Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Visa liberalisation and CoE application confirm we are on right track (media)
• Osmani in Skopje: Future of our countries is in Euro-Atlantic family (media)
• S. representative to UN meets Kosovo Foreign Minister (media)
• Very slim to no chances to agree on statute of Association (Radio Free Europe)
• Kurti, Vucic “out of the game”: U.S. and EU preparing Association statute (Nacionale)
• Rasic: A temporary solution was made in the north (Express)
• Kosovo initiates procedures to join International Commission on Missing Persons (RFE)
• Muja: We should’ve protected Nagip Krasniqi even more (Gazeta Metro/TeVe1)

Serbian Language Media:

• Dacic: Fight for Kosovo and territorial integrity of Serbia was and will be diplomatic priority (Tanjug)
• Serb officials warn of consequences of new expropriation law prepared by Pristina (Kosovo Online)
• Guterres welcomes normalisation deal, voices concern over regression (Tanjug, media)
• Jeremic: Vucic to go to UNSC session and demand Russia and China use veto on possible Pristina’s membership request of (Danas, BETA, RTV)
• Brnabic to Stano: Serbia takes note that EU violated Brussels Agreement (N1)
• Serbian Government confirms working on new foreign policy strategy (N1)
• Petkovic: The draft of the statute of the CSM (ZSO), a job for the Management Team (RTS)
• Office of Saint Nikola Church in Strpce robbed (Radio KIM)
• Party of Kosovo Serbs: Serbs who won one vote each received mandates (N1)

Opinion:

• A deal or a trap? (Kosovo 2.0)
• Radosavljevic: The elections in the north of Kosovo are illegitimate, the legality questionable (KiM radio, Insajder)

International:

• Serbia ‘disappointed’ with Ukraine, Greece, Slovakia over CoE Kosovo vote (Euractive.com)
• Serbia Calls on European Commission to Abolish Visa Requirements for Kosovo Serbs (schengenvisainfo.com)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Kurti: Visa liberalisation and CoE application confirm we are on right track (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that the decision on visa liberalisation and the admission of the membership application at the Council of Europe confirm that Kosovo is on the European path and on the right track.

“Last week, every citizen felt more European and closer to Europe. Liberalisation had stalled for four years on the agenda of the EU Council. With a lot of hard work and engagement, especially with the hesitant member states, we managed to unblock the process. Starting from January 1, our citizens will finally be able to travel without visas. Our passport will become stronger the same way our country is becoming stronger every day,” Kurti told the government meeting today.

Kurti also said he believes Kosovo will give its contribution as a full-fledged member of the Council of Europe.

Osmani in Skopje: Future of our countries is in Euro-Atlantic family (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met today in Skopje with her counterpart Stevo Pendarovski and discussed furthering cooperation between Kosovo and North Macedonia, regional topics, and the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. 

Osmani said: “the future of our countries, our region, is in the family of Euro-Atlantic states, and this is the biggest guarantee for long-term peace and prosperity in the region. Both our countries have proved that regardless of how difficult this road is, we will never stop, and we will never leave this road”.

Osmani thanked North Macedonia for its vote in Kosovo’s favour at the Council of Europe. “Our countries remained unwavering in our commitments to peace and stability. There are tendencies for instability, but we must not allow this to happen,” she said.

Asked about the upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Osmani said that Kosovo is ready to continue its contribution in the process and said she hopes that international allies will pressure Serbia to respect the obligations it has assumed in the process.

Osmani highlighted the importance of building the Bllace-Skopje highway, which she said would improve the communication between the two peoples.

Pendarovski said North Macedonia supports Kosovo’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations and its membership in NATO. “We agreed that our countries have a key role in efforts to achieve permanent stability. The future of our countries is in the EU and NATO,” he said.

U.S. representative to UN meets Kosovo Foreign Minister (media)

Most news websites report that Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, met in New York with Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz. They discussed the enduring partnership between the United States and Kosovo and their shared commitment to advancing stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield congratulated Foreign Minister Gërvalla-Schwarz on the historic, legally binding normalisation agreement reached by Kosovo and Serbia and urged its rapid implementation. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield reiterated the United States will remain actively engaged to support Kosovo and Serbia as they implement their commitments in pursuit of a predictable and peaceful relationship.

