UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, February 15, 2023

Varhelyi: EC ready to work on Kosovo's application for membership (media)
Colomina meets Kurti: NATO supports plan proposed by the EU (media)
Colomina: NATO Strategic Concept reaffirmed WB strategic importance (EWB)
The implementation plan of the European plan (Dukagjini)
Lehne: I’m not optimistic about EU plan for Kosovo and Serbia (RFE)
Mehaj: Kosovo ready to host 5,000 Ukrainian refugees (media)
Pristina University students to march against Association today (Kosovapress)
Gap between debt and surplus fuels suspicions about health fund mismanagement (BIRN)
Biden writes to Vucic: Good that you supported the European proposal (media)

Varhelyi: EC ready to work on Kosovo's application for membership (media)

The European Commission is ready to carry out its part of the work regarding Kosovo's application for membership in the European Union, but the decision on this matter belongs to the Council, the Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said on Tuesday during a debate in the European Parliament. Varhelyi was asked if the fact that Kosovo has not been recognized by the five member countries is an obstacle to the integration process of Kosovo.

He said that the positions regarding Kosovo are clear, it is known that the five countries have not recognized Kosovo as a state, but also that Kosovo applied for membership at the end of December and now the Swedish Presidency of the European Union is examining the possibilities of how to move forward.

He said that if the Council decides, then the Commission will be able to carry out its part of the work, which is to prepare the opinion on the status of the candidate country for Kosovo.

Varhelyi was also asked about an MPs statement on ‘Kosovo's failure to implement the agreement on the creation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities'. In response to this question, he said that he only wanted to quote the conclusions from the European Council, from the last meeting, where it was said that all dialogue agreements from the past, including the one on the creation of of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and has reiterated that for both Kosovo and Serbia, the European integration process goes through dialogue.

Throughout this debate, many members of the European Parliament have committed themselves to speeding up the enlargement process, and Varhelyi himself has agreed to this.

Last year was considered a fruitful year in this process and it was requested that the process not return to a slow phase as it was earlier, but to use this opportunity to speed up this process.

Colomina meets Kurti: NATO supports plan proposed by the EU (media)

The Deputy Assistant Secretary General of NATO for Political Affairs and Security Policies Javier Colomina met the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti, the Commander of KFOR, General Angelo Ristuccia and the head of EULEX, Lars-Gunnar Wigemark.

Colomina said that NATO supports the dialogue and the plan proposed by the European Union as a way to move forward.

"NATO supports the dialogue facilitated by the EU and the plan proposed by the EU to move forward. KFOR will continue to ensure stability and fulfill its mandate of the United Nations Organization," Colomina wrote.

Colomina: NATO Strategic Concept reaffirmed WB strategic importance (EWB)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has raised alarms about potential conflicts in the Western Balkans. Even though such fears have not materialised, there seems to be significant instability in some parts of the region. We talked about the relations between Serbia and NATO in the context of the war in Ukraine, the role of the NATO KFOR mission in Kosovo and the security situation in the region with Javier Colomina, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, who visited Belgrade on Monday.

European Western Balkans: How would you assess the security situation in the Western Balkans in the changed geopolitical circumstances caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

Javier Colomina: First of all, Russia’s unjustified and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine has shattered peace and gravely altered our security environment. It has represented a tectonic change of the European security landscape. Russia’s brutal and unlawful invasion, repeated violations of international humanitarian law and heinous attacks and atrocities have caused unspeakable suffering and destruction.

Against this backdrop, NATO has been pursuing a two-fold approach. We have being supporting Ukraine, without becoming party to the conflict, hence preventing a further escalation of the ongoing war beyond the borders of Ukraine. Overall NATO Allies have provided around 120 billion US dollars in military, humanitarian, and financial assistance. At the same time, we have enhanced our collective deterrence and defence posture, making thus clear that all 30 Allies are fully committed to protect and defend every inch of NATO’s territory.

