UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, March 22, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti reiterates: Serbian elections in Kosovo only with an agreement (Klan Kosova)
PDK’s Krasniqi says Kurti-led government is incompetent (media)
LDK’s Abdixhiku slams Kurti government on first anniversary (Express)
“Prolonging Kosovo-Serbia agreement will damage peace efforts” (Klan Kosova)
Abbot: We’re making a positive contribution to reinforcing rule of law (media)
U.S. Embassy shares video about disinformation by Russian government (media)
Schmitt: Kosovo with most functional democracy in the region (Indeksonline)
COVID-19: 41 new cases, three deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

EU: We respect Belgrade's constructive approach, we regret Pristina's decision (RTS)
President Vucic met Serb representatives from Kosovo (Kosovo-online)
Vucic with Patriarch Porfirije discuss Kosovo, situation in Ukraine (Kosovo-online)
Serbian NGOs take legal steps against campaign calling for boycotting Serbian products (KoSSev, social media)
Trajkovic: Kurti persistently diminishes rights of Kosovo Serbs guaranteed by Ahtisaari’s plan (Kosovo-online)
Radulovic: Voting of Serbian citizens in Montenegro not banned (Kosovo-online)
Assistant Director of Office for KiM banned from entering Kosovo (Radio KIM)
Krivokapic reacts to Kurti’s statement on demarcation (Kosovo-online)
Kamberi: It is a pity that Albanians are going to the 3 April polls in two columns (Danas, Beta)
OSCE ready to collect ballots at Serbian elections in Kosovo if agreement is made (Kosovo-online)
Vulin meets Botsan-Kharchenko (RTS)
‘I’ll unite Serbia’, opposition presidential candidate says (N1)

International:

Serbia vows retaliation in election row with Montenegro, Kosovo (BIRN)
Western Balkans: Silence over Ukraine’s EU membership bid (euractive.com)
Tailored partnership with the Western Balkans part of the EU’s new Strategic Compass (EWB)

Humanitarian/Development:

Kurti: Social and institutional obligations to people with Down Syndrome (media)
“Kosovo’s economic growth in 2021 estimated at 10.5 percent” (Telegrafi)
“We have no state reserves” (Radio KIM)
Serbia to revoke ban on exporting wheat, floor and oil to North Macedonia (Kosovo-online)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti reiterates: Serbian elections in Kosovo only with an agreement (Klan Kosova)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that the April 3 Serbian elections can be held in the territory of Kosovo only through an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. “There is no new development. As far as Serbian elections are concerned, they can be held only through an agreement with Kosovo. For this, we need a request from their side which has not arrived yet,” Kurti said during a visit to the Brezovica ski resort.

PDK’s Krasniqi says Kurti-led government is incompetent (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, said today that what characterizes the Kurti-led government is incompetency. “As a result of this incompetency, the Republic of Kosovo, in one year of Prime Minister Kurti’s governance, does not figure on the map of strategic investments, on the map of regional political importance, or on the map of sustainable partnership with Kosovo’s strategic allies and partners,” Krasniqi told a press conference in Prishtina.

Krasniqi argued that the program of the Kurti-led government was a game of words. “This government had no sustainable program for concrete steps for economic development, or the rule of law, employment, integration and well-being,” he said.

Krasniqi further argued that “frightening figures in December and January showed that around 100,000 youths were waiting for visas to leave Kosovo”.

LDK’s Abdixhiku slams Kurti government on first anniversary (Express)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, said today on the first anniversary of the Kurti-led government that this is the most incompetent government in Kosovo’s history. He highlighted attacks by government officials against the media saying that this is dangerous behaviour for the democratic system in Kosovo. “The controlling tendencies of an absolute government have been characterised also by attacks against the free media. This government is characterised by the lack of transparency. In fact, the government has waged a fight against the media on all fronts and used all means. This also happened during the solemn session on February 17 when the Prime Minister attacked the media using harsh tones. The same tones continue to this day by government officials who consider the media as a criminal enterprise … Although we in the opposition too can criticise the media, we cannot give ourselves the right to attack the media and to consider them as criminal enterprises,” Abdixhiku said in a press conference.

