• EU Council agrees negotiating mandate on visa free travel (media)
• Kurti: We need 2-3 months for normalisation of relations with Serbia (N1)
• Rohde: Kurti is no longer in opposition; form the Association (Klan Kosova)
• Resigned Kosovo Serb police must reapply for old posts, Kurti says (BIRN)
• Osmani meets institutional leaders of Bulgaria (media)
• Lajcak reported on dialogue before EP Foreign Affairs Committee (RTK)
• EU to discuss granting visa permits to Kosovo passport holders (euronews)
• Judges, prosecutors, cancel court sessions in Kosovo over pay cuts (BIRN)
• Protest to be held in Pristina today after killing of woman (media)
• Most Kosovo Serbs gloomy about country’s future, survey shows (BIRN)
• Kosovo Special Court rejects Thaci request for early defense testimonies (BIRN)
• This is what a textbook is teaching young Serbs about the Balkan wars (RFE)

EU Council agrees negotiating mandate on visa free travel (media)

EU member states’ ambassadors today agreed the Council’s negotiating mandate on a regulation on visa free travel for holders of passports issued by Kosovo. On the basis of this mandate, the presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament.

Jan Lipavský, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, said: “Today we have taken an important step towards visa free travel for Kosovo and we now hope to reach an agreement with the European Parliament swiftly to make this promise a reality. Visa liberalisation has been made possible by Kosovo’s efforts to strengthen its border controls, migration management and security, and we trust that this good cooperation will only grow stronger in the future.”

The draft rules would allow Kosovo passport holders to travel to the EU without a visa for a period of stay of 90 days in any 180-day period. Under the Council position, the exemption from the visa requirement would apply from the start date for the operation of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and in any case no later than 1 January 2024.

Background

Kosovo has made significant progress in all blocks of the visa liberalisation roadmap including in the fields of document security, border and migration management, public order and security, and fundamental rights relating to freedom of movement. On the basis of this assessment, the Commission proposed to lift the visa requirement for holders of passports issued by Kosovo. The exemption from the visa requirement will ensure that the whole Western Balkan region is under the same visa regime.

The Commission will continue to actively monitor the implementation of these requirements, including visa policy alignment, through the post-visa liberalisation mechanism.

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

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti took to Twitter on Wednesday to say that he welcomes “today’s important and overdue decision by COREPER on visa liberalisation for Kosova, an acknowledgement of our commitment to rule of law, fighting corruption, strengthening border controls & managing migration. Thankful to @EU2022_CZ and look forward to the finalization of this process.”

Kurti: We need 2-3 months for normalisation of relations with Serbia (N1)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Wednesday that an agreement with Serbia can be reached before spring and that he believes that two or three months are enough for the normalisation of relations.

In an interview with N1, Kurti said that the Kosovo government wants an agreement, but that according to him Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic wants dialogue for the sake of dialogue and not dialogue for an agreement. “We want an agreement, let us go to dialogue. Belgrade and Vucic don’t seem to want an agreement. Kosovo is a normal country. We have declared our independence almost 15 years ago and last year we had the biggest growth … Kosovo is a normal country with progress and development, but our relations with Serbia are not normal. This is not about Kosovo; Serbia is not a normal country,” he argued.

Kurti commented on the request to form the Association of Serb-majority municipalities by drawing parallels with the Serb entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska. “In order to normalise relations, we need to have mutual recognition at the centre of the agreement. If Belgrade says that this is not going to happen, then they are against the agreement … Kosovo will not allow a Republika Srpska in our territory and we know very well that this is what Serbia wants. There is a bitter experience from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we are very careful not to allow Serbia to repeat the same model in Kosovo too,” he said.

Rohde: Kurti is no longer in opposition; form the Association (Klan Kosova)

German Ambassador to Kosovo Jorn Rohde, said on Wednesday that they expect the implementation of all Brussels agreements, including the Association of Serb-majority municipalities.

"You have seen the statements of Germany, the QUINT countries and the EU, that we expect all parties to implement the Brussels agreements, which also include the Association. For us it is clear, it is part of the solution, but we have also emphasized several times that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed," Rohde said in an interview with Klan Kosova.

Speaking about the opposition Vetevendosje Movement has made to the Association for years, Rohde said that this subject is in the government and is not an opposition party or movement. "It's not from last week, but when you say all the Brussels agreements, it means this, that is, the Association of Serb Municipalities was ratified in 2015 by the Parliament of Kosovo, we have a decision of the Constitutional Court. Now you are the government, you are not an opposition party or movement, it is 'pacta sunt servanda' as a state you must implement the things that have been agreed upon by your own assembly and the second is that the decision of the Constitutional Court did not say that it should not be done (Association), but only you have to modify or add some things to harmonize it with the constitution and this is not my job, but it is the job of the government of Kosovo. Unfortunately, the previous five governments have not implemented this," Rohde said.

He added that the visa liberalization process is not related to the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, and he expressed his conviction that the visas are already a done deal.

