EU ambassadors adopted the updated text for chapter 35 with Serbia (Tanjug, RTS, media)

International:

• Wider Europe Briefing: Kosovo could finally get in the Council of Europe (RFE)

Albanian Language Media  

Osmani’s message to members of PACE on Kosovo’s membership vote (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a post on X that today the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe “are given the opportunity to send a powerful message that Europe stands strong in its commitment to democracy and human rights! Everyone that truly believes in a future that upholds these values will vote in favor of Kosovo’s membership to the Council of Europe”.

PACE committee rejects all amendments of Serbian, Italian members (media)

Citing a report published in Serbian media, several news websites in Kosovo report that the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has today turned down all the proposed amendments of the Serbian delegation and some Italian representatives. 

Woman killed in Peja, “situation is alarming” (media)

All news websites report that a woman was killed in the city of Peja today and that her spouse has been arrested by the police. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in her reaction that “the only way to stop this horrible phenomenon is for us all to reawaken as a society, as a state, and as a nation, against it”. “This horrible phenomenon that is wounding our society and state, this femicide, which has unfortunately taken extraordinary proportions, must be stopped at all costs,” she said. Osmani called on “civil society activists, security and judicial institutions, citizens, women and men together to once and for all stop gender-based violence which is staining our state and can destroy it”.

Assembly President Glauk Konjufca in his reaction called for “a real consolidation of our security and judicial mechanisms so that cases like these never happen again”.

Head of the Vetevendosje parliamentary group, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, said the highest sentence is the minimum for the perpetrators “because they believe it is their absolute right to kill women”. “The second victim of femicide in Kosovo within a couple of days, in Ferizaj and in Peja. Today’s victim was killed in her house by her spouse. This is alarming and speaks of a grave social disorder and a transition path without security mechanisms in our society’s path toward equality. An alarming number of women in society consider it is their absolute right to kill women and this requires serious treatment at all levels … We cannot lose girls and women to the uncontrolled violence that is surfacing brutally every day,” Kusari-Lila wrote in a Facebook post.

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, called on the government to urgently set up a task force with full competencies to protect women from violence and killings. “Whatever the Government of Kosovo is doing currently, that is not more important than the security of women in Kosovo … Actions are needed without justification and exceptions. No pardon for the recidivists. Maximal punishment for the violators and killers of women … Don’t allow Kosovo to become a country where the lives of women are not worth anything,” Krasniqi said. Deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Vlora Citaku, too reacted in a Facebook post saying that “the situation is alarming” and that she is “at loss of words”.

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, said “it is urgent for things to take on another direction. The killings must stop, society needs to reflect, and the judiciary needs to do its job and to become harsher in this respect”.

Adriatik Kelmendi, reporter, said in a reaction that the Kosovo Police must urgently set up a special task force “that will take measures against all those calling for killing and crimes against women with comments on the internet, as one of the measures. “Legitimizing hate speech and calls for crime is a crime!” he said.

Director of the Kosovar Gender Studies Center Luljeta Demolli, in a Facebook post, said “this femicide is an emergency” and that Prime Minister Albin Kurti must urgently convene the Kosovo Security Council. 

Several news websites report that in front of the premises of the ongoing Women, Peace, and Security Forum, a protest was held calling for a state of emergency to be declared immediately.

Members of the Social Democratic Party of Kosovo (PSD), in a symbolic action after the killing in Peja, left a bullet in front of the Kosovo government building in Pristina today. An activist of the party claimed that the government is not doing enough to protect women in Kosovo.

Hoxha: Radoicic’s group is free; there is threat of another attack in north (KTV)

Kosovo Police General Director Gazmend Hoxha said in an interview with the TV station on Monday evening that the group of Milan Radoicic, who claimed responsibility for the attack in Banjska in September last year, remains free and that there is a threat for another attack in the north of Kosovo. “I believe there is a threat as long as Radoicic’s terrorist group remains free in Serbia, continues to be trained in Serbia, and is supported by the structures of Serbia, to stay near the border of the Republic of Kosovo. There is Kopaonik and other military bases in Serbia, that are near our border. I think there is a threat, and we need to be vigilant and on total standby to act and that is what we are doing,” Hoxha said.

