• Rohde: Kurti administration should take concrete steps (euronews.al)
• Kosovo Parliament approves €2.75 billion budget for 2022 (Exit News)
• Palokaj: There could be visa liberalisation in first half of 2022 (Koha)
• Protests called against Serbian President visit to Albania (Exit News)
• Police mobilize for Vucic visit to Tirana and Berisha rally (euronews.al)
• Albanians and Serbs ‘influence the Balkans’, says Lajcak (media)
• How can Kosovo government approach the visa liberalisation issue? (EWB)
• How did Denmark find shelter for its inmates in Kosovo? (euronews.al)
• Afghan refugees slowly leave Balkan countries for West (BIRN)
• Last despatches: Why the Balkan wars were so deadly for journalists (BIRN)
• COVID-19: Four new cases, no deaths (media)

Rohde: Kurti administration should take concrete steps (euronews.al)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorne Rohde, in an interview with Euronews Albania, spoke about several ‘hot topics’ concerning the challenges facing Kosovo at the moment. The German diplomat confirmed his support for Kurti’s administration while emphasizing that the latter should make concrete steps, when it comes to the dialogue with Serbia, and not simply resort to declarations.

“I think that the Special Representative, Miroslav Lajcak, is doing everything in his power to mediate an agreement and we are asking both parties to sit at a roundtable and try to find a compromise because, at the end of the day, citizens want to see results. This is the reason this administration was elected, for results, not declarations,” – said the German diplomat.

In addition, he said that Kosovo has fulfilled all conditions for visa liberalization but emphasized that there is no unanimity on this matter within the EU block.

“The problem lies with several skeptic states. We, as well as the European Commission, know very well that Kosovo has fulfilled all necessary criteria. It’s a good thing that now the government is engaged with these skeptic countries and I believe this will be possible. Elections are also underway in several European countries so I remain optimistic,” – said ambassador Rohde.

The German diplomat also commented on the Open Balkan initiative, which according to him, isn’t inclusive, which is why in these circumstances, he supports the Berlin Process instead.

“The Berlin Process is inclusive. I haven’t been able to say the same thing about Open Balkan thus far. I’ve seen that 3 countries aren’t participating and this is an open case. What’s important is that the Berlin Process is an inclusive process. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been able to produce much progress, also due to the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia but we hope to overcome this,” Rohde said.

Kosovo Parliament approves €2.75 billion budget for 2022 (Exit News)

The Kosovo Assembly approved a €2.75 billion budget for 2022 in an extraordinary Friday session that was boycotted by the opposition. The 2022 budget has earmarked €100 million for the military, in an effort to bring Kosovo’s defense spending to 2% of the country’s GDP, as required by NATO of its members. €45 million will be used to support new mothers and childcare. Whereas a portion of the budget will be used to ensure that pensions do not fall below €100 per month. The budget foresees €10 million for the purchase of new embassies, and another €2 million for the Presevo Valley, a region in southern Serbia inhabited by some 60,000 ethnic Albanians. Another €50 million will be used to support farmers, while €40 million are set aside for local producers.

“This budget is geared towards investment because we will invest 700 million euros in education and health, culture and sports, infrastructure and security,” Prime Minister Kurti said in a Facebook post.

Palokaj: There could be visa liberalisation in first half of 2022 (Koha)

Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj told KTV that there could be movement for visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens in the first half of next year, arguing that France will go to parliamentary elections and that things may change.

Palokaj said that Kosovo has met all the requirements for visa liberalisation and that this was confirmed by the European Commission. “The European Parliament supported the recommendation for visa liberalisation, but there were no attempts at the Council, where the member states decide. Kosovars cannot have great expectations after the request of the Parliament because we saw that this will not happen,” he said.

Palokaj also said that France will chair the European Union next and that there could be movement in this respect. “We have seen that Germany is in favor of visa liberalisation for over a year now, and if France will be, then there are greater chances next year. Meanwhile, there will be presidential elections in France in spring. I believe that after these elections there could be movements next year and perhaps even visa liberalisation,” he added.

Protests called against Serbian President visit to Albania (Exit News)

Albanian Former Prime Minister Sali Berisha has called a protest against Serbia’s President Alexander Vucic visit to Albania. The protest is expected to take place on Monday around 4 pm in front of the building of Albania’s Prime Minister’s office.

“The young Slobodan, Miloshevic’s Gebels, shall be received as he deserves it, with protests,” stated Berisha, referring to the fact that Vuçiç was Milosevic’s Minister of Information during the Serbia’s ethnic cleansing operations in Kosovo in late 1990s.

