• Kosovo bans cryptocurrency mining in efforts to save energy (media)
• Pristina’s actions against UN mission member should be met with response — Russia’s MFA (TASS)
• Haradinaj accuses Kurti of "corruption" and "extreme leftism" (media)
• Weber: Demonstration of force may happen again in the north (lajmi.net/media)
• Xhaferi: "Open Balkan" incomplete without all Western Balkans countries (Kosovapress/media)
• COVID-19: 108 new cases, no deaths (media)
• Kosovo sees surge in COVID-19 cases (Express)
• Deputy Minister: Kosovo about to enter a new wave of COVID-19 infections (Telegrafi)

 

 

Kosovo bans cryptocurrency mining in efforts to save energy (media)

The Government of Kosovo has taken a decision to ban crypto mining in all its territory as part of energy emergency measures.

Kosovo’s Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, said that the decision is based on the recommendations of the technical committee, set up through the emergency measures, to tackle negative effects brought on by the global energy crisis.

“All law enforcement agencies will stop the production of this activity in cooperation with other relevant institutions that will identify the locations where there is cryptocurrency production," Rizvanolli added in a Facebook post.

Reuters also reported on the news: One miner, who spoke on condition of anonymity and who has 40 GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), told Reuters he was paying around 170 euros per month for electricity and is getting around 2,400 euros per month in profit from mining. Coin mining has been on the rise in northern Kosovo, mostly populated by Serbs who do not recognise the state of Kosovo and refuse to pay electricity.

The north of Kosovo is reported to be a true “mine” for cryptocurrency as the electricity in the northern municipalities has been paid by the Kosovo government in the last years, Koha writes. Gazeta Express recalls that in December 2021 the government declared a state of emergency for the next 60 days, which will allow it to allocate more money for energy imports and possibly introduce power cuts.

Pristina’s actions against UN mission member should be met with response — Russia’s MFA (TASS)

A Russian staff member of UNMIK was declared undesirable by Kosovo authorities on Friday. Moscow hopes that Pristina’s move against a representative of the UN mission in Kosovo will have a due response from the world organization’s leadership, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Tuesday after a UN mission member had been declared persona non grata.

"We expect that this arbitrariness of Pristina will receive a proper categorical response from the UN leadership. We call on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the international Kosovo Peacekeeping Force (KFOR to ensure safety of the Russian and all other members of the UN mission, within their authority under the UN Security Council resolution," the diplomat said.

Zakharova pointed out that declaring a member of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo persona non grata is a continuation of the provocative line aimed at aggravating interethnic relations.

"We consider Pristina’s another stunt as a continuation of the provocative line for aggravation of interethnic relations in the province, discrediting the world organization and, last but not least, Russia’s constructive role in the Balkans. The Kosovo authorities are obviously determined to get rid of those who can objectively record Pristina’s destructive policy in the region’s Serb-populated areas," she said.

Read more at: https://tass.com/politics/1383879

Haradinaj accuses Kurti of "corruption" and "extreme leftism" (media)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj listed a number of what he said were failures of the Albin Kurti-led government that included allegations of draining resources, intimidating the local capital, hostile approach to the private sector, as well as non-implementation of the energy independence and failing to cash in the electricity bills in the north of Kosovo.

Haradinaj also accused Kurti of waging a war against the KLA while with regards to foreign policy: "frightened by the dialogue and frightened by America."

Furthermore, the AAK leader claimed the government was "engulfed" in corruption. "We can say that extreme leftism is sending Kurti and Vetevendosje towards a war of classes and a war against the allies, meaning that it is making Kosovo's progress difficult."

Weber: Demonstration of force may happen again in the north (lajmi.net/media)

German expert on developments in the Western Balkans Bodo Weber, said in an interview with lajmi.net that he fears that similar scenarios as last year in the north for a "demonstration of forces" between Kosovo and Serbia will occur even in the future. This, according to Weber, is due to, as he calls it, the underground political links of organized crime with Serbian politics.

"Prime Minister Kurti and President Osmani have campaigned on the issue of the rule of law in the country. In the north, however, the issue of organized crime is not just a matter of rule of law, but affects political circles. Because we have an underground link between the Serbian List and the criminal state-party, which is also to the detriment of collateral, which leads to the failure of the political dialogue," Weber said.

"So, the issue of organized crime, unlike the rest of Kosovo, cannot be solved only by Pristina, but by the international community, the west and Belgrade. It means only in the context of a final, comprehensive agreement," he added further.

Asked if the new German government would put pressure on the five countries that do not recognize Kosovo to vote in favour of visa liberalisation, Bodo Weber said the new ruling coalition in their coalition agreement warns of a great commitment to the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU and to resolving all outstanding issues, including those that have been stalled over the past two years, such as is visa liberalisation to Kosovo, which is long overdue as a process.

“Thus, I expect Berlin next year to strongly advocate for the EU to finally give the green light to Kosovo. However, for visa liberalisation, as in most other issues related to the Union's progressive, proactive role towards the region, the main player in the stalemate is France, particularly President Macron. Given the fact that we have presidential elections [in Germany] scheduled for April next year, I expect German pressure to be extended until after the election - and before the end of the French EU presidency in mid-2022, under the assumption that Emanuel Macron will win the election.”

Asked about the future role of Germany in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and if more direct involvements are expected, given that the new ambassador of Kosovo in Germany, Faruk Ajeti, said that Germany should have a special envoy for dialogue and the Western Balkans in general, Weber said Germany should definitely take a leading role in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, a leadership role similar to the one it had during 2012-14 under Chancellor Merkel.

