UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, July 28, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

EU prefers resignation of mayors in north for elections as soon as possible (Koha)

Zubin Potok mayor: I’ll resign if agreement between govt, PDK and internationals (Telegrafi)

Chollet expected to visit Pristina on July 30-31 (Koha)

Kurti reacts to calls by Serbian football club fans for return of Serbian army to Kosovo (media)

Abdixhiku meets businesses: “New Road” is being supported everywhere (Kosovapress)

Independent Media Commission head: For us, Klan Kosova is all good (Klan Kosova)

U.S. State Department report on climate investment in Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Borrell statement says Serbia aligned with EU sanctions on Syria (N1)

"Kurti is the problem..." (B92)

Brnabic meets with Egypt's El Gebaly (Tanjug)

Albanian Language Media

EU prefers resignation of mayors in north for elections as soon as possible (Koha)

The European Union expects new elections in the north of Kosovo to be held as soon as possible and says that the resignation of the four mayors is the fastest way to this. A spokesperson for the EU told Koha on Thursday that the EU expects “the parties to meet the requests of the EU as noted in the declaration of 27 member states on June 3, 2023”. “This clearly notes that early elections should be held as soon as possible and organised in a fully inclusive manner in the four Serb-majority municipalities in the north,” the spokesperson said.

Asked what is the way that the EU supports to announce elections as soon as possible, the EU said that “the resignation of the mayors is the fastest way to early elections” and that “the parties have to show constructiveness in implementing the elections”.

Zubin Potok mayor: I’ll resign if agreement between govt, PDK and internationals (Telegrafi)

Mayor of Zubin Potok municipality, Izmir Zeqiri, told TV Dukagjini on Thursday that he can resign his post if there is an agreement between the Kosovo government and his party the Democratic Party of Kosovo and internationals. “If I resign there needs to be an analysis what will come afterwards,” he said.

Zeqiri said he politically answers to PDK leader Memli Krasniqi and the party, but that he would “respect the legal procedures and the state led by Albin Kurti”. “There should be previous consultations before we resign. There needs to be a strong reason for me to resign,” he said. “If there is a harmonized agreement, I can resign. Without an agreement with Memli Krasniqi, the party, the government, and even the internationals, I cannot resign.”

Chollet expected to visit Pristina on July 30-31 (Koha)

Senior counselor to the U.S. State Department, Derek Chollet, is expected to visit Pristina on July 30-31. Neither the Kosovo government nor the Office of the President have confirmed the visit. Meanwhile the United States Embassy in Pristina did not comment on the visit but did not deny it will happen.

Kurti reacts to calls by Serbian football club fans for return of Serbian army to Kosovo (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti took to Twitter on Thursday to react to a banner by fans of a Serbian football club calling for the return of the Serbian army to Kosovo. Kurti tweeted: “In 1990 fans of Serbian football club Crvena Zvezda, led by ICTY-indicted Serbian mobster Arkan, rioted against Croatia. For some, this was a spark of the wars that ensued. Yesterday Crvena Zvezda called for the Serbian army to return to Kosovo. The calls to violence are incessant.”

Abdixhiku meets businesses: “New Road” is being supported everywhere (Kosovapress)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, said on Thursday after meeting representatives of Kosovo businesses, that the “New Road” initiated by the LDK is being supported everywhere. He said that business representatives gave him support for a new path of political stability and development of Kosovo. According to Abdixhiku, present at the meeting were around 80 percent of Kosovo’s economy, “and they need greater political support”.

Abdixhiku also said that business representatives expressed their concerns about “the political situation and the lynching language of the government toward them”. He also criticised Prime Minister Albin Kurti for consulting the businesses for increasing the minimum wage.

Independent Media Commission head: For us, Klan Kosova is all good (Klan Kosova)

Head of the Independent Media Commission (IMC), Jeton Mehmeti, said in his briefing to members of the Kosovo Assembly, that the Klan Kosova TV station is all good as far as the IMC concerned. Mehmeti said that when the relicensing was made in 2018, the TV station met all the requirements and added that Klan Kosova has no financial obligations toward the IMC.

At the same meeting it was said that the IMC is waiting for the decision of the Appeals Committee of the Business Registration Agency of Kosovo on the issue of the business certificate of the TV station. The decision is expected to be announced by June 28.

It was also said that the IMC has jurisdiction to stop the broadcasting of a TV station only when the content violates the regulation, which Klan Kosova has never done.

U.S. State Department report on climate investment in Kosovo (media)

Most news websites covered on Thursday the U.S. State Department report on the climate investment in Kosovo. The executive summary of the report notes that “already one of Europe’s poorest countries, Kosovo was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic but recovered quickly. Although economic growth estimates for 2021 differ significantly between the Central Bank of Kosovo’s 9.9 percent estimate and the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 7.5 percent estimate, both point to a robust economic recovery and faster growth rates than initially forecast. A large inflow of remittances and diaspora tourism combined with increased exports contributed to this growth. Although many international financial institutions remain cautious in forecasting economic growth for 2022 given the unpredictability of the pandemic and global supply chain shocks, most expect Kosovo’s GDP to grow between 3.8 and 4 percent.”

“The pandemic has not led to permanent changes in Kosovo’s investment policies. The government enacted several relief measures that are all temporary and focused on maintaining employment levels and helping businesses preserve liquidity. As such, Kosovo’s COVID-19 relief measures did not significantly affect its broader investment policy environment.”

“Kosovo has potential to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), but that potential is constrained by its failure to address several serious structural issues, including limited regional and global economic integration; political interference in the economy; corruption; an unreliable energy supply; a large informal sector; difficulty establishing property rights; and tenuous rule of law, including a glaring lack of contract enforcement. The country’s ability to sustain growth relies significantly on international financial support and remittances. Its ongoing dispute with Serbia and lack of formal recognition by many countries and international organizations, including the lack of membership in the United Nations, also create obstacles to doing business.”

Read the full report at: https://t.ly/4NecB

Serbian Language Media

Borrell statement says Serbia aligned with EU sanctions on Syria (N1)

A statement by European Union High Representative Josep Borrell said that Serbia had aligned with the latest European Union Council decision on sanctions against Syria.

The statement said that the Council adopted the decision to extend financial and economic restrictions until February 24, 2024 adding that candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina had aligned themselves with the decisions.

"They will ensure that their national policies conform to this Council Decision. The European Union takes note of this commitment and welcomes it," the statement said.

"Kurti is the problem..." (B92)

President of Serbian Government's Commission for Missing Persons, Veljko Odalović, said that Albin Kurti presents a problem for the international community.

President of the Serbian Government's Commission for Missing Persons, Veljko Odalović, said that Albin Kurti presents a problem for the international community and political parties in Kosovo.

He also pointed out that Europe is powerless to force Pristina to fulfill what it signed, reports RTS.

"Kurti is trying to seize a part of Serbia's territory, that is his key goal. He has a problem on the domestic scene with everyone, he has a problem with the EU and the USA, as well as with the Serbs from the north. Every story is an attempt to turn around and not hear what on June 3rd he was ordered to do. Europe mentioned three points and a path to de-escalation, and he is turning things around," Odalović points out.

He states that Belgrade is rightfully angry with the international mediators who in a certain way equate Serbia and Kosovo in the escalation that occurred in the north.