Very slim to no chances to agree on statute of Association (Radio Free Europe)

The chances for Kosovo and Serbia to agree on the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in the meeting between leaders on May 2 in Brussels, are slim to none, according to Naim Rashiti, director of the Pristina-based Balkans Policy Research Group, and Dusan Janjic from the Belgrade-based Forum for Ethnic Relations.

EU officials have confirmed that the meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on May 2 will focus on the issue of the Association, namely the presentation of the draft statute of the Association by the Management Team.

The news website contacted the Kosovo Government to ask about the chances of Pristina accepting the document but received no response. The Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo did not respond either.

Kurti told the media on Tuesday that the work of the Management Team, which consists of Serbs, and the content of the statute are not “so known”. He said he expressed readiness to the European Union to work on the draft statute but that the EU told him this was a task for the Management Team. “This was the position of the facilitator, and I as Prime Minister care for the constitutionality and legality and for everything to be in function and in line with our objectives and principles,” Kurti said.

Serbian President Vucic meanwhile said that the Management Team will present the statute on May 2, but that he does not hope that the other party will accept it.

Naim Rashiti, director of the Balkans Policy Research Group, said that the meeting on May 2 will mark the start of the implementation of the agreement that leads to normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which the parties have agreed upon on March 18 in Ohrid. The presentation of the draft statute by the Management Team, he said, would mark the end of this body’s work. 

According to Rashiti, Kosovo will not agree with the draft statute and that Kurti’s offer for him to draft the statute will not be acceptable for Serbia or for the European Union. He said that in the context of these disagreements, the parties will begin a lengthy and complicated process of negotiations on how the statute will look and be finalised. “I believe there will be an intensive negotiating process on how the Association, or the self-management will look like, depending on the form it will have in the end … There will be a negotiating process and there will be many parameters,” he said.

According to Rashiti, reaching a final draft for the statute will be a difficult process because for the Kosovo government it will be difficult to decide beyond the framework of the ruling of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo. He further recalled that the agreement on normalisation of relations and the implementation annex have not been formalised with the signatures of the parties. The formalisation, he argued, would create legal legitimacy for an eventual compromise or new design for the Association.

Dusan Janjic from the Belgrade-based Forum for Ethnic Relations said that western countries that backed the Ohrid Agreement “announced the success before time”. 

Janjic argued that the local elections in the four northern Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo which were held on April 23, should not have been held before the parties agreed on the statute of the Association. He said that as a result of “failed talks” on the statute of the Association there will be new delays in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. “At least several month delays, and renewed tensions,” he said.

Rashiti meanwhile argues that while the parties have different positions on the dialogue, Serbia will manifest an “increasingly aggressive” behaviour. “In all aspects, by not agreeing to negotiate the draft statute of the Association, by obstructing the return of Serbs to the institutions, by failing to respect any of its obligations, by continuing to influence security issues in the north, the discourse it is using, and so on. But I am confident that with several steps, Kosovo can make the international community hold Serbia accountable in its relation toward Kosovo and the agreement,” he said.

Kurti, Vucic “out of the game”: U.S. and EU preparing Association statute (Nacionale)

The meeting of May 2 is only six days away and meanwhile there is great confusion surrounding the draft statute of the Association that can be presented at the meeting. Nacionale learns that this can be “only a game” and that everything is happening behind the scenes.

U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, said recently that he hoped “there will be a concrete proposal (for the Association) by May 2”.

But Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti implied yesterday that at the meeting on May 2 there would be no proposal, saying that on March 18 the EU had refused his offer to write a proposal. “This (for him to write it) was rejected and the facilitators told me that the management team needs to do this …,” Kurti said.

But it seems that even the draft statute, which is expected to be presented by the management team led by Danijela Vujicic (a member of the Serbian Parliament), will have no importance either.

Meanwhile, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has explicitly asked for the Association not to be in line with the Constitution of Kosovo, despite pledges he received from the EU and U.S. “They should not play fairytales with Serbia about the Constitution of Kosovo,” he had said.

