• Energy Regulatory Office approves plan for energy price hike (media)
• Krasniqi: PDK will oppose electricity price increase (RTK)
• LDK gathering support to call special session on energy price increase (Kallxo)
• Prime Minister Kurti holds virtual meeting with Baroness Arminka Helic (media)
• UNDP and EU put on hold restoration work at Xhafer Deva’s house (media)
• Von Cramon: The case of Xhafer Deva's house worries me (media)
• Weller: Reactions to restoration of Xhafer Deva's house, unreasonable (Koha)
• Mitrovica historians support restoration of Xhafer Deva's house (Telegrafi)
• MD denies reports that hundreds of soldiers are applying for visa to Germany (media)
• Quint welcomes Kosovo’s Representative for Contact with Vatican (Express)
• COVID-19: 787 new cases, two deaths (media)

Energy Regulatory Office approves plan for energy price hike (media)

The Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) has approved the increase of price of energy for consumers that exceed more than 800 kilowatt hour a month. ERO said that new tariffs will be applicable as of 9 February through 31 March 2023.

ERO changed its initial decision, as with the preliminary recommendation ERO had demanded that the electricity price increases for households who spend over 600 kilowatts. “This block should be moved to 800 kWh. The new tariff structure up to 800 kwh encourages consumers to take advantage of both tariffs. It enables consumers to use energy efficiently with €5.9 cents kWh. For those consuming over 800 the high tariff is €12 cents and the low tariff is €6 cent, while for those consuming up to 800 the low tariff will be €3 cents and high tariff of €7 cents,” ERO announced, reports Gazeta Express which adds that the approved plan is the same with that proposed by the Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli.

On 17 January 2022, ERO had proposed restoring energy block tariffs by proposing that the price of energy for those consuming over 600 kilowatts doubles. Tariffs for businesses and the first 600 kilowatts of households will continue to be billed at the same tariffs as they used to be, so there will be no increase.

Krasniqi: PDK will oppose electricity price increase (RTK)

The leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi has reacted to the decision of the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) to increase the price of electricity in Kosovo.

According to Krasniqi, the decision to increase the price of energy was taken in full coordination and with the blessing of the Prime Minister, Albin Kurti. He wrote on his Facebook page that this enormous increase will severely harm Kosovar families.

"Since the beginning of its mandate, the Kurti government has failed to take any steps to develop the country's economy, aggravated by the pandemic, being unable to address the demands and needs of businesses, many of which brought it to the brink of collapse, bankruptcy. Moreover, the government has failed to take measures, to prevent the deterioration and to alleviate the social burden for Kosovar families, in the face of the constant increase of prices in every essential product," Krasniqi noted.

“Therefore, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, as it has opposed during all the past months, will oppose it by any legal means, in every judicial instance, the same as in the Assembly of Kosovo, and will not stop demanding the dismissal of the members of the Board of ERO who have sealed this sentence against the citizens of Kosovo, as well as the annulment of the scandalous decision of ERO, which as such, puts an end to the little security and well-being that citizens could provide with their work.

At the same time, PDK is discussing the possibility of organizing a civic petition, so that the government-ERO tandem understands that the increase in energy prices is not a political opposition battle against an incompetent and irresponsible government, but is a threat to the citizens of Kosovo who are in the battle for survival, who cannot and should not bear the cost of the incompetence of the Kurti government,” Krasniqi wrote.

LDK gathering support to call special session on energy price increase (Kallxo)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku said the party has begun collecting signatures of 40 MPs required to call an extraordinary session of the Assembly. The initiative is related to the decision of the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) to increase electricity tariffs for consumers using more than 800 Kilowatt hour a month.

Abdxhiku said that their goal is to get the Assembly come out with a position rejecting the ERO's decision. "We will also demand the dismissal of the ERO's board appointed by Kurti Government who have demonstrated utmost incompetency during this time," he told reporters.

Prime Minister Kurti holds virtual meeting with Baroness Arminka Helic (media)

Dealing with the past was one of the main topics of the virtual meeting that the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti held with Baroness Arminka Helic from the House of Lords of the British Parliament.

According to a press release issued by the Government of Kosovo, Prime Minister Kurti reaffirmed the government's commitment to fighting crime and corruption, justice reform and the commitment to attract investment, which create new jobs. He stressed that the economy has responded positively, with economic growth of 9.9% according to the Central Bank of Kosovo. He stressed Kosovo's intention to join the European Union and NATO, as well as to increase regional co-operation.

The Baroness congratulated the Prime Minister on the progress emphasizing that Kosovo's successes are also successes for the Balkan region. "I'm encouraged to see that the government responds to the people 's demands for justice and employment and provides stability," she said, adding that peace in the region is not possible until Kosovo becomes “its own master” and the region is not influenced by neighbouring countries and Russia.

Prime Minister Kurti together with the Deputy Minister of Justice and National Coordinator against Domestic Violence, Nita Shala, and the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly of the of Kosovo Saranda Bogujevci, discussed with Baroness Helic the institutional initiatives for dealing with the past. The initiative for the establishment of the Institute for Crimes Committed during the War and the drafting of the Strategy for Transitional Justice were singled out.

During the meeting, the challenges of the recognition and justice processes for survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo were discussed, the press release adds.

UNDP and EU put on hold restoration work at Xhafer Deva’s house (media)

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kosovo and the European Union issued a joint statement saying that they have put on hold the restoration of a cultural heritage site in Mitrovica associated with previous owner Xhafer Deva, whose past as a Nazi collaborator has been much commented on over the last few days.

