• Kurti: No partial implementation of agreement, no delays (media)
• Deadline to form Monitoring Committee expires (Koha)
• European Parliament expected to vote on visa liberalisation today (media)
• Kurti meets Davenport, discuss elections in the north (media)
• Vela: Serbian Govt trying to interfere with local elections in north (media)
• Serbian government adopts measures to protect Serbs in Kosovo (Euractiv)
• Jablanovic: Situation in the north can escalate (media)
• Kurti: Pleased to announce agreement with IMF for up to €260M (media)
• Vela reacts to Dacic’s remarks about Kosovo’s CoE membership (media)
• Private hearing of first witness in Thaci trial causes concern (BIRN)
• 20 cases of criminal acts against reporters this year (RTK)
• Seizing crypto-mining equipment has saved Kosovo ‘millions’: Govt (BIRN)

Kurti: No partial implementation of agreement, no delays (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Saturday that “we spent the last 2 years negotiating a legally binding agreement between Kosovo and Serbia”. “On March 18 in Ohër/Ohrid, EU HR/VP Josep Borrell officially announced the deal. What has been agreed upon must now be implemented—fully and immediately. No partial implementation; no delays,” Kurti wrote on Twitter.

Deadline to form Monitoring Committee expires (Koha)

One month after the accord on the Implementation Annex of the agreement reached in Ohrid, Brussels has yet to publish the composition of the Joint Monitoring Committee, which is supposed to monitor the implementation of all points of the agreement. The parties have had disagreements on this point too, and while Kosovo has proposed teams different from the chief negotiators, Serbia has insisted that the chief negotiator should be the monitor.

Neither the European Union nor the Kosovo Government have explained on Monday if the structure of the monitoring committee has been finalised.

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said on Sunday that this week they have worked on documents which he called important for the implementation of the dialogue agreements, but he did not mention the monitoring committee. He also expressed concern about the security situation in the north on the eve of extraordinary local elections there. “We discussed the latest developments in the Dialogue and the situation surrounding license plates, as well as exchanging notes on upcoming elections and other developments in northern Kosovo. I also had the opportunity to update the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, Caroline Ziadeh, about the progress in the Dialogue ahead of her regular briefing of the UN Security Council,” Lajcak said.

European Parliament expected to vote on visa liberalisation today (media)

The European Parliament is expected to vote today on the agreement for visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens, in what is seen as the last obstacle in a lengthy process, Koha reports. If the agreement receives the votes of MPs, the President of the European Parliament and Sweden as chair of the EU Presidency will officially sign the decision on liberalisation on Wednesday. If adopted, Kosovo’s citizens will be able to travel without visas starting from 1 January 2024.

Kurti meets Davenport, discuss elections in the north (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met with OSCE Head of Mission in Kosovo, Michael Davenport, and discussed the extraordinary local elections in the north, scheduled for April 23. A press release issued by Kurti’s office notes: “Less than a week before holding of elections in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë north, Zvecan/ Zveçan, Leposavic/Leposaviq, and Zubin Potok, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, met with the Head of the OSCE Mission, Ambassador Michael Davenport. The elections in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo and common fields of cooperation between the OSCE and the Government of Kosovo were discussed in the meeting … The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of holding of local elections as a constitutional and legal obligation as well as a procedure of democratic legitimacy for the institutions in the service of citizens. The need for normal functioning of the system and state institutions makes holding of elections necessary”.

Vela: Serbian Government trying to interfere with local elections in north (media)

Chief of Staff to Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, Blerim Vela, reacted to a press release issued by the Serbian Government mentioning the extraordinary local elections in the north of Kosovo. Vela tweeted: “This is a prima facie evidence of Serbia’s attempt to interfere with local elections in north Kosovo. Such foreign election interference aims to disrupt the whole election process and intimidate local Serbs from exercising their democratic right to elect their representatives,” Vela wrote.

Serbian government adopts measures to protect Serbs in Kosovo (Euractiv)

The rights of Serbs in Kosovo are to be protected through five different measures, which include the urgent formation of the Serbian Municipalities Association, according to a package of measures recently adopted at a meeting in Raska. The package lists five measures to protect the rights of Serbs and other non-Albanian populations. The measures call on the international community to end the “violation of the agreement on licence plates” and enable freedom of movement for Serbs. It also calls for the urgent formation of the Serbian Municipalities Association (SMA) as an absolute prerequisite for all further steps in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. These measures should be adopted as soon as possible, according to the Serbian government, which has committed to giving a better life for Serbs in Kosovo.

The government also asks international missions to “urgently take measures” to ensure the withdrawal of Albanian police forces from the north of Kosovo. The government condemns the “undemocratic attempt of the temporary institutions of self-government in Pristina to hold elections for local administration in four majority-Serb municipalities.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3ordw4s

Jablanovic: Situation in the north can escalate (media)

Leader of the Party of Kosovo Serbs (PKS), Aleksandar Jablanovic, in an interview with Insajderi, commented on the current situation in the north of Kosovo, the upcoming extraordinary elections there and the role of the Serbian List in the process. Jablanovic argued that there is a possibility of escalation and that incidents such as the burning of vehicles and properties will result in people not taking part in the elections.

