• Kurti: I won’t allow a second Serbian Republic in Kosovo (media) 
• Lajcak begins Kosovo visit, meets Prime Minister Kurti (media) 
• Lajcak: Resolving fate of more than 1600 missing is urgent (media) 
• Osmani strongly condemns Russian attack on Ukrainian civilians (RTK)
• Várhelyi points out reason for delay in visa liberalization for Kosovo (RTK)
• Government preparing plan to unilaterally resolve license plates issue (Telegrafi)
• Kosovo arrest of war crime suspect angers Serbia (BIRN) 
• US Ambassador to Montenegro: In Open Balkans, there is no footnote (VOA)
• Serbs celebrate St. Vitus’ Day today; police undertake security measures (RTK) 
• Special Court goes on summer vacation for two and a half months (Reporteri)
• Balkan football hooliganism linked to politics, organised crime – report (BIRN)

Kurti: I won’t allow a second Serbian Republic in Kosovo (media) 

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said on Monday that he will not allow a second Serbian Republic [Republika Srpska] in Kosovo similar to the one in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In an interview with Syri TV, Kurti said: “I am not against the Serbs, but Serbia is against us, and I cannot allow another Serbian Republic in Kosovo similar to the one in Bosnia because that is how they started there by uniting Serb-majority municipalities and then created an autonomous entity which sabotages the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I believe they have the same intention in Kosovo. One should also not forget that several years ago, the same leaders in Serbia, tried to implement the territorial exchange project. I cannot say that the idea is dead, but the project certainly us. So, the same people that tried to divide Kosovo in the name of territorial exchange, are now the ones that are adamantly calling for the association of Serb-majority municipalities, which for us is unacceptable. This is one of the agreements that cannot be implemented.”

Kurti said he does not want the Open Balkan initiated by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. According to Kurti, Serbia is trying to destabilize the Balkans. “We don’t agree on some regional initiatives. I believe that Serbia wants to destabilize the Balkans. I don’t believe Serbia is neutral because it has sided with Kremlin,” he added.

Kurti also said the Open Balkan initiative will fail “because the Balkans cannot be opened to anyone because it has already opened up to the EU, the United States and NATO”. 

Lajcak begins Kosovo visit, meets Prime Minister Kurti (media) 

One of the main stories in the media on Monday was the visit by EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and other Western Balkans regional issues, Miroslav Lajcak. Koha Ditore covers the visit under the leading front-page headline Lajcak gives push to the implementation of Brussels agreements.

After meeting Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Lajcak tweeted: “Very good to be back in Kosovo! I started my visit by meeting with Prime Minister @albinkurti to continue our discussion on the way forward in the Dialogue on normalisation of relations. I also commended him on reaching an agreement on energy last week.”

A press release issued by the Office of the Prime Minister after the meeting quotes Kurti as saying that “Kosovo is committed to a principled dialogue, from which the citizens of both countries should benefit, through a stable and workable agreement, which focuses on mutual recognition”. Kurti and Lajcak talked about the agreement on the implementation of the energy roadmap under the agreements of 2013 and 2015, with Kurti saying that the government is committed to its implementation, in order to complete an inherited problem of energy supply and payment in the four municipalities in the north.

Kurti also tweeted after the meeting: Today I received @MiroslavLajcak for a one on one meeting. We welcome the recent accordance on the roadmap for implementation of energy agreement. Our focus will remain on reaching an agreement with Serbia centered on mutual recognition.

Lajcak: Resolving fate of more than 1600 missing is urgent (media) 

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, attended the screening of the Water and Candles documentary on Monday. “Resolving the fate of more than 1600 persons still missing is urgent. All loved ones - no matter of their ethnicity - deserve closure. This is why I visited the Documentation Center, met with the Missing Persons Resource Center and attended the screening of screening “Water and Candles”,” Lajcak tweeted after the event.

Osmani strongly condemns Russian attack on Ukrainian civilians (RTK)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has condemned the recent Russian attack on Kremenchuk in Ukraine. “Putin’s latest attack on a thousand innocent civilians in Kremenchuk is outrageous and profoundly inhumane.  This is an act of terror and a continuation of systematic war crimes against civilians. Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine. We will always stand with them,” Osmani wrote on Twitter.

Várhelyi points out reason for delay in visa liberalization for Kosovo (RTK)

Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Enlargement and Good Neighborliness, addressed the European Parliament, informing them of the results of the Summit between the EU and the Western Balkan countries held last week.

Várhelyi said that Kosovo continues to wait for visa liberalization and that this is an issue that needs to be addressed in order to move forward. "But we need to be clear that there are some areas, such as the fight against organized crime and trafficking, in which member states expect clear results," he said.

Varhelyi also said the European Commission is ready to help Kosovo similarly to Albania to draw up a map, together with member states to address specific concerns. "EU member states, the police, and other mechanisms must be involved on the ground to help Kosovo. From our side we are ready to give all the financial and political support in this process."

On the dialogue process between Pristina and Belgrade, he said that the Commission needs to see a clear commitment.

