• Osmani: Hopes should not be raised high for visa liberalisation (media)
• Czech EU Presidency to discuss free visa for Kosovo (Euractiv)
• Hopes raised; no new requirements for visa liberalisation (Lajmi)
• Osmani meets Under Secretary General of United Nations DiCarlo (media)
• Osmani: Returning to Kosovo, fully confident Kosovo is on right path (media)
• Konjufca to meet Vassilis Maragos today in Prishtina (media)
• Rohde: No threat of war between Kosovo and Serbia (media)
• Kosovo does not approve Petkovic visit; Foreign Ministry tells reasons (media)
• Italian KFOR removes Serbian flag near Ibar Bridge (media)
• Citaku: Schools remain closed; Kurti wants to make Kosovo unlivable (media)

Osmani: Hopes should not be raised high for visa liberalisation (media)

President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said in an interview with RTV21 on Tuesday that hopes should not be raised high for visa liberalisation even though Kosovo has done its share of the work. She said she received confirmation from French President Emmanuel Macron too, but that “we need to careful”. “The decision on visa liberalisation is in the hands of individual member states,” she said.

Osmani argued that Serbia was continuing what she called a corruptive and illegal process of de-recognition and that “they have done this even while the Washington agreement was in place”. She said that Kosovo has opened many doors and that it has contacts with non-recognising countries too.

Commenting on her meeting with U.S. President Biden, Osmani said: “I had the chance to meet President Biden and he expressed great commitment and support for Kosovo, a support that has existed since the 1990s”.

On the recent agreement between Serbia and Russia, Osmani said it proves that Serbia is not in favor of the path toward the European Union and that “it serves only Putin”.

According to Osmani there are intensive efforts underway for the dialogue with Serbia to be focused on a final agreement.

Asked about the strike in the education sector, Osmani said “the damage that is being inflicted upon the children is extraordinary and irreparable”. She called for schools to be opened. “The right to strike is a legitimate right but the legal right is not above the constitutional right, the right to education is a constitutional right,” she added.

Czech EU Presidency to discuss free visa for Kosovo (Euractiv)

The Czech EU Presidency will reopen the discussion on visa liberalisation for Kosovo this autumn according to Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (Pirates, Greens/EFA) and Kosovo’s foreign ministry. The topic should be discussed this autumn as soon as the European Commission finalises the updated version of its report on Kosovo’s preparedness.

Kosovo remains the only country in the Western Balkans and Europe that does not enjoy visa liberalisation despite having met the conditions several years ago. Pushback reportedly comes from France, but also a handful of countries that do not accept its independence from Serbia including Greece, Romania, Spain, Cyprus and Slovakia, mainly due to their own territorial disputes.

“Kosovo, which I will visit this week, is the last Western Balkan country whose citizens still need visas for travelling to the EU. Yet the goal of the Czech Republic and the EU is to integrate the Western Balkan countries into the EU. Our presidency is an opportunity to push the entire integration process forward,” Lipavský said, quoted by the Czech News Agency.

It is expected the topic will be on the table in the autumn as soon as the European Commission finalises the updated version of its report on Kosovo’s preparedness.

“Therefore, the Czech Presidency is counting on the fact that if the so-called technical update of the report on Kosovo’s readiness for visa liberalisation, which the European Commission is currently finalising, is successful, the matter will be taken up again by the Member States during the autumn,” Czech Minister explained.

A qualified majority of at least 15 member states representing 65% of EU citizens is necessary to approve visa liberalisation.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has also said the country will apply to become a EU candidate by the end of 2022, a move that is likely to stir discontent with neighbouring Serbia who is currently negotiating membership, albeit slowly.

Hopes raised; no new requirements for visa liberalisation (Lajmi)

An unnamed official of the European Commission did not confirm to the news website that visa liberalisation will be on the EU agenda on October 13, but said that the EU continues to support visa liberalisation for Kosovo and that the matter is now in the hands of individual member states. “After a favorable vote in the European Parliament in 2019, it is now up to the member states to push forward the issue. We encourage them to remove visas for Kosovo,” the official said.

