UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, September 20, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Hovenier: We have full confidence in EU as facilitator of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (RFE)
Konjufca supports Kurti: Key of dialogue recognition and formation of Association (EO)
Lajcak’s advisor: Disagreements, not proof that the envoy sides with Serbia (EO)
Borrell: Preparing for next enlargement wave (media)
Szunyog: Hate speech falls in same group with terrorism (Gazeta Express)
Increasing hate speech, Konjufca: Politicians not a good example (Kosovapress)
Hoti: The degradation of dialogue during Kurti-led government (media)
Posselt: Vucic, the political son of Milosevic! (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

Three months without Serbian press in Kosovo (Radio KIM)
FM Dacic: Serbia condemns Russia’s attack on Ukraine, it is not neutral (N1, FoNet, VoA)
Two Serbs arrested in northern Kosovo (KoSSev, RTS, Kosovo Online)
Serbian List reacts to arrests in Mitrovica North and Zvecan (Radio KIM, social media)
Office for KIM on arrests: New deterioration and causing uneasiness among Serbs (Radio KIM, Kosovo Online)
ACDC research: Trust in police and judiciary in northern Kosovo on drastic decline (Kosovo Online)
Petkovic: Nervous Kurti (KiM Radio)
PACE: Legal team to come to Kosovo and prepare a report on the compliance of the legal system with the standards of the CoE (Kosovo Online)
Vucic: I will continue to fight for what is the best possible for Serbia (Tanjug)
PM Brnabic on elections: Opposition says one thing, writes another (N1, BETA)

International:

Kosovo, North Macedonia Sign Agreement for Common Border Crossing Point (BIRN)
Serb Fighter Beat Kosovo Albanian for Aiding Journalists, Court Told (BIRN)
Andoni: Kurti lost time with Association, this is his only mistake (Euronews Albania)

Albanian Language Media

Hovenier: We have full confidence in EU as facilitator of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (RFE)

The United States has full confidence in the European Union in terms of facilitating the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier said today at the second edition of the Kosovo Peace and Democracy Summit in Pristina. “The U.S. has full confidence in the EU and its facilitation of the dialogue. The U.S. has full confidence in [EU] High Representative Borrell and the Special Representative [for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia] Lajcak, as objective implementers of this policy,” Hovenier said.

Hovenier’s statement comes two days after Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused Lajcak of being a biassed facilitator. Kurti said that in the last round of dialogue, which was held in Brussels on September 14, there seemed to have been coordination between Lajcak and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on what he called the creation of an alternative scenario whereby only half of the agreement would be implemented. According to Kurti, Lajcak positioned himself against Kosovo.

Hovenier said today: “it is important for all actors in this operation, in this process, to accept the process in which they are and to play poker with the cards they have been dealt with. And to have this vision in mind, work on the normalisation of relations, for the full implementation of the Ohrid agreement and annex, by both parties, and this is our expectation, this the way forward. This brings Kosovo closer to the vision we share for full integration in Euro-Atlantic structures”.

Konjufca supports Kurti: Key of dialogue recognition and formation of Association (EO)

Kosovo Assembly President Glauk Konjufca told the news website today that Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s statements about the work of EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak were not accusations but rather conclusions. He argued that with his positions, Lajcak positioned himself on Serbia’s side and that in the latest meeting the approach was changed by removing recognition and calling only for the formation of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities.

Asked to comment on the EU and U.S. support for Lajcak’s work, Konjufca said there is only one key for the dialogue to continue and that is for the Association to be formed together with Kosovo's recognition by Serbia. He said he was confident that Kosovo cannot move a single step forward in the dialogue if recognition from Serbia is not on the horizon.

“The original idea was that there can be no Association without recognition. You cannot get the Association and give up on recognition. They can call it whatever they like, a de-facto recognition, it is the recognition of Kosovo’s statehood. Serbia needs to accept that when it crosses the border at Merdare, it is entering a different country. It needs to recognise the flag, symbols, and must not obstruct us from applying for membership in international organisations. Then it is the responsibility of Kosovo to find a form of the Association that is in line with the Constitution, and which does not threaten the legal order. If one tries to ruin this legal order, then they would be siding with Serbia. This is not an accusation; it is simply identifying a person that is doing his job quite irresponsibly. There is only one possible key to move forward in the dialogue: Association together with recognition, otherwise, there is no advancement in the dialogue,” Konjufca said.