Jablanovic criticised the Central Election Commission on the issue of the voting stations which were announced only yesterday. He also criticised the governments of Kosovo and Serbia and the QUINT ambassadors for not visiting the north to convey their messages.

Commenting on the Serbian List, Jablanovic said that the party is always active, namely that it always takes part in the elections and that this time it has only one objective. “The Serbian List, through some NGOs, has sent the names of observers for the elections,” he claimed.

Kurti: Pleased to announce agreement with IMF for up to €260M (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti took to Twitter on Friday to announce that Kosovo has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for up to €260M. “An initial €80M for building renewable & solar energy capacities, with the possibility of another €80M in addition. A further €100M will be available in the form of budgetary support,” Kurti tweeted.

Vela reacts to Dacic’s remarks about Kosovo’s CoE membership (media)

Chief of Staff to Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, Blerim Vela, took to Twitter to react to a statement by Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic who said that he would not go to Strasbourg on the 20^th anniversary of Serbia’s admission to the Council of Europe, if Kosovo is admitted to the institution one day later. Vela tweeted: “A reminder for the clownish MFA of Serbia that Kosovo’s membership to Council of Europe is fully in line with agreements: Brussels 2013: point 14; Brussels 2023: point 4. If Serbia votes against Kosovo’s membership to Council of Europe, it will be in clear violation of the said agreements!”

Private hearing of first witness in Thaci trial causes concern (BIRN)

Decision to hear the first witness in the trial of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and his three co-defendant in closed session raises concerns about transparency, experts say.

The first witness of the Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor’s Office in the trial of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and his three co-defendants was heard this week in the Hague in closed sessions – after the prosecution requested protection of the identity of the witness.

However, the decision has caused concern about the court’s transparency and about the right of the public to draw their own conclusions.

Amer Alija, legal analyst at the Humanitarian Law Centre Kosovo, which monitors the trials at the Specialist Chambers, told BIRN: “The court proceedings before the KSC have drawn a lot of interest from the Kosovar public and beyond; the court must find a solution between transparency/publicity and identity protection.”

In the court’s weekly press briefing on Thursday, spokesperson Michael Doyle said that “all trials before the KSC are public, however sometimes judges will decide to conduct part of the trial hearing in a so-called private session, or to redact certain information, to protect the identity and security of witnesses or victims”. Such decisions are made on a case-by-case-basis.

“The judges make sure to balance the need to protect witnesses with the rights of the accused,” Doyle added, noting that the witness was cross-examined by lawyers of the defendants despite the hearing being private.

Alija, however, told BIRN that several protective measures are already in place to protect the identity of the witnesses and still maintain parts of the testimony in public.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/40fDbKP

20 cases of criminal acts against reporters this year (RTK)

Kosovo Police have treated 20 cases of criminal acts against reporters this year, 12 of them threats. The Basic Prosecution in Pristina, last year, received 12 cases where reporters of different media were damaged. The State Prosecutor has filed 7 indictments and four of them are under investigation.

Director of the Kosovo Law Institute, Ehat Miftaraj, said that the criticism against reporters by some representatives of institutions are also reflecting among the people. “We have seen that in the last two years in Kosovo, reporters were attacked even by some advisors to government ministers and the regime, and this then reflected among the people too. Based on the monitoring of judicial institutions by the Kosovo Law Institute, we have seen that in the cases of assaults against reporters, the courts issue ridiculous fines,” Miftaraj argued.

Head of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, Xhemail Rexha, said that lately the environment for journalism has become increasingly difficult. “We are continuously engaged together with our partners – the judicial institutions and the police – to cooperate and provide an unimpeded environment for the work of reporters, especially because of the fact that our work has a great impact,” Rexha was quoted as saying.

Seizing crypto-mining equipment has saved Kosovo ‘millions’, govt claims (BIRN)

Ministerial adviser says government has saved some 2 million euros a year in electricity by confiscating illegal crypto-mining equipment in the Serb-run north.

Kosovo’s Ministry of Economy told BIRN that confiscating crypto-mining equipment from the Serb-majority north has saved the state budget some 2 million euros a year in electricity.

Last week, Kosovo Police undertook two separate raids against crypto-mining in the north resulting in the confiscation of around 200 cryptocurrency mining equipments.

“The seizure of cryptocurrency mining equipment, an activity with an extremely high consumption of electricity, combined with actions to close drug labs, and all other actions in the four municipalities in the north of the country, have had a significant impact on reducing consumption of electricity,” Edita Pozhegu, advisor to the Minister of Economy, told BIRN on Monday.

According to Pozhegu, energy consumption in the north had constantly increased over the years, by 14 per cent in 2020 alone. After the government banned crypto-mining equipment in January 2022, energy consumption fell by 3 per cent.

“This has a direct effect on the protection of the state budget … especially at a time when we were at the peak of the European energy crisis and import prices experienced enormous increases,” Pozhegu explained.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3L85eaE