UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, May 2, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

For successful vote, Germany asks Kosovo to take decisive step on Association (Koha)
Bakoyannis: No candidate has been asked for so many reforms (media)
Gervalla: Kosovo has met all conditions for membership in CoE (media)
Bislimi in Switzerland discusses CoE membership and dialogue (Reporteri)
Biserko on Kosovo at CoE: Positive for Serbs in Kosovo (media)
Kurti calls on SPO to charge criminals who committed genocide during war (media)
Kurti: With powerful unions, tendencies of oligarchic employers are repelled (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Serbian Parliament hears PM-designate’s program, discusses new Government (N1, media)
Vucevic: Defending Serbia's sovereignty to be our biggest challenge (Tanjug)
Serbian officials slam Bakoyannis remarks on CoE and Kosovo (Tanjug, media, social media)
US disappointed with nomination of sanctioned individuals as ministers (VoA, N1)
Petkovic reacts to Kurti’s BBC interview, says the only one belonging to last century is Kurti (Kosovo Online)
KoSSev: Kosovo Union protest demanding social dialogue and wages increase, Kurti with lessons from history and praises of system (BETA)

International Media:

Bakoyannis: Everyone was aware of my special ties with the Serbian people (European Western Balkans)
Boys Preferred: Sex-Selective Abortion Still Happening in the Balkans (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

For successful vote, Germany asks Kosovo to take decisive step on Association (Koha)

While government officials are scattered across European countries in search of support, one of the most powerful states in the Council of Europe, Germany, expects the government to make internal decisions if it wants a successful vote in the Council of Ministers in May.

"To ensure a successful vote in its application for membership in the Council of Europe, we call on the government of Kosovo to take decisive steps towards the establishment of the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority in accordance with the commitments made within the dialogue facilitated by the EU, such as the official proceeding of the draft statute of the EU for the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority in the Constitutional Court for constitutional evaluation", says the response of the German Embassy. We want to see Kosovo in the Council of Europe. Now it is up to Kosovo to give a clear signal to convince others" reads a response of the German Embassy to Kosovo.

Bakoyannis: No candidate has been asked for so many reforms (media)

Media widely reported on an opinion piece written by the CoE rapporteur Dora Bakoyannis. The compiler of the positive report for Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe, the Greek MP, Dora Bakoyannis, has emphasized that no candidate has been asked for more reforms than Kosovo before the discussion on membership in the organization.

“When the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) of the Council of Europe (CoE) appointed me as Rapporteur to the request of the Committee of Ministers for the Assembly's Opinion to Kosovo's application, everyone was aware of my special ties with Serbia and the Serbian people.

Not only because I am representing a Member State that does not recognize Kosovo's independence, but also due to my work for Serbia's European Integration. I first visited Belgrade in April 1993, accompanying my father, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, who was then the Prime Minister of Greece. Over the next 30 years, I had the opportunity to support Serbia in every role I assumed, not least as the Foreign Minister of Greece, from 2006 to 2009, and as the Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, in 2009.

My consultative, non-binding Report, was solely dedicated to human rights, and the need of bringing 2 more million Europeans under the democratic umbrella of the CoE. The latter is particularly important for the Serbian community in the region, which, for decades, has been deprived of the right to prosecute the authorities of Pristina for human rights violations, before an internationally recognized Court.

To reach a positive Opinion, it took 300 days, missions to Pristina, North Mitrovica and Brussels, a team of specialized lawyers, and dozens of meetings with governments, ambassadors, Serbian mayors, representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, NGOs, and international organizations.

It also required the authorities in Pristina to restore, after 25 years, the property of the most important Serbian Monastery in the region, to retract a bill for the express expropriation of Serbian properties, and to sign a long list of human rights agreements that, above all, put the Serbian minority under international protection.

No candidate member has ever been asked to undertake so many reforms before even being brought up for discussion on its accession to the Organization. This is probably why 83% of the Assembly voted in favor of the Report,” Bakoyannis wrote among others.

Read the full op-ed here: https://tinyurl.com/3y9furwx

Gervalla: Kosovo has met all conditions for membership in CoE (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla, on the sidelines of the meeting of the EU ministers with the ministers of the countries that have a perspective of EU membership, i.e. of the Western Balkans, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, had a meeting with Finland's Minister of European Affairs, Anders Adlercreutz.

