Albanian Language Media:

• Kallas: We are analyzing mistakes of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)
• Kurti writes to Abdixhiku, invites him for a meeting (media)
• Osmani: Serbia continues with tendencies to destabilize Kosovo (Koha)
• Detention requested for four Serbian pilgrims (media)
• Chief Prosecutor on detention of 12 Serbs in Prizren: 10 of them were interviewed as witnesses (Telegrafi)
• ​​Deliu-Kodra: PDK has given up on prime minister several times, we have a gap with VV (media)
• Haradinaj meets Turkish ambassador, talk about developments in Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media: 

• Vucic meets Botsan-Kharchenko, says Serbia remains committed to dialogue and constructive relations with partners (Kosovo Online, social media)
• Students on Prime Minister designate: Name not important, institutions must do their job (N1, nova.rs)
• SL welcomes Vucic's decision on PM-designate for composition of Government of Serbia (Kosovo Online)
• Svecla did not attend hearing in discharging tear gas in Assembly trial (KoSSev)
• Fatherland Movement on Serbs’ walk from Kosovo to Belgrade (FoNet, Danas, KoSSev) 
• Vucic: Meloni has confirmed Italy will take part in EXPO 2027 (Tanjug)

International Media:

• Albania failing to eradicate banned pesticides from agricultural products (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media 

Kallas: We are analyzing mistakes of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)

The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said on Monday in Podgorica that the European Union is analyzing the mistakes and what is working and what is not in the Brussels dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, in order to give life to the process of normalizing relations.

Asked about the stalled dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Kallas said during a press conference that "what we are doing this month is analyzing" together with the EU's envoy for the dialogue, Peter Sorensen, who took office in February. "What is important for us is the normalization of relations, because without this neither of them can move forward on the path to the EU," Kallas said.

Kallas did not give more details about what she thinks were the mistakes or what has not gone well so far in the dialogue mediated by the bloc.

Kurti writes to Abdixhiku, invites him for a meeting (media)

Kosovo’s Acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has written a letter to the leader of the LDK, Lumir Abdixhiku, in which he invited Abdixhiku to a meeting, to discuss the processes of forming institutions, the Assembly and the government. “For the purpose of the full constitution of the Assembly of Kosovo and the process of electing the government, to consult in advance, I invite you to a meeting on Wednesday, April 9, at 3:00 PM, or Thursday, April 10, at 9:00 AM or 2:00 PM,” the letter states.

It is not known whether this is an invitation for a coalition, however, Kurti hinted on Sunday that he does not have the numbers. For this, he blamed Serbia and Radoicic, saying that they have blackmailed the MPs of minority communities.

Osmani: Serbia continues with tendencies to destabilize Kosovo (Koha)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has informed the chargé d'affaires of the United States Embassy in Kosovo, Anu Prattipati, “about Serbia's ongoing tendencies to destabilize Kosovo.” As announced by the Presidency, in a meeting on Monday, Osmani and Prattipati discussed the arrest of Serbian citizens in Gjakova and Prizren, who claimed to be on pilgrimage. “Speaking about the security situation and developments in this area, President Osmani emphasized Serbia’s ongoing tendencies to destabilize Kosovo and the entire region through well-coordinated actions with illegal structures and Serbian criminal gangs. President Osmani discussed with Ms. Prattipati yesterday’s arrest of Serbian citizens in Gjakova and Prizren, who claimed to be on a pilgrimage. However, investigations so far have shown that these groups had connections with Serbian military intelligence structures as well as members of the Banjska terrorist group,” the statement said.

Osmani described this action as “part of a continuous effort by Serbia to destabilize Kosovo, through threats and violence.” She also said that “this constitutes an unacceptable interference in the state sovereignty of the Republic of Kosovo”.

Detention requested for four Serbian pilgrims (media)

The news website reports that the Basic Prosecution in Gjakova has requested detention for four Serbian “pilgrims”. The Prosecution has requested that the Court order a 30-day detention.

