Albanian Language Media:

• Rohde on dialogue: you cannot determine what the other party says (media)
• Two international agreements ratified by the Assembly of Kosovo (RTK)
• President Osmani leaves for an official visit to Canada (media)
• Stoev: Relations with Western Balkans should not be limited to expansion only (RTK)
• Kajari and Skerbinc discuss security situation in Kosovo (RTK)
• Kosovo presidency congratulates the new U.S. Ambassador (media)
• Berisha urges Konjufca to remove Serbian products from Kosovo Assembly buffet (media)
• COVID-19: 7 new cases, one death (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Belgrade on Pristina’s announcement of another anti-dumping measure: Violation of CEFTA (KoSSev)
• “Caution regarding measures on Serbian products, so that there are no repercussions” (Kosovo-online)
• Petkovic: Pristina not interested in normalization (Tanjug)
• Selakovic meets with Giaufret, EU ambassadors (Tanjug)
• Dacic: Regional cooperation priority for Serbia (RTS)
• KEDS: ''With an increase in imports and consumption, astronomical prices for citizens expected'' (KoSSev, Koha)

Opinion:

• Legal framework for Kosovo Serbs tailored to Pristina (part two): Energy (KoSSev)

International:

• ‘Greater’ Balkan dreams a potential nightmare (ekathimerini.com)

 

 

 

Albanian Language Media  

 

Rohde on dialogue: you cannot tell what the other party says (media)

German Ambassador to Kosovo Jorn Rohde commented on Prime Minister Kurti's statements that there could be a comprehensive agreement with Serbia within his mandate.

Invited to "Prime Time" on Channel 10, the German ambassador said that it is good when someone is optimistic, but when he wants to reach an agreement then he should sit at the negotiating table.

"It's good when you are optimistic, I am also optimistic. In order to reach an agreement, we need to talk to the other party. At the table, you cannot determine what the other party decides. You set your requirements, they do the same. In this manner you see where a common ground can be found. This is the principle of whatever you call it, dialogue or negotiation. You need to talk to each other. It is not a good idea to refuse to talk about certain issues because it creates taboos and taboos do not lead to results," Rohde said.

Asked about the Open Balkan initiative, Rohde said that he has not yet seen any results from the Open Balkans initiative.

According to him, if the Berlin Process has concrete examples such as the abolition of roaming tariffs, the same cannot be said about the initiative in which Kosovo refuses to participate.

However, Rohde said that the countries of the Western Balkans should work together as they are geographically connected and neighbors cannot be exchanged.

"We still do not see results from the Open Balkans. But, as long as such processes do not undermine the existing ones, we cannot be critical of them, but the main issue is that you have 6 countries of the Western Balkans that are geographically connected and have to work together because you cannot change the neighbors," Rohde said.

Two international agreements ratified by the Assembly of Kosovo (RTK)

The Assembly of Kosovo has approved two international agreements.

For the ratification of Amendment no. 1 of the Financial Agreement for IPA 2018, between Kosovo and the European Union, voted 83 deputies, none against and no abstentions.

Also, for the ratification of the Loan Agreement between Kosovo, represented by the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers and the European Investment Bank for the financing of the Project "Kosovo Response to the COVID-19 pandemic for SMEs", have voted a total of 83 deputies, none against and no abstentions.

Ratification of these agreements has also been supported by the opposition.

President Osmani leaves for an official visit to Canada (media)

The President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani has traveled to Canada where she will speak at the International Security Forum in Halifax, reports the Office of the President.

During her stay in Canada, President Osmani will hold meetings with senior Canadian officials and representatives of other countries.

Stoev: Relations with Western Balkans should not be limited to expansion only (RTK)

Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev received the ambassadors of the European Union member states and the charge d'affaires of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria. The Minister briefed the foreign diplomats on the situation regarding the elections in Bulgaria and on Bulgaria's priority positions on topics from the common European agenda.

Regarding the EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans, Stoev reaffirmed Bulgaria's continued support, based on the merits of each candidate country. According to him, the EU's relations with the region should not be limited to enlargement.

Stoev called for increased attention and commitment to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and other worrying developments.

Regarding the start of negotiations for Northern Macedonia's EU membership, he stressed the efforts made by Bulgaria in recent months to resolve outstanding issues with Skopje.

Kajari and Skerbinc discuss security situation in Kosovo (RTK)

KFOR Commander, Major General Ferenc Kajari received Force Commander of Slovenian Armed Forces, Major General Miha Skerbinc for a visit in Camp Film City, KFOR HQ.

During their meeting, the two Generals discussed the operational and security situation in Kosovo. General Kajari took the opportunity to thank the Slovenian soldiers’ contribution to the NATO-led KFOR mission, emphasizing their professionalism and commitment to accomplish KFOR’s mandate.

Kosovo presidency congratulates the new U.S. Ambassador (media)

The Chief of Staff of the Office of the President Blerim Vela congratulated the new U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffery Hovenier, who was confirmed in this post by the U.S. Senate.

"Congratulations to Jeffery Hovenier who was confirmed as the new ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo. We look forward to welcoming you to Pristina and further developing the partnership between Kosovo and the US. Stronger together," Vela wrote.