Vucic and the outgoing Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev will be in Tirana for a meeting of the Open Balkans initiative hosted by Albanian prime Minister Edi Rama. The initiative started by the three leaders has been shunned by the three other Western Balkans countries Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Police mobilize for Vucic visit to Tirana and Berisha rally (euronews.al)

Aleksandar Vucic is expected to arrive in Tirana tomorrow evening and at the same time, former PM Sali Berisha has called a rally that will take place at the Blvd. Deshmoret e Kombit, close to the prime minister’s office, where Democrats and others will protest against the Open Balkan initiative.

According to police reports, Vucic will be landing at Rinas airport at around 16:00 and in order to avoid possible incidents, his escort will be following strict security measures.

North Macedonia’s PM, Zoran Zaev will also be present in Tirana on Monday.

Meanwhile, starting from early Monday morning, Tirana’s police will be mobilized and ready for the protests called by former PM Sali Berisha.

Government buildings and other institutions including Parliament will be heavily guarded according to a detailed plan of measures.

Around 1 000 officers are expected to be on the ground to manage and maintain order during the entire course of tomorrow’s protest, which according to Sali Berisha won’t only be against ‘Open Balkan’ but also about the ‘horrible embezzlement of 420 million euros in the incinerators scandal’.

Albanians and Serbs ‘influence the Balkans’, says Lajcak (media)

The EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said in an interview for Bosnian media that he doesn’t see a better alternative for the Western Balkans, other than integration into the EU.

Speaking on the four main challenges the region, Lajak argued that relations between Kosovo and Serbia have a great influence on regional cooperation. “The most important strategic challenge is the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Prishtina, because it’s not just about these two places. Serbs and Albanians live in every single country in the Balkans, and the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo impacts regional cooperation as a whole. That is why, the solution to this holds great strategic importance,” he said.

Lajcak said that the most urgent challenge that needs to be addressed is the opening of negotiations for the integration of Albania and North Macedonia into the EU, while the crisis in Bosnia and Hercegovina, according to him, is the most serious challenge.

In an interview for Bosnian media, Lajcak said: “the most fundamental challenge in my opinion is the answer to the question: how will the Balkans be? Will it be a Balkans with European values, that promotes democracy and the rule of law, that fights corruption and has an independent press and civil society?”

He also spoke about Montenegro, arguing that over the past year, there hasn’t been any substantial progress, even though it is the country that is the closest to EU integration.

How can Kosovo government approach the visa liberalisation issue? (EWB)

Op-ed by Donika Emini, Zoran Nechev and Besnik Vasolli

It has been three years since the European Commission (2018) confirmed that Kosovo met the last two requirements set in the roadmap for visa liberalisation. That meant that all the criteria set out in the Visa Liberalization Roadmap have been satisfied and that the ball is in the court of the EU. Based on their positive assessment, the Commission’s proposal to lift the visa requirements for Kosovo citizens – as set by procedures – was sent for adoption to the European Parliament and the Council.

This has happened following four progress reports plus an additional final one on the remaining two benchmarks i.e. border demarcation agreement with Montenegro and satisfactory track record in the fight against organised crime and corruption.

The European Parliament’s willingness to move swiftly on the issue was confirmed on September 13, 2018, when most MEPs voted for approval to start visa talks with Kosovo. However, the Council stopped short at putting the issue on a vote and the decision on the proposal is still under consideration in the Council. There are several reasons why this is not happening, while some are officially stated, like the two member states, France and the Netherlands, object to the Commission’s assessment, especially regarding the rule of law issues, fight against corruption, and organised crime.

Until the concerns of these two EU member states are not addressed sufficiently, Kosovo will remain in the waiting room. The Commission is obliged to continue monitoring the visa liberalisation criteria in the future, doing so through the Stabilisation and Association mechanism.

Thus, they provide their opinion on the matter on an annual basis, which has remained unchanged since 2018 and was recently reconfirmed in the Kosovo Country Report. However, this persistence on paper but also through statements by the visa liberalisation supporters did not change the situation on the ground for Kosovo that is still stuck in limbo.

Meanwhile, witnessing the support of the EU Commission and the EU Parliament without any plan how to conclude this process, the frustrations among Kosovo citizens and the political elites have been on constant rise, and even some of them have given up from the process.

