UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, November 25, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kosovo Assembly to discuss Kurti’s governance on December 2 (Koha)
Osmani travels to Colombia to inaugurate Kosovo embassy in Bogota (RTK)
Kurti, Svecla in north to lay foundation of police substation (Reporteri)
Osmani in Halifax: Kosovo one of greatest successes in history (RTK)
Gervalla: India should reconsider its stance on Kosovo (Kallxo)
Haxhiu: Domestic violence cannot be tolerated or kept silent (media)
Prosecutorial Council and State Prosecution react to minister’s criticism (media)
Person arrested for unauthorized filming of police, then released (media)
Education Trade Union announces protest on December 4 (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic told BBC that Serbia leads an independent policy; its goal is EU membership (Beta, NMagazin, media)
Lajcak: Next meeting of the chief negotiators in December (Kosovo Online, Tanjug, media)
Petkovic: Kurti continues the violent militarization and occupation of northern Kosovo (Kosovo Online)
In Zvecan, two cornerstones will be laid in two days - both for police substations: Bistrica and Izvore (KoSSev)
The Zvecan mayor claims the Serbs are not submitting proposals for investments and refuse investments in the municipality (KoSSev)
Pupin Initiative to Ambassador Hovenier on the apprehension of Jovana Radosavljevic (Kosovo Online, Danas)
The US Embassy responded to the Pupin Initiative: We are in contact with the Pristina administration (Kosovo Online)
Politico: Hungary trying to help Serbia open Cluster III (N1)
Fighting breaks out in Serbian Parliament, security called in (N1)

Opinion:

Juratovic: Kurti and Vucic ideal partners, the biggest victims are the Serbs in Kosovo (Nova, KoSSev, N1)
The implications of Trump’s return to power for the EU, the Balkans (media)
The Mitrovica bridge debate reveals organized hypocrisy (Kosovo 2.0)

International:

Kosovo steps up fight against unprescribed, counterfeit Ozempic (BIRN)
Voices of ‘The Game’ (Kosovo 2.0)

Albanian Language Media

Kosovo Assembly to discuss Kurti’s governance on December 2 (Koha)

The Kosovo Assembly will meet on December 2 to discuss the work of the Kurti-led government, following a proposal by the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK). Besnik Tahiri, head of the AAK parliamentary group, told reporters after today’s meeting of the Assembly presidency: “our proposal was to hold a debate on the mandate of Prime Minister Kurti. The AAK believes this debate is exceptionally important. Not a single project has been finished throughout this mandate. If he avoids this debate too, he will shoulder the weight of failure. We will discuss different sectors at the session, and we believe that it is very important for Mr. Kurti not to flee”.

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has supported the initiative for the debate. “There will be several sessions. The session on Monday will discuss Kurti’s governance. Our parliamentary group supported the AAK, and we are ready to debate with the Prime Minister and his ministers,” LDK parliamentary group chief Arben Gashi said.

Osmani travels to Colombia to inaugurate Kosovo embassy in Bogota (RTK)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has traveled for a working visit to Columbia. During her visit, she is expected to meet with the President of the Republic of Columbia, Gustavo Petro, and the President of the Senate of Columbia, Efrain Cepeda. She will also participate in the International Initiative for the Prevention of Sexual Violence, as the main speaker at the opening ceremony, and speaker at the discussion panel on the issue of the children survivors of sexual violence in conflict.

“President Osmani’s agenda will also include a series of meetings with delegations and other participants in the conference. During her visit to Columbia, President Osmani w=ill inaugurate the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Bogota,” the Kosovo Presidency informed.

Kurti, Svecla in north to lay foundation of police substation (Reporteri)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the Minister of Interior Xhelal Svecla and Police General Director Gazmend Hoxha visited village Izvor in the north this morning. Kurti said that the border police will serve in the new facility. “On Friday last week, the cornerstone of the police substation at the Bistrica River Bridge was laid. This morning, together with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, and the Director of Police, Gazmend Hoxha, we laid the foundation stone of the police substation in the village of Izvor in the Municipality of Zvecan, two kilometers from the border with Serbia. The new facility, which we expect to be built very soon, will house the border police. Well done!” Kurti wrote.

