• Kurti: Europe's security and defence will be decided this decade (media)
• In Greece, Kurti meets envoy Lajcak, Montenegrin FM Krivokapic (media)
• Citaku criticises Kurti for Greece visit, says Kosovo is being run by DPM Bislimi (media)
• Two more Ukrainian journalists arrive in Kosovo (media)
• Association of journalists condemns attack on RTK crew (media)
• EUROSTAT: Kosovo's population has shrunk by 10 percent since 2003 (Koha)
• Kosovo looking for piece of Israeli normalization pie (Jewish News Syndicate)

Kurti: Europe's security and defence will be decided this decade (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti is taking part in the 24th Symi Symposium, in Athens, an annual gathering of global thinkers following the tradition of Ancient Greek philosophers.

Addressing a panel on the implications of the war in Ukraine, Kurti said that Kosovo is a double success story: first because of NATO's intervention in 1999 and second, as he said, because it managed to combine economic growth with qualitative democracy, a press release issued by the Government of Kosovo said.

It added that Kurti underscored that the Berlin Process is the best way forward to European Union integration for the region while with regards to Ukraine, he urged the EU to do everything to help the people of Ukraine liberate themselves. He said the EU and NATO should cooperate more closely as "the security and defence of Europe in this century will be decided this decade."

In Greece, Kurti meets envoy Lajcak, Montenegrin FM Krivokapic (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti met at the sidelines of the Symi Symposium the EU Special Representative for Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak as well as the Foreign Minister of Montenegro Ranko Krivokapic.

Kurti commented on his meeting with EU’s Lajcak which he said focused on the next steps in talks with Serbia. “I reiterated that our Govt stands ready for principled & constructive dialogue. Citizens must be the end-beneficiaries of a legally binding agreement, centered on mutual recognition.”

 Also on Twitter, he said that in the meeting with Krivokapic, “We highlighted our bilateral relations, based on good neighborliness and mutual appreciation, and spoke of Russia's influence in the WB and the danger it poses to peace & security.”

Citaku criticises Kurti for Greece visit, says Kosovo is being run by DPM Bislimi (media)

Deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Vlora Citaku has criticised Prime Minister Albin Kurti for what she said is a prolonged visit to Greece.

She said normally in such conferences like the one Kurti attended, the prime minister stays for two days maximum. "Goes to the opening, holds speech/meetings and comes back." Citaku said that in Kurti's absence, Kosovo is being run by his deputy, Besnik Bislimi. "It seems this is Bislimi Government I, not Kurti II."

Two more Ukrainian journalists arrive in Kosovo (media)

Kosovo has welcomed two more journalists from Ukraine as part of the "Journalists in Residence - Kosovo" programme.

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom and the Association of Kosovo Journalists said they are making preparations to receive more journalists from Ukraine in the coming days.

Association of journalists condemns attack on RTK crew (media)

The Association of Kosovo Journalists (AGK) has condemned an attack on the RTK crew as they were covering a story on the street sellers at the Pristina green market.

According to the Association, one of the sellers attacked the cameraman and the journalist and prevented them from completing their reporting. AGK called on law enforcement authorities to treat the case with priority and bring author to justice.

EUROSTAT: Kosovo's population has shrunk by 10 percent since 2003 (Koha)

The population of Kosovo has been shrinking in recent years, by 10.2%, compared to 2003 when Eurostat first reported on the data from Kosovo, Koha reports.

Eurostat published the data on Monday in a report on the progress of the population of Europe since the 1960s, on the occasion of World Population Day. Eurostat also concluded that after a first decline in population growth in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU’s population decreased again in 2021, from 447 million on 1 January 2021 to 446.8 on 1 January 2022.

See the report at: https://bit.ly/3nSrdpV

Kosovo looking for piece of Israeli normalization pie (Jewish News Syndicate)

Seemingly every month, new, eye-popping figures are released as trade and investment between Israel and its new Gulf State partners skyrockets. The normalization associated with the Abraham Accords has provided an economic boon for Israel and its partners, the political turmoil in Sudan notwithstanding.

But there has been a somewhat forgotten player that has yet to reap the rewards of its new relationship: Kosovo. While it isn’t recognized among the Abraham Accords series, the Trump administration served as agent for the Washington Agreement between bitter foes Kosovo (officially the Republic of Kosovo) and Serbia. On Sept. 4, 2020, Kosovo’s then-Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić signed and separately submitted to Trump declarations identical in wording and content, apart from their respective commitments regarding relations with Israel.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3c6KDoh