UNDP and EU said that “the intention of the project has always been to bring communities together and contribute to social cohesion by using cultural heritage as an instrument for inter-community dialogue and by claiming back cultural heritage for community use.”

“UNDP and the European Union express our strong regret for any unintentional offense caused when announcing the initiating of works while omitting the historical background of Xhafer Deva.”

Emphasising their strong condemnation of anti-semitism and xenophobia, including rising intolerance and bigotry towards ethnic minorities and vulnerable communities and their commitment to protecting the vulnerable, promoting fundamental human rights and upholding the freedom, dignity and fighting misinformation, UNDP and EU said they decided to put on hold work at the site.

"We are in contact with all parties involved and re-assessing our role and contribution, including the possibility to use the current controversy as a timely opportunity to openly address the past through open discussions and consultations of all relevant communities," the statement reads.

Find the full statement here: https://bit.ly/3HEpMUc

Von Cramon: The case of Xhafer Deva's house worries me (media)

European Parliament rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, has reacted to the issue of Xhafer Deva's house saying that it worries her personally and raises many concerns.

"Whitewashing the past and distorting the facts about the well-known Nazi collaborator/protagonist of the 21st SS Division “Skanderbeg” must not take place. There must be no place for WWII history revisionism and Holocaust denial. Instead, this should be used as an opportunity to deal with the past and allow for all Kosovo’s communities to come together in creating the common narrative and truth that is inclusive and based on facts about the Nazi local collaborators and committed war crimes against Jews, Serbs, Albanians and others by Skanderbeg SS division and Deva’s militia," she wrote on Twitter.

Weller: Reactions to restoration of Xhafer Deva's house, unreasonable (Koha)

Nora Weller, scholar on atrocities heritage and cultural heritage protection based at the University of Cambridge, said there was no reason to halt restoration on the house of Xhafer Deva in Mitrovica.

"In Kosovo it has become common for cultural heritage issues that are simple and not related to international politics, get mixed up," she said. "In recent days there has been an unreasonable and unnecessary intervention in relation to the restoration of this house. This building has been public property since 1945 and restored several times, it is on the list of protected heritage sites since 2011. All this debate whether or not it should be restored, has diverted the focus from the main issue which is cultural heritage in Kosovo which deserves to be protected and conserved."

Weller also criticised the German Ambassador Jorn Rohde for his statement opposing the restoration project. "The derailing of this conversation from the main issue, which is the heritage protection, occurred with the reaction of the German ambassador to Kosovo, who publicly says that if the house is restored, it means Holocaust denial and whitewashing of the past. I consider this comment to be very serious. There was no need for the German ambassador to make this public. He has made a harmful and unnecessary action because after his reaction, the international community halted the restoration."

Mitrovica historians support restoration of Xhafer Deva's house (Telegrafi)

League of Historians in Mitrovica has come out against the halting of restoration works at the Xhafer Deva's house saying the building possesses architectural and artistic values.

Enis Kelmendi, deputy head of the organisation, said the building should be restored, not to serve as a museum but to preserve "the heritage that has a unique western style". "We want to be able to use it but it cannot be used without being restored. We don't want to let the site's cultural heritage values go to waste," he said. "The building as such is neither Nazi, not fascist, nor Yugoslav therefore we as a country should preserve the few historic values we possess."

"If this was supposed to be used as the basis for the demolition and non-reconstruction of an building that belongs to a historical period, be it is glorious or inglorious, then the former Auschwitz should have been demolished too, and not preserved along with many other concentration camps," Kelmendi told Telegrafi.

MD denies reports that hundreds of soldiers are applying for visa to Germany (media)

Kosovo’s Ministry of Defence reacted following the reports that hundreds of Kosovo Security Force (KSF) members are applying for work visas at the German Embassy saying they were untrue.

A press release issued by the Ministry states that the Republic of Germany is among the most important partners in the field of defence and that for years Kosovo has intensive bilateral cooperation between the two ministries and the respective forces. For this reason, in order to fulfil the joint plans and objectives, Minister Mehaj has close relations and regular communication with the German Ambassador Jorn Rohde, on issues of interest that they value from their respective official positions.

"Disinformation that, allegedly, the topic of applying for visas of KSF members was the topic of discussion in their meeting, is absurd, completely untrue, and aims to misinform and confuse the public, our citizens and allies. Also, the lies about the alleged visa application of hundreds of KSF members at the German Embassy, are intended to present a false, disturbing situation and allegedly a high level of demotivation in the ranks of KSF members," reads the statement, which adds that the high morale of the KSF members is best confirmed by the commitment, dedication, as well as the successes with very high results in education, exercise and continuous operations.

Quint welcomes Kosovo’s Representative for Contact with Vatican (Express)

Representatives of Quint have organised a lunch welcoming Vehbi Miftari, Kosovo’s representative for Contact with the Holy See. The lunch was organised by Patrick Connell, the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. embassy to the Holy See, Gazeta Express reports.

“CDA Connell was honored to host a Quint lunch today to welcome Dr. Vehbi Miftari, the new Representative of the Republic of Kosovo for Contact with the Holy See,” the US Embassy in The Holy See Tweeted Tuesday. The working lunch was attended by ambassadors of France, UK, Italy and Germany.

COVID-19: 787 new cases, two deaths (media)

787 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths have been recorded in Kosovo in the last 24-hour period, the Ministry of Health said. 3,613 persons recovered during this time.

There are 20,995 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.