Osmani in Halifax: Kosovo one of greatest successes in history (RTK)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani informed through a Facebook post that as part of her participation in the International Security Forum in Halifax, Canada, she participated in the closing panel on the topic “The Age of Optimism: Now It Depends on Us.”

“In the closing panel on the topic “The Age of Optimism: Now It Depends on Us”, at the International Forum in Halifax, I discussed the example of Kosovo, as one of the greatest successes in history, as a combination of the resilience of the people of Kosovo on the one hand and the power of alliances based on values, on the other hand”, Osmani wrote on Facebook.

Gervalla: India should reconsider its stance on Kosovo (Kallxo)

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla is participating at the forum the "Pristina Dialogue: Balkans and South Asia", organized by the Pristina Institute for Political Studies which brought together a group of journalists, researchers and civil society representatives from South Asia together with their colleagues from Kosovo as well as senior Kosovar officials.

“India should reconsider its stance on Kosovo. India does not recognize Kosovo, economic cooperation shows that we can build better relations," Gervalla said.

Haxhiu: Domestic violence cannot be tolerated or kept silent (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said in a video on Facebook on the start of “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence”:

During our mandate we have made efforts to strengthen institutional responsibility in the fight against domestic violence and gender-based violence. Nevertheless, we are aware that the fight to end this phenomenon is still long and requires our constant joint commitment. Domestic violence, be it physical, psychological, sexual or economic, is a criminal offence and sentenced to up to 3 years in prison. Domestic violence cannot be tolerated or kept silent; it must be reported. The offenders must be held accountable for their actions and face justice. A lot of actions have been taken to address the needs of the victims. We enabled pro bono legal aid for the survivors, and we opened six new mobile offices, in order to bring legal aid as close as possible to the women and girls. Aimed at the economic empowerment of victims, we enabled the employment measure for victims of domestic violence. We have compensated the victims of crime. €1.5 million were allocated for organizations that work on social and family issues and next year this budget will be increased to €2.5 million. We finalized legal sub-acts for the emergency line and the genuine functioning of local mechanisms. We amended the criminal code, and we included additional sentences for persons that are found guilty of domestic violence and sexual violence. We developed programs for the rehabilitation of offenders. And these days we will launch a system for monitoring offenders through electronic bracelets. Dear girls and women, don’t ever agree to living in the shadow of violence for no one or for nothing. If you are a victim, don’t stay silent. Reporting violence is the most powerful act of courage and is the first step toward a new life, without violence … Do not allow fear or any other reason to defeat you. You are never alone!”

Prosecutorial Council and State Prosecution react to minister’s criticism (media)

The Kosovo Prosecutorial Council and the Office of State Chief Prosecutor issued a joint reaction after Finance Minister Hekuran Murati accused the Special Prosecution of serving the opposition parties. The two bodies called on government officials to “not obstruct the work of prosecutors in carrying out criminal prosecutions and their constitutional and legal duties. The work and actions of state prosecutors, including the Special Prosecution, are objective, professional, and based on the law, evidence and facts”.

The reaction also notes that there are tendencies by political parties, including representatives of the government, to undermine the credibility and professionalism of the Special Prosecution. “These tendencies have been and will be failed. The Kosovo Prosecutorial Council and the Office of the State Chief Prosecutor support the Special Prosecution in performing its functions, namely the uncompromised war against all criminal acts that this prosecution has competencies over,” the reaction said.

Finance Minister Murati claimed on Sunday that the Special Prosecution is not interested in combating corruption but fighting against [Prime Minister] Albin Kurti.

Person arrested for unauthorized filming of police, then released (media)

Several news websites report that Kosovo Police arrested a Serb woman on Sunday after she had unauthorizedly filmed a police checkpoint near the Bistrica Bridge in the north of Kosovo. Police stopped the woman because there was a sign forbidding filming in that location. They warned her not to film, but she did not respect their orders. “The suspect was sent to the police station, a prosecutor and a judge were contacted, and after consultations with them she was released after being interviewed,” police said in their 24-hour report.