While the two parties, the EU and Kosovo, have spent the past three years playing the blame game on who failed the visa liberalisation process, not much has been discussed on how to create opportunities to overcome the current stalemate. This begs for the question of what can be done in this regard. The only recommendation to Kosovo was engagement on the diplomatic level with the sceptic countries. This became the key response even of the EU representatives from the Commission and the Parliament, which acknowledged the lack of delivery from the EU side due to the scepticism by certain member states.

Kosovo has done the same, namely, for two years, the Kosovo MFA and MIA has been continuously supplying information on progress achieved in fighting organised crime and corruption to France and German counterparts. According to government reports, under Kurti’s watch, the pace on cracking down organised crime elements in Kosovo has increased.

In the first six months of his government (April 1-September 30), very welcoming results have been achieved in fighting crime and corruption from: 519 raids and 283 police operations were carried out, dismantling 29 criminal groups. Intensification in the fight against smuggling, tax evasion and crime throughout Kosovo has been observed.

However, what can Kosovo do to unblock the stalemate in regards to the visa liberalisation process: Continue to blame the EU for the injustice and not delivering on its promises while doing some small and not visible steps. While this is a strategy used also by the previous political leadership in Kosovo, this approach did not produce any positive results nor did it strengthen the position of Kosovo in this process. Kosovo is still isolated.

To avoid the expectations from one EU presidency to another, hoping that the visa liberalisation will be pushed by each EU member state holding the Presidency, the second option that Kosovo can pursue is to revisit and reassess the benchmarks which are problematic for the sceptical member states – the fight against corruption and organised crime – from the moment the Commission decided until today.

This scenario has its risks. The main one is the risk of opening the chapter which in the eyes of the political leadership and citizens in the country, is closed. However, Kosovo can try to slightly change its strategy and engage proactively by proposing a way out of this situation based on consultations with Paris, Den Haag, and the EU Commission – if the latter formally or informally wants to engage in this process. Plus, devoting attention to these policy areas complies with Kurti’s government main priorities.

Opening the visa liberalisation process again would be unpopular and contra-productive. However, proposing a detailed plan for addressing the criticism of the sceptical EU member states while including them in assessing the actions could be a potential game-changer.

Furthermore, this will reaffirm the commitment of Kosovo and its reformist government in concluding a long-overdue process. In the end, even the countries from the Western Balkans which have a visa-free regime with the EU are being monitored under the Visa Suspension Mechanism.

Timing is crucial in politics. This has been proven in the case of Kosovo missing the window of opportunity to finalise the process alongside Georgia and Ukraine. Therefore, initiating something of this sort in the very early stages of the French Presidency is essential. Establishing a track-record in certain rule of law areas needs time. Thus, bypassing the first 2022 EU presidency and focusing/advocating for a decision under the Czech Presidency is worth exploring.

This process can be effective and produce tangible results, especially with the new German government’s reconfirmed support as the visa liberalisation for Kosovo’s citizens is part of the coalition agreement. Thus, making Germany a good peer for the Government of Kosovo to address the main concerns halting the visa liberalisation process – especially in approaching the sceptics and pushing forward the visa liberalisation process. But also in engaging and supporting the current Kosovo government in fulfilling their announced and much-anticipated reforms.

How did Denmark find shelter for its inmates in Kosovo? (euronews.al)

Kosovo has the capacity to take in 300 inmates from Denmark and will shelter them for the entire course of their sentence. Authorities have announced that Kosovo will be profiting 210 million euros from this project, which will be mainly dedicated to capital investment and more specifically, renewable energy.

Alban Muriqi, an advisor to the Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said in an interview with Euronews Albania that the Ministry of Justice has been subcontracted from its counterparts in Denmark to rent out some of its prison cells for a specified number of inmates.

Who are these inmates?

The Ministry of Justice has announced that the inmates coming from Denmark aren’t high-risk prisoners and their maximum sentence doesn’t exceed 10 years. They are mainly prisoners from third-world countries but who have family members in Denmark.

Those exempt from the agreement are high-risk prisoners, those convicted for terrorism as well as those suffering from mental disorders – seeing that these categories would be too challenging for Kosovo’s current capabilities.

Felons coming to Kosovo have usually committed what are known as common or ‘ordinary crimes’, said Muriqi adding that after a thorough analysis of their profiles, they haven’t noticed any serious offenses.

“They have mainly been convicted for crimes like theft, injuries, forgery or smuggling,” – he added. “Danish experts have assessed that Kosovo fulfills also standards and criteria.”

In addition, he said that Kosovo’s prisons aren’t overpopulated and that there are currently around 700 to 800 open cells.