Nacionale learns from sources that the U.S. and the EU are in fact working on preparing the statute and have left both Kurti and Vucic out of the game. “Kurti was given 16 models of autonomy that exist in practice in the EU. He had until March 18 to choose one of the models. He didn’t choose any. Now, the EU and the U.S. will choose what model they see as the right one and they will rewrite it for the Association,” a source said.

The source also said that other games between Belgrade and Pristina about the statute of the Association would not be allowed.

Rasic: A temporary solution was made in the north (Express)

Kosovo’s Minister for Communities and Returns, Nenad Rasic, in a press conference today, commented on the results of local snap elections in the four northern municipalities and pledged that his ministry would cooperate with the elected representatives. He said that a temporary solution was made with the elections.

“What happened this weekend, in my opinion, is a temporary solution because in every system it is not preferred for two, three or four percent to vote in a democratic process. You know for yourselves that this was not the whole case, but that there is a plan or a continued misuse of Serbs in Kosovo by an autocratic regime which uses Serbs as a tool to achieve their objectives. To be honest, I cannot understand what they are trying to do,” Rasic said.

Rasic argued that those who are now trying to ruin what has been achieved so far in terms of reconciliation will harm the Kosovo Serbs themselves. “We have gone a long path to reach this moment and now whoever ruins the chances of reaching an agreement, the Ohrid agreement, which I see as a good basis to continue with the process of reconciliation. When I say this, I speak on behalf of Kosovo Serb citizens, who stand to lose the most if an agreement is reached, and especially if it is not respected,” he said.

Rasic also said his door will always be open for those that want to cooperate, be they individuals or groups.

Kosovo initiates procedures to join International Commission on Missing Persons (RFE)

The Kosovo government adopted a draft law that enables the initiation of procedures to become a member of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). Prime Minister Albin Kurti said during the government meeting today that joining the ICMP would increase possibilities for regional cooperation in the process of resolving the fate of missing persons.

According to official data of Kosovo institutions, 1,617 persons are considered missing from the war in 1998/99.

Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi said the ICMP was engaged in Kosovo in the first years after the war. “By joining this commission, Kosovo expands the network of international organisations where it is a member and consolidates its legal-international subjectivity. It also acts based on conclusions adopted at the London summit in 2018 for the Western Balkans, which supported the prioritisation of the issue of missing persons. This is why Kosovo’s joining this organisation would give an impetus to resolving the fate of missing persons,” he said.

Muja: We should’ve protected Nagip Krasniqi even more (Gazeta Metro/TeVe1)

MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, Armend Muja, said that the Chief Executive Officer of the Kosovo Power Corporation (KEK), Nagip Krasniqi, should have been protected even more following his arrest. He argued that Krasniqi was arrested when Kosovo was at the peak of producing energy.

“The way I see Nagip Krasniqi’s arrest is that we should have protected him even more. I was part of the [parliamentary] Investigation Committee for Energy and I know what Krasniqi was dealing with. First there was a false narrative that the level of production dropped in Kosova A and B. In 2022, Kosovo reached its peak in terms of producing energy, adding new capacities, and reducing consumption. Then the director was unexpectedly arrested. Meanwhile, I was expecting that other steps would be made. In the last ten years, there was an energy mafia mainly linked to the former parties in power, the AAK, PDK and LDK. They were linked with Serbian companies, starting from the import of energy all the way to the implementation of contracts in KEK. What has changed in the last two years in Kosovo is that not a single cent was imported from Serbia or from the companies that were linked to parties that used to rule in Kosovo earlier,” he argued.

According to Muja, a campaign against Krasniqi was organised for different interests. “Nagip Krasniqi started making some swift decisions, and one of them was that energy would no longer be imported from Serbia, and there would be no more expenditures in contracts worth several millions. When they lost the market and their interests were affected, they launched a campaign against KEK director Nagip Krasniqi,” he said.

Krasniqi was arrested last week on suspicion of misuse of his position or official authority, exercise of influence and conflict of interest.

   

Serbian Language Media 

  Dacic: Fight for Kosovo and territorial integrity of Serbia was and will be diplomatic priority (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said today the fight for Kosovo and Metohija and preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia was the most significant segment of his work during the first six months of his tenure and will continue to be so in the future as well, Tanjug news agency reports.

