UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, February 24, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani congratulates Merz on victory in German elections (Klan)
Maqedonci says U.S. troops will not leave Kosovo (media)
Osmani expresses condolences to Bajram Qerkini's family (Kallxo)
EULEX statement on the passing of Bajram Qerkini (media)
IMC continues field monitoring to stop illegal broadcasting (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Head of the Resource Center for Missing Persons, Bajram Qerkini, passed away (KoSSev, KiM radio, Radio Gorazdevac)
Shahini: Producers, traders, and consumers will benefit from the agreement with EFTA members (Kosovo Online)
Kosovo and EU measures: A deadlock with long-term consequences (RFE, KiM radio)
Brnabic: First laws, then the resignation of the Government, we are not going to new elections (KiM radio, Beta, euronews.rs)

International Media:

Ukraine war anniversary: Exiles in Balkans rebuild lives in uncertain times (BIRN)
Parallel government: How Vucic turned Serbia’s constitution on its head (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani congratulates Merz on victory in German elections (Klan)

Kosovo President, Vjosa Osmani, has congratulated the leaders of the CDU/CSU coalition, Friedrich Merz and Markus Soeder, on their victory in the German federal elections. She wrote in a post on “X” platform, that Kosovo and Germany share a long history of excellent relations. “I look forward to deepening our close ties in the years to come,” she wrote.

Maqedonci says U.S. troops will not leave Kosovo (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defence, Ejup Maqedonci, said in an interview with TeVe1 on Sunday that U.S. troops will not leave Kosovo because Kosovo is in close coordination with the U.S. and that reports about the withdrawal of troops is done by what he called foreign and domestic actors that want to destabilize the situation in Kosovo and the region. “This cannot be done in a week, in a day or in a short period of time. It will be done in coordination. We have made all our achievements together with the United States of America, both the Republican and the Democratic Party. There is a long-term approach, but we are all witnessing a special war of disinformation that foreign actors are waging not only in the Western Balkans and in the Republic of Kosovo, but everywhere, in attempts to create an environment where they can push forward their own interests,” he argued.

Osmani expresses condolences to Bajram Qerkini's family (Kallxo)

Kosovo President, Vjosa Osmani, has expressed condolences on the passing away of Chairman of the Missing Persons Association, Bajram Qerkini. Through a telegram of condolence to Qerkini's family, Osmani said that he was a symbol of resistance, justice and unwavering commitment to clarifying the fate of those who disappeared during the war. "For more than two decades, he lived with the pain of his missing son, never stopping in his search for the truth. Today, Kosovo lost a powerful voice in the cause of justice, but his legacy remains alive," President Osmani wrote.

EULEX statement on the passing of Bajram Qerkini (media)

The EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) said in a statement today that they are deeply saddened by the passing of the Director of the MPRC - Missing Persons Resource Center, Bajram Qerkini. “Through his relentless work, he has fought for the truth, seeking for accountability of all institutions, and giving a voice to families of all missing persons, regardless of the circumstances of their disappearance, their ethnic, religious or national origin or any other characteristics. We will uphold Baca Bajram’s legacy by supporting the Institute of Forensic Medicine and other relevant institutions in shedding light on the fate of missing persons,” the statement notes.

IMC continues field monitoring to stop illegal broadcasting (media)

The Independent Media Commission (IMC) of Kosovo said in a statement on Friday that it was continuing efforts to stop illegal broadcasting in Kosovo and that as part of monitoring on the field it has identified two cases of unauthorized broadcasting in the municipality of Leposavic. IMC officials contacted the owners of the stations and informed them that broadcasting radio programs in Kosovo requires a license issued by the IMC in line with the legislation in force. “The owners of the ‘radios’ were warned that if they don’t stop broadcasting, their equipment would be confiscated. IMC officials also offered them detailed information about the procedures for license applications … At the end of the monitoring, the owners of the ‘radios’ expressed their readiness to respect the instructions of the IMC. They stopped broadcasting and said they would apply for licenses once the public announcements are made for radio frequencies,” the IMC statement notes.

Serbian Language Media

Head of the Resource Center for Missing Persons, Bajram Qerkini, passed away (KoSSev, KiM radio, Radio Gorazdevac)

Bajram Qerkini, head of the Resource Center for Missing Persons, passed away, reported KoSSev.

Kushtrim Gara, from the Government Commission for Missing Persons, announced this today.

"It is with deep sadness that we received the news of the death of our valued associate Bajram Qerkini - a tireless voice in the search for truth and justice for missing persons. Baca Bajram, as we all knew him with respect, was an example of dedication, patience, and spiritual strength," said Gara.

Qerkini was dedicated to discovering the fate of missing persons during the war in Kosovo, including his son Reshat.