Speaking about the countries of the Western Balkans, Várhelyi said that the imposition of sanctions on Russia is only a symptom of the problem. "That is why we are ready to fully support Serbia in putting itself in line with the EU's foreign policy towards Russia's war," Várhelyi told MEPs. "But this means that we must also have a clear commitment from Serbia," he said, adding that one of them is also the issue of dialogue.

Government preparing plan to unilaterally resolve license plates issue (Telegrafi)

Kosovo and Serbia continue to use reciprocity for vehicle license plates. Every vehicle crossing the border between the two states must be fitted with adhesive covering the symbols. Meanwhile, the Kosovo government has prepared a plan trying to resolve the issue of license plates, which will be voted on this week. “As stated earlier, Kosovo has received the green light from the European Union to continue drafting a plan, which will be shared in advance with the EU and the Quint countries. This plan will come out this week and there will be a government decision indicating how the issue of license plates will be handled. In the coming days, you will be kept informed on more detailed details," stated Perparim Kryeziu, spokesperson of the government.

This action of Kosovo was announced last week by Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi.

Kosovo arrest of war crime suspect angers Serbia (BIRN) 

The Kosovo prosecution said on Monday that police have arrested a man identified only by the initials M.D. on suspicion of committing war crimes in the Peja/Pec region of Kosovo in May 1999.

“The case concerns an offensive by Serbian military, paramilitary, and police forces on May 7, 1999, in the Peja region, where it is suspected that nine ethnic Albanian civilians died and five other persons, also Albanian civilians, disappeared,” the prosecution said in a statement.

The suspect is being held in detention waiting to appear before a pre-trial judge.

The prosecution described him as an ethnic Montenegrin who is a citizen of Kosovo, from the village of Vitomirice in the Peja/Pec municipality.

Serbian media outlets have named the man who was arrested as Milorad Djokovic, and have described him as a Serb.

The Serbian government’s office for Kosovo condemned the arrest, claiming that it was an example of the intimidation of Serbs in Kosovo.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Aa8Pjr

US Ambassador to Montenegro: In Open Balkans, there is no footnote (VOA)

US Ambassador to Montenegro Judy Rising Reinke has said the United States supports the Open Balkans provided that all Western Balkan countries are represented “fully and equally”. Reinke said that in the Open Balkans there are no footnotes and no special conditions.

She further added that they support this initiative as long as it is fully in line with the principles of the European Union. There is a simple set of conditions, and that is that the “Open Balkans” is fully and equally open to the six countries of the Western Balkans. No footnotes, no special conditions. So long as it is open to all and as long as all the principles within the Open Balkans are fully in line with the conditions that the EU would expect in the accession process. These are the conditions. This would give the countries of the Western Balkans a chance to build their economies, work to establish norms and regulatory principles for the free movement of people, goods and resources, and be better prepared as membership approaches. in the EU “, she said.

She also said that it does not matter if this initiative is supported by Russia, for her it is important what it is about in the Open Balkans.

“For me, the key is not who supports, but what it is about. “What we understand and support is an ‘Open Balkans’ which is equally open to all six Balkan countries and fully in line with European Union principles,” she said in an interview for VOA.

Serbs celebrate St. Vitus’ Day today; police undertake security measures (RTK) 

The news website reports that Serbs from Kosovo and Serbia will celebrate St. Vitus’ Day in Gazimestan, near Prishtina, today. Kosovo Police said in a statement that they have drafted an operational plan to manage the security situation before, during and after the event. 

Special Court goes on summer vacation for two and a half months (Reporteri)

The Special Court has announced that a pre-appeal conference will be held on July 5 in the case against the leaders of the KLA War Veterans Association, Gucati and Haradinaj.

This will be their first appearance after the sentence to four and a half years in prison each, they received a few weeks ago from the Special Court.

Meanwhile, this will be the only hearing to be held in July. Based on the calendar of the Specialized Chambers, no hearing will be held until 24 July, while on July 25, the entire Special Court goes on summer vacation. Moreover, this holiday will last until August 12.

Also, based on the calendar of the Specialized Chambers, no other session is foreseen for the remaining part of August. The first hearing, based on this calendar, is scheduled to take place on September 12, with the closing statement in the trial against Salih Mustafa.

Balkan football hooliganism linked to politics, organised crime – report (BIRN)

Football hooliganism is closely linked to politics, nationalism, violence and organized crime in the Western Balkans, a report says, with the highest links noted in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The report, by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, analyzed 122 football fan groups in the Western Balkans, identifying 78 hardcore ultra fans and 21 groups that engage in football hooliganism “and also have links to politics and/or organized crime”.

“In establishing links between the ultras and organized crime in the WB6, the report examines why young people – predominantly men – join such groups,” the report reads.

The report differentiates between ultras as “groups of hardcore football fans affiliated to a particular team” and mere football hooligans “who engage in violence within the football milieu”.

Groups in Serbia are of most concern, according to the report, due to the larger quantity and range of incidents, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina. The situation in the rest of the Western Balkan countries is less bad.

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