• Osmani: Joining Euro-Atlantic institutions more indispensable than ever (media)
• Kurti meets UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (media)
• Krasniqi: It is time for Kosovo in NATO (Indeksonline/Koha)
• Kosovo defends decision to ban Russian TV channels (BIRN)
• Lajcak: Grateful for German government’s attention to Western Balkans (media)
• Von Cramon: Kosovo deserves membership of Council of Europe (media)
• Powerful Kosovo Serb businessman accused of threatening politician (BIRN)
• Failure to protect LGBTI community and reporters from violence (Kallxo)
• Western Balkans investment summit spotlights transition to green energy (Exit)
• COVID-19: 55 new cases, one death (media)

Osmani: Joining Euro-Atlantic institutions more indispensable than ever (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a Twitter post on Monday that in an interview with TRT she spoke about “Russia’s intentions in the Western Balkans, carried out by its proxy, Serbia. She added that “thus Kosovo’s membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions is more indispensable than ever”.

Watch the full interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=L7PbAEm8QSE&feature=emb_title

Kurti meets UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the annual summit for investments in the Western Balkans. Kurti said in a Twitter post: “Western Balkans 6 is indispensable for the security of Europe and this is now a shared belief in many European capitals. A real pleasure to meet PM of UK Boris Johnson, Foreign Sec. @trussliz & M. for Europe @JamesCleverly at a reception for WB6 where we discussed investment opportunities.”

Krasniqi: It is time for Kosovo in NATO (Indeksonline/Koha)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, has joined the calls for Kosovo’s speedier membership in NATO. “NATO is in Kosovo, but it is time for Kosovo in NATO,” Krasniqi said in a Twitter post on Monday.

Koha reports that the hashtag KosovoInNato is trending on Twitter.

Kosovo defends decision to ban Russian TV channels (BIRN)

The head of Kosovo’s Independent Media Commission IMC, has defended its decision on Saturday to ban the broadcasting of Russia Today and RT Documentary TV channels in Kosovo, saying it took the decision to prevent the spread of Russian propaganda following the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.

The two channels are broadcasted in the Serb-run north of Kosovo by MTS, Serbia’s state telecom company. Serbia and Russia are close allies.

The head of the IMC, Faruk Rexhaj, told Prishtina Insight that it was important to counter misinformation about the war.

“We have appealed to the media to provide sources of information. The decision does not match a violation of media freedom, but measures must be taken not to spread misinformation,” he said.

He said Russia Today and RT Documentary were widely watched in Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo. “Today we are on the ground and identifying all distribution operators, to see if there are other [Russian] channels on platforms,” he said.

According to him, the decision is not a permanent restriction but only temporary prevention, until the situation in Ukraine improves. As Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues, fears about what is being served to citizens through the media, and the security of the source of information, have grown.

“Taking into account that the security of the Republic of Kosovo is related to the fate and security of other democratic countries, the IMC considers it necessary and indispensable to take this decision,” the decision for the ban read.

Read full article here: https://bit.ly/3hurKee

Lajcak: Grateful for German government’s attention to Western Balkans (media)

The EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said on Monday he is grateful for the German government’s attention to the Western Balkans. “Had an important call with German Foreign Minister @ABaerbock today. I’m grateful for the attention the German government pays to the Western Balkans - especially in these difficult times - and their continuous support to my work,” Lajcak tweeted.

Von Cramon: Kosovo deserves membership of Council of Europe (media)

The European Parliament’s Rapporteur on Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, said on Monday that she agrees with the proposal of the European Stability Initiative for Kosovo to apply now for membership of the Council of Europe. I have been advocating this for a long time and thus agree with the @ESI_eu's proposal for #Kosovo government to apply for @coe membership now. Citizens of Kosovo deserve full access to #Europe's oldest mechanisms for protection of #HumanRights, including #ECHR #ECtHR,” she tweeted.

Powerful Kosovo Serb businessman accused of threatening politician (BIRN)

A witness at the trial for the 2018 killing of Kosovo Serb political party leader Oliver Ivanovic told Pristina Basic Court on Monday that he lived in constant fear for his life for years because of threats from people linked to the Belgrade-backed Kosovo Serb political party Srpska Lista.

