• Stoltenberg: License plate issue may increase tensions (Albanian Post)
• Kurti talks about meeting with Lajcak (media)
• Osmani: We are in full coordination with the USA (RTK)
• Varhelyi: Kosovo completed points, awaiting technical talks (euronews.al)
• Bislimi: ETIAS system was not France's only request (Telegrafi)
• Gervalla: Last phase of the visa liberalization process started today (media)
• France supports Kosovo’s visa liberalization (Albanian Daily News)
• EU report offers mixed assessment of Kurti government’s efforts (BIRN)
• KFOR’s Regional Command-East welcomes new aviation battalion (army.mil)
• Kosovo's power utility donates coal to its workers for heating (Reuters)
• Rama reacts after EPP/EDC refuse dinner invitation (Albanian Daily News)

Stoltenberg: License plate issue may increase tensions (Albanian Post)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, said in a press conference after the meeting of the defense ministers of the Alliance member countries in Brussels, that the license plates’ issue could increase tensions in Kosovo.

Stoltenberg emphasized that the KFOR troops support the efforts of the diplomats of the European Union to achieve progress in the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, with the mediation of the EU.

"The Western Balkans is a region in Europe where the European Union and NATO cooperate very closely. We helped end two brutal wars, first in Bosnia and Herzegovina, then in Kosovo. We have our presence, the KFOR mission in Kosovo," Stoltenberg said.

Kurti talks about meeting with Lajcak (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti took to Twitter on Thursday to inform about his meeting with the Special Representative of the European Union for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak.

“Today I welcomed EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak to Kosovo. We discussed the Brussels dialogue. I reiterated our commitment to the general framework of the legally binding agreement centered on mutual recognition. The EC Kosovo Country Report was noted as one of the best in the region,” Kurti wrote.

Osmani: We are in full coordination with the USA (RTK)

President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani said after her regular meeting with the U.S. ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier on Thursday that Kosovo is in full coordination with the United States of America, in relation to addressing priority issues.

A press release issued by the President’s Office noted that Osmani and Hovenier discussed current developments in Kosovo and the region. The meeting also discussed the dialogue with Serbia and the efforts of the allied countries to dynamize it. According to the press release, Osmani said that "the dialogue must be concluded with mutual recognition and without affecting the constitutional order, territorial integrity, sovereignty and functionality of the country."

Varhelyi: Kosovo completed points, awaiting technical talks (euronews.al)

The European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said that Kosovo has fulfilled the points for visa liberalization. During his speech, while presenting the progress reports of the European Council for the countries of the Western Balkans for 2022, Varhelyi underlined that technical talks are expected to take place on this issue.

“Kosovo has had political stability throughout this year and the authorities have shown that they are ready to follow the path towards the EU. We know that Kosovo has taken steps for democracy and the rule of law and to fight corruption. Progress has been made in various matters.

In the coming years we would like to see faster reforms. Regarding the liberalization of visas, the Commission adheres to what it said in July 2018, that Kosovo has fulfilled all points. The proposal is still in the Council and we are waiting for technical discussions”, he emphasized.

Bislimi: ETIAS system was not France's only request (Telegrafi)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi has admitted that some countries in the Council of Europe Working Group for visas have requested that the liberalization of visas for Kosovo be linked to some other elements, according to them, technical, but which for Kosovo are considered as new conditions.

"The main condition is that liberalisation comes into force when the EU starts to operationalize the ETIAS system, which is used to identify or register individuals traveling to the EU from those countries that have received the free visa regime. However, being that this is a technical process, and the date when it can start is not known, even the EU itself is against this, as it seems like an additional condition and there is an agreement that there will be no additional conditions and a political opinion cannot be related to a technical criterion, which is not known when it can start," Bislimi said.

He however said that the harmonization of the visa system with that of the European Union was also requested.

"The second element that has been discussed has to do with the harmonization of the Kosovar visa system with that of the European Union. There are a number of countries that enjoy the free regime in Kosovo, but that have a visa regime with the EU. There is a request from France for Kosovo to harmonize this system with that of the EU, they are talking about 18 countries already, but even this position is not endorsed or approved because none of these 18 countries are among the 30 countries that have the largest number of immigrants in the EU and because such a system or harmonization does not exist in the countries around Kosovo," he said.

Bislimi noted that the next meeting will be held on November 9, and until then, they will use diplomatic channels to discuss with the states that have expressed new criteria.

Gervalla: Last phase of the visa liberalization process started today (media)

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla, said on Thursday an important step was made on Thursday in Brussels with regards to visa liberalization for Kosovars. "The discussion held in the Visa Working Group of the EU Council, as announced by the Czech Presidency, was very positive and supportive. Before the member countries, the Commission confirmed once again that Kosovo has fulfilled and continues to fulfill all the criteria for visa liberalization and the positive recommendation that the Commission has made since 2018 remains valid," Gervalla wrote on Facebook.

