UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, July 20, 2022

Lajcak does not see the fact that Kurti and Vucic did not meet as a tragedy (RTK)
Government informed embassies on license plates and ID decisions (Telegrafi)
"Elektrosever" misses several deadlines of the energy roadmap (Koha)
Ukraine War Makes Kosovo-Serbia Deal More Urgent – Enver Hoxhaj (BIRN)
Janjic not satisfied with Lajcak’s mediation of dialogue (Danas, media)
The U.S. Department of State publishes the report on human trafficking (media)
Kurti holds farewell meeting with Swedish ambassador Hernmarck (media)
RFE on Radoicic: U.S.-sanctioned smuggling politician that 'represents' Kosovo Serbs
Kosovo’s Online Media Lack Resources to Combat Fake News: Report (BIRN)

Lajcak does not see the fact that Kurti and Vucic did not meet as a tragedy (RTK)

The EU emissary for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue Miroslav Lajcak has indicated whether the recognition of Kosovo will be the topic of future talks in Brussels with the Serbian side.

In an interview with RTK, he said that he is working on a legally binding comprehensive agreement for the normalization of relations.

According to him, Kosovo and Serbia should agree whether or not there will be mutual recognition in the dialogue process. "With this, the EU does not want to describe what normalization is or what it is not. The EU doesn't say it should be this, or it shouldn't be that. The message is clear that Kosovo and Serbia must agree on what normalization means. If they agree it is recognition, if both parties agree, recognition is recognition, but they must agree. If they don't agree, it's something else. The issue is that it should be an agreement between both parties, between Kosovo and Serbia, and this is the reason why we have a dialogue," he said.

He stated that the plan was to have a high-level meeting before the summer break, but that did not happen. "But this is not a problem or a tragedy. The most important thing is that the two leaders, Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic, who have agreed to the meeting, have agreed to meet regularly. They have agreed to take the dialogue to that level and at the same time we must make sure that this third meeting, the third official meeting in Brussels, is positive and gives concrete results", he said.

According to him, it is not important for them where the meeting will be held, but the quality of the meeting. "After assessing the situation, I decide that it is better to wait a bit and make sure that the meeting is good," Lajcak said.

Government informed embassies on license plates and ID decisions (Telegrafi)

On 29 June, the Government of Kosovo took two decisions regarding use of ID cards in entering Kosovo and license plates issued by Serbian authorities for Kosovo cities.

Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi while reporting to the Assembly committee on European integration said that the Government had prepared a four-page document in light of the above decisions and sent it to foreign embassies in Kosovo and those of Kosovo in the world.

The document notes that the expert teams from Kosovo and Serbia met many times in an effort to find a solution that would reflect European standards. "Throughout six months, Kosovo has demonstrated constructive approach which was recognised by the EU facilitator, however this was not reciprocated by Serbia," the document reads. As a result, Kosovo is said to have addressed the issue in line with past agreements, the legal framework of Kosovo, "as agreed with the EU facilitator and in full coordination with the international community."

"Elektrosever" misses several deadlines of the energy roadmap (Koha)

The Serbian company "Elektrosever" has missed several deadlines set out in the roadmap for the implementation of the energy agreement, Koha reports, adding that it has been over two weeks since the deadline for this company to submit the latest customer data to Kosovo's, KEDS and KOSTT.

"We are talking about an issue where actors who are higher than us are involved in this issue, namely the Energy Regulatory Office, which supervises us, and the Government of Kosovo, which is informed about every detail, so you put your questions to these institutions", KEDS spokesperson, Viktor Buzhala, said.

However, neither the Government nor the European Union have answered Koha on how the solution will be found for the current in the north if the agreement is not implemented and whether there will be penalties for those who disregard it. A day ago, Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi said that he hopes that the agreement will be implemented since there are 100 days at the disposal.

Ukraine War Makes Kosovo-Serbia Deal More Urgent – Enver Hoxhaj (BIRN)

Former Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj says that it is high time Kosovo and Serbia and the international community geared up to put the long dispute between two countries to bed, by reaching an agreement within the EU-facilitated dialogue by 2024.

In an interview with BIRN, Hoxhaj, who recently published a book on the consequences of the Ukraine war for Kosovo and the Balkans, says this war has made finding a solution more urgent.

“The war in Ukraine shows that it would have been vital for us to have achieved an agreement between 2013 and 2017, when EU enlargement had a different dynamics,” Hoxhaj, told BIRN.

“But we left this issue open, and international events are creating new situations, different focuses and attentions,” he added.

Kosovo and Serbia have been engaged in an EU-led dialogue since 2011, first on technical issues and then involving top political leaders.

But little has happened, and for years the two countries have traded blame for the failure to implement those agreements that were reached during the process.