“Prolonging Kosovo-Serbia agreement will damage peace efforts” (Klan Kosova)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, said today that prolonging a comprehensive agreement between Kosovo and Serbia will damage the peace engagement in the Balkans.

“The issue of the Kosovo Serb community’s right to vote in the Serbian elections is very important, but we must avoid addressing issues one by one. The solution lies in the comprehensive agreement with Serbia on mutual recognition, which will regulate these issues once and for all. Prolonging the agreement will damage our engagement for peace in the Balkans,” Haradinaj said in a Facebook post.

Abbot: We’re making a positive contribution to reinforcing rule of law (media)

The British Ambassador to Kosovo, Nicholas Abbot, said in a video message today that they are making a positive contribution to reinforcing the rule of law in Kosovo. At the end of the project for monitoring the justice system, Abbot said: “we strive to be as close as we can to the institutions that we support, and this project has not been an exception. Our implementor has worked to monitor, identify and expose malpractices in the judicial and prosecutorial systems with the aim of increasing pressure for reform. This has been done in close cooperation and coordination with the institutions that have been monitored. And this has been one of the core values of the project. All the work that has been done at this level and in this spirit has proved to be more effective and more sustainable. One of the features of the project of particular importance is the investment in young professionals. This is a sustainable achievement that will go on beyond the life of the project,” Abbot said.

U.S. Embassy shares video about disinformation by Russian government (media)

Several news websites cover a Twitter post by the United States Embassy in Prishtina about the disinformation by the Russian government. “The Russian govt has a long history of disinformation, allegations, and false flag operations to accuse other countries of the very violations and atrocities that Russia itself is perpetrating. Check out a few specific examples, including those in Ukraine. https://t.co/QkZMWKm8NC,” the tweet notes.

Schmitt: Kosovo with most functional democracy in the region (Indeksonline)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met today with renowned historian Oliver Jens Schmitt and on the first anniversary of his government, briefed Schmitt about the government’s achievements, program, and challenges in the future. Kurti said the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic is now under control and that the situation has improved visibly. He said there is economic growth and that good results have been achieved in the fight against crime and corruption.

Schmitt congratulated Kurti on the achievements and political stability in governance. He said Kosovo has the most functional democracy in the region, with free media and society. “The European Union must acknowledge this progress,” Schmitt said.

COVID-19: 41 new cases, three deaths (media)

41 new cases with COVID-19 and three deaths from the virus were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. There are 641 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Kosovo’s National Institute for Public Health said today that two Omicron variants of the virus are spreading fast in Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

EU: We respect Belgrade's constructive approach, we regret Pristina's decision (RTS)

EU regrets Pristina’s refusal to accept agreement on participation of citizens of the Serbian ethnicity at upcoming April 3 Serbian presidential and parliamentary elections, EU Spokesperson Peter Stano said, RTS reports.

“We respect the constructive approach of Serbia in looking for a solution and we regret that agreement was not made, after Pristina refused the constructive proposal of Quint states”, Stano is quoted as saying.

Stano also said that such a decision of Pristina “runs contrary to the obligations Kosovo undertook on its European path and runs contrary to the principle of protecting the rights of the citizens, including the rights of non-majority communities”.

Stano added the EU acted as a mediator in the contacts at the highest level to find practical solutions based on the analogy with the practice of casting the ballots at previous elections, however, those efforts failed.

“We expect Serbia and Kosovo to refrain from statements and acts that would increase the tensions, to act responsibly and engage in the negotiations within the dialogue under the EU mediation”, Stano said, adding that at this moment he can’t say when the new meeting between Belgrade and Pristina at highest political level will take place.

President Vucic met Serb representatives from Kosovo (Kosovo-online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met today with representatives of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, Kosovo-online portal reports. The meeting took place at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade and followed that of the National Security Council which started at noon.

After the meeting Vucic posted on his Instagram account ‘buducnostsrbijeav’ that he has “discussed current events with Serb representatives from Kosovo and Metohija”.

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director, Petar Petkovic, Serbian List President Goran Rakic, Serbian List vice presidents Igor Simic, Milan Radojicic and Dalibor Jevtic as well as Director of Security Informative Agency (BIA) Bratislav Gasic took part in a meeting.