Lajcak’s advisor: Disagreements, not proof that the envoy sides with Serbia (EO)

Advisor to EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, Christian Ramet, said today that the EU is calling on Kosovo and Serbia to start without delay the implementation of the Ohrid agreement and all agreements reached in the dialogue so far. He made these remarks during the Kosovo Peace and Democracy Summit in Pristina.

Ramet also said that in the time of crisis, especially with the war in Ukraine, it is time for EU enlargement. “The Russian aggression in Ukraine has shown that now is the time for EU enlargement. When the Ohrid agreement is implemented, it will open up new avenues and it will bring benefits for Kosovo. I believe this is the biggest achievement in the dialogue so far. But the implementation of the agreement and the annex needs to start. The agreement was reached three months ago and there has been no progress yet. A lot of potential was wasted in crisis management and de-escalation. When there are tensions there is no room for dialogue and normalisation. The EU expects implementation. The EU calls on both parties to start the implementation without delay,” he said.

Ramet’s statement was supported by Cynthia Cook from the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo, who said that the U.S. is Kosovo’s biggest supporter. She said Kosovo needs to form the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. “The U.S. is the biggest supporter of Kosovo. We want to see Kosovo in NATO and the only way forward is dialogue. The Association needs to happen. In doing so, Kosovo would open up its full potential. There are very smart people in this country who are doing a really good job,” she said.

Borrell: Preparing for next enlargement wave (media)

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, met in New York with the presidents of the six Western Balkans countries. Borrell wrote on X after the meeting: “Traditional meeting with our six Western Balkan partners, the future members of the EU. We discussed current global challenges, alignment, working jointly in multilateral fora, and reforms. Preparing for the next enlargement wave, we want to make progressive integration a reality.”

Szunyog: Hate speech falls in same group with terrorism (Gazeta Express)

Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, said today during the conference on “Hate speech in public discourse” that any kind of hate speech goes against the fundamental values of the European Union.

Szunyog said that for the EU, hate speech is a serious crime because it has a very big impact on basic human rights and that it undermines the very core of Kosovar society. He also said that “hate speech will fall in the same group of crimes like terrorism, human trafficking, weapons trafficking and so on”.

“Hate speech mostly affects the most vulnerable, the LGBTQ+ community, Roma, Ashkali, Egyptians, and other non-majority communities, girls and women from all communities, people with disabilities and other marginalised groups of society,” he said.

Increasing hate speech, Konjufca: Politicians not a good example (Kosovapress)

Kosovo Assembly President Glauk Konjufca said today that politicians are not a good example of fighting hate speech and that it is the responsibility of every political representative to condemn hate speech. He said that the Kosovo Assembly is drafting the Code of Ethics, which will help create democratic practices of communication. He made these remarks during a conference on “Hate speech in the public discourse”.

Konjufca also said that hate speech has become a global phenomenon and that it represents a challenge in every country. “Unfortunately, there are many cases where even politicians have not managed to set a good example in fighting hate speech in the public discourse,” he said.

Hoti: The degradation of dialogue during Kurti-led government (media)

MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and former Prime Minister, Avdullah Hoti, said in a Facebook post today that since 2018, when the Constitutional Court annulled the law on dialogue by the Haradinaj-led government, allies and political forces in Kosovo, including the party that is in power today, agreed and reached a consensus that the dialogue will be held only for a final and not provisional agreement, legally-binding and one that would have to be ratified by the assemblies [of Kosovo and Serbia], with international guarantees – whereby the EU and U.S. would assume pledges for the implementation of the agreement and Kosovo’s Euro-Atlantic integration, for the normalisation of relations – whereby all issues would be addressed only according to European standards for good neighbourly relations, and for mutual recognition. “What has happened since March 2021? Why did the dialogue degrade into crisis management and the implementation of the association? In the coming days I will present details and acts how Kurti has ‘evolved’ in the dialogue since the first meeting until the last meeting, from the time he engaged in a violent opposition and until today when he is ready to implement the association and to address a special point the status of the Serb Orthodox Church,” Hoti writes.

