• Borrell: Kosovo and Serbia must return to dialogue, no other way (Koha)
• Lajcak visits Norway, discusses dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia (media)
• Abdixhiku: I am trying for a great comeback of the LDK (media)
• AAK’s Lekaj says KSF commander was sacked (Ekonomia Online)
• Healthcare workers on strike today (Telegrafi)
• PDK denies agreement on Prishtina deputy mayor post (Kallxo/Zeri)
• KEDS asks for 7 percent increase in electricity tariffs from December 1 (Koha)
• COVID-19: Eight new cases, no deaths (media)

Borrell: Kosovo and Serbia must return to dialogue, no other way (Koha)

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell said on Wednesday that dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia must resume as there is no other way to stabilise the situation. He made these remarks at the joint meeting of NATO and EU officials in Riga, Latvia. “There were many tensions between Kosovo and Serbia in the last couple of months. The situation is now calmer. But there is a need to return to the table of dialogue and to resume the dialogue. There is no other way to stabilise the situation,” Borrel said.

Borrell also said that the Western Balkans remains a strategic region and that for the EU it is very important to have stability in the region. He also mentioned the recent developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, calling as concerning the efforts to undo the 26 years of peace and stability.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting, said in his address: “Western Balkans is at the heart of Europe and is a very important region for NATO and the European Union. We are witnessing concerning developments. We are very concerned with inflammatory rhetoric in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tensions between Belgrade and Pristina continue. Reforms are stalling and foreign actors have increased their malignant influence.”

Stoltenberg also said that a great deal of work has been achieved since 1990. “We have ended brutal wars and countries in the region joined the European Union and also NATO. NATO and the European Union are working closely together for the good of the region, both in Kosovo and also in Bosnia and Herzegovina where NATO and the EU work hand in hand,” he said.

Lajcak visits Norway, discusses dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia (media)

The European Union Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said on Wednesday that he has discussed the dialogue process with Norwegian senior officials. “Good to be in Oslo today! In my meetings with the State Secretary, the Secretary-General and the Western Balkan team of the Foreign Ministry, we discussed the developments in the Western Balkans and the Dialogue. I’m grateful for Norway’s strong support to my work,” Lajcak wrote on Twitter.

Abdixhiku: I am trying for a great comeback of the LDK (media)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) leader Lumir Abdixhiku said in an interview with Klan on Tuesday that whoever in the LDK suffers a big defeat in the elections they are removed from the party’s leadership. Asked if he would leave the LDK if he loses next elections, Abdixhiku said he does not know defeat as an option and that he is doing his best for the LDK’s comeback as a winning party.

“I am trying to bring back the LDK. Victory is my option, defeat is not. I will do everything I can for a great comeback of the LDK. It may take some time. We suffered bad results on February 14. And then we recovered on November 14. We will continue our efforts. The process is long but there is a standard in the LDK that has been set by others and that is that those who suffer bad results are removed and others come in,” Abdixhiku said.

Asked to comment on the Open Balkan initiative, Abdixhiku said it is a political and not an economic project. He said that if Serbia recognises Kosovo’s borders, then Kosovo would not have a problem with joining the initiative.

AAK’s Lekaj says KSF commander was sacked (Ekonomia Online)

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) MP Pal Lekaj said in an interview with the news website that the Kosovo Assembly was not notified about the resignation of Kosovo Security Force Commander, Rrahman Rama. Lekaj said the whole process was hasty and according to him President Vjosa Osmani sacked Rama.

“As far as the sacking of the commander is concerned, I think there is total lack of information, the Assembly had no information and the process should not have been so hasty unless there was a crisis within the KSF. Similar to other decisions, the Kurti government is acting in haste and is creating confusion among the people but also in the Assembly,” he said.

Healthcare workers on strike today (Telegrafi)

The Kosovo Federation of Healthcare Unions said it will hold another strike today as the government has not yet responded to their demands. Healthcare workers held a strike on November 25 calling on the government to submit the law on salaries to the assembly as soon as possible and for the law to start being implemented early next year. The healthcare workers will hold an eight-hour strike in front of government premises.

PDK denies agreement on Prishtina deputy mayor post (Kallxo/Zeri)

Representatives of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) denied media reports according to which this party has reached an agreement with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) for the post of deputy mayor of Prishtina to go to PDK’s Blerand Stavileci. A PDK official told the news website that they are the third party in the new municipal assembly and that they cannot decide who will be the deputy mayor.

“No, we don’t have any agreement. The PDK branch in Prishtina is the third party with its offer. We cannot decide on deputy mayors. We are an opposition in the municipal assembly with 9 assembly members,” the PDK official said.

Zeri reports that Perparim Rama, who won the runoff elections in Prishtina and will assume the post of mayor soon, said in an interview with Kanal 10 that LDK’s Alban Zogaj will become the deputy mayor.

KEDS asks for 7 percent increase in electricity tariffs from December 1 (Koha)

The daily reports in one of its front-page stories that the Electricity Distribution Services in Kosovo (KEDS) has asked the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) for a 7 percent increase in electricity tariffs from December 1. A spokesman for KEDS told the paper that they have not received a response from the ERO yet. The ERO meanwhile said that they are reviewing the request to see if the tariffs will be reconsidered before March next year.

COVID-19: Eight new cases, no deaths (media)

Eight new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours. 14 persons recovered during this time. There are 314 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.