Vucic with Patriarch Porfirije discuss Kosovo, situation in Ukraine (Kosovo-online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met last night with Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije and discussed the situation in Kosovo and Ukraine, Kosovo-online portal reports.

As the portal said citing the statement of the president's press office, Vucic informed the Patriarch Porfirije about the latest decisions of Pristina leadership, situation in the region, and challenges Serbia is facing in the light of events in Ukraine.

On his side, Patriarch Porfirije informed Vucic about an initiative to support refugees from Ukraine. He said that the Serbian Orthodox Church and its believers are engaged to the large extent to help people fleeing war affected areas. President Vucic promised additional engagement of the state so the refugees could get timely and adequate help, the statement reads.

Patriarch Porfirije also informed President Vucic about attacks against Serbian Orthodox Church and its properties, in particular in Kosovo and Metohija, adding it was important to preserve unity and togetherness of the Serbian people.

The two interlocutors also agreed it was of highest importance to preserve peace and stability, while taking care of national and state interests aiming at preserving a stable future for Serbian citizens.

Serbian NGOs take legal steps against campaign calling for boycotting Serbian products (KoSSev, social media)

A group of Serbian non-governmental organisations including New Social Initiative, Centre for Affirmative Social Action, Centre for Social Initiatives, and the Forum for Development and Multiethnic Cooperation in a statement today said they have accessed a series of legal mechanisms in response to the spread of hate speech and ethnic intolerance in a video published on 11 March by an informal group Besa Besë, media report.

“In the video, which was designed to promote the idea of boycotting Serbian products, a minor is forced to make a claim about the intention of Serbian producers to poison the buyers of products. Campaigns calling for the boycott of Serbian products have been frequent in Kosovo, but this video differs from the previous campaigns as it abuses a minor for political and propaganda purposes, and spreads hate speech as well as intolerance towards one ethnic community”, NGOs said in a statement.

Although it is a campaign of an informal group, not an institution, we believe that an institutional response, in this case, is necessary for several reasons, they added.

“Serbian businessmen in Kosovo have been battling the consequences of economic nationalism for years. It manifests with difficulties to place their products on the wider Kosovo market unless they hide the “Serbian origin” of their products, a hurdle documented multiple times by media and NGOs. Campaigns such as these have been organised for more than a decade, and they hinder the economic integration and sustainability of the Serbian private sector in Kosovo. In addition, they negatively affect regional economic cooperation”, the statement reads.

At the same time, the narrative that “Serbs are trying to poison” is regularly nurtured by a number of Albanian-language reporting media outlets, characterised by unprofessional reporting, the statement further says. In addition to this latest case, NGOs also recalled the unverified accusations against members of the Serbian community who allegedly poisoned a drinking water tank in Decani last year, which were published by the media without any confirmation from the prosecution or the police. Similar was the case with the alleged poisoning of Central Election Commission officials by votes received by mail from Serbia for the parliamentary elections organised in 2019.

“Despite the clear pattern, all these reports in the media warrant no reaction from institutions dealing with the protection of human rights or media monitoring. In a society that has a serious legacy of the devastating consequences of unprofessional reporting from 2004, this should not happen”, NGOs stressed.

The NGOs also listed a number of steps they have undertaken in regard to the latest campaign, including: Filing a complaint to the Kosovo Press Council against Telegrafi and Ekonomia Online for uncritically transmitting this video and masking hate speech with the simplified claim that it was an “awareness campaign.” Asking the Ombudsperson Institution to launch an investigation into violations of Article 141 (Causing Discord and Intolerance) of the Criminal Code of Kosovo. Filing a criminal report against the author of the video, B.P., to the Prizren Basic Prosecutor’s Office for inciting discord and intolerance”.

Signatories of the statement include: New Social Initiative, North Mitrovica; Centre for Affirmative Social Action, North Mitrovica; Centre for Social Initiatives, North Mitrovica and Forum for Development and Multiethnic Cooperation, Gracanica.