Posselt: Vucic, the political son of Milosevic! (RTK)

Bernd Posselt, president of the Paneuropa-Union Deutschland, in an interview with Radio Kosova, blamed Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for setbacks in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. “Vucic is a partner that cannot be trusted. He is the political son of Slobodan Milosevic, he has close ties with Putin and Europeans should see this with realism,” he said.

“Serbia cannot become a member of the European Union until it doesn’t recognise Kosovo’s independence,” said Bosselt, who was a member of the European Parliament for two years and a former rapporteur for Kosovo.

Commenting on the situation in the north of Kosovo, Posselt said dialogue is needed and that the resolution of the problem will take time. “Trust-building should be done by the Serbs, because they were the ones that attacked the Albanians with war, and brought the Kosovars on the brink of extinction,” he argued.

Posselt did not rule out the model of South Tyrol as a solution for the north of Kosovo, and said that the U.S. and the European Union should apply pressure on Serbian President Vucic.

On the role of EU facilitators in the dialogue, Posselt said it was a handicap that EU High Representative Borrell is from Spain and Special Representative Lajcak is from Slovakia, two countries that don’t recognise Kosovo’s independence.

Serbian Language Media

Three months without Serbian press in Kosovo (Radio KIM)

Three months after Pristina’s decision to ban import of goods made in central Serbia in Kosovo, Serbian press does not reach the shops and kiosks either, once again violating the right of people to be informed in their mother tongue, Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) recalled, Radio KIM reports.

Distribution of Serbian press had been prevented several times in the last ten years. Everyone can notice empty shelves used to post newspapers for sale, those who used the newspapers as their main source of information and also those who value and cherish their culture.

“I got used to reading newspapers my whole life. That was my way of life”, a 60-year old man from Gracanica said.

“I read “Politikin Zabavnik” my whole life. Although I belong to a younger generation, I would not trade newspapers for a modern access to information”, a 30-year-old woman from Laplje Selo, near Gracanica, said.

Rakocevic: We request that all relevant international organisations enable free flow of press and information

President of the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) Zivojin Rakocevic said that by preventing distribution of the Serbian newspapers in Kosovo, a civilizational process had been interrupted and one of the basic needs and habits that the contemporary world had since the times of Johannes Gutenberg.

"Our newspapers were abolished, and therefore also our books. Habits have been abolished for thousands of those who want to read something in the Serbian language, from Gora through Recani near Prizren, Strpce, Gracanica, villages in Pomoravlje. We ask that all relevant international organisations allow the free flow of press and information. After all, maybe this sentence sounds like a phrase, but we cannot give up on it, because should that be the case, it is a sign that we are giving up on freedom and a normal life", Rakocevic emphasised.

Vanovac: Solution is to exert pressure on Pristina authorities

The President of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo and Metohija (DNKiM) Ivana Vanovac believes there are no circumstances under which some democratic law, some decision made by a supposedly democratic government, will be allowed to limit the right of people to information.

"This is considered the most direct attack on the freedom of the press and the right of the Serbian people to be informed in their own language. The consequences are disastrous. Firstly, the older population, which mostly uses print media as means of information, is deprived of information. Secondly, the right to choose the way of information is getting narrowed. Newspapers are a cheap medium, completely unconditioned by the electricity situation and telecommunications equipment of households", she explained.

She also pointed out that elementary rights of Serbian people have been violated by these imposed obstacles.

"With the exception of a small number of international officials, no one is overly concerned by it. The solution is to put pressure on Pristina authorities. The international community can do it and I don't know why it is avoiding it so much", she concluded.

FM Dacic: Serbia condemns Russia’s attack on Ukraine, it is not neutral (N1, FoNet, VoA)

Serbia condemns Russia’s attack on Ukraine and therefore it is not politically neutral in this regard, Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic told VoA in NY, cited Serbian media.