Education Trade Union announces protest on December 4 (media)

Kosovo’s United Trade Union of Education, Science and Culture has announced that on December 4 will protest against the Ministry of Education’s approach towards their demands, especially, as they said, against the Minister Arberie Nagavci’s deliberate blocking of negotiations for the new collective education contract. As announced by this union, the protest, which will start in front of the Ministry of Education and will continue towards the government and Parliament of Kosovo, will include around 2000 protesters from the education sector, including kindergartens and universities.

The education union warns, among other things, that if their demands are not taken into account, other union actions may be taken, including a strike in the entire education sector.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic told BBC that Serbia leads an independent policy; its goal is EU membership (Beta, NMagazin, media)

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said in an interview with the BBC that Serbia is committed to the EU, that it leads an independent Serbian policy and wants good relations with its neighbors, reported NMagazin, citing RTS.

In the program "Hardtalk" for the British public service BBC, Vucic said that Serbia leads an independent policy, but that its strategic goal is to become a full member of the EU.

"And we will do all the necessary reforms. We will speed up all the processes and we will do our best to finish it by the end of 2026. This does not mean that we will be part of the EU in 2027 or 2028. But are we going to say the worst about our traditional friends and partners from the East, today we have good relations," Vucic said, RTS reported today.

When asked by host Stephen Sackur "that in the EU, they see signs of non-respect of basic human rights in Serbia, such as freedom of the press and an independent judiciary, and that they believe that in this way Serbia is moving away from the EU", Vucic said that in the latest report of the European Commission, it was stated that Serbia has made limited progress, which, he added, does not mean regression.

"Limited progress is not and does not mean regression. But I agree with you that there are thousands of things that we need, that we need to work on, and that is why we are changing them now," said Vucic.

He said that this is why Serbia is working closely with ODIHR to improve regulations regarding election processes and other things.

"In that EU report, you saw that they said that Serbia's economy is doing perfectly. But you were not interested in saying that. And the latter are issues that we need to improve, and I agree with them," said Vucic, who indicated that he was satisfied with the economic development of Serbia and that he is focused on economic reforms in the future, and that he dreams of Expo 2027.

Answering a question about ''the relationship between Serbia and Russia and the statement that the energy ties between the two countries have deepened since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine'', Vucic said that the trade exchange between Serbia and Russia is twice as small as it was, and that Belgrade is trying to diversify energy sources, which is why the interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria was built.

"That's why we started, not only to negotiate, but also to buy gas from Azerbaijan, but we still receive large quantities of gas from Russia," said Vucic.

Speaking about the sanctions against Russia, he said that Serbia decides on its own.

"As you can see, I have only one chair. There are not two chairs. And our chair is that it means that we make our own decisions. It means that we have supported Ukraine when it comes to humanitarian and financial aid," said Vucic.

He said that in the last two and a half years, he had spoken with the President of Russia once, when Vladimir Putin congratulated him by phone on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade.

In response to a question about ''the massacre committed in Srebrenica during the war, in 1995'', as well as the initiative to define that crime in ''the UN as genocide'', Vucic emphasized that "no one denies what happened in Srebrenica".

"I was always ready to admit that it was a terrible massacre," said Vucic and recalled that he went to Srebrenica, bowed his head and paid respect to the victims, but also that he was attacked there.

He said that in the UN, the classification of that ''massacre as genocide'' was initiated by Germans and Bosniaks as a political initiative.

"We consider it a political initiative. As you have seen, 109 countries share our views. People did not understand why some other massacres, or some other great crimes were not recognized or recognized as genocide. And if it is about compassion, if it is about giving respect to the victims, I'm always ready to do that. I believe in reconciliation in the region, but I don't believe in that kind of narrative that will always bring new political conflicts and new troubles," said Vucic.

He denied that the Great Serbian ideology is still present and said that the declaration adopted at the meeting in Belgrade fully supported the agreement from 1995 and said that he reiterated that he supports the territorial integrity of BiH "in accordance with international public law and the given agreement and the territorial integrity of the Republika Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina".

Vucic emphasized that Serbia has its borders in accordance with the Constitution and international law.

Speaking about the relationship between Belgrade and Pristina, he said that in the process of normalization de facto recognition of Kosovo was not sought and that "such a thing was neither written nor said anywhere", reported NMagazin.