"Despite the personal pain that followed him for 26 years as he waited to find out the fate and whereabouts of his missing son Reshat, he never stopped advocating for all those who lived with the same wound. It is deeply moving that he left this world without being able to receive the news and find out where his son is, it is a void that followed him until his last moments."

Shahini: Producers, traders, and consumers will benefit from the agreement with EFTA members (Kosovo Online)

The President of the Alliance for Kosovo Businesses, Agim Shahini, stated for Kosovo Online that traders, producers, and consumers alike will benefit from Kosovo signing the Free Trade Agreement with the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

"This is a good step, and the goal of the agreement is for the movement of goods and capital to be duty-free. It is the same as in CEFTA," Shahini said.

However, he points out that any agreement Kosovo signs with international institutions should be truly supported, not just signed, recalling that CEFTA was in a critical state last year due to Kosovo.

"Kosovo's producers now have the right to export their goods just like in CEFTA, which is a great advantage. Likewise, we can import goods from these four countries without customs duties, which benefits traders, consumers, and producers. Switzerland is a country with which we already cooperate extensively and where our diaspora is large, and this agreement will most likely bring the greatest benefit to our diaspora and Kosovo's entrepreneurs," Shahini stated.

Kosovo signed the agreement with EFTA members at the end of last month.

Kosovo and EU measures: A deadlock with long-term consequences (RFE, KiM radio)

The measures of the European Union (EU) did not force the Government of Kosovo to change its course, but they affected the welfare of the citizens, reported KiM radio, citing RFE. With no clear consensus within the EU on when they might be lifted, uncertainty continues to shape the situation.

Twenty months after freezing funds for Kosovo and suspending high-level visits, the EU still refuses to lift these measures, despite constant requests from Pristina and the European Parliament.

In an answer to RFE, the EU spokesperson said that "the EU's temporary measures are reversible, and that the Council has already set the conditions for their gradual abolition, which are related to Kosovo taking steps to reduce tensions in the north."

Klisman Kadiu, from the office of the first vice-president of the Government of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, did not answer the RFE's question whether the Government has any signal about when the EU sanctions could be lifted. He did not even answer the question about the assessment of losses due to these measures.

Brussels punished Kosovo in June 2023, due to, as it assessed, the role of PM Albin Kurti in fueling tensions in the north, an area with a majority Serbian population.

Despite the sanctions, Kurti did not relent. He banned the use of the Serbian dinar, closed most of the parallel institutions managed by Serbia in the north of Kosovo, and justified these moves as an expansion of authority and in accordance with the laws and the Constitution of Kosovo.

In some cases, he considered EU sanctions unfair, saying that he cannot compromise on the rule of law and the Constitution.

The EU did not reveal which specific projects were affected by the suspension of funds for Kosovo.

Termokos under attack

However, RFE's sources learned that these projects range from culture to infrastructure, and their value reaches up to 100 million euros.

Fisnik Osmani, executive director of the Pristina heating plant Termokos, confirmed that the company's project to double the heating capacity in the capital has been suspended, due to the freezing of the EU grant in the amount of 17.6 million euros.

These funds, he says, were part of the IPA program, which provides financial and technical assistance to ''countries that aspire to EU membership, but in the case of Kosovo, they were blocked''.

"The EU sanctions have seriously damaged the economic development of Kosovo. In this case, unfortunately, Termokos was also damaged, and therefore the city of Pristina and its citizens," Osmani told RFE, adding that the total value of the project is 65 million euros, that more than 15 million euros will be provided by the Government of Kosovo and the Municipality of Pristina, and the rest through loans.

Osmani says that the works were supposed to start this year, but now it is not certain.

He points out that Termokos currently heats more than 25,000 households in Pristina and that, with the new project, the capacity will be doubled, which would reduce electricity consumption and air pollution.

"The project envisages expansion to multi-story buildings. So, a large expansion in New Pristina, a part in Kalabria, a part in Muhaxhere mahalle, a part in the Arberi district... Pristina would practically be completely covered by heating if the project is completed," says Osmani.

From the day this project starts, it will take three years to complete, he emphasizes.

No formal deadline for the measures lifting

There is no formal deadline for the lifting of EU measures against Kosovo, says Augustin Palokaj, a journalist who follows EU policy in Brussels.

This is because, according to him, these are not classic sanctions with a specific deadline.

"These measures are hybrid in the EU operation, because there was no definitive formal decision for them that would be annulled. Therefore, these are not classic sanctions. These are measures taken by EU institutions, based on a political statement, and now there is no agreement among all members that they should be abolished," says Palokaj.

He adds that they are being discussed behind closed doors, but that he learned from diplomatic sources that countries like France, Italy, Slovakia and Hungary are against the lifting of sanctions. They want their removal to be conditional and gradual.