"According to the request of the Prosecution, among other things, it is stated that there is a well-founded suspicion that the defendants with the initials B.R., N.V., P.K., M.S., of Serbian nationality, on 05.04.2025, on 'Gasper Karaqi' Street in Gjakova, in co-perpetration and acting in violation of the law on weapons, possessed cold weapons, namely an axe, a knife with a sheath, and a saw knife. After being stopped by police officers because the same vehicle, a gray 'Toyota' type, which was driven by the defendant B.R., had exceeded the speed limit in the speed limit zone, and after the driver of the vehicle during the regular proceedings was asked by police officers whether he possessed anything illegal in the vehicle, the same responded that he did not have anything illegal with him, and also offered a check of  the vehicle. After a search of the vehicle by police officers, the above-mentioned sharp instruments were found, which the defendants had carried during an organized visit to several Orthodox Monasteries in the Republic of Kosovo," the Prosecution's announcement states.

Chief Prosecutor on detention of 12 Serbs in Prizren: 10 of them were interviewed as witnesses (Telegrafi)

16 Serbian citizens were arrested on Saturday and Sunday, four of whom turned out to be active Serbian security officers. They were caught in Gjakova and Prizren, traveling in vehicles with Serbian license plates. 12 of them were detained in Prizren. The Chief Prosecutor of the Basic Prosecution Office in Prizren, Petrit Kryeziu, announced to Telegrafi that out of the 12 arrested, 10 of them were interviewed as witnesses. “What I can confirm is that we have detained 2 people, while 10 others were not suspects, they were interviewed as witnesses,” Kryeziu said.

​​Deliu-Kodra: PDK has given up on prime minister several times, we have a gap with VV (media)

PDK's elected MP, Blerta Deliu-Kodra, has spoken about the possibility of forming a government, saying that they are ready to form a government, if VV fails to do so.

She said that they have already received an invitation from the Speaker of Parliament Glauk Konjufca, for a meeting next week, but that PDK's preference is for the formation of a government by the opposition. ''The right belongs to VV, if its efforts fail, the turn belongs to PDK. We have an invitation from Konjufca to our leader. Our preferences are for the opposition to form the government,'' she added.

The PDK MP emphasized that her party has given up several times the position of prime minister and they are interested in having their candidate, Bedri Hamza, lead the new government. “It is difficult for me to talk about hypothetical situations. We have given up several times on the will of the citizens of Kosovo who voted today, but we will see the whole thing in the Assembly. Our entire campaign has been on the electoral program that Mr. Hamza has led, so I believe that such a program would save Kosovo from the situation it is in today, so a government led by Bedri Hamza would be in the best interests of the citizens,” she said.

Haradinaj meets Turkish ambassador, talk about developments in Kosovo (media)

AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj met today with the Turkish ambassador to Kosovo, Sabri Tunc Angili. Through a post on Facebook, Haradinaj said that they discussed developments in Kosovo and the deepening of bilateral relations and the intensification of partnership in areas of mutual interest, especially in the field of security and economy. "At the same time, I expressed my gratitude to the ambassador for the support of the Turkish state," Haradinaj wrote.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic meets Botsan-Kharchenko, says Serbia remains committed to dialogue and constructive relations with partners (Kosovo Online, social media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met today with Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko and noted on this occasion that Serbia remains committed to dialogue and preserving good relations with partners, Kosovo Online portal reported.

“Open and comprehensive meeting with Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko during which we discussed current political and security situation in the region, our bilateral cooperation and wider context of international relations with particular emphasis on stability of the Western Balkans”, Vucic wrote in a post on his official Instagram account.

Vucic also underlined that for Serbia it is of crucial importance to preserve the peace and stability as well as reiterated commitment to dialogue and preservation of constructive relations with all the partners.

Students on Prime Minister designate: Name not important, institutions must do their job (N1, nova.rs)

Last night, the students followed the address of the President of Serbia, in which he announced the renowned endocrinologist Dr. Djuro Macut as PM-designate for the composition of the new government. The students emphasized that the name and surname of any public official are not important to them, but that the institutions they lead do their job. 