Rohde on Palkowitsch appointment: Testament of growing partnership (media)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, commented on the appointment of Lt Col Palkowitsch as Deputy Defence Attache at the German embassy in Pristina. “New addition to our team at the German Embassy: Lt Col Palkowitsch assumes the role of Deputy Defence Attaché at our mission in Pristina, further enhancing our excellent security cooperation with Kosovo. The creation of his position is a strong testament to our still growing partnership!” Rohde wrote.

EU conditions Serbia’s integration with normalizing relations with Kosovo (RFE)

Ambassadors of 27 member states of the European Union, a group called COREPER, have reached an agreement to change the negotiating framework for Serbia’s membership, changes which say that the implementation of the Agreement on the path of normalization of relations with Kosovo will become a comprising part of Chapter 35 of the framework.

Radio Free Europe saw the document that was adopted, and which recalls that Kosovo and Serbia reached the agreement in February last year in Brussels and later in March in Ohrid reached an agreement on the implementation annex of the agreement. The proposal to change Chapter 35 of the negotiating framework for Serbia was made by the European Commission and the EU External Action Service, following a request by EU member states. After several failures to reach an agreement on the changes within the EU working groups, the issue was passed to the COREPER on April 16 where the member states reached an agreement. Once the changes are formalized, a written note will be sent to Serbia.

Osmani: At first govt meeting, I’ll propose withdrawal from Open Balkan (Express)

North Macedonia Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani told reporters on Monday that at the next government meeting, which will discuss the Open Balkan, he will propose that North Macedonia withdraw from the initiative. Commenting on accusations from the opposition, Osmani said: “what the opposition is doing is failing to recognize regional cooperation, failing to recognize international situations, and attempts to score minor political points for topics that they don’t know about. This is their biggest weakness, which is that they don’t know foreign politics.”

Osmani said the Open Balkan was an idea by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama as an effort for reconciliation, or as he said an exit strategy in order for Serbia to establish relations with Kosovo, including mutual recognition. He also said that after the attack in Banjska in the north of Kosovo in September last year, North Macedonia did not take part in any meeting of the Open Balkan. 

“We did not take part in the Open Balkan after Banjska, because this was my position at the time. I said that if it is confirmed that Belgrade was involved, then our participation would be impossible, because the idea of the Open Balkan was to create an opportunity for Serbia and Kosovo to slowly start creating conditions for mutual recognition and establish diplomatic relations,” he said.

Serbian Language Media 

Dacic: PACE expected to adopt recommendation to admit Kosovo (N1, media)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that, while some countries believe it is premature to admit Kosovo into the Council of Europe (CoE) before it forms the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM), it is doubtful this position will prevail, N1 reports.

Dacic told B92 TV that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is expected to adopt on April 16 the draft opinion recommending Kosovo be admitted into the CoE, following which the document could be included in the agenda of the May 16 CoE Committee of Ministers session.

“The power is trying to take over international order, regardless of how moral it may be. Anything is possible. The truth no longer matters, interests do”, Dacic said, adding that Serbia is dealing with “bad actors in the international arena”.

Dacic said the draft opinion on Kosovo bid to join CoE “at the moment is not on the agenda” of the Committee of Ministers’ May session, but that it can be expected for someone to move it to be discussed if it is adopted by PACE.

“We will see if the countries are prepared to accept Kosovo bid for membership, we believe that it is absolutely unacceptable, and we will stand firmly by that”, he said.

PACE Political Committee approved no amendments filed by Serbia, dismissed those from Italy related to CSM (KoSSev, media)

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Political Committee has concluded its work today regarding amendments proposed in relation to Kosovo membership bid to join this organization, KoSSev portal reported.

The Committee did not approve a single amendment proposed by Serbia, and it also dismissed the one from Italy related to the Community of the Serbian Municipalities (CSM).

There were in total 15 amendments, and only three have been approved, namely 1, 11 and 12. 

Proposed amendments are available at: https://shorturl.at/kCF26 

Biljana Pantic Pilja: PACE Committee voted against our amendments, we will file objection (Tanjug)

Head of the Serbian delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Biljana Pantic Pilja said today the Political Committee of this organization voted against all amendments put forward by Serbia, and also against amendments proposed by members of the Italian and one member of the Hungarian delegations. She announced filing an objection to the vote.

She added amendments were rejected by a large majority and would therefore not be considered at the PACE plenary session, unless an objection is filed. 