Trajkovic: Kurti persistently diminishes rights of Kosovo Serbs guaranteed by Ahtisaari’s plan (Kosovo-online)

President of the Serb European Movement from Kosovo and politician Rada Trajkovic took on Twitter to comment on Pristina’s refusal to allow holding of Serbian elections in Kosovo by saying that “Kosovo status has not been resolved in negotiations and there are no diplomatic offices of Serbia in Pristina, where Kosovo Serbs could only cast their ballots, according to Kurti”.

Trajkovic also added that Kurti “persistently diminishes the rights of Kosovo Serbs guaranteed by Ahtisaari’s plan and forces them to seek enjoyment of those rights outside of the Kosovo territory (..)”.

Trajkovic also argued that Serbian President Aleksnadar Vucic doesn’t oppose Kurti and “is organising infrastructure outside of Kosovo for the Serbs to do so (exercise their rights)”.

Radulovic: Voting of Serbian citizens in Montenegro not banned (Kosovo-online)

Montenegrin Foreign Affairs Minister Djordje Radulovic refuted last night media reports that the ministry he heads banned citizens of Serbia from voting at upcoming Serbian April 3 elections in Montenegro, Kosovo-online portal reports.

He clarified that no one banned holding of elections, but only confirmed places where to cast the ballots, adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs positively responded to Serbia’s request.

According to him, ensuring additional locations for voting in addition to the embassy and consulate, is used exclusively if there was a large number of voters or when it comes to territorially much larger states.

Montenegro Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic’s cabinet earlier said that decision to reject request of the Embassy of Serbia to open polling stations in Berane, Sutomore and Budva for the upcoming April 3 Serbian elections, Minister Djordje Radulovic and his ministry made on their own and did not notify Prime Minister nor majority of the ministers about decision.

Assistant Director of Office for KiM banned from entering Kosovo (Radio KIM)

Pristina authorities banned last night Assistant Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Ivan Vujic from entering Kosovo, the Office said in a statement, Radio KIM reports.

Vujic was supposed to visit Klina and Osojane today and deliver aid to the socially vulnerable five-member Komatovic family in Zac village. Vujic was prevented from crossing administrative crossing point Jarinje last night without any explanation.

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija said in a statement “that Pristina authorities headed by Albin Kurti continue to trample on all agreements made in Brussels, including the one of freedom of movement”.

“Assistant Director Ivan Vujic doesn’t fall under provisions of the agreement on official visit and is not obliged to announce his visit. This is not the first time that Pristina bans representatives and assistant directors of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija from visiting Kosovo, thus harshly violating the agreement”, the statement reads.

Krivokapic reacts to Kurti’s statement on demarcation (Kosovo-online)

Outgoing Montenegrin Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic termed as “impermissible provocation” statement of the Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti that he will wait for the new Montenegrin government to address the issue of demarcation, adding it was “an announcement of dangerous aspiration to violate territorial integrity of Montenegro”, Kosovo-online portal reports.

Krivokapic wrote on Twitter it was interesting that there was no reaction to Kurti’s statement by either Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic or deputy PM Dritan Abazovic.

“I consider the statement of Mr. Kurti, by which he announces dangerous aspirations of violating territorial integrity of Montenegro, as impermissible provocation. It is interesting that there is no reaction to it at all by President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic or unconstitutional PM designate Dritan Abazovic”, Krivokapic wrote.

Kamberi: It is a pity that Albanians are going to the 3 April polls in two columns (Danas, Beta)

In the early Serbian parliamentary elections on April 3, Albanian representatives will run on two lists, and according to Shaip Kamberi, a candidate for the "Coalition of Albanians of the Valley", this division will harm them because there might be an internal competition between Albanians, reported daily Danas.

Kamberi told the Kosovo media that the "Coalition of Albanians of the Valley" list has ten candidates and is aiming for three seats in the Serbian Parliament.

He stated that, if he wins the mandate, he would not like to be part of the Government of Serbia.

He said that his goal was to raise awareness about the Albanian issue and, as he stated, the difficulties and discrimination they are experiencing in Serbia.

He called on all Albanians born in Serbia to come from other countries on Sunday, April 3, and vote for Albanians.

OSCE ready to collect ballots at Serbian elections in Kosovo if agreement is made (Kosovo-online)

OSCE Mission in Kosovo will collect the ballots at upcoming Serbian elections on April 3, if the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina governments is made to hold those elections in Kosovo, Kosovo-online portal reports citing Albanian post.