"The issue of visas is not related to the dialogue. We love visa liberalization and I want to give you an example, if a businessman will go to a fair in Germany or any other European country, for us it is an obstacle to increase trade relations and I am really convinced that this now it has been decided by the 27 ambassadors of the EU and it is a done deal," Rohde said.

Rohde said that the reality of independent Kosovo cannot be changed and that this cannot be imagined differently.

He stated that Kosovo has been recognized by most European countries and that if we only see those small steps in the last two years, the small steps in the Berlin process, now with the recognition of diplomas, then free travel with IDs in Serbia, there are more recognitions in the context or there is more sovereignty than two months ago. Then there is also the bilateral issue, Germany has recognized Kosovo's driver's license and now also the liberalization of visas.

"So the train is going in the right direction. Too slowly for me, but I don't see even a remote possibility to work on bringing the Western Balkans closer to the EU and NATO, and this is the clear goal of every leader of the Western Balkans, and Kosovo is the most pro-EU country and pro NATO".

"Even your neighbor, Serbia, has declared in favor of the EU and only the words must match or the actions must match the words," Rohde said.

Resigned Kosovo Serb police must reapply for old posts, Kurti says (BIRN)

Kosovo PM says ethnic Serb police who resigned en masse this month will have to reapply from scratch if they want their old jobs back.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, on Wednesday ruled out the automatic return to work of more than 570 police from the Serbian community in four municipalities in the north after they resigned en masse early this month.

On November 5, all 10 Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista MPs, one minister, four mayors, judges, prosecutors, and police members from the Serbian community resigned.

The move attempted to pressure the government to withdraw its plans to impose Kosovo-issued licence plates on drivers in the north using plates issued by Serbia.

Twelve days after, nine new MPs from Srpska Lista took the oath in parliament, replacing the ten previous MPs, while a tenth came from another party, Freedom, Justice and Survival. Despite filling the seats, they are boycotting parliament’s work, however.

On Wednesday, speaking in parliament, PM Kurti said that those who had resigned would have to apply again from scratch.

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

Osmani meets institutional leaders of Bulgaria (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani on the first day of her visit to Bulgaria, was received in a meeting by the acting Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Galab Donev and the President of the National Assembly of Bulgaria Vezhdi Rashidov.

The press releases from the president's office, inform that they discussed bilateral relations, the possibilities for deepening them and the current situation in Kosovo, the region and beyond.

Osmani has stressed that Kosovo expects Bulgarian support in its Euro-Atlantic path, stressing that in this aspect it can benefit from the experience of this country.

"Both interlocutors have focused on the issue of energy security, while the acting Prime Minister Donev, as well as President Radev, have shown their willingness to support Kosovo with electricity supply. The parties confirmed that there will be an interstate meeting of the ministries of the relevant line on this matter," the communiqué states.

In a meeting with the acting Prime Minister, Donev, Osmani received support for membership in the Council of Europe and other international organizations, as she informed him that Kosovo intends to apply for membership in the EU.

“According to President Osmani, the dialogue with Serbia should be focused on mutual recognition at the center, the preservation of territorial integrity, constitutional order and institutional functionality of the Republic of Kosovo,” the presidency informs.

After her meeting with the Assembly Speaker Vezhdi Rashidov, Osmani’s office informed that "one part of the meeting was dedicated to the current situation in Kosovo and beyond. President Osmani emphasized that it is important for the decision on visa liberalization to take place during the Czech presidency of the EU. As for the dialogue with Serbia, she reiterated that it should focus on mutual recognition. According to her, Kosovo is a constructive party in this process, against Serbia, which, using illegal structures in the north, is trying to destabilize Kosovo”.

Lajcak reported on dialogue before EP Foreign Affairs Committee (RTK)

EU Special Representative for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, reported on Wednesday about the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue in front of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs. "Today I addressed the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament about the updates on the dialogue. I briefed them on last week's EU-facilitated agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, the latest developments, and the way forward. Thank you for the important support of my work," Lajcak wrote in a Twitter post.

EU to discuss granting visa permits to Kosovo passport holders (euronews)

The European Union has moved a step closer to allowing Kosovo passport holders to enter the bloc without visa requirements.

Under draft laws, Kosovar citizens could soon travel to the EU without a visa for a period of stay of 90 days over a six-month period.

Among western Balkan countries, only Kosovo citizens must currently apply for a permit to visit, study, or receive medical care in the EU and the Schengen area.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3OQQH3F

Judges, prosecutors, cancel court sessions in Kosovo over pay cuts (BIRN)

Hundreds of court sessions were postponed in protest against government decision to reduce salaries for judges and prosecutors.

Some 429 court sessions were not held in less than a week in the Basic Courts of Prishtina, Prizren and Ferizaj, as well as in their branches, following the decision to reduce salaries for judges and prosecutors.

On November 23, the government reduced the salaries of prosecutors and judges to their pre-2017 level, when the government of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj increased them.