"Normalization means that we live in peace, stability, tranquility, that we have a free flow of goods, capital, people, services, that we develop our economies, that we start discussing different issues and try to solve them," said Vucic.

He also pointed out that peace and stability in Kosovo is a matter for those who "opened Pandora's box".

The President of Serbia stated that he has changed many attitudes, but also that he has not changed his view on, as he said, the illegal actions that are taken against Serbia, because the territorial integrity of Ukraine is respected, and the question is why Serbia was bombed without a decision of the UN Security Council.

Asked what has changed since his political position in his youth and membership in the Serbian Radical Party, which represented the ideology of Greater Serbia during the breakup of Yugoslavia, and now as the leader of another party and the country's president, he said that he has certainly changed.

"I am 30 years older and I have certainly changed, but although I will not agree with you when it comes to the events in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, as well as the role that Western countries and some others played in it, changing I realized that the economy is of key importance for the future of the country, and it is impossible to do anything if you don't have peace and stability," Vucic told the BBC.

Lajcak: Next meeting of the chief negotiators in December (Kosovo Online, Tanjug, media)

The EU envoy for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, announced that his team is preparing for the next meeting of the main negotiators in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue in December.

Lajcak summarized the past two weeks on Facebook and stated that he had discussions about dialogue and the way forward.

"The past two weeks have been both productive and insightful, with visits to Geneva, Tirana and Paris. I had important discussions with my interlocutors about the Dialogue and the way forward. These conversations are critical to shaping the work that my team is doing as we prepare for the upcoming meeting of chief negotiators in December. I am looking forward to the next period," wrote Lajcak.

Petkovic: Kurti continues the violent militarization and occupation of northern Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, pointed out that Kosovo PM Albin Kurti continues the illegal and violent militarization and occupation of the north of Kosovo by building another police station, this time in the town of Istok in the municipality of Zvecan, two kilometers from the border with Serbia.

"The only thing he opens and builds in the north of Kosovo and Metohija are police bases, stations, occupation centers where he places his mono-ethnic police phalanxes with bullets in their barrels. In addition, they have nothing to ask for in the north of Kosovo and Metohija according to any letter of the agreement or agreement in Brussels. Belgrade constantly warns that Pristina is preparing to attack the Serbian people in the north of Kosovo and Metohija and wants to cause conflicts and crises in this area in the midst of the election campaign, because Kurti has no other policy or results to offer, so he consciously raises tensions and openly threatens and rattles with weapons," said Petkovic.

He reminded that “four illegal bases” were built in the north of Kosovo since Kurti came to power.

"I will remind you that since he came to power, four illegal bases have been created in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, in Zubin Potok and Leposavic, that three new police stations have been opened or are being built in Leposavic, that a new police station rises in Zubin Potok next to the Serbian elementary school, while in Zvecan, Kurta even uses the premises of the municipality to house his special units. At the same time, Kurti is also using the Serbian-captured buildings in Kosovska Mitrovica to house his police squads with long pipes, and he is doing all this in full view of the entire international community, which is silent and watching everything silently, even though we duly informed them about everything, pointing out Kurti's occupation and police brutality," said Petkovic.

He pointed out that ''it is well known that as many as seven Serbs have been shot since Kurti came to power''.

"His units terrorize and mistreat women and children and detain those who film their terror or oppose it with peaceful walks. Due to this militarization and fortification of the north of Kosovo and Metohija, no one should be surprised that Serbs are leaving the north of the province, because in the police occupation that he is carrying out, there is no life for the Serbs in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, and that is his intention," concluded Petkovic.

In Zvecan, two cornerstones will be laid in two days - both for police substations: Bistrica and Izvore (KoSSev)

The municipality of Zvecan will get another police substation. After the foundation stone for its construction at the Bistrica point just two days ago, Kosovo officials laid another one this morning - in the village of Izvore, reported KoSSev today.

At the laying of the foundation stone this morning in this village, the Prime Minister of Kosovo was also present, along with the head of the Kosovo MIA and the director of the Kosovo Police.