Gathering because of armed persons appearing in Suvi Do village, near Lipljan (Radio KIM, KoSSev)

Two nights ago Kosovo police arrested two persons in the village of Suvi Do, near Lipljan over illegal possession of weapons and disturbance of residents, Radio KIM reported. As residents said they entered one of the flats constructed for Serb families causing anxiety in them. Several dozens of Serbs and Roma gathered yesterday in that village, demanding increased security.

“Last night around 23.00 a neighbor called and told me that his underage son saw a person walking through the village with an automatic rifle, and then he called other neighbors who saw all this. We called the police in Gracanica and they arrived on the spot. Their operation lasted until the morning, we saw the police vehicles, and they were in a flat. They told us they arrested two persons and found two automatic rifles”, Mladen Spasic said.

Svetlana Krstic said the appearance of armed persons disturbed her family and neighbors. She said she was concerned because children play in front of the building until late hours and it has become risky now to let the children play outside of the yard. 

Xharra: More than 700 police officers with criminal offenses part of Kosovo police (Kosovo Online)

Kosovo journalist Jeta Xharra said 719 police officers who have criminal offenses are still part of Kosovo police, Kosovo Online portal reported citing Dukadjini media outlet.

According to her, 719 police officers have criminal offenses such as usury and misuse of official duty. She said they have the right to carry weapons although they have criminal offenses.

“They have a gun, they have a bulletproof vest, they have the right to go to work if they want to,” she said, adding that among them there is a large number of those accused of violence against women.

She criticized Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla for permitting something like this. She added it was not ok that police officers suspected of domestic violence continue working in the service.  

Protest over the murder of women, demands to confront Osmani: Enough with the conference, introduce a state of emergency (Kosovo Online)

In front of the hotel where the second day of the Forum for Women, Peace and Security is being held near Pristina, a protest was held today with the request to immediately declare a state of emergency in Kosovo due to the murder of two women in Kosovo in just one week, reported Kosovo Online, citing Ekonomia online.

Those gathered in front of the hotel where the International Forum for Women, Peace, and Security, dedicated to the victims of sexual violence during the war conflicts in Kosovo, is held, carry the banner “Enough with the conference. Introduce a state of emergency”. Liridona Sijarina from the Kosovo Center for Gender Studies said that those gathered asked to be allowed to attend the forum and face Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani, from whom they demand an urgent meeting of the Security Council and the declaration of a state of emergency.

“The presidency did not invite anyone from civil society gathered here. That leaves us with no other alternatives, it’s not like we can sit quietly as long as the state holds conferences that are isolated and for a rather filtered audience that decides for itself and completely ignores our calls,” Sijarina said.

Sijarina called on the representatives of Kosovo to “not deal with activists, but with the problems of society”.

“That’s why we appeal from here to the Government and the Presidency not to deal with us activists, but to deal with the problems of this society, which is the deep insecurity in which the girls and women of Kosovo live. Once again, we call for the state to declare a state of emergency. Yesterday we protested the murder of a woman, and today we heard the news that another woman was killed in Peja. This is a situation that should have alarmed, not only us, but also the state. In this case, we require immediate response and action. Lately, the state has been killing girls and women,” she said.

Vucic meets with Lajcak in Mostar (Tanjug, social media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who is on a working visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, met with the EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak in Mostar on Tuesday. Vucic said he had another open and concrete discussion with Lajcak about growing challenges that were ahead, the position of the Serbs, developments in Kosovo and Metohija as well as the shrinking space for resolving outstanding issues through constructive dialogue and respect of international law.

“As a long-time partner of ours, Lajcak knows that, always and everywhere, Serbia will fight for its people, its country and the truth. We have no other fatherland, nor can we take another path”, Vucic wrote in a post on his official Instagram account.

After the meeting, Vucic will speak at the opening of the 25th International Economic Fair in Mostar. He will also visit the Serbia booth, which will showcase 26 Serbian companies from various sectors. At the end of the visit, Vucic is due to meet with representatives of Serbs from Mostar.

Dacic, Bayramov discuss strategic partnership between Serbia, Azerbaijan (Tanjug)

Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic spoke by phone with Azerbaijani FM Jeyhun Bayramov about the strategic partnership between Serbia and Azerbaijan.

The topics addressed in the conversation included cooperation at multilateral level, the Serbian MFA said in a post on the social media network X.