Read full story here: https://bit.ly/3J8eQ2q

Afghan refugees slowly leave Balkan countries for West (BIRN)

Several thousand refugees evacuated in August and September after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, and given temporary shelter in the three Balkan countries, are slowly beginning to dwindle in numbers.

After sorting out security and other formal checks, Western countries are accepting them on their own soil, transport them in batches for further temporary settlement there.

Albania hosted the largest number of Afghan evacuees, and still does. Of a total of 2,400 refugees evacuated to Albania, 150 have now left on flights to the United States and several other EU countries, Albania’s Foreign Ministry told BIRN. Those still placed in hotels in Durres and Shengjin remain under Albanian temporary protection that lasts for a year.

The ministry told BIRN that they are not expecting more refugees in Albania, meaning as soon as more refugees are cleared for departure, their numbers should gradually decrease further.

North Macedonia currently hosts 407 Afghan evacuees, 76 of whom have already left for three different countries. Ten left for France in mid-October, after which another 27 flew to Ireland, and another 35 people left for a more permanent stay in neighbouring Greece.

The evacuees still in North Macedonia are mainly stationed in hotels near the capital, Skopje, and other smaller places. “They are well taken care of. They have all the necessities provided, and access to internet, and to other activities and courses organised for them,” North Macedonia’s Red Cross told BIRN.

They are also allowed to move relatively freely, with daily bus trips to the capital for shopping and other activities.

In Kosovo, rights groups were most concerned about the lack of transparency over this issue in the country. According to the Kosovo Interior Ministry, 971 Afghans have been placed there in two refugee camps.

Most were placed in a former camp built by the US-Turkish construction company Bechtel Enka, and some were placed at Camp Liya, located within the US military Camp Bondsteel.

But BIRN has been unable to uncover how many of these people have officially been transported to other countries, or how many have maybe arrived additionally.

The Interior Ministry and government did not respond to BIRN’s queries, nor did the US embassy. Media on December 8 reported that 265 of the Afghans had gone to Canada.

“Today we bid farewell to our 265 Afghan friends, who in the early morning hours left Pristina for Canada,” a Kosovo Interior Ministry statement read at the time. Earlier, in December, the Ministry of interior also said another group of 54 people left for the US.

On Friday, another group of 79 more refugees left for the US.

Last despatches: Why the Balkan wars were so deadly for journalists (BIRN)

This introduction to BIRN’s new Last Despatches book, which commemorates the journalists and media workers who died during and just after the Balkan wars, examines why the 1990s conflicts were so deadly for reporters.

“Hardly a day would go by without risk – going to the frontline or reporting from the streets of Sarajevo, it was like a lottery, a matter of luck…”

This is how Bosnian journalist Arijana Saracevic Helac remembers the early 1990s – a time of danger, fear and blood. “I was lucky during the war, I really was,” insists Saracevic Helac, who worked for Radio-Television Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time. “I was taken captive, I fell from a helicopter, a bullet passed so close to me that I was left with a mark made by the passing bullet for years.”

The Balkan wars of the 1990s were some of the deadliest in history for journalists. During and just after the conflicts that erupted amid the collapse of Yugoslavia and continued from 1991 to 2001, more than 150 reporters, photographers, television camera operators, producers, fixers and other media workers were killed.

Some were shot dead by fighters at checkpoints, some were murdered in their offices or outside their homes; others died in indiscriminate mortar attacks or became the ‘collateral damage’ of air strikes. They came from a variety of media and a variety of countries, but the one thing they had in common was that they were killed while doing their jobs.

All their deaths leave indelible traces of poignancy – the 23-year-old photographer who was shot as he took his last picture of his beloved hometown in flames; the newspaper correspondent whose skull was smashed with his own typewriter; the reporters and fixer who were murdered the day after the war that they had been covering had ended; the TV crew who died shielding a five-year-old child’s body from an artillery blast.

But few of the murders of media workers during the 1990s wars were properly investigated, even by their own countries. Even fewer people have been prosecuted. As of January 2022, only one has been convicted – Serbian paramilitary chief ‘Captain Dragan’ Vasiljkovic, who was found guilty of war crimes against prisoners of war and civilians, including one reporter.

In some cases, it is not even clear who opened fire, and disputes persist over which side on the battlefield was to blame. Case files remain open in prosecutor’s offices across the Balkans, gathering more dust as the years keep passing.

Read full story here: https://bit.ly/3F8f7jj

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

Four new cases with COVID-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. Seven persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 312 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.