UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, November 17, 2021

Kurti: Expectable for agreement with Serbia to be achieved during my term in office (RFE)
Kosovo’s chief negotiator Bislimi meets EU’s Lajcak in Brussels (media)
Lajcak: It is high time for real progress (media)
Petkovic: Kurti making the dialogue meaningless (Koha)
Krasniqi: If Kurti reaches agreement with Serbia, we will support it (Gazeta Express)
EU Observers Say Kosovo Voters Misled by ‘Opaque’ Facebook Pages (BIRN)
Von Cramon: Commission compromising Rule of Law standards in the interest of Orban-Vucic axis (EurActiv)
Kosovo authorities order expulsion of four Russian citizens (media)
COVID-19: Five new cases, no deaths (media)

Kurti: Expectable for agreement with Serbia to be achieved during my term in office (RFE)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti said in an interview with Radio Free Europe that while he could not predict when a comprehensive agreement with Serbia will be achieved, it can be expected that this would happen during his term in office.

“If we take into account that the term of the U.S. President Biden, that of the European Commission Vice President Borrell and my own will run out around the same time, it is expectable that within this time, which is more or less the same, we will close the comprehensive agreement with Serbia. So, there is readiness and interest on our part, it depends whether there is readiness on the part of Serbia.”

Asked whether Kosovo would be ready to renegotiate the agreement for establishment of Association of Serb-majority municipalities, Kurti said that dialogue with Serbia is not about status of Kosovo but about normalisation of relations. “And to normalise relations with Serbia I believe Serbia is the one that needs to change much more. It needs to democratise, have rule of law, face the past and we should have some type of symmetry of reciprocity in terms of rights of minorities.”

“We are talking about the future dialogue with Serbia, the future chapter of dialogue. When we came in office there was no dialogue, it was halted and I cannot say that dialogue with Serbia showed results in these last years and not only because it deviated into the issue of Kosovo’s territorial division, wrapped under the land swap packaging. There is lack of progress and this did not start with us, there was lack of progress way before that, only we pointed out that a large part of the lack of progress comes from wrong approached. Damaging agreements were signed for Kosovo which even the Constitutional Court, such as it was, could not swallow. In this sense, we need a new chapter, a new approach and for us this needs to be principled with citizens as beneficiaries and centred on mutual recognition,” he underlined.

Kurti said that dialogue and recognition have been put in a ‘diachronic’ aspect after ‘tectonic’ positive shifts. He noted that as a result of these changes, mutual recognition is now at the centre of the agreement. “So, the agreement will not be only mutual recognition but there will be no agreement without mutual recognition at its core.”

Asked about a future meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic which the EU High Representative Josep Borrell said will take place by the end of the year, Kurti said that this will largely depend on how talks in Brussels will progress over the next couple weeks. “Then we will be able to say what is the perspective of a next meeting and of course the objective of such a meeting would also have to be known. I do not say no to a meeting, as a matter of principle, but naturally elements of such a future meeting need to be known.”

On the performance of the Vetevendosje Movement in recent local elections, Kurti said that they expected better outcome. “We are now carrying out an internal analysis on the structural and organisational defects which are most likely responsible for the unsatisfactory result. However, o the other hand, there is also the fact that there was a huge teaming up, a coordination of all the others against the Vetevendosje Movement. I believe these two factors determined a not good result for us.”

Asked to elaborate on what type of defects he was referring to, Kurti said that the Vetevendosje Movement grew exceptionally in the last years and that this led to a situation where there were no adequate structures to deal with the new environment. “This is evident but of course there are other defects which we will have to address,” he said, adding that local elections are different from those at the central level and are therefore guided by a different set of rules: “It may be more or less like in tennis where you may win many ‘games’ but could end up losing the ‘set’. With us too, we are the first in the Republic with the overall vote of the population in local elections, although we will have mayors in only four municipalities.”

Kosovo prime minister was also asked to comment on how he views the role of the United States in the dialogue process to which he replied that “we always welcome the U.S. engagement in the Balkans but the form and intensity of this engagement is decided by the United States of America. They are the world super power which decides such a thing. In different stages, this varied, because their policies are sovereign. At the same time, I am here as prime minister of the Republic of Kosovo, not to think about compromises that Kosovo should make but to strengthen the state of Kosovo.”

With regards to the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Kosovo has done everything to ensure that the level of vaccination increases. “If we look at the population over the age of 16, 64 percent of the population have received at least one dose while 56 percent have received both doses of the vaccine. We are nearing 1.6 million of administered doses.”

Kosovo’s chief negotiator Bislimi meets EU’s Lajcak in Brussels (media)

Separate bilateral meetings at the level of chief negotiators were held yesterday with the EU Special Representative for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue Miroslav Lajcak, the Government of Kosovo said in a press release.

Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister and chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, in the meeting with Lajcak discussed the implementation of existing agreements, missing persons, recent developments, as well as exhumation and repatriation of human remains from the mass grave in Kizevak of Serbia. The Kosovo delegation also raised deep concern over the recent case whereby Serbia, as host of the Boxing World Championship, did not allow the Kosovo athletes to enter the country and thus "violated international sporting regulations".

"Another concern raised concerns the obstacles caused by the Serbian authorities in the transfer of funds for the Presevo Valley. The Kosovo side requested additional facilitation from the EU, especially considering the need for a sustainable long-term solution, as the Ministry of Finance and Transfers of the Republic of Kosovo has planned two million euros for the Presevo Valley in next year's budget," the Government of Kosovo said.