“Each ministry, each of our government members, has Kosovo and Metohija on the first place of their engagement, because this is without doubt our most important state issue. Kosovo and Metohija is, as part of Serbia, a matter of our internal relations and decisions, but the violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity is the most difficult thing that can happen to any country and has a lot to do with external factors", Dacic told Tanjug.

He also stressed that Serbian citizens are aware how strong efforts the state makes in order to preserve its integrity, noting it lasts not only for the last six months since new government was established but is ongoing for years, recalling that 10 years have passed since signing of the Brussels agreement and yet the Community of Serb Municipality is not formed.

Serb officials warn of consequences of new expropriation law prepared by Pristina (Kosovo Online)

Former Leposavic mayor Zoran Todic said today it is more than obvious that Pristina authorities with a new draft law on expropriation do not give up from appropriating Serbian properties, Kosovo Online portal reports.

He added it is more than obvious that all those bases built in northern Kosovo over the previous year were built in an illegal manner.

“New draft law proves this as well, because in one article it defines that construction of objects for military and police purposes, infrastructure and telecommunications for those bases is a public interest. It also envisages that the land, wider region around those objects can also be a subject of expropriation. It is more than obvious that Pristian authorities and the government do not give up on their intention to appropriate Serbian land, Serbian properties for construction of the military-police bases in the north”, Todic said.

He voiced expectations that the international community will understand the problem truly this time and influence Pristina authorities to give up on their intentions.

Member of Serbian List Presidency Slavko Simic said Pristina with the new law on expropriation wants to legalise new appropriation of the Serbian properties and generate a new crisis in northern Kosovo. He said that Serbs in Kosovo, along with the Office for Kosovo and Metohija and legal team will use all democratic means available to oppose this law, which he termed as anti-Serbian. He also said they will inform all international actors about this and try to prevent the law entering the assembly procedure for adoption.

Former Zubin Potok mayor Srdjan Vulovic said that Pristina with the new law on expropriation continues its anti-Serb policy.

He said what did not exist in the previous law, it has now clearly been stressed and written and relates to police and military objects and infrastructure for those objects.

“What is even worse now, the law until now envisaged expropriation of only certain parcels necessary to construction of such objects, and now he became so arrogant, to put it that way, that he (Albin Kurti) wants to carry out expropriation of a land surrounding those objects. Literally whatever he thinks is an obstacle in carrying out anti-Serb policies, he will implement it”, Vulovic said.

He also said they will inform all international stakeholders, starting from the European Union, Quint ambassadors, OSCE and all others about this problem and they will also file complaints to the official bodies in Pristina, judiciary and prosecution.

Legal representative of the Serbs affected by disputable expropriations in northern Kosovo, lawyer Nebojsa Vlajic said Pristina launched procedure of passing a new law on expropriation meaning that Kosovo government continues implementing measures by ignoring the interests of the residents and without saying precise what is this about.  

“It is time for the courts in Pristina to act on the lawsuits filed, because it has been a couple of months since those lawsuits were submitted and nothing has been done yet. It is the time to receive decisions on it. Also, the Kosovo Ombudsman who is involved in human rights protection met with residents and with me as well, so the time has come that he also makes some stance and to see where we are in this proceeding or the government can deprive us from our rights as it pleases”, Vlajic added. 

Guterres welcomes normalisation deal, voices concern over regression (Tanjug, media)

In a new semi-annual report on Kosovo, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed an EU-facilitated agreement on a road map to normalisation of Belgrade-Pristina relations and its implementation annex, Tanjug news agency reports. 

In the report on UNMIK activities and developments in the period between September 16 and March 18, Guterres said the new dialogue framework had the potential to advance the process towards reaching long-term solutions.

He said continued constructive engagement on comprehensive implementation of the agreement would be necessary for building common foundations, maintaining stability and averting any re-emergence of tensions and conflicts.

He noted that developments in the reporting period had escalated tensions to a crisis level and that this had resulted in the most concerning regression since the start of the dialogue process in 2011.

He said stepped-up and incendiary rhetoric by all parties, barricades on roads, multiple security incidents and protests in the north of Kosovo had increased the risk of violence.