The OSCE Mission said it carried such functions since 2012, however it was always done “based on the mutual agreement between Pristina and Belgrade and with the consent of all relevant institutions involved”.

Vulin meets Botsan-Kharchenko (RTS)

Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Aleksandar Vulin met with the Russian Federation Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko and told him that “Serbia was the only country in Europe which didn’t impose sanctions on Russia and didn’t become part of anti-Russian hysteria”, RTS reports.

Vulin also said that Serbia will never be part of those “confiscating properties of Russian citizens and that of the Russian Federation, and that it will not ban Russian media, kick Russian children out of the schools and remove Russian authors and scientists from school textbooks”.

Vulin also said that Serbia was an independent state, choosing friends on its own. He expressed belief that cooperation between the two states will further develop to the benefit of mutual satisfaction and thanked Russia for its consistent support to Serbia’s efforts to preserve its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

‘I’ll unite Serbia’, opposition presidential candidate says (N1)

Zdravko Ponos, the presidential candidate of the ‘United for Serbia’s Victory’ opposition coalition, said on Tuesday he would unite the country and serve as the president of all its people, N1 reports.

Ponos, a retired general and former chief-of-staff of the Army of Serbia (VS) said the current regime divided society on “theirs and the rest”.

“I will unite Serbia; I’ll be the president of all its people as the Constitution stipulates. And it says a president has to present Serbia’s state unity”, Ponos said as quoted by his election team in a press release.

International

Serbia vows retaliation in election row with Montenegro, Kosovo (BIRN)

President Aleksandar Vucic said he will impose “restrictive measures” on Montenegro and Kosovo, claiming they are restricting Serbian citizens’ right to vote in April’s Serbian general elections in their countries.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said he will announce on Tuesday the imposition of as yet unspecified “restrictive measures” on Montenegro and Kosovo over what he described as their refusal to allow Serbian citizens to vote in their countries in the Serbian presidential, parliamentary and local elections on April 3.

Serbian passport holders can vote at the Serbian embassy in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica and at the Serbian consulate in the town of Herceg Novi, but the Montenegrin Foreign Ministry on Monday refused a Serbian request for the opening of three additional polling stations in the towns of Berane, Sutomore and Budva.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has said that Belgrade must first make an agreement with Pristina for voting in the Serbian elections to take place on Kosovo’s territory.

“We do not want to prevent the citizens of our republic with dual citizenship the right to vote but at the same time we cannot act in violation of the legality and constitutionality of the country,” Kurti told Western ambassadors on Monday, media reported.

Vucic accused Montenegro and Kosovo of trying to prevent Serbian citizens from exercising the right to vote in their country of residence and threatened retaliatory measures.

“Montenegro and Albin Kurti will receive an answer. They will get an answer from serious and responsible people, and it will have far-reaching consequences,” Vucic said at a campaign rally for his Serbian Progressive Party in the town of Kikinda on Monday.

Read full article here: https://bit.ly/3qmNldu

Western Balkans: Silence over Ukraine’s EU membership bid (euractive.com)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s impassioned plea for his besieged country to join the EU as soon as possible has met cautious support across Europe. But the Western Balkans – home to six membership hopefuls – has remained largely silent.

On 28 February, Ukraine formally applied for EU membership, a move supported by Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

The Western Balkans six, comprising Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, are all also pursuing the EU dream. Serbia and Montenegro lead the way, as the only ones with negotiations already underway, while Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina are mere potential candidates.

Humanitarian/Development

Kurti: Social and institutional obligations to people with Down Syndrome (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Monday on the occasion of the World Down Syndrome Day, visited the primary and lower secondary school in Prishtina, “Xhemail Mustafa”, where, in the first lesson, was talked about Down Syndrome. Accompanied by the Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ms Arbërie Nagavci, Prime Minister Kurti said that the Government of the Republic of Kosovo has declared 2022 the year of persons with disabilities, because as he said, we believe that as we all contribute to the state, we must first and foremost help those who have the greatest needs. “As children, we were born with 46 chromosomes in a cell, someone with 47. It is nobody’s fault but it is the responsibility of all of us, and while having social or institutional responsibilities, we also have an obligation, we owe it to these people,” Kurti said.