“I kept a bulletproof vest from 2017 until the end of 2020,” said Aleksander Jablanovic, a politician who is now leader of the Kosovo Serbs Party (Partija Kosovskih Srba) and was Kosovo’s Minister of Communities and Returns from late 2014 to early 2015.

Jablanovic testified that he was a co-founder of Srpska Lista, but after leaving to join the Kosovo Serbs Party and becoming a rival at the 2017 elections, he was seen as an “enemy of the [Serbian] state”.

He claimed that because of the threats he received, his family home “has been secured by Kosovo police forces for a long time”, and that he does not go out alone, especially at night.

He told the court the threats were made by individuals close to Srpska Lista and the man he described as “the real leader” of the party, powerful Kosovo Serb businessman Milan Radoicic.

Radojicic is vice-president of Srpska Lista. The indictment in the Ivanovic case accused him of being the leader of the criminal organised group that organised the murder in January 2018, together with another Kosovo Serb businessman, Zvonko Veselinovic. They have both denied any involvement and neither man is on trial.

Jablanovic claimed that he was summoned to meet Radoicic in 2015 at a restaurant in the town of Leposavic. Radojicic was accompanied by “men with beards” who Jablanovic alleged were part of a criminal group that protected the businessman.

“With a gun, he [Radojicic] told me: ‘Brother, you are playing around a lot, you cannot continue like this, you should be careful what you are doing,’” Jablanovic testified. He said Radojicic later apologised for the perceived threat after he complained to the Serbian government.

Read full article here: https://bit.ly/3tk56uM

Failure to protect LGBTI community and reporters from violence (Kallxo)

A debate on Kallxo Pernime on Monday evening focused on the efficiency of the judiciary, prosecution and courts in addressing criminal cases against members of the LGBTI community and reporters in Kosovo. BIRN published an analysis which revealed that attacks on these categories are not treated with priority. Data from the analysis showed that out of 18 indictments, only 3 cases were completed by courts, and in two of them there were suspended sentences. Data also revealed that the prosecution did not resolve 24 cases. The situation is somewhat similar concerning the treatment of cases where members of the LGBTI community were attacked. Kreshnik Gashi, editor-in-chief of Kallxo, argued during the debate that based on the analysis, the courts have a “soft” approach toward these cases.

Western Balkans investment summit spotlights transition to green energy (Exit News)

Transition to green energy was at the center of discussion between six Western Balkan leaders at the EBRD’s fifth Western Balkan Investment Summit.

The summit was held in London on Monday, February 28, and attended by the prime ministers of Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.

“All leaders spoke of plans to develop renewable energy sources, which require a regional energy system to balance the inflow of renewables into national grids and, in some countries, a change of legislation to enable large-scale private investment,” according to a press release by the EBRD.

EBRD President Odile Renaud Basso gave the opening remarks, stressing the need for regional cooperation in order to achieve economic prosperity and political stability.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama talked about Albania’s need to invest more in tourism, spotlighting his government’s plans to build new seaports and two new airports. He also talked about Albania’s need to diversify its energy sources given its reliance on hydropower.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that his government is working on a new Energy Strategy that will diversify and decentralize energy resources in Kosovo, while phasing out coal in way that protects Kosovo citizens from unaffordable prices.

On the regional cooperation front, Kurti spoke about the plan to create an energy exchange with Albania, while Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic highlight three projects that will connect Serbia with the rest of the Balkans. These include the “Highway of Peace” linking Nis, Prishtina, Tirana and Durres; a gas interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria; and the Sarajevo-Belgrade Highway.

European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi also addressed the participants and talked about the European Union’s commitment to investing €30 billion in the Western Balkans, financed also through the EBRD and private investors.

“Europe does not end at Zagreb or Budapest. The Western Balkans naturally belong here too,” Várhelyi concluded.

COVID-19: 55 new cases, one death (media)

55 new cases with COVID-19 and one death from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 235 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 1,877 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Some news websites are reporting that the police curfew could be lifted today as part of new measures against the spread of COVID-19.