All parties should exercise restraint and work on resolving all issues peacefully and through dialogue, rather than through escalation and by crossing the line, the report said.

The report includes a detailed description of events in November 2022, when Serbs in northern Kosovo left all Pristina's institutions, and all developments that followed.

Guterres noted that progress on other urgent issues in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue had been limited as a result of escalated tensions on the ground. He also said further progress in the dialogue was crucial for creating conditions for a return of Serb representatives from north Kosovo to Pristina's institutions.

Jeremic: Vucic to go to UNSC session and demand Russia and China use veto on possible Pristina’s membership request of (Danas, BETA, RTV)

President of the People’s Party (NS) Vuk Jeremic said today it was not enough that only Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic attends the upcoming UN SC session on Thursday, but also that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic must go there and clearly say Serbia opposes membership of Kosovo in the UN, Danas daily reports.

Jeremic added Vucic should clearly urge Russia and China to vote against membership of “”Kosovo” in the UN should this topic ever come to the agenda”.

“If there is a slightest truth that Serbia opposes membership of “Kosovo” in the UN, then Vucic has to say it personally at UNSC session on Thursday, because he gave a consent for the implementation of  the “Franco-German” agreement which says that Serbia will not block membership of Pristina in international organisations, and Dacic was not in the room when Vucic made those agreements. Dacic in this regard ‘had no involvement whatsoever’”, Jeremic told Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV)

He recalled that Russia chairs the UN SC at the moment and that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in New York.

“Why did nobody from Serbia call Moscow and kindly ask Lavrov, who according to official information should leave New York on Wednesday, to stay one more day and attend the session on Kosovo and Metohija? If someone called and kindly asked him, I am certain he would stay, and Vucic could then in front of him ask Russia to say it will use its veto power against membership of “Kosovo” in the UN and Lavrov would support it in front of everybody”, Jeremic said.

In this case, he continues an article of the Franco-German agreement by which Serbia would not oppose membership of Pristina in international organisations would become void.

Jeremic also opined if Vucic does not go to New York on Thursday it would mean that he dared not to appear there because he obliged that Serbia will not block Pristina and that thus he lied to the public in Serbia.

He said that referendum is “the only way to tie up the hands of the regime” in the implementation of the Franco-German proposal, adding that apart from referendum there is no electoral process Vucic could lose at this moment.

He also called on citizens to sign an initiative calling for a referendum.

He said that the launching procedure for admission of Pristina in the Council of Europe was a direct consequence of the implementation of the Franco-German proposal, warning that many more would come should the implementation continue. 

Brnabic to Stano: Serbia takes note that EU violated Brussels Agreement (N1)

Commenting European Union (EU) spokesperson Peter Stano’s statement that the EU is aware of the fact that Serbia voted against Pristina’s application to join the Council of Europe (CoE), Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said Serbia takes note of the fact that “the EU has breached the Brussels Agreement, the EU-proposed Agreement and the Implementation Annex from Ohrid”, N1 reports.

Stano said on Tuesday that the Brussels institutions “took note” of the fact that Serbia voted against Pristina’s application for membership with the CoE.

Brnabic wrote on Twitter that the vote on Pristian’s application for CoE membership also violated UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the Statute of the CoE.

She also commented on the EU spokesperson’s “logic.”

“BTW, love the part in Peter Stano’s remarks about a ‘very simple logic’ of negotiations: ‘Each party needs to do something in order to get something’. In reality, Pristina got more than something for doing exactly nothing. So much for the ‘simple logic’”!, she wrote.

“FYI to our partners from the EU: Serbia also takes note of the fact that EU, once again, directly breached all of the following: Brussels Agreement, EU-proposed Agreement & Implementation Annex from Ohrid, Statute of the @coe, UN Charter, UNSCR 1244”, she added.

Serbian Government confirms working on new foreign policy strategy (N1)

An agreement was reached at the Serbian Government session on Tuesday, which was also attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, to begin drafting a strategic document in the field of foreign policy that will “precisely define Serbia's relations with other countries”, a press release from the Serbian Government said.

The goal of the document is “to respect Serbia’s partners and friends who unequivocally support the territorial integrity of the country and behave in this way in all international organisations in accordance with the principles of international law”, the press release added.

