• Czech Foreign Minister to visit Kosovo today (media)
• Kosovo Foreign Minister: EU has no reason to deny visa liberalisation (VoA)
• Deputy Minister of Education believes classes will start on Oct 3 (RTK)
• Rohde: Kosovo and Serbia will have to make difficult decisions (Radio Kosova)
• Two foreign organisations drafting Association statute, Novosti reports (Koha)
• Lajcak and von Cramon discuss state of play in EU-facilitated dialogue (media)
• Chollet and Peach meet, “elevating focus of Serbia-Kosovo dialogue” (media)
• Albanian politicians see jailed Kosovo leaders in Hague (The Washington Post)
• Vucic: International pressure to recognize Kosovo (Albanian Daily News)
• North Macedonia opposition against Open Balkan, blocks laws (RFE)

Czech Foreign Minister to visit Kosovo today (media)

The Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavsky, will visit Kosovo today. He is scheduled to meet President Vjosa Osmani, First Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi and other senior officials. Lipavsky and Bislimi will give a joint press conference at 11:00.

Kosovo Foreign Minister: EU has no reason to deny visa liberalisation (VoA)

Foreign Minister of Kosovo, Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, said in an interview with the Voice of America that Kosovo is committed to reaching a final agreement with Serbia that would result in mutual recognition. She argued that the sooner Serbia accepts the reality of the state of Kosovo in the Balkans, the faster it will progress in its European path.

Gervalla-Schwarz also talked about the issue of visa liberalisation, saying that “Kosovo has met the requirements for visa liberalisation and that this issue is now more in the responsibility of the European Union.”

Deputy Minister of Education believes classes will start on Oct 3 (RTK)

The Union of Education, Science and Culture of Kosovo (SBASHK) has decided to ask its membership whether it is in favor of stopping the strike in education and starting classes on October 3. Deputy Minister of Education, Dukagjin Pupovci, said he strongly believes that the membership of SBASHK will decide for schools to start working. “I think this is a positive development which shows that there has been reflection within the union, and I strongly believe that the membership will listen to the proposal of the union leadership and support stopping the strike. This will enable us to discuss all demands in peace without putting the pupils in the middle,” Pupovci said in an interview with RTK.

Rohde: Kosovo and Serbia will have to make difficult decisions (Radio Kosova)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, said in an interview with Radio Kosova that Kosovo and Serbia are going to have to make some difficult political decisions because there is no more time to delay unresolved problems. He said that the German government sees the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia as a priority and that it is working for Kosovo to get visa liberalisation soon.

Rohde said it is clear that mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia must be the final outcome of the dialogue.

Rohde also said that with the Brussels agreement, Kosovo has taken over the obligation to form the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. “Therefore, we expect this agreement to be implemented in practice. Of course, in line with the Constitution of Kosovo and for the Association not to be formed as Republika Srpska. In Europe there are many models that can serve to find a solution to these problems, and we expect the Kosovo government to solve this problem and to form the Association which is an obligation ratified by the Kosovo Assembly,” he said.

Two foreign organisations drafting Association statute, according to Novosti (Koha)

According to Serbian newspaper Novosti, the German foundation Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the European Institute for Peace are drafting the statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. The newspaper reports that the two organisations have been working on the statute for months now and that a draft is being discussed in Belgrade.

Citing diplomatic sources, Novosti reports that a meeting was organised in Belgrade with Serb and Albanian NGOs from Kosovo, representatives of international missions and German diplomats. They were presented with the draft statute to make comments and suggestions.

Lajcak and von Cramon discuss state of play in EU-facilitated dialogue (media)

Special Representative of the European Union for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, met on Wednesday with the European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon. “Good to meet with Viola von Cramon today for one of our regular exchanges! We discussed the latest developments in the Balkans and the state-of-play in the EU-facilitated Dialogue. Always good to get a first-hand update on the work of the EP and its engagement with the region,” Lajcak tweeted after the meeting.

Chollet and Peach meet, “elevating focus of Serbia-Kosovo dialogue” (media)

Derek Chollet, Counselor of the U.S. State Department, met with the UK envoy for the Western Balkans, Stuart Peach, and discussed among other issues the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Chollet tweeted after the meeting: “Met with UK Special Envoy for the Balkans Sir Stuart Peach to coordinate on joint priorities: EU accession for WB states that qualify, fighting corruption, support for a stable Bosnia and Herzegovina, and elevating focus of Serbia-Kosovo dialogue”.

Albanian politicians see jailed Kosovo leaders in The Hague (The Washington Post)

Three former presidents of Albania and one of Kosovo on Wednesday visited ethnic Albanian former commanders in the fight against Serbian rule in Kosovo who are being held in a Netherlands prison pending trial for alleged war crimes.

Former Kosovo President Behgjet Pacolli said he visited the detainees together with three Albanian former presidents — Rexhep Mejdani, Alfred Moisiu and Bamir Topi — and Pandeli Majko, a former Albanian prime minister and now a lawmaker.

He said they wanted to “show ... support and solidarity with their last battle in defense of Kosovo’s war for freedom and independence.”

An EU-backed war crimes court and a linked prosecutor’s office based in The Hague have arrested five ex-Kosovo Liberation Army leaders since 2020, including Kosovo’s ex-president Hashim Thaci, and former parliament speaker Kadri Veseli. They have denied wrongdoing. Only one of the five has gone on trial.

Read more at: https://wapo.st/3LSOmUe

Vucic: International pressure to recognize Kosovo (Albanian Daily News)

Serbian President Aleksander Vucic said on Wednesday that there is increasing pressure and nervousness from international officials to solve the Kosovo issue. Vucic participated in the opening ceremony of a factory, where he declared to journalists that he is fighting hard for Serbia. “I fight for this country, I don't care what they say about Serbia, I'm making sure that Serbia doesn't fall under their attack, because I'm thinking about what Merkel said about tomorrow, because you know the day after tomorrow exists always. One should think about what we will do tomorrow when we have peace, whether or not we have preserved some of our positions, what we have done with our country, whether we have successfully defended our interests or not. And let me tell you that the pressures are many, they will multiply, I said 4 months ago that it will be unbearable from September 15, you have countless statements that talk about this, and I expect that after all these talks to be able to speak more about this to the citizens of Serbia,” Vucic said.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3UMXf5O

North Macedonia opposition against Open Balkan, blocks laws in parliament (RFE)

The opposition in North Macedonia has blocked the adoption of several laws in parliament related to the Open Balkan initiative. Agreements for free access to the labor market, cooperation in veterinary medicine and food safety and electronic identification were blocked in parliamentary committees that are led by the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE. Party leader, Hristijan Mickoski, said on Wednesday that the draft laws will not be sent to parliament for approval until the government does not inform the opposition about the objective of the Open Balkan initiative. He also said he expects Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski to call a meeting and explain why North Macedonia is in a regional group with Serbia and Albania.