Gervalla said at the meeting that Kosovo has fulfilled all the conditions for membership in the Council of Europe, which was confirmed with 82% of the votes by the CoE Parliamentary Assembly.

Bislimi in Switzerland discusses CoE membership and dialogue (Reporteri)

Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi has announced that he met with parliamentarians and government officials in Bern, Switzerland. "With parliamentarians and government officials, in Bern, Switzerland, we discussed a multitude of topics. From our progress, the economic development and the European perspective of the country, to our bilateral relations, the situation in the country and the region, membership in the Council of Europe and the dialogue process," Bislimi wrote on Facebook.

"We met the Swiss MPs, part of the Kosovo-Switzerland Friendship Parliamentary Group, Cedric Wermuth and Roger Golay, the Chairman of the National Council, Eric Nussbaumer, the State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Helene Budiger Artieda, and the State Secretary of the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Alexandre Fasel", Bislimi said.

He added that "with the great contribution of our emigrants, our cooperation and relations with Switzerland are strengthened day by day both in the economic, social and cultural spheres".

Biserko on Kosovo at CoE: Positive for Serbs in Kosovo (media)

Sonja Biserko, founder and head of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, said in an interview with Euronews Albania on Wednesday that Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe would be a positive development for the Serb community in Kosovo. “Bakoyannis played a role in the process of Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe. I hope that Kosovo will now become a member of the Council of Europe, as this would be a positive development for the Serb community in Kosovo because they can address their concerns and problems, including claims about the government of Kosovo,” she said.

Kurti calls on SPO to charge criminals who committed genocide during war (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, on the 25th anniversary of the massacre in Nabergjan, paid tribute and placed flowers in honor and memory of those killed by the Serbian forces.

"Serbian criminals killed many Albanians, but they did not manage to exterminate our people, their genocide failed because we are here and they fled", Kurti said.

He emphasized that from May 1 to 18, 31 Albanians were killed, not sparing children aged 13 to the elderly aged 95. These unarmed and defenseless civilians were in front of a military police machine which was marching with the genocidal project devised and planned in Belgrade by the Milosevic regime for the extermination of the Albanian people, he said.

"For this special injustice that was done to our people, after 25 years we call on the State Prosecutor's Office, and in particular the Special Prosecutor's Office, to charge the criminals for whom there is both material evidence and live witnesses, and evidence from interviews of those who they were witnesses, but after 25 years they are no longer among us," he said.

Kurti: With powerful unions, tendencies of oligarchic employers are repelled (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that May 1 is a call for solidarity and trade union organization, and that throughout the 12 months the government that he leads has demonstrated increased care in the condition of workers. In a post made on Facebook, Kurti wrote that his government has tripled the number of inspections, while emphasizing that the budget for the Inspectorate has also doubled.

According to Kurti, his government has taken a large number of employment measures and measures to increase wages. He has stated that through powerful unions, the tendencies of oligarchic employers to exploit and silence workers can be repelled, and according to him, there is no oppression in the private sector in Kosovo.

He wrote on Workers' Day that the government is an ally of workers, adding that "more union, more organization and more power" is needed. According to Prime Minister Kurti, workers' rights are secured through union in society and in the workplace.

Serbian Language Media

Serbian Parliament hears PM-designate’s program, discusses new Government (N1, media)

The first special sitting of the Serbian Parliament, 14th legislature, began on Wednesday morning in Belgrade. The only item on the agenda is the election of the Government and the oath-taking of the prime minister and ministers, N1 reported.

Also attending the sitting at which the new Government members are to be sworn in is US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill. Two of the nominated ministers, Aleksandar Vulin and Nenad Popovic, have been on the US sanctions list since last year, N1 recalled.

Prime Minister designate Milos Vucevic presented his platform and proposed the composition of the new Government.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/qvAMP

Vucevic: Defending Serbia's sovereignty to be our biggest challenge (Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister designate Milos Vucevic said on Wednesday the new government would immediately face serious and far-reaching foreign policy challenges, adding defense of Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity - the fight for Kosovo and Metohija - would be the biggest challenge in the coming period, Tanjug news agency reported.

"These days, there is quite an evident intent to once again trample international law and Serbia's sovereignty underfoot and get Pristina into the Council of Europe as a member. Such treatment of our country has once again confirmed there is no 'sui generis case' whatsoever when it comes to the unilaterally declared false state in the territory of our southern province", Vucevic said in the parliament, presenting his program. In addition to being another violation of international law “CoE admission for secessionists would be a de facto reward for persecution, systematic disenfranchisement and oppression against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija", he added.