It was specified at the meeting that “bilateral relations will be taken into account” in the future foreign policy strategy and that “reciprocity will not be exceeded”.

“This new document will introduce deep and essential changes, in line with the responsible attitude towards our country, and respect for international law will be the first position of the strategy”, it added.

Petkovic: The draft of the statute of the CSM (ZSO), a job for the Management Team (RTS)

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, said that Albin Kurti, by stating that the European Union did not accept that the government in Pristina draft the statute of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, admitted that he had no idea about the dialogue and the agreements reached, reported RTS.

"Albin Kurti shows us his autocratic face day by day, and now he has publicly admitted in front of everyone that he has no idea about the dialogue and the agreements reached. Instead of hiding his shame, he is still publicly bragging that he is not up to the dialogue and negotiations with President Aleksandar Vucic," said Petkovic.

Petkovic said that ''if Kurti did not learn in 10 years that the Management Team write the Statute of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, and he should have learned that from the period when he was sending the Brussels Agreement to the so-called The Constitutional Court, he won't learn anything for another 10 years.''

"Let Kurti stick to writing posts on social networks, that's his scope, and the serious work is on the experts from the Management Team, who should present the results of their work in accordance with the agreements to a high-level dialogue," said Petkovic.

Office of Saint Nikola Church in Strpce robbed (Radio KIM)

Strpce municipality said in a statement that municipal authorities and residents of the municipality are deeply disturbed over information that an office of a Saint Nikola Church in Strpce was robbed on Monday evening, Radio KIM reports.

Upon receiving information Strpce mayor Dalibor Jevtic spoke with police station commander Dragan Stevanovic and requested all measures to be taken in order to urgently identify the perpetrator of this criminal act, municipality said in a statement.

“Strpce Municipality and its leadership in the strongest terms condemned this vandal act by those shying from nothing as this way not only that they rob but also desecrate the shrines”, the statement added. 

Party of Kosovo Serbs: Serbs who won one vote each received mandates (N1)

The Kosovo Serb Party announced that their decision not to participate in the local elections today proved to be completely correct since the Leposavic MEC informed them that "our two candidates from the list for councilors Slavisa Jevtic and Milutin Ilic won mandates with only one vote each in elections", reported N1.

"This is a confirmation that this electoral process has failed and is doomed to failure and that its results can cause nothing but laughter and amazement. We think that nowhere and never in the world has anyone been elected to a seat in the local assembly with only (1) single vote, and to the post of mayor with only 100 votes," the party stated. 

In the statement, they call on the Central Election Commission (CEC) to "stop the comedy and cancel the mandates won on the basis of only one vote".

     

Opinion 

  A deal or a trap? (Kosovo 2.0)

Opinion piece by Aidan Hehir.

In “The Second Coming,” the Irish poet W.B. Yeats warned about the rise of regressive forces in the inter-war period and the imminent threat they posed to civilization. Reflecting on the contrast between the fanatical zeal of the extremists and the timidity of those with the power to repel them, he wrote, “The best lack all conviction, while the worst / are full of passionate intensity.” 

Today, as populist demagogues espouse violent nostalgia-fueled plans across the world, it seems the right time to re-invoke Yeats’ warning. The contrast between the lack of conviction among democratic leaders and the passionate intensity of authoritarianism is glaringly evident in the EU’s policy towards Serbia.  

An honest broker?

Following the EU-brokered summit between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti in late February, EU negotiator Josep Borrell triumphantly declared: “we have an agreement.” But there was no agreement. Kurti endorsed the proposal and offered to sign it. Vučić did not. Nevertheless, Vučić’s refusal to sign the proposal or even discuss it further was presented in truly Orwellian terms by the EU, which announced proudly that there was now a consensus that “no further discussions are needed on the EU proposal.” 

The best that could be said about the summit was that Serbia had not openly rejected the proposal. That soon changed. Days later Vučić promised, “I will not sign this” and then stated that he and the other parties “did not agree.” He then declared that he will only implement the parts of the proposal that suit Serbia’s interests. Later he said, “I don’t want to sign any international legally binding documents with Kosovo,” and specifically ruled out allowing Kosovo to join the U.N., in direct violation of Article 4 of the proposal which states, “Serbia will not object to Kosovo’s membership in any international organisation.”