Azerbaijan’s MFA said the parties had highlighted the significance of exchanging high-level visits, useful interaction within international organizations and economic and cultural cooperation, including cooperation in the energy, high-technology and transport sectors and humanitarian activities, education, tourism, alternative energy and other areas.

Petkovic: A new round of dialogue on Thursday (Tanjug) 

The director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic said that he and his team, which includes financial experts, will travel to Brussels tomorrow, where a new, fifth round of dialogue is expected on Thursday on Pristina’s decision to cancel dinar payment transactions in Kosovo, reported Tanjug agency. 

“We are going in the hope of finding a solution for the dinar, although I am not an optimist, bearing in mind Pristina’s unwillingness to seek solutions through compromise,” Petkovic told Informer TV.

He pointed out that Kurti unilaterally decided to abolish the dinar and thus banned Serbs from salaries, pensions, social benefits, school fees and made it impossible for Serbian institutions, schools, hospitals, and kindergartens to work.

EU ambassadors adopted the updated text for chapter 35 with Serbia (Tanjug, RTS, media)

The ambassadors of the EU member states adopted the updated text of the common position for chapter 35, which implies that Serbia will fully implement its obligations arising from the Agreement on the Road to Normalization of Relations between Belgrade and Pristina, in accordance with the Annex on its implementation, agreed on March 18 last year, reported Radio Television of Serbia. 

In the updated text, which becomes an integral part of the negotiations within the negotiation chapter, and which was adopted at the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the EU Member States (COREPER), i.e. at the level of ambassadors of the EU Member States, it is stated that all discussions regarding the implementation of the agreement take place within the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, which is conducted with the mediation of the EU.

According to Tanjug’s knowledge, the text for negotiation chapter 35 was adopted without discussion at COREPER, and will be confirmed at one of the following councils, most likely on Monday at the EU Council for Foreign Affairs, after which it will be officially sent to Belgrade as the text of the EU’s negotiating position for chapter 35.

In February, the European Commission, and the European External Action Service (EEAS) submitted a proposal that would make the obligations from the Ohrid Agreement an integral part of the process of negotiations on Serbia’s membership in the EU, as Tanjug was then. 

With that EC and EEAS proposal, the obligations from the Agreement on the Road to the Normalization of Relations between Belgrade and Pristina, as well as the annex to its implementation agreed in Ohrid, would formally become an integral part of the negotiation process on Serbia’s membership in the EU.

Belgrade’s obligations 

According to the proposal, Belgrade is expected to fully implement the Agreement on the path to normalizing relations with Pristina, including the Annex on its implementation, and in Chapter 35, point 3, entitled “Further agreements and progress in normalizing relations”, becomes point 4.

December last year, the EU Council of Ministers asked the European Commission to include these obligations in the negotiation framework between Belgrade and Brussels.

“The Council asks the Commission and the High Representative to urgently propose to the Council, before the end of January 2024, changes and additions to the criteria for Chapter 35 of Serbia’s accession negotiations,” the statement said.

Normalization of relations

Chapter 35 in the negotiating framework on Serbia’s membership in the EU, which is called “other issues”, in the case of Serbia includes the normalization of relations with Pristina.

In order to monitor progress in normalization, this chapter was among the first to be opened – on December 14, 2015.

On February 27, 2023, Belgrade and Pristina reached an Agreement on the Road to Normalization of Relations.

On March 18, the Annex to the implementation of that Agreement was agreed in Ohrid, which has not been signed.

Those documents, meanwhile, have become integral parts of the process of joining the EU.

International 

Wider Europe Briefing: Kosovo could finally get in the Council of Europe (RFE)

Is Pristina On The Cusp Of Council Of Europe Membership?

What You Need To Know: Kosovo is taking one step closer to joining the Council of Europe, a body promoting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in its member states. On April 16, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will consider and vote on a report recommending the country’s membership.

If a two-thirds majority of the assembly’s delegates from 46 member countries vote in favor, that could set the stage for a final decision at a meeting of Council of Europe foreign ministers on May 16.

Membership in the council, which has been a goal for Pristina ever since its declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, would mean, among other things, that Kosovars could have their cases tried at the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Not to mention that Kosovo would join the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), allowing it to take part in the much-celebrated, much-derided annual Eurovision Song Contest.

Belgrade has never recognized Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence and has worked actively to prevent the country from joining any international organizations.

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