“We voted in favour of all the resolutions in the United Nations and other international organisations condemning the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” Dacic told Voice of America.

Dacic, who is currently in New York as a member of the Serbian delegation attending the 78th United Nations General Assembly session, stressed that the issue of territorial integrity and sovereignty has become an important topic in international relations.

“Then we wonder if this also applies to us, it obviously does not. And then you realise that there are double standards,” said Dacic.

Asked how Serbia’s neutrality could affect its membership in the European Union (EU), Dacic said accession to the EU is, without a doubt, Serbia’s foreign policy priority.

“There are double standards there, Serbia has minimal economic cooperation with the Russian Federation, unlike those who have introduced sanctions against it, and their economic cooperation with Russia keeps growing,” said Dacic.

The Minister said he has not discussed with Western officials Serbia’s repeated refusal to align with the measures against Russia.

“That goes directly against our state and national interests,” said Dacic, adding that the assessments that the West is too lenient toward Serbia are “an insolent way of thinking.”

“It’s downright cynicism, when you violate someone’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and tell them – what do we care about your territorial integrity, you have to do this and that, which will damage our relations with the countries that support us,” Dacic explained.

The ones saying this have not promised to prevent the efforts for Kosovo to join international organisations.

I therefore fail to see in what way the international community is lenient toward Serbia, said Dacic.

Two Serbs arrested in northern Kosovo (KoSSev, RTS, Kosovo Online)

KoSSev portal reported that a male person was arrested by Kosovo police in Zvecan today. Previously the portal also reported that another male person was arrested in Mitrovica North around 10 a.m. today.

Kosovo police North region, in relation to the arrest in Zvecan, said that same as for the arrest in Mitrovica North that took place this morning, they cannot confirm yet which police units carried out arrests, nor any other details.

RTS reported later that Kosovo police confirmed the arrests. However, motives for the arrests remain unknown. Ilija Elezovic was arrested in Mitrovica North, his family told RTS. He was arrested near Technical School in this city, and his family said they were unaware of the motives nor where he was taken to upon arrest. The family said they expect more details from the Kosovo police in the north, however, they said they do not know details of the arrests yet. Later on, Veton Elshani, deputy regional commander in the North region confirmed that arrested persons were transferred to Pristina.

Meanwhile, Kosovo Online portal reported it learnt unofficially that D.M. a former member of Kosovo police was arrested in Zvecan, near the bus stop.

Serbian List reacts to arrests in Mitrovica North and Zvecan (Radio KIM, social media)

Reacting to the latest arrests in the north by Kosovo police, Serbian List said that two Serbs were "deceitfully" arrested in Mitrovica North and Zvecan today, Radio KIM reports.

"We recall that these arrests of our fellow citizens, as well as the beating of young men in Gracanica, come after Kurti's refusal to actively participate in dialogue and de-escalate situation on the ground. It is obvious that Kurti is continuing with his plan to use violence and force to solve open political issues and treats Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija as hostages in the negotiation process whom he can mistreat whenever he wants and thus sends a message to the European Union that they can't do anything to him", Serbian List said in a statement.

Serbian List appealed to KFOR and EULEX to urgently prevent incursions of Kosovo special police units and other provocations by Albin Kurti's regime, which, as they pointed out, threaten peace and incite tensions.

Office for KIM on arrests: New deterioration and causing uneasiness among Serbs (Radio KIM, Kosovo Online)

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija reacting to today’s arrest of two Serbs in northern Kosovo, said it has been clear that new deterioration of the situation was in place, and causing uneasiness among the Serbs who do not want to leave their homes, Radio KIM reports. It also said that the latest arrests represent part of the threats “by the anti-Serbian regime in Pristina that Serbs will suffer and pay”, Kosovo Online portal reports citing the statement.

The Office said that the two arrested Serbs were taken to an unknown direction, south of the Ibar River.

“The Office for Kosovo and Metohija provided the lawyers for the arrested Serbs, and they are now attempting to find out where they were taken to, because their families do not have detailed information about it either”, the Office said in a statement.