Osmani meets Under Secretary General of United Nations DiCarlo (media)

President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, during he stay in New York, at the headquarters of the United Nations, met the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Mrs. Rosemary DiCarlo. Osmani said Kosovo is committed to continue cooperation and coordination with partners and international organizations and that it is also interested in furthering relations with UN member states and aims for membership in the UN.

A press release issued by Osmani’s office notes that the meeting also focused on the political and security situation in the region and beyond, the implications of Russia's aggression in Ukraine, the energy and food crisis, as well as the dialogue with Serbia. Osmani said Kosovo has condemned Russia’s unprovoked aggression in Ukraine and that, alongside the EU, the United States of America and other democratic states, it has joined the sanctions against Russia.

“In the context of the threat to peace and stability in the region, the President expressed concern about the increase in Russian influence in the region through Serbia and its destabilizing tendencies.”

“Meanwhile, in relation to the dialogue with Serbia, President Osmani has reiterated that Kosovo continues to be a constructive party and that the only solution that contributes to the peace and stability of the region is mutual recognition.”

Osmani said Kosovo’s engagement in the dialogue is based on the protection of the sovereignty, constitutional order and territorial integrity of Kosovo. She also argued that “Serbia has stalled the implementation of the energy roadmap, has blocked the agreement on forcefully disappeared persons and has raised tensions regarding the license plates, through attacks by illegal and criminal structures in the north, against the Police of Kosovo”.

Osmani welcomed DiCarlo’s participation in the Women, Peace and Security Forum, which will take place on October 22-23 in Prishtina.

Osmani: Returning to Kosovo, fully confident Kosovo is on right path (media)

President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said in a Facebook post today that “after a week full of meetings and discussions with young and old friends and allies, we are returning to our homeland fully confident that Kosovo is on the right path”.

Konjufca to meet Vassilis Maragos today in Prishtina (media)

President of the Kosovo Assembly, Glauk Konjufca, will meet today in Prishtina with Vassilis Maragos, Head of Unit in the Directorate for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations in the European Commission.

Rohde: No threat of war between Kosovo and Serbia (media)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, said on Tuesday that there is no threat of war between Kosovo and Serbia and that there is no risk of a Republika Srpska being created in Kosovo. In an interview with teve1, Rohde said: “No. This is a rhetoric that is raising emotions and tensions, and this never helps. Kosovo has the presence of KFOR troops for over 22 years now and NATO provides the security in the country. There are 27 states here that contribute to stability in Kosovo.”

Rohde argued that there are efforts by Russia to destabilise the region and to slow down the integration processes of these countries. “What I see are efforts from Russia to destabilise the region of the Western Balkans. Russia is trying to slow down the integration processes. The parties must understand that the path toward Europe is only through cooperation and not confrontation,” he said.

The German Ambassador called for the Brussels agreements to be respected. “We have said on several occasions that the Brussels agreements must be respected. As the agreements were reached on license plates and ID cards, the Association is also an agreement that needs to be respected and implemented. The question is how? It is up to the Kosovo Government how it will implement it. The government needs to make proposals and not exaggerate the problem. There is no threat of a Republika Srpska within Kosovo,” he said.

Kosovo does not approve Petkovic visit; Foreign Ministry tells reasons (media)·

Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that it did not approve the request of the head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, to enter Kosovo. “This decision is based on repeated noncompliance with the agreement of mutual visits of political representatives between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The repeated statements by Petkovic toward Kosovo, aim to incite hate. Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs hopes that in the future, Mr. Petkovic will refrain from making statements, which aim to undermine the constitutional order of the Republic of Kosovo,” the Foreign Ministry said in a Twitter post.

Italian KFOR removes Serbian flag near Ibar Bridge (media)

Several news websites reported on Tuesday that members of Italian KFOR removed a big Serbian flag which was raised near the Ibar Bridge in Mitrovica. According to the media, the flag was raised by Serb parallel structures during the inauguration of a new square in Mitrovica North.

Citaku: Schools remain closed; Kurti wants to make Kosovo unlivable (media)

Deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Vlora Citaku, said in Facebook post this morning that schools remain closed and that Prime Minister Albin Kurti wants to divide the Kosovo society. “Meanwhile, with stubbornness and indifference, the Prime Minister continues to ignore our teachers. He is trying to divide our society. In fact, he is trying to build a ‘new society’,” Citaku argued.