The guests of last night's "Utisak nedelje'' (Impression of the Week) said students want the institutions to work and their demands to be met, that it is important to change the entire mechanism and not the faces. In response to Vucic's statement that student blockades are "terror of the minority against the majority", they said they represent the majority, not the minority, and that they believe all people in the country share an almost identical sentiment with the students.

A student at the University of Novi Pazar, Enes Dzogovic, said everyone already got used to ''Vucic's demagogy'', reported nova.rs.

"We are all already used to that demagoguery and shifting the focus to some things that are not the current focus. What the president should be doing is implementing the will of the people, and what he is doing now is the total opposite of that. The way he presents it and what he says hardly matches what the people want and demand," Dzogovic said.

When asked whether the fact that the new government representative was a renowned endocrinologist meant something to students, graduate student of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade, Milica Markovic, said students were trying to eliminate the cult of personality, and that their first and last names were not important.

"The name and surname of any public officials is less important than it is that the institutions headed by them do their job and the system functions as such," said Markovic. She also said they could not really hear anything related to the functioning of the institutions from the president's address.

"The goal is to focus again on someone specific, on some biography. At some point, that focus should shift to the institutions. We are optimistic and hope institutions will work at some point, regardless of who is at their helm," Markovic pointed out.

Andrijana Jevdjenic, a student at the Faculty of Security in Belgrade, said students have listened to the president's speeches many times, but that they rarely managed to hear anything concrete.

"We, as students in the blockade, first of all want the institutions to do their job and fulfill the students’ demands. Our struggle continues and there is this optimism and faith that the students’ demands will be met, but it is important that we here do not change the faces, but the entire mechanism. We want to change what simply does not work here properly - that is, the mechanism, not the faces," said the student of the Faculty of Security.

Jevdjenic asked institutions to start analyzing the students’ demands a little better and referred to the recent statement of President Vucic, who said that students will soon come out with one demand - an expert government.

"Today, the president presents the name of the PM-designate, and a few days ago he said that we will be the ones who will ask for a proposal for a transitional, expert government. That was not our goal at all, we came out and presented a completely different request, and we once again showed that the president's address was not telling the truth," said Jevdjenic.

She denied that students were dealing with an expert government and pointed out that they were dealing with what made citizens vulnerable on March 15.

"President Vucic presents some information that is absolutely not true and insists that we will deal with the transitional government. I would deny that. We dealt with exactly what made citizens vulnerable on March 15, and that is what really should have been among the students’ demands," Jevdjenic pointed out.

Are student blockades "terror of the minority against the majority"?

In response to the president's statement at last night's press conference that student protests and blockades are "minority's terror against the majority", student Markovic said students did not consider themselves a minority in any way.

"We do not consider ourselves a minority in any sense and we have had the opportunity to see that on the streets several times. We are very numerous, and we have proven it several times. And especially we do not find ourselves in the sense that we are terrorizing anyone, all the citizens who are with us, are voluntarily with us, even at the daily blockades of 16 minutes, as well as at all major protests," said Markovic.

A graduate student at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering also says that all students are currently prevented from taking exams because they put the desire for justice and truth before their university duties.

Jevdjenic said students blocking their faculties were ready to put their education on hold for some higher goal.

"We are currently witnessing a deeply disturbing paradox in this society, because when the students and the people stood up, we heard voices saying that someone's right to education had been taken away. The students who want to study have somehow called themselves victims of our blockades. They have raised their struggle to the international level and are sending a letter to Strasbourg because we denied them the right to education. They are not looking for an answer as to who is responsible for the sixteen lost lives in Novi Sad, they are looking for an answer to the question of why they are not allowed to study. I think that our struggle has prompted them to ask themselves what they have done during this time. The answer is quite painful - they have not done anything. I think the most important lesson they should learn is that when we are silent in the face of injustice, it means that we are complicit," Jevdjenic pointed out.

A student at the University of Novi Pazar says he believed all people in the country share an almost identical sentiment with the students.

"They are here to help us in any way, whether it's an advisory role, whether it's donations, whether it's their presence and words of support. They're always there for us, and I think we represent the majority, not the minority," says Dzogovic.