The statement added that “first Ilija Elezovic who is in difficult health condition was arrested in Kosovska Mitrovica, and then Dragan Milovic in Zvecan, former police officer, both displaced because of the conflict and who found shelter in the north of KiM, and got suddenly arrested today”.

The Office also said it will inform international representatives and missions in Kosovo about their arrests.

ACDC research: Trust in police and judiciary in northern Kosovo on drastic decline (Kosovo Online)

Mitrovica North-based non-governmental organisation Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC) presented results of a publication Assessment of Judiciary and Police Status in Northern Kosovo in a press conference today.

The publication said the trust of people from northern Kosovo in those two institutions had drastically declined after Serbs left those institutions in November last year, Kosovo Online portal reports.

The research offers a comprehensive review of the situation and assesses the impact resignations of the Kosovo Serbs from those institutions made on the functionality of the legal and law enforcement systems.

In addition to ACDC representatives, Kosovo police deputy commander for region North, Veton Elshani, Basic Court from Mitrovica representative Lumnie Surudli, KFOR and EULEX representatives attended the conference.

Presenting the findings, ACDC program director Aleksandar Rapajic said those institutions in northern Kosovo are in major trouble, after Serbs collectively left them in November last year. He listed the number of Serb police officers in the north and that of judges, prosecutors and administrative staff who worked in the Basic Court in Mitrovica, following the integration of the police and judiciary, adding that they have resigned because of discrimination and delays in establishing the Community of Serb Municipalities.

He added that in the north there is no notary at the service of citizens, and it is necessary to go to Mitrovica South, where language barrier exists, because Albanian notaries mainly do not speak Serbian language.

Lumnie Surudli from the Basic Court said that following the decision of Serbs to leave institutions, a lack of human resources was faced. She added that in line with circumstances they attempted to do what they could, that all got engaged and attempted to make sure that the court functions normally and is open to all.

On the other hand, Kosovo police recorded an increase in the number of reported cases in the north by 12.3, which Veton Elshani interpreted as an increase of citizens’ trust in Kosovo police.

The portal also said that journalist and citizens present in a conference voiced number of concerns related to the work of the police, including engagement of the Kosovo special police forces in the north and their checkpoints, that slowly, as they said, turn into military-police bases in locations where Serbs make dominant majority of the population.

Elshani said the presence of the police and construction of bases was done because of needs, and because of, as he said, “additional work on security for all citizens”. As the portal reported, he said he does not know if similar police checkpoints as the one established in the north, exist in other parts of Kosovo.

The publication is available at: rb.gy/fskad

Petkovic: Nervous Kurti (KiM Radio)

''How nervous Albin Kurti is after the diplomatic slap he received in Brussels is best shown by dictating to Xhelal Svecla to threaten Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic with arrest,'' said the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic in his latest statement, reported KiM radio.

"When he cannot outplay or defeat Vucic in any field, he tries to deal with him with hatred and threats, because Pristina and Kurti only know hatred and violence", the statement said.

"It is just a continuation of the violent, threatening, anti-Serb, hateful policy of Pristina towards everything Serbian", the statement added and emphasises that "such messages do not contribute to calming tensions or solving the crisis, but are a continuation of provocations, inflammatory statements and escalation that Pristina provokes and invokes''.

"Svecla and Kurti can threaten Vucic, but they can never prevent him from helping the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija", Petkovic said.

Svecla: If Vucic enters Kosovo without a permit - he will be arrested

Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla, warned that the Serbian President will be arrested "if he enters Kosovo without authorization".

"For permission, he has to turn to the prime minister, without permission to me," Svecla said as a guest on ATV's program.

"Without a permit, you know which institutions deal with it. If he enters Kosovo, without any doubt. How do you think that someone, as a foreign citizen, can enter the Republic of Kosovo without the permission of the Kosovo institutions? What are the consequences? The consequence is that, simply, you do not have a state if the head of another state enters your territory without permission", he said.

Svecla concluded by stating that he does not believe "that Vucic is so crazy to come to Kosovo without a permit".