"Today, in the morning, together with the Minister of the Interior Xhelal Svecla, and the Director of Police Gazmend Hoxha, we laid the foundation stone of the police substation in the village of Izvore in the municipality of Zvecan", Albin Kurti reported this morning.

This station will be located, the prime minister added, just two kilometers from the border with Serbia.

The village of Izvore is located on the road Banjska - Novi Pazar. On the part of this road closer to Pazar, the Brussels Agreement previously planned a third integrated crossing in the North of Kosovo.

The Kosovo authorities will invest 700,000 euros in this substation, specified Kurti. It will include the border police:

"The value of the project is around 700 thousand euros. In this new substation, which will provide appropriate conditions for the work of police officers, the border police will serve, which has the mandate to protect and secure the border and prevent illegal cross-border activities."

"All these investments are made in order to ensure dignified working conditions for our police officers who serve in this area and to increase the capacity to secure our country."

In this announcement, Kurti himself reminded that before the construction of this one in the village of Izvore, just two days ago, the construction of the substation also started, but on the Bistrica Bridge.

On Saturday, Svecla and Hoxha also laid the foundation stone there.

"This modern facility will be used by members of the Kosovo Police, who have been serving from that place for almost two years in the fight against crime, protecting our borders and ensuring the general security of the Republic of Kosovo," Svecla said on Saturday.

As the head of the Kosovo MIA himself confirmed, this is a place where police have already been two years ago.

Specifically, a smaller checkpoint was first built in Bistrica in December 2022, at a time when there were many active barricades at least on 15 locations in the North.

In the following period, this base was continuously strengthened and expanded. Svecla visited it with other ministers and the director of the police on several occasions.

The Bistrica bridge and this base are located on the main road Pristina - Mitrovica - Jarinje - Raska, otherwise the busiest road in northern Kosovo.

It was also the scene of two more serious incidents that included shooting, and Serbs also protested there in April, right after one of them, when a Serb from Zerovnica, M.J., was wounded.

The last case that happened at this point was yesterday's arrest of the director of the New Social Initiative, Jovana Radosavljevic, recalled KoSSev.

The Zvecan mayor claims the Serbs are not submitting proposals for investments and refuse investments in the municipality (KoSSev)

Director of Finance in the Municipality of Zvecan, Rrustem Abiti, said that the holding of budget discussions and drafting of the budget projects for the Serb community were impossible due to political developments, reported KoSSev, citing Kallxo TV Show ‘Life in the community’.

“It is known that the majority of the population in Zvecan municipality is Serbian. The possibilities of holding budget discussions and draft projects for the Serbian community were not possible due to the political developments that were in that situation. We made decisions based on some projects from 2021 that were approved by the MA in its previous composition,” he said.

As for whether he envisioned a park or some other investment in 2025, the mayor of Zvecan Ilir Peci said that he planned district and public lighting.

“When we invited citizens to a public discussion, a large number did not have the courage to come forward with their presentation and demands. The mayor of the municipality cannot know what the citizens need every day,” he said.

Although schools and healthcare are managed by Serbia, Jeta Xharra asked the mayor if the municipality plans to invest in healthcare and education with a Serbian majority next year. He said that the Serbian community does not make proposals and “refuses” investments.

“Through our Serbian officials, we sent several requests to the director of their education, and we never got the opportunity for us as Albanians to meet with them and be acquainted with their problems. The Serbs met, but they did not want to make any proposal for their future. Contrary to the fact that we tried to fix a few more sports fields, When we went the next day, they had already finished working on a kindergarten during the night,” Peci concluded.

On the other hand, in the field of agriculture, Isuf Kelmendi, director of agriculture, said that 51 motor cultivators were donated to Serbs and 23 to Albanians.

Peci confirmed that his brother’s daughter and uncle work in the municipality of Zvecan

In the auditor’s report for 2023, it is stated that the municipality of Zvecan lacks evidence that the workers of this municipality continue to work. The mayor, Ilir Peci, said that one worker has been fired, and that the others who committed such an offense have been given warnings.

“There’s a registration form there. And we took measures for those workers who did not come regularly. So far one was laid off and all is well for now. No, there are no workers who receive wages and do not go to work. For those who did not come regularly, we took measures. They all have objections, that objection is being corrected and they have continued.” he said.