Berisha urges Konjufca to remove Serbian products from Kosovo Assembly buffet (media)

Kosovo Assembly MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Beke Berisha asked the Speaker of the Parliament Glauk Konjufca to remove the Serbian products that are served in the buffet of the Assembly.

In today's session, Berisha placed drinks, Serbian products, on Konjufca’s and PM Kurti’s seats.

Berisha told Kosova Press that he asked Konjufca not to allow this product to be served since as a political party they have been very vocal against Serbian products.

"Drinks made by Serbia are served in the assembly buffet. I asked Speaker Konjufca not to allow this drink to be served, being that as a party they have been very vocal against Serbian products. And they have been persistent on the unification of Albanian lands," Berisha said.

COVID-19: 7 new cases, one death (media)

7 new cases with COVID-19 and one death were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 26 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 380 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

 

 

 

Serbian Language Media

 

Belgrade on Pristina’s announcement of another anti-dumping measure: Violation of CEFTA (KoSSev)

Addressing Pristina’s announcement that new measures will be introduced regarding some products from Serbia, more precisely confectionery products, Serbia’s Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Tatjana Matic, stressed that this is a political – not an economic or trade measure, reported portal KoSSev. 

Matic also underlined that this measure would violate CEFTA. Back in October, Pristina decided to raise taxes on fodder and building blocks from Serbia.

''Regarding this announcement from Pristina, the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications will address the institutions in Brussels, as well as the CEFTA Secretariat, including the embassies of QUINT countries. CEFTA is the largest form of trade community in existence, and the announcement of such decisions does not contribute to the development of trade relations, nor the political dialogue in the Western Balkans – to which Serbia is devoted. We hope that this decision will not be reached after all, '' said Matic, according to the ministry announcement. 

If this announcement is implemented, the mentioned trade barrier would be another in a series of violations of the CEFTA agreement and the obligations undertaken within the Brussels Dialogue, the Serbian Ministry of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications alerted.

At a press conference held today, Kosovo’s Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, announced new measures on ''some goods imported from Serbia'', adding they would cover the confectionery products.

As Kosovo media reported earlier today, Hajdari said that the goal is to protect Kosovo producers.

At that time, the Kosovo government made two decisions – an anti-dumping measure of 3 cents per kilogram on the import of animal and poultry concentrate from Serbia and another with the same amount per one building block from Serbia.

See at: https://bit.ly/30GrQKQ

“Caution regarding measures on Serbian products, so that there are no repercussions” (Kosovo-online)

Kosovo should be careful and not violate international free trade rules, American Chamber of Commerce Director in Kosovo Arian Zeka said, commenting on the announcement of Trade Minister, Rozeta Hajdari that Pristina will introduce some new measures on certain products imported from Serbia, Kosovo-online portal reports citing Pristina-based Koha.

“Despite the fact that Kosovo has the right to impose such measures, a full implementation of the law and international trade rules must be ensured before such decisions are made, so we would not face any countermeasures or any punishment by the international institutions responsible for dispute resolution”, Zeka said.

Kosovo Minister of Trade, Entrepreneurship and Industry, Rozeta Hajdari announced earlier possible new measures on certain products imported from Serbia, respectively confectionery products, because, as she said, their import has increased enormously.

Petkovic: Pristina not interested in normalization (Tanjug)

Commenting on Pristina's announcement of potential measures targeting confectionery products from central Serbia, the head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija, Petar Petkovic, on Thursday said Pristina had demonstrated it was not interested in normalisaiton of relations.

In a Twitter post, Petkovic said the move was a violation of CEFTA and that it undermined the Brussels Agreement.

"Following Pristina's refusal to take part in constructive dialogue in Brussels, there are new unilateral moves by Albin Kurti, whose aides are announcing a new barrier to Serbian products. In that way, they are violating the Brussels Agreement and demonstrating that they are not interested in normalisation," Petkovic wrote.

While Belgrade is pushing for the Open Balkans initiative, Pristina is introducing new barriers, showing its "true face," Petkovic added.

Earlier in the day, Pristina's minister of industry, entrepreneurship and trade said measures against confectionery products from central Serbia could be introduced to "protect local producers from imports."

See at: https://bit.ly/3oCMW50

Selakovic meets with Giaufret, EU ambassadors (Tanjug)

Serbian FM Nikola Selakovic met with the head of the EU Mission to Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, and the ambassadors of EU member states on Thursday.

Selakovic noted that EU membership was the absolute priority of Serbia's foreign policy and a strategic commitment, adding that Serbia was fully committed to the reform process and advancement of all segments of society.

He said the dynamics of the EU accession talks should reflect Serbia's reform efforts, but that it was encouraging that this year's European Commission report on the country's progress was more positive than the previous one.

He said Belgrade expected to open two more clusters in the accession talks at an intergovernmental conference before the end of Slovenia's EU presidency.

Noting that the EU is Serbia's most significant external trade partner, Selakovic said Serbia's trade with the EU had increased by 52 pct in the past seven years while Serbian exports to the EU had risen by 64 pct.

He noted that Serbia was fully committed to maintaining peace and stability in the region through cooperation and open dialogue.