Secondly, the Western Balkans region has come a long way since the conflicts of the 1990s, but lately we have seen recurring tensions, including in Kosovo, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, with more aggressive rhetoric, stalled reforms and foreign actors working to undermine progress. We have also seen cyberattacks, disinformation, intimidation, and other destabilizing activities such as interference in domestic processes. The negative repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are felt across many regions, including the Western Balkans, and some of our partners are being exposed to a greater risk of malign pressure and coercion.

Read more at: http://bit.ly/3lvwF3X

The implementation plan of the European plan (Dukagjini)

The European plan for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, besides the basic agreement, also contains the implementation plan, Dukagjini reports, adding that they are in possession of the document.

According to news website, the plan provides that no later than 15 days after the parties sign the basic agreement, the management team must present the draft for the establishment of the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority. This will enable the parties to move to other steps, such as mutual recognition of documents.

The first article of this agreement states that both parties will mutually recognize their respective documents and national symbols, including passports, diplomas, license plates and customs stamps.

Also, the parties will develop good neighborly relations.

In this agreement, it is stated that neither of the two parties can represent the other in the international sphere or act on its behalf and that Serbia will not oppose the membership of Kosovo in any international organization.

Neither party will block, nor encourage the other to block, the progress of the other on their respective EU paths based on their own merits.

Lehne: I’m not optimistic about EU plan for Kosovo and Serbia (RFE)

Former EU representative in the talks on Kosovo’s status, Stefan Lehne, said in an interview with Radio Free Europe that he doesn’t believe that the EU plan for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia will end their disagreements. He argued that the parties present the plan as being imposed from outside and that according to him they cannot be constructive in its implementation.

Lehne said that the plan does not foresee the full recognition of Kosovo by Serbia and that this will encourage other non-recognising countries. “Even if Serbia would be willing to accept Kosovo’s membership in the United Nations, this will not happen, because Russia will not allow it,” he said.

Asked to comment on the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, Lehne said that the association “would not bring any miracles” in the relations between Kosovo and Serbia, but that it would unblock the European integration process for both sides.

Mehaj: Kosovo ready to host 5,000 Ukrainian refugees (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense Armend Mehaj participated in the ninth meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, where he also met with the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.

"Among other things, Stoltenberg said during his speech that we have no time to lose, and that through the speed of our actions we will save lives. I completely agree with this, therefore also during the meetings I had with Lieutenant General Jashari with Stolterberg, the Minister of Defense of Croatia, the Minister of Defense of Latvia, the Minister of Defense of Albania, the Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to NATO, Visho Ajazi Lika once again I expressed our readiness as the Government and as the Minister of Defense to accommodate 5,000 Ukrainian refugees at any time, and also to provide support through the training of Ukrainian military personnel in the field of demining, search and rescue, and the elimination of hazardous materials," Mehaj wrote.

"We are with the Ukrainian people, and we will offer any help that is within our capacities," Mehaj said.

Pristina University students to march against Association today (Kosovapress)

The Students Parliament of Pristina University will hold a march today in Pristina against the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and called on all citizens regardless of their political beliefs to join the march. The motto of the march, which will start at 16:00, is “Together against the Association”. The march coincides with the 53^rd anniversary of the founding of Pristina University.

Gap between debt and surplus fuels suspicions about health fund mismanagement (BIRN)

Kosovo’s Health Insurance Fund has been providing help since 2014 with diseases that cannot be treated in Kosovar hospitals, whose patients have to travel abroad to get a cure.

The budget for 2023 for the Health Insurance Fund, HIF, is 8 million euros, while acting director Bujar Kaçuri says they have surplus money left from the budget. Meanwhile, the Fund has a debt of about 30 million euros accumulated since its establishment in 2014.

That gap prompted a fierce debate between the former director of HIF Fatmir Plakiqi and Kaçuri regarding the debt, the budget surplus and the management of HIF on the KallxoPërnime show.

The program for medical treatment abroad has generated much discussion during the past year as journalistic investigations highlighted the misuse of public money.

Within the Fund a special program covers the costs of treatment outside public health institutions in the country for all citizens who need it.