Peci confirmed that his niece (brother’s daughter) works as his assistant, and that his uncle also works as a director in this municipality.

“My brother’s daughter is in my cabinet office, a support officer. Yes, I signed the contract, given that it is a political position. The day I was sworn in as mayor, I was the only one in the municipality. So, I didn’t even have officials. Then, because of the situation, they waited until today, and we still have this problem. There is only one director (family member), my uncle, Xhevat Peci,” he said among other things.

Pupin Initiative to Ambassador Hovenier on the apprehension of Jovana Radosavljevic (Kosovo Online, Danas)

Danas reported that the Pupin initiative sent a letter to the American ambassador to Kosovo, Geoffrey Hovenier, which the Kosovo Online portal had access to, and in which Hovenier was asked to intervene after the arrest of the executive director of the New Social Initiative and member of the advisory board of the Pupin initiative, Jovana Radosavljevic.

In the letter, this initiative highlighted Radosavljevic’s significant contribution to promoting democratic values and human rights, describing her arrest as unjustified and an example of a campaign by the Pristina administration aimed at spreading fear in areas with a Serb-majority population.

Pupin’s initiative emphasized that such actions undermine trust, not only among Kosovo Serbs, but also in the wider international community, which should be committed to peace in the region.

In the letter, they additionally criticized the role of armed Kosovo police checkpoints in Serbian areas, which, according to Pupin initiative, have become a means of daily harassment. As they stated, residents, who do not trust local institutions, often rely on phone recording to protect themselves. However, as filming at these checkpoints is prohibited, the Initiative warns against the irresponsible actions of the police in the north of Kosovo.

The Pupin Initiative called for urgent international action to address what they described as an “ethnically motivated campaign of intimidation”.

The organization emphasized the importance of protecting individuals like Radosavljevic, who is a strong, pro-Western peace advocate in the region, and as they point out, this incident once again raises questions about the state of human and religious rights of Serbs in Kosovo.

The US Embassy responded to the Pupin Initiative: We are in contact with the Pristina administration (Kosovo Online)

The US Embassy in Kosovo responded to the letter of the Pupin Initiative in which the American Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier is asked to intervene after the arrest of the executive director of the New Social Initiative and member of the Advisory Board of the Pupin Initiative, Jovana Radosavljevic. The American embassy said that they are carefully monitoring the situation on the ground and that they are already in contact with the representatives of the Pristina administration, reported Kosovo Online, citing this Initiative statement.

The Pupin Initiative announced that the American Embassy emphasized that they are discussing the policy of the Kosovo Police in a wider context when it comes to filming the actions of police officers.

"We are hereby informing the public that the US Embassy in Pristina responded to the letter we sent to the US ambassador this morning. Ambassador Hovenier is aware of our letter; it is stated in the reply we received. Also, the embassy is carefully monitoring the situation on the ground, and they have already been in contact about this case with the representatives of the Pristina administration. In addition to this specific case, they are also discussing the policy of the Kosovo Police in a wider context when it comes to filming the actions of police officers," read the statement from the Pupin Initiative.

Politico: Hungary trying to help Serbia open Cluster III (N1)

The Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) has begun preparations for the opening of Cluster III with Serbia in its accession negotiations with the EU.

The Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU is convening an extraordinary Coreper II meeting on Monday to try to get countries to agree to send a formal letter requesting Serbia prepare a position on opening the next phase of ascension talks, the so-called Cluster III which covers competitiveness and inclusive growth.

A draft letter circulated by Hungary and seen by the Brussels daily Politico says Serbia “is committed to fulfilling benchmarks for the rule of law by the end of 2025, aligning its media legislation with that of the EU, doing its ‘utmost’ to play nice with Pristina and to not making any moves that are not consulted on with the EU.”

Politico reports that Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the Baltics all indicated that they will not agree to open Cluster III with Serbia, and that they “pointed to Serbia’s dismal track record regarding the rule of law and refusal to align with the EU’s Russia sanctions.”

European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi recently said that Serbia is ready to open Cluster III, and that he expects this to happen before the end of the year.

