• Reciprocity on ID cards begins (Koha Ditore/Kosovapress/RFE)
• Serbia Reminds Kosovo: ID Cards Deal Doesn’t Imply Recognition (BIRN)
• Why Ethnic Tensions Are Flaring Again in Northern Kosovo (Reuters)
• President Osmani meets Czech PM, discuss visa liberalisation (media)
• Krasniqi: Kosovo in direst situation in the postwar period (media)
• Haradinaj to Kurti: Stop or you will be stopped! (media)
• Haziri: Serbia is indirectly recognizing Kosovo (Klan Kosova)
• Serbia: Army at high state preparedness along border with Kosovo (Telegrafi)
• Turkish, Hungarian senior officials to attend next Open Balkans meeting (Klan)

Reciprocity on ID cards begins (Koha Ditore/Kosovapress/RFE)

Koha Ditore reports on its front page this morning that there were no tensions in the mainly Serb inhabited north of Kosovo on the eve of the implementation of the decision for reciprocity on ID cards. Roads in the north are open and there are no tensions in the towns. KFOR meanwhile has stepped up patrols as the government’s decision on reciprocity entered into force. Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, visited the Bernjak border crossing on the night between Wednesday and Thursday from where he said that the agreement on free movement is being respected. He also said that both sides are no longer issuing entry/exit documents at border crossings.

Kosovapress news agency reports that Serb citizens crossing at the Merdare border point said that everything is going smoothly and that they welcome the implementation of the agreement on documents between Kosovo and Serbia.

Radio Free Europe in its coverage quotes several Kosovo citizens at the Jarinje and Merdare border crossing as saying “we crossed the border as if we were in the European Union”. Another Serb citizen told the news agency: “I expect a peace agreement. Let us live in peace together”.

Serbia Reminds Kosovo: ID Cards Deal Doesn’t Imply Recognition (BIRN)

As the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia on crossing borders using only IDs comes into force tonight, a big disclaimer written in English and Serbian on the Serbian side of the frontier reminds the public of Serbia’s continued non-recognition of Kosovo’s independence.

“Enabling the use of Identity Cards issued by Pristina (Kosovo) is done exclusively for practical reasons, for the purpose of making the position of individuals easier and for enabling their freedom of movement in accordance with the Agreement on Freedom of Movement reached in dialogue in 2011; it cannot be interpreted as recognition of unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo,” the disclaimer reads.

Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence, declared in February 2008, insisting it remains a province of Serbia. The disclaimer confirms this, saying the permitted use of Kosovo IDs in Serbia “is without prejudice to determining Kosovo’s final status”.

The deal reached last weekend in Brussels put an end to a nearly 11-year period when Serbia issued entry-exit documents to Kosovo citizens replacing the IDs issued by Kosovo for their stay in Serbia.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Ra5EOC

Why Ethnic Tensions Are Flaring Again in Northern Kosovo (Reuters)

Kosovo will begin on Thursday a two-month implementation period for a controversial move to oblige Serbs, mainly those living in the northern part of the Balkan nation, bordering Serbia, to start using license plates issued by the government in Pristina.

Ethnic tensions over the decision erupted last month when ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, who are backed by Serbia and do not recognise Pristina's authority, set up roadblocks to protest the new rule.

Kosovo and Serbia intend to join the European Union and have agreed, as part of that membership process, to resolve their outstanding issues and build good neighbourly relations.

Read more at: https://reut.rs/3CI7T7j

President Osmani meets Czech PM, discuss visa liberalisation (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met on Wednesday with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, with whom she discussed about the urgency of concluding the visa liberalisation process for Kosovo during the Czech presidency of the EU Council.

Osmani wrote in a Twitter post: “Kosovo and the Czech Republic share fundamental democratic values & a common vision for Europe. In my meeting with Czech Fiala, we discussed working together during Czech Presidency to advance Kosovo’s European perspective, including urgently addressing visa liberalisation. Kosovo belongs in the Euro-Atlantic family and the support of our Czech partners in ensuring we take concrete steps to join the Council of Europe and NATO’s Partnership for Peace is crucial. We also discussed ways in which we can elevate bilateral cooperation between our two countries.”

Krasniqi: Kosovo in direst situation in the postwar period (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi said on Wednesday that Kosovo is going through the direst situation in the postwar period as a result of the inflation, energy cuts, increased prices, unemployment, youth fleeing and the lack of public investments. “And while the citizens ask where the government is to undertake facilitating measures, the government acts with vengeance measures against the teachers and civil servants by blocking their salaries because of the strike,” Krasniqi said. “Only a government that is incapable of governing and which lacks the vision to address the social and economic challenges of the people can make such arbitrary decisions. This sanctioning mindset against our teachers has not been seen or heard in Kosovo since the time of the Serbian occupation and the violent measures of the 1990s.”

Haradinaj to Kurti: Stop or you will be stopped! (media)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj reacted on Wednesday to a statement by Finance Minister Hekuran Murati who said that all employees that have joined the strikes will have their wages suspended. Haradinaj sent a message to Prime Minister Albin Kurti telling him “to stop” or “he will be stopped”.

According to Haradinaj, Kurti is destroying Kosovo. “Where do you intend to take this country Albin Kurti?! Can you see that you are destroying its foundations!? What right do you have to stop the wages of the educational staff? What law or what constitution gives you this right? Who are the brave messengers that are threatening and blackmailing the teachers!” Haradinaj wrote in a Facebook post.

Haziri: Serbia is indirectly recognizing Kosovo (Klan Kosova)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lutfi Haziri said in an interview with Klan Kosova on Wednesday that Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s meeting with the opposition about the process of dialogue came very late. “The invitation for the meeting came after the meeting in Brussels. In any normal situation of a political dialogue at such levels, the meetings with the opposition should have taken place earlier,” he argued. Haziri also said that the achievements presented by Kurti imply that Serbia is in a way recognising the independence of Kosovo.

Serbia: Army at high state preparedness along border with Kosovo (Telegrafi)

On the eve of the Kosovo government’s decision on reciprocity for ID cards with Serbia, the Ministry of Defense of Serbia said on Wednesday that its army was carrying out drills along the border with Kosovo. “The drills are carried out with the aim of maintaining the high state of preparedness of the engaged units and their capability to react swiftly if needed and to guarantee peace ad security along the administrative boundary with Kosovo,” a statement issued by the Serbian Ministry of Defense said. It also said that special attention is paid to military actions “in the event of an attack against units as well as tactics, techniques and procedures used to prevent illegal crossings, the activities of extremist groups and organised crime”.

Turkish, Hungarian senior officials to attend next Open Balkans meeting (Klan)

Senior officials from Turkey and Hungary are expected to attend the next meeting of the Open Balkan initiative which will be held on September 2 in Belgrade, Serbia. A press release issued by the Office of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic notes that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto are expected to attend the meeting. Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro have not yet joined the initiative.