“I cannot say for sure that the main German actor should be Chancellor again, given that Scholz would initially have to adapt to the region, or whether Berlin really needs a special envoy. Given the Greens' key role in the Western Balkans in the new government, Foreign Minister Baerbock is perhaps the most appropriate to take the initiative on dialogue,” he said.

Speaking about the differences in the approach to dialogue between the Trump Administration and the Biden Administration, he said he unfortunately still does not see anything that can be described as Biden's administrative policy towards the Western Balkans.

“This may have happened in part in 2021 due to the slow staff turnover at the State Department and on the ground and at embassies, due to the Republican blockade in Congress. There is still a lot of staff continuity with the Trump administration. In Bosnia, in particular, we saw an absolute continuity with Grenell's policy of trying to negotiate ethno-territorial division agreements. This may change in the coming months with future policy reviews and changes of ambassadors.”

However, Weber considers that unlike Bosnia, in the Kosovo-Serbia case with the departure of Federica Mogherini first in 2019 and then Richard Grenell in 2020, the return to EU-US negotiations for a territorial exchange agreement has faded.

“But the option has not yet been replaced by a serious new resumption of EU-US negotiations, so 2021 for dialogue was a mediating and wasted year. This was largely due to the end of the Merkel era in Berlin and the slow, disappointing start of the Biden administration. The constant stalemate and tension over the issue of the Association is just one symptom of this stalemate in the negotiations for a final and comprehensive agreement.”

Weber considers that Berlin in 2022 should turn to the Biden administration for a full resumption of Kosovo-Serbia negotiations, led by the most senior level – by either the two foreign ministers Baerbock and Blinken, or Scholz and Biden themselves. “A restoration based on the return of the original framework of political dialogue, defined by clear principles: Serbia must return to a policy based on reality, knowing that it has lost Kosovo. It should gradually remove its institutions from the territory of Kosovo and withdraw from direct interference in Kosovo's affairs in order to allow Kosovo Serbs to determine their own destiny. In return, Kosovo must protect Kosovo Serbs by offering them full, formal rights but in terms of applicability to be treated as equal citizens in Kosovo, including some forms of collective rights, positive discrimination - in a way which does not affect the functionality of Kosovo as a state, and which enables the evolution of a strong, as well as local, democracy and the rule of law throughout Kosovo. But to reach this point, the EU must once again make credible the Western Balkans's EU membership prospects to restore its influence over Belgrade. This means that Berlin enters into serious discussions with President Macron, who is not only blocking the opening of accession talks between North Macedonia and Albania, but is also speaking out sincerely against enlargement,” Weber said.

Asked to assess the decision to sanction organized criminal groups in Kosovo and do whether the US would expand their sanctions and target high-profile politicians in the Western Balkans, Weber said recently sanctioned Kosovo Serb criminal groups play an equally important role in Serbia's political system as they do in Kosovo Serb-majority municipalities. “The sanction decision came as a positive surprise. However, I still do not consider that this sanction, anti-corruption measures are integrated in a broader political strategy for the Western Balkans. In Bosnia, for example, U.S. representatives this year have essentially collaborated with local ethno-nationalist leaders, corrupting negotiations on an ethno-territorial division agreement, seen as a total mockery of the U.S. anti-corruption narrative.”

Asked if the current situation of Bosnia and Herzegovina could affect the countries of the region, he said “This is happening, just as the 2017-2020 negotiations on a dirty Kosovo-Serbia territorial exchange agreement did. The fact that EU and US representatives cooperate with nationalist leaders and their unfulfilled nationalist agendas, betray three decades of western politics to the region. The liberal democratic principles and values on which the West is founded undermine regional trust in the West and the struggle for democracy and the rule of law. What happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina this year, has strengthened the outcome,” Weber concluded.

Xhaferi: "Open Balkan" incomplete without all Western Balkans countries (Kosovapress/media)

Talat Xhaferi, North Macedonia Assembly Speaker, said that the "Open Balkan" regional initiative will not be complete unless it incorporates all six members of the Western Balkans region.

"In the economic, social context everything is fine, but the political context is what defines the final status of every initiative," he said.

In an interview for Kosovapress, Xhaferi also spoke about Kosovo-Serbia dialogue noting that it should end in mutual recognition and be acceptable for the citizens of both sides. "Any position and decision agreed by the two negotiating countries and two peoples in these two countries, is acceptable for us."

COVID-19: 108 new cases, no deaths (media)

108 new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in Kosovo in the last 24 hours. 11 persons recovered from the virus during this time.

There are 637 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Kosovo sees surge in COVID-19 cases (Express)

New cases of COVID-19 are once again surging in Kosovo, with 108 new positive cases confirmed in the last 24 hours.

The Ministry of Health, according to data from the National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo, informs as follows: 2,161 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been given in the last 24 hours. 1,677.000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been given in all cities of Kosovo since the vaccination started. To date, citizens 784,166 have been vaccinated with the second dose. Of 6,169 tests made, 108 citizens tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. No new deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours. The total number of active cases is 637.

Deputy Minister: Kosovo about to enter a new wave of COVID-19 infections (Telegrafi)

Kosovo's Deputy Minister of Health Dafina Gexha-Bunjaku said that the recent increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases is an indicator that Kosovo is about to enter a new wave of infections.

"However, this wave will largely depend on our response as institutions as well as the response of the citizens," she told RTV Dukagjini.

Gexha-Bunjaku added that the new cases are likely due to the increase of Kosovo's population over the last two weeks with many members of the Diaspora coming to see their families for the holidays.