According to him Serbia will be forced to react adequately in case Pristina's CoE membership becomes certain. He said that, although its chances were not high the government would do everything in its power to thwart Kosovo from joining the CoE.

"In view of all of the above, Belgrade will remain committed to dialogue with Pristina in case it turns out the process can result in anything productive that would contribute to peace and stability in the region", Vucevic said.

Serbian officials slam Bakoyannis remarks on CoE and Kosovo (Tanjug, media, social media)

Serbian Ambassador to Washington and incoming foreign minister Marko Djuric in a post on X social media platform termed the statements of Council of Europe rapporteur for Kosovo, Dora Bakoyannis that no CoE membership candidate had been requested to carry out more reforms before a debate on admission to the organization than Kosovo, as yet another “embarrassing step”, Tanjug news agency reported. Bakoyannis spoke about her ties with Serbian people, Kosovo and CoE in an opinion piece for the European Western Balkans (EWB) portal.

“In an attempt to brazenly whitewash her complete disregard for the blatant transgressions of Kurti's regime in front of the Greek and Serbian people and the broader European public, Dora Bakoyannis has taken a further embarrassing step”, Djuric said in a post on X social media platform. “(…) I would really like to know, if possible, what exactly those criteria based on which she now supports Kurti's ethnonationalist government's membership in the Council of Europe are. Is it the 11-month total ban on Serbian goods entering Kosovo*? Is it the illegal ban on the use of the Serbian dinar, resulting in hospitals in Serb-majority areas lacking medicine and medical supplies, and doctors, nurses, and mothers not receiving salaries, child care, or pensions? Are those criteria possibly the extrajudicial arrests (publicly mentioned a number of times by Josep Borrell and other EU and US officials), or is it the brutal oppression to which Kosovo Serbs are subjected every day?”, Djuric added.

Read full Djuric’s post at: https://shorturl.at/mszAZ

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic also slammed Bakoyannis remarks. In a post on X social media platform Petkovic wrote that “Bakoyannis mentioned the alleged numerous reforms set (as a condition) for the so-called Kosovo's CoE membership but did not say a word about the fact that, for 11 years, Pristina has been failing to establish a Community of Serb Municipalities, that it is arresting and beating up Serbs on a daily basis, that it has been blocking transports of Serbian goods for 10 months, that it is abolishing the dinar and banning salaries and pensions for Serbs, conducting an ethnic cleansing of Serbs, using institutional violence, imposing false mayors in the north, plowing Serb cemeteries and taking away Serb property".

Read full Petkovic’s post at: https://shorturl.at/jnpOX

US disappointed with nomination of sanctioned individuals as ministers (VoA, N1)

We are disappointed to see two sanctioned individuals nominated for positions in the new Serbian Government, a US State Department spokesperson said in a written statement to Voice of America (VOA), N1 reported.

According to Serbian Prime Minister designate Milos Vucevic’s announcements, the new Serbian Government will include two members who are under US sanctions – Aleksandar Vulin, proposed for deputy prime minister, and Nenad Popovic, nominated as minister without portfolio.

The State Department spokesperson said America’s position on Vulin is well known, that he remains under US sanctions, and stressed that the US plays no role in the personnel decisions of the Serbian Government, VOA reported.

International Media

Bakoyannis: Everyone was aware of my special ties with the Serbian people (European Western Balkans)

It doesn’t take a seasoned expert to understand that Serbia belongs in Europe. The country is located at the core of the Continent, surrounded by four EU member states, and for decades, the EU has been Serbia’s main trade partner. Serbia’s future prosperity and democratic resilience are intrinsically linked to its relationship with the EU, Dora Bakoyannis wrote in an opinion piece for European Western Balkans (EWB)

Yet, in recent years, the prospect of Serbia’s European Integration has been slipping away. The European Council’s enlargement policy update in December did not include Serbia; the European Parliament voted in February to suspend EU funding to the country, amid allegations of electoral fraud; and the European Commission has expressed strong disappointment over the stagnation of normalization talks with Pristina.

At the same time, for all of us who dream of a prosperous European Serbia, the increasingly tighter ties with Russia and China, the latest incidents of illiberalism, and repeated instances of anti-EU rhetoric in the political discourse cause major concern.