Fighting breaks out in Serbian Parliament, security called in (N1)

A physical altercation erupted between ruling party MPs, opposition members, and some ministers during a Serbian Parliament session on Monday, following which security was called in to intervene, reported N1.

The incident occurred at the beginning of Parliament’s second regular sitting, which was scheduled to debate the 2025 budget among some 50 other agenda items. The clash broke out before any formal discussion could begin.

Security personnel separated the involved parties, but tensions escalated when several MPs attempted to remove an inflammatory banner that government MPs had hung from the Parliament hall’s balcony.

Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic cut off all microphones, preventing public broadcast of the events on any platform. She would only briefly restore audio when calling for “peace, dignity, and the continuation of the meeting.”

The speaker then called for a break and invited representatives from all MP caucuses for consultations.

Opinion

Juratovic: Kurti and Vucic ideal partners, the biggest victims are the Serbs in Kosovo (Nova, KoSSev, N1)

Kurti and Vucic are ideal partners when it comes to Kosovo, according to Josip Juratovic, member of the German Bundestag. He said that the Kosovo PM had failed his promises, and the Serbian president had placed everything on one card - economic development without a legal system, which will be paid dearly not by him, but by the Serbian people, reported KoSSev, citing Nova S.

"I am someone who once supported Albin Kurti, because he promised to break with the war coalition that ruled at the time and that he wanted to democratize Kosovo. In the second convocation, I did not support him, because he did not fulfill his promise," said Juratovic in an interview for Nova S.

"In my opinion, Kurti and Vucic are ideal partners when it comes to Kosovo. They need each other. Maybe that's too harsh, but you just have to watch the actions and reactions. They go well with both. Both negotiate with a fig in their pocket," he explains further.

He notices that Vucic does it a bit more skillfully - "theatrically".

"But, as far as I'm concerned, the biggest victims are the Serbs, not only in the north, but in the whole of Kosovo, but also all other minorities. The thing is that neither side is playing clean, they are so deeply involved in the problem of Kosovo and Serbia that they cannot get out of it".

The international community should help: "First create democratic societies in both Kosovo and Serbia, and then the democrats will solve that problem."

"The relations between Belgrade and Pristina must be rebuilt through democratic structures. It is clear to every Serb that returning Kosovo to Serbia is not possible. It must be clear to Pristina that the north will never come to life with a common national identity, which, after all, is not even necessary. They need to cooperate".

He sees the "withdrawal of Serbs from Kosovo's institutions" as the "biggest stupidity" that "Vucic did".

"That only worked for Kurti", emphasized Juratovic.

Juratovic spoke about the situation in Serbia in a longer interview for Nova S, reported KoSSev.

"In this regime, I no longer see the enemy of democracy, I feel sorry for them, because they know that their end is near," said this influential German lawmaker, originally a Croat, from the former Yugoslav territory.

The implications of Trump’s return to power for the EU, the Balkans (media)

Several news websites cover an opinion piece by Alon Ben-Meir, which was originally published in Augusta Free Press.

It is presumptuous to state with absolute certainty what policy Donald Trump might pursue concerning the EU and the Balkan states, as he is known for his unpredictability and unconventional decision-making process.

Several things, however, can be stated with certainty. He will first weigh what he perceives to be the best interest of the United States, albeit this does not suggest that his final decision would necessarily serve America’s ultimate national interest.

His personal gratifications will also guide him, as he is naturally self-obsessed, a narcissist who believes that he is uniquely qualified to be the president of the United States and that only he can solve problems and conflicts that have eluded many of his predecessors. As a real estate developer, Trump deals with political issues as if they were business transactions, guided by a zero-sum approach in which he must gain at the expense of his counterpart’s losses.

That said, he will still have to adhere to many norms and principles that have guided United States foreign policy. The United States Senate, where Republicans will be in control, will not necessarily follow all of his desired policy objectives, especially when deemed to be critical threats to the United States and its allies’ national security concerns and many international obligations.

The EU’s historical tendency to defer to United States policy in the region complicates this situation. Should Washington adopt a less interventionist approach, European leaders might be compelled to take a more proactive position in maintaining regional stability, which could translate into a more unified approach to the bloc’s security and economics.