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3LbnMG0 Radosavljevic: The elections in the north of Kosovo are illegitimate, the legality questionable (KiM radio, Insajder)

The elections in the north of Kosovo are not legitimate, and their legality is also questionable, said Jovana Radosavljevic, director of the non-governmental organisation "New Social Initiative" from Kosovska Mitrovica, reported KiM radio.

After the extraordinary local elections in the north of Kosovo, which were boycotted by the Serbs, the local authorities in North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic will be formed by Albanians.

"These elections had a large number of irregularities. First of all, the issue was the issue of security and who was securing the polling stations. Secondly, the polling stations were in containers outside the areas where the voters live, which is problematic. The greatest distance between the polling station and the place where voters live can be 3 km. It was also recommended that there should not be more than 750 voters per polling station, and there were 2,000 registered," said Radosavljevic.

She said that a turnout of 3.5 percent, or about 1,500 people, has the potential to cause a crisis, "in the sea of crises in the North of Kosovo."

"In the spirit of the negotiations in Brussels, the elections were postponed until April, and the international representatives publicly invited the representatives of the Serbian List to participate in the elections, and they ignored those calls due to, as they stated, not fulfilled conditions. It seems that everyone expected a change of the Serbian List attitude,'' she assessed.

According to the Law on Local Administrations, there is a possibility for citizens to request the removal of the mayors of four municipalities. Radosavljevic said that, according to the law, the signatures of 20 percent of the voters in one of the municipalities are required in order to call a referendum in which the mayor can be replaced.

"What can happen is that we will have elections after elections until adequate conditions are created for the participation of Serbian representatives in the elections for mayors and municipal representatives," she added.

On November 5 last year, the Serbs left Kosovo institutions, leaving the local Serb population without policemen, judges, and local authorities. Radosavljevic said that on November 5, no one was aware of how big that decision was and how much it would change the situation on the field.

"On the tenth anniversary of the Brussels Agreement, we have the reality on the ground that we do not have functional institutions. All the progress that was made in ten years has disappeared because of the frustration of the local population and political representatives due to the decisions from Pristina," she pointed out.

Radosavljevic stated that she does not expect the return of Serbs to the institutions in the near future, at least until there is progress in the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities (ZSO).

She added that if the Serbs decide to return to the institutions, it will be particularly difficult to reintegrate people who left the police and judiciary.

"Creative solutions from the Kosovo side will be necessary to make something like this possible because it is impossible to find enough people to replace those who have left their positions, especially higher positions," she said.

When asked what about the Serbs south of the Ibar, who are also seeking the formation of the CSM (ZSO) but have not left the Kosovo institutions, Radosavljevic replied that the situation is different in that area.

She assessed that for the citizens in the north and the south, the CSM is not a priority in itself, but security, and that the CSM represents a step towards building trust between the Serbian population and Pristina institutions.

Radosavljevic pointed out that healthcare and education are at the centre of CSM and that it should address them.

"What will be satisfactory for the citizens is to maintain the continuity and quality of the services they have," she concluded.

     

International 

  Serbia ‘disappointed’ with Ukraine, Greece, Slovakia over CoE Kosovo vote (Euractive.com)

A vote on Kosovo’s bid to join the Strasbourg-based international human rights body, the Council of Europe, has laid bare a raft of geopolitical issues and tensions across Europe, as well as creating bumps in the road in terms of EU-backed attempts to soothe regional tensions.

Kosovo’s first step in the application process was approved with 33 out of a possible 46 votes in favour, enough to pass it to the Parliamentary Assembly for further action.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/40BEnIB Serbia Calls on European Commission to Abolish Visa Requirements for Kosovo Serbs (schengenvisainfo.com)

Serbian authorities have called on the European Commission to cancel the decision regarding the obligation to hold a visa for Serbs in the Republic of Kosovo who had a passport issued by the Coordination Administration in Belgrade.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Kosovo Online that diplomatic as well as other representatives of the European Commission are continuously talking with representatives of the European Commission regarding travel documents issued by the Coordination Administration for all Kosovo Serbs, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/41CBngD