PACE: Legal team to come to Kosovo and prepare a report on the compliance of the legal system with the standards of the CoE (Kosovo Online)

Regarding the announcement that next week, as part of the procedure for considering Kosovo's request for membership in the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of that pan-European organization (PACE) will send a delegation of eminent legals to Kosovo, Kosovo online reported, based on information received from the PACE press service. The delegation, in accordance with established practice, will prepare a report on the assessment of compliance of the legal system of Kosovo with the standards of the Council of Europe.

"Since this is a technical visit, no program will be made public. They are expected to meet with a wide range of interlocutors - from the authorities, civil society, representatives of the international community...", PACE told Kosovo Online.

Once the legal team has completed its work on the ground, the portal added, there is no deadline by which it should prepare its report.

"The report will be submitted to the PACE Bureau, and the Bureau has not set a deadline by which it should be done," stated the answer from the PACE, sent to Kosovo Online.

The next step, after the lawyer's report is handed over to the Bureau, will be for Kosovo to be visited by the rapporteur for Kosovo in the PACE, Dora Bakoyannis, who is the head of the Greek delegation in this body of the Council of Europe.

"The date of the rapporteur's visit Bakoyannis has not yet been determined. According to the established practice, this visit takes place only after the Bureau declassifies the reports of eminent legals," the portal was told by PACE.

Kosovo officially submitted a request for full membership in the Council of Europe on 12 May 2022, and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided on April 24 of this year to forward that request for further procedure to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

During the decision-making process at the Committee, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, Cyprus, Spain and Serbia were against the initiation of the decision-making procedure on Pristina's request. Support for Pristina was provided by 33 countries, including from the region Montenegro, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Croatia and Albania.

Vucic: I will continue to fight for what is the best possible for Serbia (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended a reception hosted by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York for heads of delegations attending the UN General Assembly session, Tanjug news agency reports.

"This week in New York is an opportunity to exchange views with world leaders on the current situation in Europe and the world, challenges regarding migration, climate change and sustainable development, as well as to make an additional push for preservation of peace and stability in the region", Vucic wrote in a post on his official Instagram account.

"Today, as in the past days, a large number of meetings are ahead of us and, in this challenging period, too, I will continue to fight for what is the best possible for Serbia", he added.

Vucic also said that, besides a discussion with Guterres, he had also had long discussions with friends - European Council President Charles Michel and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

PM Brnabic on elections: Opposition says one thing, writes another (N1, BETA)

Serbian Prime Minister and official of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Ana Brnabic said the SNS is not shunning from elections, N1 reports.

She told Happy TV that, regarding elections, the opposition is “saying one thing, writing another”, and that, at this point, “no one knows exactly what they want”.

The Serbian Prime Minister said some opposition parties changed their mind and, in a very short period of time, their representatives first did not want elections and then they did.

She added that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic invited them to discuss elections, but that they did not take part “in the technical talks”. That invitation is open, she added.

International

Kosovo, North Macedonia Sign Agreement for Common Border Crossing Point (BIRN)

Kosovo and North Macedonia have recently signed an agreement aimed at establishing common border crossing points between the neighboring states.

The Kosovo Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, accepted on Monday the agreement signed by his counterpart in North Macedonia, Oliver Spasovski, which allows the citizens of both neighboring countries to no longer be subject to dual checkpoints, but controls will only be carried out at a single crossing point.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, this agreement will enable the establishment of common border crossing points with the Republic of North Macedonia, specifically at “Han i Elezit – Bllacë” and “Glloboqicë-Jazhincë.”

While, at the common border crossing point “Han i Elezit – Bllacë,” customs and border controls will be conducted on the territory of North Macedonia in Bllacë, at the common border crossing point “Glloboqicë – Jazhincë,” customs and border controls will be carried out on the territory of Kosovo, specifically in Glloboqicë.

Sveçla emphasized in Facebook that “this simplification of procedures will facilitate the movement of individuals and vehicles, save citizens’ time, and eliminate waiting at border points.”

The government of North Macedonia, on July 4th, approved the text of this agreement.