“Kosovo’s economic growth in 2021 estimated at 10.5 percent” (Telegrafi)

Kosovo Central Bank Governor, Fehmi Mehmeti, told a press conference today that Kosovo’s economic growth in 2021 is estimated at 10.5 percent. “Kosovo’s economy has marked new recuperations, and according to the preliminary estimations of the Agency of Statistics the economic growth is at around 10.5 percent. The free movement of citizens led to increasing visits by the diaspora and there were also other actions that resulted in this growth,” he said.

“We have no state reserves” (Radio KIM)

President of the Kosovo Businesses Alliance Agim Shahini told Slobodno sprski broadcast that Kosovo almost “doesn’t have state goods reserves”. Commenting on the statement of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti who said recently that Kosovo has sufficient reserves of food necessities, Shahini said “it was a propaganda”, Radio KIM reports.

“It is a propaganda by a prime minister who wants to calm down the population. Otherwise, we have reserves for four days for a couple of articles, for some (articles) we have nothing. It means that all reserves existing in Kosovo are in private hands, in private storehouses, and what people have at homes. It means that we do not have state reserves, which are obligatory to have, and reserves that people and private companies have that is something else”, Shahini is quoted as saying.

Talking about recent price hikes Shahini said some traders misused the current situation caused by the war in Ukraine.

“Some traders, some who wanted to make profit, to call them that way, tried to provoke panic in this crisis, as if there will be no cooking oil at all, there will be no fuel and that is why the prices went high. People in Kosovo got out from a war 20 years ago, and we all know what it feels like not to have those commodities and that is why it was easy to create a panic here”, he added.

According to him, there is no room for panic.

“If we look at state reserves, there is a room to panic, but if we look at private reserves then there is no room to panic because there are commodities. The world is not closed, the world is open and all that costs, however it can’t be that a bottle of cooking oil costs 3.5 euros. It is a shame what our traders did. It is a major shame because they wanted to use opportunity and panic (…)”, he said.

Commenting on a recent video spot against the Serbian products, in which a girl tells her father not to buy Serbian products because “Serbs were killing our people (Albanians)”, Shahini said it was “unserious”.

“The time of patriotism got over in 1999, and since then we should forget what happened, but to look at what will happen tomorrow and how to find a solution to live tomorrow. These advertisements also use opportunity to create panic. However, there are some among those appearing on TV and saying “do not buy Serbian products” who visit Belgrade almost daily. Therefore, it is not serious, they make it for the purpose of marketing, to appear on TV. Only the state can do something like that”, he said, adding that his alliance had been urging consumers to buy domestic products since 2003.

“Kosovo consumers are the most liberal ones; they never look at what is written on the product or where it comes from. They look at quality and the price and this is the end of the story”, he said.

Talking about the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Kosovo economy Shahini said Kosovo “received the least funds from the world funds dedicated to recovering the economy during the pandemic”, because it lacked serious projects.

“We had no projects, we had a lack of experts, the opinion of economists was lacking because politicians think they know everything. In 2020 we had a fall in the economy by more than 4 percent. We had more than 20.000 companies that closed down and stopped working. We have more than 50.000 workers who remained without a job, and that is why we were affected to the highest extent. However, in 2021 we have a different situation, the economy started to open and we had a growth of more than 9 percent”, he said.

Serbia to revoke ban on exporting wheat, floor and oil to North Macedonia (Kosovo-online)

North Macedonian Minister of Agriculture, Ljupco Nikolovski met his Serbian counterpart Branislav Nedimovic in Belgrade today and reached agreement that Serbia in the upcoming week revokes its decision to ban export of wheat, maize, floor and cooking oil to North Macedonia, Kosovo-online portal reports.

“Within ‘Open Balkan’ initiative with Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nedimovic we agreed that in the upcoming seven to ten days Serbia will revoke its ban on exporting wheat, maize, floor and cooking oil as well as to start distributing agreed quantities between the two states. All agreements of our economic partners from all chambers of commerce will be implemented. A letter of the North Macedonian Prime Minister will be sent to the Serbian Prime Minister for the agreed quantities'', Nikolovski said.