• Lajcak: Plan will not be negotiated, it is “take it or leave it” (media)
• EU expects Kurti and Vucic to accept proposal on Monday (media)
• Approval of Berlin Process agreement will aid regional integration, benefit Kosovo, experts say (Prishtina Insight)
• Szunyog, Rohde commend Assembly for ratifying agreements (media)
• Who is preventing Serbs in Kosovo from applying for government aid? (RFE)
• Osmani meets Hovenier, discuss developments in Kosovo and region (media)
• Kosovo’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs visits Greece (RTK)
• Pacolli implies two new recognitions of Kosovo (media)

Lajcak: Plan will not be negotiated, it is “take it or leave it” (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said in an interview with RTK on Thursday that the February 27 meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for the first time will be dedicated to the European proposal for the normalisation of relations and that the plan in itself is “take it or leave it”.

“February 27 is an important date. For the first time, it will be dedicated to the European plan. We expect they [the leaders] to publicly say that they accept the plan. It will be more than a verbal acceptance. But I don’t want to talk about the ceremony because we will discuss the implementation plan. The plan in itself will not be negotiated. The parties have been consulted because the first draft was shared with them, and we see no reason or chance for negotiations. We truly believe that the plan addresses the issue, respects the red lines of all parties, and offers the maximum that can be reached,” Lajcak said.

On the issue of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, Lajcak said he knows “the ruling of the Constitutional Court almost by heart and it says that the Association should be formed”. “The Government should take into consideration the findings of this Court. I think the conclusions are clear and the ruling states that the statute of the Association should be drafted and the legal act of the Government should take into consideration the conclusions of the Court,” he said.

Lajcak also said that Kosovo will not be forced to accept anything against legal system. “I think that Kosovo is multi-ethnic, we are speaking about the Association, and I do not think there is a single mono-ethnic municipality. The Albanians live in the north. We want to apply European models. We do not want to force Kosovo to accept anything that would be against its functionality and its legal system. Why should we do that?” he said.

EU expects Kurti and Vucic to accept proposal on Monday (media)

EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said he is working “on the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, as coordinator of this dialogue mandated by the United Nations, on the normalisation of relations”.  He said: “we are at a crucial juncture, and I hope that in the next weeks I can offer positive results. The European Union has presented a proposal to the parties that would put the normalisation process on a solid, forward-looking track”.

“On Monday, we will have a high-level meeting with the two leaders in Belgrade and Pristina, the President of Serbia [Aleksandar Vucic] and the Prime Minister of Kosovo [Albin Kurti], in order to see if this engagement is serious, solid and presented a clear way for the normalisation of relations between the two of them,” Borrell said.

Approval of Berlin Process agreement will aid regional integration, benefit Kosovo, experts say (Prishtina Insight)

The Assembly of Kosovo has ratified three agreements resulting from the so-called Berlin Process for the six countries of the Western Balkans, including visa-free travel with Bosnia and Herzegovina and recognition of higher educational and professional diplomas.

The Assembly of Kosovo on Thursday approved agreements on free movement with identity cards with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the recognition of higher education qualifications in the Western Balkans and recognition of the professional qualifications of doctors, dentists and architects in the region.

The agreement on free movement with identity cards is expected to be voted on by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. After coming into force, visa-free movement of citizens between Kosovo and Bosnia will be possible.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti on Thursday presented the agreements to deputies, saying that he was optimistic that free movement will be ratified in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“We have difficult relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina due to the veto of the Republika Srpska there, but the Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who is a Serb, also signed it in Berlin, and this makes us optimistic that this agreement will be ratified there as well and enable circulation from Kosovo to Bosnia and vice versa, only with identity cards,” Kurti stated.

The Executive Director of the EPIK institute, Demush Shasha, told Prishtina Insight that the agreements are important as they are one of the key elements for creating a common economic market between Western Balkan countries.

He emphasized that, through the agreements, Kosovo benefits from the visa regime waiver in Bosnia, while mutual recognition of diplomas for students will be done without additional costs, and they will be able to practice their professions in different countries.

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Szunyog, Rohde commend Assembly for ratifying agreements (media)

Head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, welcomed the adoption of three Berlin Process Agreements by the Kosovo Assembly on Thursday. “Congratulations to Kosovo for being among the first to ratify the three Berlin Process agreements with overwhelming support in the Assembly. These three international agreements will enable free movement with ID cards and recognition of higher-education qualifications and professional qualifications within the Western Balkans. Today’s ratification is an important step for the Berlin Process, Common Regional Market and improving good neighbourly relations. It is a clear sign of Kosovo's dedication to moving forward on its European integration path,” Szunyog wrote in a Twitter post.

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, took to Twitter on Thursday to commend members of the Kosovo Assembly for ratifying three mobility agreements. “Kudos to the Kosovar Parliament for ratifying the three mobility agreements so quickly. They will bring concrete benefits for KOS citizens, massively foster the regional integration of WEB6 and bring them one step closer to the EU. #BerlinProcess is showing results!” Rohde tweeted.

Who is preventing Serbs in Kosovo from applying for government aid? (RFE)

Kosovo’s Minister for Returns and Communities, Nenad Rasic, says that the intimidation of the Kosovo Serbs has gone a step further as they are being obstructed from applying for aid from this ministry. He said that local politicians in Serb-inhabited areas in Kosovo are trying to prevent their fellow citizens from benefiting from the aid provided by the Kosovo government.

In Serb-majority areas in Kosovo power is held by the Serbian List, the biggest party of Kosovo Serbs, and the only party that enjoys the support of Belgrade.

Until early November last year, the Serbian List led the Ministry of Returns and Communities but after Goran Rakic (party leader) resigned as part of the collective withdrawal of Serbs from Kosovo’s institutions in the north, Prime Minister Albin Kurti gave the post to Nenad Rasic from the Democratic Progressive Party. The Serbian List reacted harshly claiming that the decision was “illegitimate” while Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called Rasic “the worst Serbian scum”.

Radio Free Europe contacted several persons, who applied for aid and then withdrew their requests, but they did not want to talk publicly about the topic.

Some representatives of Serb municipalities in different municipalities said they did not dare apply for aid fearing the consequences, namely that they would not get employed or that some of their family members would lose their jobs.

Osmani meets Hovenier, discuss developments in Kosovo and region (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met on Thursday with U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier and discussed recent developments in Kosovo and the region. A press release issued by Osmani’s office notes that they also discussed opportunities of comprehensive bilateral cooperation on fields of mutual interest, including energy, security and other fields.

Kosovo’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs visits Greece (RTK)

Kosovo’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kreshnik Ahmeti, visited Greece on Thursday, hosted by his Greek counterpart, Kostas Fragoggianis. Ahmeti wrote on Twitter after the meeting “ten months after we signed the Letter of Intent between the Kosovo and Greece Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in Economic Diplomacy Kostas Fragoggianis, we overviewed the progress of our relations in a number of fields. Happy that we exchanged ideas on future cooperation as a means of bringing our countries closer”.

Pacolli implies two new recognitions of Kosovo (media)

Leader of the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) and member of the Kosovo Assembly, Behgjet Pacolli, said in an interview with ATV on Thursday that he visited two important countries last week and that they are close to recognising Kosovo. “I don’t have to present them because the circumstances are such. I was there, and I can say that two big countries are close to recognising Kosovo,” he said.

According to Pacolli, the reason why he is not announcing more information is that there is a silent agreement with Serbia not to work on new recognitions. “There is a silent agreement with Serbia to not work on new recognitions and to not have a derecognition campaign. “But I have further developed my area of operation and I will not stop. I did not reach that agreement,” Pacolli said.