Palokaj reminds that decisions in the EU are made by consensus of all 27 member states and says that Kosovo does not have any diplomatic mechanism for negotiations on the lifting of measures.

"These are measures for projects financed by the EU - that is, one-sided financing, which are not part of the formal agreements with Kosovo. The EU gives them as grants for projects, but it can stop them itself. Their management is carried out by the EU, and the beneficiary has no mechanisms to force it to provide these funds," says Palokaj.

No convincing?

Naim Rashiti from the Balkan Policy Group in Pristina, says that Kosovo has ways to convince the EU to lift the measures and lists some of them:

"Kosovo should deal with the European agenda process. It needs to create an action plan for the north of the country, until the situation is reached that the Serbs return to the institutions, that free elections are held there and that the process of normalization begins. I believe that this is a condition that the EU expects," he said.

Rashiti says that the measures have had no impact on the behavior of Kosovo's institutions and calls them a "deadlock" with long-term consequences.

Consequences of the measures

"First, the measures further distanced Kosovo from the integration process, set up additional barriers, drastically reduced trust and gave many arguments to European officials and bureaucrats, who couldn't wait to have something that wouldn't put Kosovo's agenda on the right track. That is the biggest damage. There is also the issue of stopping projects, investments, programs and so on," says Rashiti.

Kosovo is the only one in the WB that is not a candidate for EU membership. Pristina submitted a request to join the Union back in December 2022, but has not yet received any response.

Despite this situation, Palokaj says that he does not see any threat from the growth of Euroscepticism in Kosovo, and that, according to him, the EU feels very comfortable about its actions.

"Kosovo was discriminated against in many other areas and this did not affect the reduction of Kosovars' support towards the EU. Kosovo has been without visa liberalization for years, and EU support in the country is the highest in the region and in Europe. Sanctions create despair towards the EU, but they do not turn into Euroscepticism or opposition to the EU among citizens," says Palokaj.

This claim is supported by the research of the International Republican Institute, based in Washington, which was conducted in six countries of the Western Balkans from February to March last year.

According to the results of this research, ''87 percent of those surveyed in Kosovo want their country to follow a pro-European and pro-Western course, in contrast to Serbia, where only ten percent of those surveyed gave the same answer''.

However, Rashiti warns that if EU measures continue for some time, they will have a bad effect on Pristina's long-term relations with Brussels, especially now that political events in the world are changing day by day.

Brnabic: First laws, then the resignation of the Government, we are not going to new elections (KiM radio, Beta, euronews.rs)

The President of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabic, said that at the next parliamentary session, which will most likely be held on March 4, the deputies will first adopt the laws that will be on the agenda, and then state the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, whose government proposed those laws.

When asked by Euronews whether it was logical to first state the resignation of the Prime Minister, which would bring down the Government, and then withdraw the laws instead of adopting them, Ana Brnabic replied that those were "extremely important laws" and that "it is pointless to resign first and then have no one to defend those laws", reported Beta.

"There is, for example, the law on cheap housing loans for young people, i.e. for all those under 35 years of age, which is important for the pro-natal policy in Serbia, for their independence, for a stronger Serbia. So, it is completely logical for me that the government that proposed that law to the National Assembly should first explain the law, so that the law is not delayed," said Brnabic, as reported by the official website of the Serbian Progressive Party.

She added that then the proposal for amendments to the Law on Higher Education will be discussed, that the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance will defend it, i.e., "the people who discussed that law with the rectors' collegiums".

She said that she will call for a dialogue, and that if the opposition representatives do not allow the parliamentary session to be held, they will prevent the fulfillment of the fourth demand of the students in the blockade (which concerns higher payments for higher education).

Brnabic also said that after the resignation of the prime minister, the formation of a new government will be done, not the elections, and that for now the representatives of the ruling majority have not even discussed a new mandate at the party level.

International

Ukraine war anniversary: Exiles in Balkans rebuild lives in uncertain times (BIRN)

On the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainians living in Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia told BIRN how they have adapted to life in new circumstances – and whether they still have hopes of going home.

The full-scale assault on Ukraine by Russian forces in February 2022 sparked a mass exodus as people fled for their lives amid Vladimir Putin’s military onslaught. Ukrainian civilians scattered into neighbouring countries like Poland and Romania; some of them also made their way to the Balkans.

Three years later, with Putin’s war still grinding on, initial hopes of a quick return home have been tempered by brutal reality. Although Donald Trump has vowed to end the conflict, fears about what a deal with Putin might mean in practice have caused more uncertainty.

BIRN spoke to Ukrainians living in four Balkan countries to find out how they have coped in their new surroundings, and how they see their future now.