Lajcak: It is high time for real progress (media)

The EU Special Representative for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, took to Twitter to comment on yesterday's meetings which chief negotiators of the two sides.

"Today, I hosted the two Chief negotiators and their delegations for separate meetings on outstanding issues and the way forward in the Dialogue. I also briefed them on Monday’s FAC and reiterated the expectations of Member States. It’s high time for real progress," he said.

Media report that there was no tripartite meeting yesterday and that the heads of Kosovo and Serbia delegations only met with Lajcak separately.

Petkovic: Kurti making the dialogue meaningless (Koha)

Petar Petkovic, head of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo, said that the Kosovo side has refused a direct meeting with the Serbian delegation in Brussels yesterday to discuss the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. Petkovic accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti for, as he said, making the dialogue meaningless.

Petkovic said that when Kurti vows not to establish a mono-ethnic Association, "is not Pristina mono ethnic, is not Gjakova mono ethnic, is not Prizren mono ethnically. I mentioned the places where Kurti lost the elections. There are no Serbs there. And he says that the Association of Serb municipalities cannot be formed," Koha reports quoting Tanjug.

Krasniqi: If Kurti reaches agreement with Serbia, we will support it (Gazeta Express)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi said he would support an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia if reached during Albin Kurti's term at the head of the Government of Kosovo under the condition it does not undermine Kosovo's territory and its unitary character.

"We have more or less the same positions. And the prime minister has the power to reach the agreement. In addition, he also has strong support at the Assembly and has also the president. An agreement that comes under these circumstances would be applauded by us, and voted," Krasniqi told T7.

He added however that so far the Kosovo negotiating team is "creating more confusion than hope" that the process will be successful.

EU Observers Say Kosovo Voters Misled by ‘Opaque’ Facebook Pages (BIRN)

The EU Election Observation Mission said on Tuesday that non-transparent Facebook pages were responsible for “manipulative interference” in Sunday’s mayoral election run-off contests, spreading misinformation about rival parties and candidates, although the polls were well-organised.

“While candidates shared useful information through online platforms, opaque Facebook pages were used to spread misleading content hampering the voters’ ability to form opinions free from manipulative interference,” the Election Observation Mission said in a preliminary assessment of the conduct of the vote.

“Candidates generally used advertisements to promote their campaign platforms but third-party ads were largely used to discredit contestants, including with personal accusations,” the statement added.

The head of the mission, Lucas Mandl, who is member of the European Parliament, told media in Pristina that in general, the run-off elections were “well administered and competitive”.

“The campaign was vivid and peaceful, though its tone was harsher compared to the first round. However, in the absence of sanctions for campaigning outside of the official five-day period, most candidates were canvassing long before the official campaign kicked off,” Mandl said.

The preliminary statement also said that blatant lack of transparency related to the financing of contestants’ campaigns persisted in the second round.

“Perpetuating the low enforcement of campaign finance rules, the Kosovo Assembly is unable to guarantee timely audit of the disclosure reports and the CEC [Central Election Commission] did not sufficiently support the implementation of applicable regulations,” the statement said.

The EU mission said that in the absence of sanctions for campaigning outside of the official five-day period, “most candidates were canvassing long before the official campaign kicked off”.

“Candidate rallies were attended by leaders of the major parties, including by Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his ministers while LVV [ruling Vetevendosje party] candidates often portrayed themselves as the guarantors of projects financed from the central budget. Moreover, between the two rounds, the government announced a temporary increase of social benefits which led to opposition’s accusations of indirect vote buying,” it said.

Voters in 21 out of 38 municipalities went to the polls to elect new mayors in a run-off vote which was held four weeks after 17 mayors were elected in the first round.

The election result produced a disappointment for Vetevendosje, which won only four of the 12 municipalities in which it was competing, and lost in the capital Pristina.

Belgrade-backed Serb party Srpska Lista won the most number of municipalities (ten) followed by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (nine), the Democratic League of Kosovo (seven), the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (five) and the Social Democratic Initiative Nisma (one).

Von Cramon: Commission compromising Rule of Law standards in the interest of Orban-Vucic axis (EurActiv)

The last European Commission report on Serbia is a blatant example of how rule of law standards can be compromised under a Commissioner representing Viktor Orbán’s ideology, writes Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, German MEP from the Green/EFA group, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Delegation to the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee.

Von Cramon-Taubadel said that for years, it has been insisted that no country aspiring to become a fully-fledged EU member cna join the bloc without having an independent judiciary and equal treatment for all before the law. "Since the outset of von der Leyen Commission, the Greens have been warning that Olivér Várhelyi, as Commissioner in charge of enlargement and neighbouring countries, is the wrong man in the wrong place. Someone appointed by a government that breaches the rule of law and shatters democracy cannot be a good example for countries like Montenegro, Serbia or Albania, which struggle with their own democratic transition paths."

She said that Várhelyi has displayed signs of "enhanced influence and politicisation" early on in his mandate but that the worst involved the unveiling of the 2021 Enlargement Package, where the European Commission "has officially gone below its own and European standards by watering down the Serbian 2021 Progress report on the rule of law standards in particular."

Von Cramon-Taubadel noted that the European Commission became "politicised for the interest of the Orbán-Vučić axis and that the rule of law standards can be compromised under the Commission’s watch", adding that the overall assessment of the Commission regarding Serbia and possibly other countries cannot be "trustworthy".