"Technical issues have been raised, which will be addressed in further discussions within the Visa Group, from where the process will continue towards completion in the regular term. We welcome the placement of the visa issue on the agenda of the Council, for the first time seen in this form. We also thank the next President of the Council, the Czech Republic, for the commitment to move the process forward as soon as possible. We are grateful to the member countries that express support for the process that should be concluded with the removal of the isolation barricades for citizens of the Republic of Kosovo. As we have said before, today was not the day of the decision. Today was the day of the start of the last phase of this process, which has been stalled for a long time, but which is now moving towards its solution, as the citizens of Kosovo have long deserved," Gervalla wrote.

France supports Kosovo’s visa liberalization (Albanian Daily News)

Official sources from the European Union have denied the information that France conditions the liberalization of visas for Kosovo. According to these sources, France is in favor of the liberalization of visas for Kosovo, as are other member countries of the European Union.

“It turns out that currently there is no member state of the European Union against the liberalization of visas for Kosovo,” EU official sources told Albanian media.

According to them, the misunderstanding is related to the modalities that need to be discussed further in the working group for visas of the Council of the European Unions in the framework of the decision on the liberalization of visas with the third countries and specifically with Kosovo.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3TnkQs3

EU report offers mixed assessment of Kurti government’s efforts (BIRN)

The European Commission’s annual report on Kosovo’s progress towards membership said some achievements have been made despite a polarised political atmosphere, but more effort is needed on public administration reform, the environment and tackling organized crime.

Kosovo has enjoyed political stability over the past year, with the government holding a solid majority in the Assembly, but the legislature’s work continued to be negatively affected by a polarized political atmosphere and difficulties in achieving a quorum, said the European Commission’s annual progress report on the country, published on Wednesday.

The situation in the north of Kosovo remains challenging, in particular in terms of corruption, organized crime and the situation for freedom of expression, the report said.

It repeated the Commission’s longstanding criticism about the need for more reform of the public administration, saying that limited progress has been made.

When the EU ambassador to Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, formally handed over the report in Prishtina, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that his government had made reforms previously recommended by the Commission.

“The report congratulates Kosovo for stability and political sustainability. Stability is a pre-condition for long-term reforms. Therefore, during this year we have undertaken reforms which have been recommended by EU for a long time but were ignored by previous governments,” Kurti said.

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

KFOR’s Regional Command-East welcomes new aviation battalion (army.mil)

Kosovo Force’s Regional Command-East officially welcomed the Soldiers of their new aviation task force during a transfer of authority ceremony Oct. 11, 2022.

The 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, Virginia Army National Guard (Task Force Pegasus), relinquished responsibility of all RC-E’s aerial operations to the 1st Battalion, 131st Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, Alabama Army National Guard (Task Force Yellowhammer).

As part of the ceremony, leaders from Task Force Pegasus cased their unit’s flag, or colors, officially signifying the culmination of their nine-month mission in the region, followed by leaders from Task Force Yellowhammer uncasing their unit’s colors, representing the beginning of their mission in Kosovo.

“In the past five years, we have completed two (National Training Center) rotations and one (Joint Readiness Training Center) rotation, as well as deploying to Albania, Bosnia, and Greece in support of Defender Europe 21. In summary, this is a proven team and I am confident they will succeed at this mission just like they have the others,” said Lt. Col. David G. Goodall, the TF Yellowhammer commander. “After 25 months of long preparation, Task Force Yellowhammer could not be more excited to accept responsibility for this mission and get right to work.”

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3T2bfHA

Kosovo's power utility donates coal to its workers for heating (Reuters)

Kosovo's government has ordered power utility KEK to give tens of thousands of tonnes of coal to its workers to heat their homes as the country braces itself for more power cuts during winter months.

Some 3,600 workers will each get a truck of coal, around 10 tonnes, starting from this week.

In August Kosovo became the first country in Europe to introduce power cuts following insufficient domestic power production and government hesitation to buy expensive power in open market.

Read more at: https://reut.rs/3T19bQ7

Rama reacts after EPP/EDC refuse dinner invitation (Albanian Daily News)

Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, reacted on Thursday after the rejection of the invitation by some EPP/EDC members, after the end of the General Assembly of the Council of Europe, regarding the review of Dick Marty's report.

In their statement, the EPP/EDC members stated that they did not participate in the dinner as they felt insulted by the statement made by Prime Minister Edi Rama. Rama said you don't feel good when you hear horror stories and plots about organ trafficking. In the meantime, he has also responded to the statements made by the representatives of the opposition in Albania, emphasizing that it is disgusting how the opposition finds courage to oppose even for such an issue of great importance. “Some of the guests last night did not come to the dinner organized by our mission in Strasbourg, although they had confirmed it before! They don't feel good after the speech, that was the reason. Understandable. You can't feel good when you hear a horror story like organ trafficking! It will take them some time to analyze the facts, understand the terrible magnitude of the mistake made a decade ago and address the need to correct it with a new act.”