• Kosovo, Albania governments to meet today in Prishtina (media)
• Rama: Albania will remove all customs tariffs with Kosovo (media)
• Rama: Funny and sad how Open Balkan is interpreted in Kosovo (media)
• Rama hosts dinner in Prishtina with critics of Kurti’s government (Nacionale)
• Government: Venice Commission gave green light for vetting in judiciary (RFE)
• Haxhiu: We have Plan B if opposition blocks the vetting (media)
• Dialogue continues with expectations for concrete agreements (Koha)
• Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu visits Kosovo (media)
• Von Cramon: We need to give something to the Western Balkans (Kosovapress)
• Leaders’ messages on Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict (media)
• Health Ministry not alarmed over slight increase in new COVID-19 cases (Koha)

Kosovo, Albania governments to meet today in Prishtina (media)

All media report that the governments of Kosovo and Albania will meet in Prishtina today. After the working session and the signing of agreements, Prime Ministers Albin Kurti and Edi Rama will give a joint press conference at 12:45.

Rama: Albania will remove all customs tariffs with Kosovo (media)

Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, said on Sunday during a visit to Rahovec, that Albania will remove all customs tariffs with Kosovo, starting with agricultural products. He said he hopes the Kosovo government will do the same. “We have a plan to remove all customs tariffs with Kosovo, we will remove them fully. We hope that this will be a bilateral move by the Kosovo Government too; they have asked for some more time to analyze this,” Rama said.

Rama: Funny and sad how Open Balkan is interpreted in Kosovo (media)

Most news websites cover remarks by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama about the way that the Open Balkan initiative is viewed by politicians in Kosovo. “It is both funny and sad that the Open Balkan is viewed as domination by Serbia, while the biggest trade volume is here in Kosovo. The Open Balkan will only expand the economic growth for all … The better the neighbors stand economically, the better they will get along politically,” Rama was quoted as saying.

Rama hosts dinner in Prishtina with critics of Kurti’s government (Nacionale)

The news website reported on Sunday evening that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama hosted a dinner in Prishtina with “the fiercest critics” of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. Present at the meeting were media owners, moderators and political analysts who have criticised the work of Kurti’s government. The news website had earlier reported, citing unnamed sources, that Rama told a meeting with senior Albanian politicians in Ohrid, North Macedonia, that he was going “to remove Albin Kurti from power by September”.

Government: Venice Commission gave green light for vetting in judiciary (RFE)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, told a press conference on Saturday, that after the Venice Commission evaluated the government’s concept document for vetting in the judiciary and the draft law for the State Bureau for Verification and Confiscation of Unjustified Assets, Kosovo authorities will start implementing these two processes.

“The vetting is necessary, same as the confiscation of illegally accumulated wealth. Today we will start implementing the one-year work of the Ministry of Justice, the implementation of these crucial processes for Kosovo, with the support of the Venice Commission,” Kurti told reporters.

The news website recalls that in October last year, the Kosovo government adopted the concept document on vetting in the judiciary aimed at strengthening the rule of law.

On the State Bureau for Verification and Confiscation of Unjustified Assets, Kurti said that the Venice Commission has called for expanded competencies of this mechanism. The government had earlier said that the bureau would target all public officials who are suspected of having illegally accumulated wealth.

Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said the Venice Commission voted on both opinions – the vetting and the bureau – and that this has paved the way for reforms in the judiciary. “Both these important initiatives have been supported by members of the Venice Commission in yesterday’s session (June 17) and now we have received the green light to start the vetting process, and to formalize the work of the State Bureau for Verification and Confiscation of Unjustified Assets,” Haxhiu said.

The Venice Commission is expected to publish its opinions on June 21.

Haxhiu: We have Plan B if opposition blocks the vetting (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said on Sunday that the Ministry of Justice has a Plan B on proceeding with the vetting in the judiciary if the opposition tries to block the process. Haxhiu said in a Q&A session on her Instagram account that they aim to implement the process through constitutional amendments and that they are ready to cooperate with every political party in the process.