He highlighted the Open Balkans initiative as a way of connecting the region economically.

Speaking about the process of normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, Selakovic said Belgrade was fully oriented towards dialogue and had met its commitments, but that Pristina was doggedly avoiding the implementation of its own commitments.

For eight and a half years, Pristina has done nothing about the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities, Selakovic said, adding that, through unilateral moves on the ground - four in the past eight months - Pristina was further threatening peace and stability.

Giaufret welcomed the level of EU-Serbia cooperation to date regarding the joint security and defence policy, as well as Serbia's significant contribution to EU missions and operations.

"We really hope we will be able to further develop the alignment of Serbia's foreign policy with the EU," an official statement from the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted Giaufret as saying.

See at: https://bit.ly/3nygoKi

Dacic: Regional cooperation priority for Serbia (RTS)

Serbian Assembly Speaker Ivica Dacic said in a meeting with UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Alice Wairimu Nderitu that regional cooperation is priority for Serbia, RTS reports.

He also said Serbia remains committed to preserving peace and stability in the region, adding that there are serious and difficult problems inherited from the past as well as that it was necessary to work to overcome them.

“All those who committed the crimes must be identified and face justice, however, the crimes must not be divided in “ours and theirs”, Dacic said, noting that politicization and instrumentalization of the crimes creates additional divisions and doesn’t contribute to overcoming the problem.

As the press statement reads, Nderitu informed Dacic about her mandate and activities to prevent genocide, stressing it also includes fight against the hate speech, as defined by the Strategy and Action Plan to Combat the Hate Speech.  

She also pointed out that in this area she has cooperation with many parliaments in the world, and expressed readiness to realize this type of cooperation with Serbian Parliament as well. The two interlocutors also discussed the situation in the region. 

KEDS: ''With an increase in imports and consumption, astronomical prices for citizens expected''  (KoSSev, Koha)

KEDS announced that the increase in the price of electricity caused a large increase in the value of energy imports. During October this year, KEDS and KESCO imported 9.15 million euros of electricity in a month, despite the good weather, which is an enormous increase compared to 1.5 million euros - as it was in the same period last year. reported portal KoSSev, citing Koha. 

This increase, according to KEDS, is driven by extreme prices and growing demand.

"During October, KEDS and KESCO bought electricity at an average price of 242 euros per megawatt / hour, which is an increase of almost five times compared to October 2020, when electricity was imported at an average price of 49 euros per megawatt / hour. Consumption has increased by 18 percent compared to the same period last year," said the announcement.

Due to the increase in consumption, KEDS and KESCO were forced to import 37,753 megawatt / hour of electricity during October.

The trend of increasing consumption continued during November, as well as purchases at high prices, even above the October ones.

With the temperatures dropping, a further increase in consumption is expected, and thus the need for additional imports, says KEDS, because domestic production is limited.

"This is how possible astronomical and unacceptable costs are estimated, not only for KEDS and KESCO, but also for all citizens of Kosovo."

 

 

Opinion

 

Legal framework for Kosovo Serbs tailored to Pristina (part two): Energy (KoSSev)

By Dragutin Nenezic

Another topic that recently caught the focus of Serbian politics in KiM relates to energy, which may rival the ASM in terms of the extent to which it is presented to the Serbian public without full insight into publicly available facts. As is the case with the ASM, in the legal analysis of this topic, it is best to start from the content of the obligations undertaken in Brussels, without going into their legal nature in any legal system. Also, the legal analysis will deal only with those issues that seem crucial for understanding it properly as opposed to the current media cacophony, since the topic of energy is one of the more complex ones when it comes to KiM, hence, a detailed analysis would require much more space.

1. Energy in the Brussels documents

Energy was the subject of two Brussels documents: the so-called Energy Arrangement of 2013 (hereinafter: the Arrangement) and the Conclusions of the EU facilitator on the implementation of the Energy Agreement from 2015 (hereinafter: the Conclusions). These documents aimed to regulate the dualism in the field of transmission, distribution, and supply of electricity, considering that at the time of signing, Belgrade and Pristina energy entities, operating in the territory of KiM, were doing so in two separate legal systems. To achieve this, with these documents, Belgrade and Pristina have accepted two key commitments:

See more at:https://bit.ly/3oM7sAa

 

 

 

International 

 

‘Greater’ Balkan dreams a potential nightmare (ekathimerini.com)

Years after the wars and the collapse of the Eastern bloc, the embers of nationalism are still burning under the surface in the Balkans

‘With his recent statements in which he has set the unification of Albania with Kosovo in a Greater Albania as the main goal of his political career, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has lifted the lid of a Pandora’s box of dangerous Balkan “Great Ideas.”

The reaction of the other Balkan “Great” wannabe, Belgrade, was swift: Serbia’s Internal Affairs Minister Aleksandar Vulin said that Serb unification is “the only barrier to a Great Albania.” And looming behind Belgrade was the Kremlin, which bared its teeth at Rama and the West by applauding “Belgrade’s humanitarian initiatives for the Serb people,” that is, “Greater Serbia.”

See more at: https://bit.ly/3DxKHq3