SL welcomes Vucic's decision on PM-designate for composition of Government of Serbia (Kosovo Online)

The Serbian list (SL), on behalf of the Serbian people from Kosovo, welcomed and supported the decision of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to propose Prof. Dr. Djuro Macut as PM-designate, Kosovo Online portal reported. 

The SL said numerous challenges await the future prime minister.

"Given the moment we are in, there is no doubt that the future prime minister will face a handful of challenges, but his impeccable biography and the strong support of President Aleksandar Vucic and the Serbian Progressive Party will undoubtedly be a wind at his back and the new Government of the Republic of Serbia," the statement said.

According to the SL, the survival and stay of the Serbian people in Kosovo directly depends on how strong and advanced Serbia is.

"In this sense, we send our hearty congratulations to Mr. Macut, with wishes that he successfully leads the Government of the Republic of Serbia and continues on the path outlined by President Aleksandar Vucic, which means further development and betterment of our society", the statement concluded.

Svecla did not attend hearing in discharging tear gas in Assembly trial (KoSSev)

The hearing session in a trial related to discharging the tear gas in Kosovo Assembly on March 21, 2018 did not take place today as the Kosovo Interior Minister in technical mandate, Xhelal Svecla and former MP from Self-determination Movement did not appear, KoSSev portal reported.

The judge in this case, Sabit Sadikaj said Svecla informed the court, via email, that he will not come, as he had official travel abroad. Fitore Pacolli did not appear either. “The summon has been delivered to her, we do not know if she personally received it or not. In any case, conditions for the hearing have not been met”, the judge added.

Unlike them, other defendants in this case, former MPs Salih Ziba and Drita Milaku appeared in a hearing today. The next session is scheduled to take place on April 17, 2025.

The previous sessions, scheduled on January 1, 2024 and February 6, 2024, did not take place over the absence of Fitore Pacolli and Drita Milaku.

The indictment in discharging the tear gas in the Assembly case was raised on July 26, 2019. As it was said the discharge of tear gas prevented continuation of the Assembly session and all MPs were forced to leave the hall.

The evidence in this case includes the footage from Assembly hall, police reports, photo-documentation, decision of the Assembly presidency to interrupt the session and other documents. 

Fatherland Movement on Serbs' walk from Kosovo to Belgrade (FoNet, Danas, KoSSev) 

The national movement of Serbs from Kosovo Fatherland said today that ''presence of Serbs from Kosovo in the camp in Pionirski Park is an unforgivable sin and that the march of more than 200 Serbs to Belgrade to support their own betrayal and chief traitor Aleksandar Vucic is even less understandable'', reported Danas.

The movement said the ''whole walk is very problematic because those who walk are not prepared, nor properly dressed, and therefore it can be concluded that they will not really walk much".

The statement added that ''no matter how much those people who walk to Belgrade are blackmailed by salary, job or something else, it does not justify that in a situation when the whole of Serbia is against the dictator they are on his side''.

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, was establishing the Movement for the People and the State, but - according to the Fatherland Movement - the question arises ''for which country, because he renounced Kosovo and Metohija through the Brussels Agreement and the French-German plan'', reported Danas.

Vucic: Meloni has confirmed Italy will take part in EXPO 2027 (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Friday Italian PM Giorgia Meloni had confirmed her country would take part in EXPO 2027 in Belgrade, Tanjug news agency reported. 

"Great news for Serbia, Giorgia Meloni, PM of Italy, has confirmed her country's participation in EXPO 2027", Vucic wrote in a post on his official Instagram account. 

Earlier in the day, King Abdullah II of Jordan also confirmed to Vucic in Sofia that his country would participate in the event.

International

Albania failing to eradicate banned pesticides from agricultural products (Balkan Insight)

When it comes to banning pesticides, Albania takes its cue from the EU, yet substances deemed dangerous to human health are still being used years later.

The European Union banned chlorpyrifos in 2020, citing consumer health risks; four years later, traces of the pesticide were found on tangerines shipped from Albania to EU member Croatia.

It was not the first time.

Fruit and vegetables make up the bulk of Albanian food exports, which last year were worth half a billion euros, or 14 per cent of the country’s total exports.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/5pwp9