Over four days, 188 sessions were canceled in the Basic Court of Prizren and its branches. The court spokesman, Marcel Lekaj, told BIRN that on November 24 alone, 43 sessions were postponed.

“On the basis of the electronic system, in the Basic Court in Prizren and its branches, on the date 24.11.2022, 43 court hearings that were scheduled were postponed,” Lekaj said.

He clarified that on November 25, another 17 court hearings that were scheduled were also postponed.

“On November 29 and 30, 128 sessions were postponed. In total, according to court data, 188 hearings were canceled in four days,” Lekaj said.

Meanwhile, in the Basic Court of Prishtina, on November 29, 113 court sessions failed to take place.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Vndo1I

Protest to be held in Pristina today after killing of woman (media)

All news websites report that the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) has called a protest for today in Pristina after a pregnant woman was killed by her husband on Wednesday evening in front of the maternity hospital. The protest starts at 16:00 hours.

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, in a Facebook post, condemned “the macabre and inhumane crime”. “Tonight, it is difficult to think that there is hope. But tonight, hope and faith are needed more than ever. This criminal wave against women and this femicide must stop. We are faced with a test, not only as a state, but as a society too. No more excuses and justifications. The lives of girls and women, same as the life of every citizen, is sacred,” she wrote.

Most Kosovo Serbs gloomy about country’s future, survey shows (BIRN)

A pessimistic analysis by the Mitrovica-based NGO Aktiv shows that the Serbian community in Kosovo does not believe that the country is moving the right direction and fears their lives are getting worse.

More than half of Kosovo Serbs who took part in a survey said they believe that life will worsen in the next three years, while only 7 per cent believe life is moving in the right direction.

The report by the Mitrovica-based NGO Aktiv, “Attitudes of the Serbian Community in Kosovo”, was presented in Belgrade on Wednesday after being presented in Pristina, in Kosovo, on Monday.

The research was based on a 42-question questionnaire to which 540 people responded face to face in the period May-June 2022.

“From 2020 to today, the percentage of respondents who believe Kosovo is going in the right direction has halved from 14 per cent to 7 per cent,” it notes.

“From the situation in 2020, when one in seven respondents thought Kosovo was going in the right direction, we have reached the point that in 2022 only one in 14 respondents share an optimistic attitude about the future of Kosovo,” the report says.

NGO Aktiv’s director, Miodrag Milicevic, said the analysis presents “a pessimistic picture, a harsh reality dominant over the past 20+ years.

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

Kosovo Special Court rejects Thaci request for early defense testimonies (BIRN)

Kosovo Special Court rejects a request by the defence of former President Hashim Thaci to expedite the testimonies of several former international officials whose age and health raises fears about their possible death before the trial opens.

A judge at the Kosovo Specialist Court in The Hague has rejected the request of the defence of former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci, awaiting trial for war crime charges, to expedite the testimonies of eight international diplomats.

Pre-Trial Judge Nicollas Guillou rejected the request, recalling that the “Thaci Defence is not precluded from making submissions with regard to the witnesses to the relevant trial panel, if it so chooses”.

Thaci’s defence in early November said it wanted several former senior international officials to testify, including Wesley Clark, the commander of NATO forces for Europe during the Kosovo war, Bernard Kouchner, the former head of the UN interim administration in Kosovo, and William Walker, head of the OSCE mission in Kosovo during the war.

The defence requested a “unique investigative opportunity” to take these testimonies before the trial actually starts, in order to avoid losing the chance to call them during the proceedings.

“All eight witnesses are of advanced age – ranging from 77 to 87… and of varying degrees of health,” Thaci’s lawyer, Gregory Kehoe, said in his motion of request.

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

This is what a textbook is teaching young Serbs about the Balkan wars (RFE)

A Serbian history textbook describes neighboring post-Yugoslav countries as "Serb states," plays up Serb suffering, and downplays or anonymizes atrocities.

Within the nearly 400 pages of a widely used Serbian textbook, college-age students can learn that neighboring Montenegro and Republika Srpska, one of the two main entities that compose Bosnia-Herzegovina, are "Serb states."

They won't learn that Serb forces committed genocide at Srebrenica in 1995, killing more than 8,000 mostly unarmed civilian men. Other war crimes by Serb forces in the post-Yugoslav wars get hardly any mention.

Together with RFE/RL's Balkan Service, Jelena Djureinovic, a historian from the University of Vienna, analyzed the contents of the textbook for its accuracy in a country less than three decades removed from the internecine wars of the Balkans in the 1990s.

She characterized excerpts of the book that teach young Serbs about the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its successor states as a melange of "problematic statements, selective presentation of facts, [and] a focus that corresponds to Serbian nationalism."

The book is one of just several textbooks assigned to upper-level secondary-school students in Serbia. It was published by Belgrade-based printing house Novi Logos in 2021 and authored by Dushko Lolandic, Ratomir Milikic, and Maja Milinovic.

Here are seven of its most highly disputable statements.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3VESc7c