Asked about the verification of lists of war veterans, Haxhiu said this will happen. “Whoever wore the KLA uniform even for a minute, they deserve the respect and support of the state, but not those that did not take part in the war. If they do not withdraw, they must be removed from the lists, because this would be a great damage to the past, present and future of Kosovo,” she argued.

According to Haxhiu, the law on the confiscation of unjustified assets could enter into force by September. “It depends on the work of the working group. I believe it will enter into force by September,” she said.

Dialogue continues with expectations for concrete agreements (Koha)

Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj reports that Kosovo Principal Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, and head of the Serbian delegation, Petar Petkovic, will meet in Brussels on Tuesday, amid some frustration even among EU officials about the lack of results in the dialogue. EU officials say they “expect important agreements from these meetings”.

Citing unnamed diplomatic sources, Palokaj notes that two agreements are now ready; an agreement to implement the agreement on the energy, which was reached in 2013 and later confirmed in 2015, and a declaration on missing persons. Both agreements have been ready for some time now and “only a few details” had to be clarified.

Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu visits Kosovo (media)

Foreign Minister of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu, , said during his stay in Prishtina that Turkey will continue to support Kosovo in its Euro-Atlantic path and that there will be increased Turkish investments in Kosovo.

Koha Ditore reports on its front page that Cavusoglu, who met with President Osmani, Prime Minister Kurti and Foreign Minister Gervalla, raised a concern which in his view could be an obstacle in relations between Turkey and Kosovo, and that is the presence of the organisation “FETO” in Kosovo, which Turkey calls a terrorist organisation. At a joint press conference with his Kosovo counterpart, Cavusoglu argued that this organisation is trying to infiltrate Kosovo’s institutions.

Prime Minister Kurti tweeted after meeting Cavusoglu: “Pleasure to welcome FM of Turkey @MevlutCavusoglu and discuss many areas of cooperation in economy, energy, security, and defense. Our people are a bridge to our strong bilateral relations.”

President Osmani said she had a productive meeting with Cavusoglu on strengthening foreign policy, defense and economic cooperation between our countries. “We remain committed to further promoting mutual trade and investment,” she tweeted.

Von Cramon: We need to give something to the Western Balkans (Kosovapress)

The European Parliament’s Rapporteur for the Western Balkans, Viola von Cramon, said on Sunday during her stay in Sarajevo that if Moldavia and Ukraine are given candidate statuses, then something must be given to the countries of the Western Balkans, including visa liberalization for the citizens of Kosovo.

“We, members of the European Parliament, always say that if the candidate status is given to Moldavia and Ukraine, we need to give something to the countries of the Western Balkans to show that we are reliable and that faith in us is not totally lost,” she said.

Asked by reporters to elaborate what this means, Von Cramon mentioned giving the candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina, opening negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia and visa liberalization for Kosovo.

Leaders’ messages on Intl Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict (media)

President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said on Sunday on the International Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict that “We stand together, today and forever, with the thousands of women and men who survived the sexual violence during the war in Kosovo, who went through the horrors of the crimes of the genocidal regime of Milosevic. They continue to boldly present the truth and have turned pain into power, thus becoming our heroines. On the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, we recall that our efforts to bring the perpetrators of this horrific crime to justice will never stop.”

Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Twitter post that “sexual violence was used as a weapon of war, during the 1998-99 war in Kosova; a tactic of war and repression that has destroyed lives, fractured families and society”. “On the International Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict we stand in solidarity with Kosova’s brave survivors,” Kurti tweeted.

Health Ministry not alarmed over slight increase in new COVID-19 cases (Koha)

There has been a slight increase in new cases with COVID-19 last week in Kosovo as a total of 108 persons were infected with the virus. The Ministry of Health told Koha on Sunday that the increase in new cases is not alarming, but that added caution is needed. “For the time being, the level of new cases does not represent a burden for the healthcare system. Citizens are recommended to get all three doses of the vaccine and not underestimate the situation, thinking that COVID-19 is over,” the ministry said. They also added that so far only 8 percent of the group age over 18 have received all three doses of the vaccine.