Albanian Language Media:

• COVID – 19: 500 new cases, 9 deaths (media)
• Osmani: We must cooperate so truth about Kosovo is not overturned (media)
• Osmani at Albanian Parliament: We are forever grateful (media)
• Defense of KLA leaders insists on postponing trial at The Hague (RFE)
• Kosnett: Excellent news, MCC reaffirmed support for Kosovo (media)
• Haradinaj-Stublla: Kosovo ready to join Adriatic Charter (media)
• Citaku returns as Kosovo’s ambassador to Washington (RFE)
• Inclusion of non-majority students at UP remains low (Prishtina Insight)

Serbian Language Media:

• 47 new cases of Covid-19, one death registered in Serbian areas in Kosovo (KoSSev)
• "It's not just about Serbia" (B92, Tanjug, VoA)
• EU Delegation official says Serbia should step up efforts to align with Brussels (Beta, N1)
• Selakovic: EU membership is key priority (FoNet, N1)
• Serbian Health Minister: We are ready to produce vaccines with Russia (B92, Tanjug)
• Serbia does not even know its energy border with Kosovo (Danas)
• Mitrovica North MA session on electricity, water supply, non-compliance with COVID-19 measures (Kontakt plus radio)
• NGO Aktiv presented trend analysis on attitudes of Serbian community in Kosovo (social media)

Opinion:

• EU dream fading in Western Balkans, a local's view (euobserver.com)

International:

• Clientelist Networks Lie Behind Western Balkans State Capture – Transparency (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Serbian epidemiologist: More expensive PCR test economic move and should reduce travels (N1)

   

Albanian Language Media 

  COVID – 19: 500 new cases, 9 deaths (media)

500 new cases of COVID – 19 and 9 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 596 persons have recovered from the virus during this time. There are 12,679 active cases of COVID - 19 in Kosovo.

Osmani: We must cooperate so truth about Kosovo is not overturned (media)

The acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, met today with the Speaker of Parliament Gramoz Ruci, during her three day visit to Albania.

A press release issued by the Ruci’s office that he praised the “dignified attitude of the leaders of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo and their full readiness to face justice and reveal the truth of the great struggle for the salvation of its people from the monstrous crimes and genocide of Serbia”, while he expressed support on the efforts to ensure that the image of Kosovo and its struggle for freedom are not tarnished.

"Albania is convinced that all the accusations against the leaders of Kosovo's just war, which are unfortunately based on the plagiarism report of Dick Marty, the memoirs of prosecutor Carla del Ponte and the report of the Serbian prosecution, are not based on evidence, but on slander and sick fantasies,” Ruci said.

“Let us not allow the truth of Kosovo to be overturned and the Kosovo file to be removed from the table of the President of the United States of America. In President Biden, Kosovo has an even stronger supporter who knows the region and Kosovo well," he said.

Osmani thanked the Speaker of Parliament, Gramoz Ruçi, for the cooperation, assistance and contribution of Albania in support of Kosovo.

"We must cooperate so that the truth about Kosovo is not overturned in front of our eyes. We must show and retell the truth of Kosovo. We must work to oppose and overthrow Serbia's arguments that Kosovo should not be recognized until the dialogue is over. We must make it clear to all that the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue is not about the status of Kosovo. We appreciate the contribution and voice of Albania in international institutions and environments where Kosovo is not present," Osmani said.

Osmani at Albanian Parliament: We are forever grateful (media)

Kosovo Acting President Vjosa Osmani said in an address to the Parliament of Albania today that the people of Kosovo will be forever grateful to the state of Albania. “Albania is not only the homeland of our brothers and sisters, but it is our common dream, our shared history, the place we all dreamed to live in but which many of us unfortunately only got to see in the cold of the war, but nevertheless it became our home, the home of generous Albanians that kept alive our hopes for freedom. We are forever grateful,” she said.

Osmani said that “the independence of Kosovo has sealed not only our fate but the fate of the Balkans too … History is on our side. We took this journey together with many of our friends to whom we will be forever grateful. You stood by our side during the building of our state too”.

Osmani also said that “Kosovo cannot reward Serbia  by giving it parts of its territory”. “Serbia must regret, apologise and be punished and not rewarded,” she said.

Defense of KLA leaders insists on postponing trial at The Hague (RFE)

Radio Free Europe reports that defense attorneys of former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, are insisting for their trial at The Hague to be postponed. 

David Hooper, an attorney for Thaci, said in today’s status conference at the Specialist Chambers in The Hague that “more than 18 months are needed to conduct investigations in this case. This is the reality”

The prosecution said that so far it has given over 1,300 materials to the defense teams and that investigations could conclude in July next year and the trial could potentially begin in September next year. 

Ben Emmerson, an attorney for Veseli, said the period of 18 months is very short. He recalled that at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, from the first appearance of the defendants in court and to the start of the trial it took up to three and a half years. He said that period was too long but added that the defense wants enough time to review the case and evidence presented by the prosecution. Emmerson also said that the trial should start in late 2022 or early 2023 and that this could be impacted by the pandemic and vaccinations against COVID – 19.

The next conference in the case of the former KLA leaders will be held in late January next year.

Gazeta Express reports that the prosecution has rejected a request from Thaci’s defense team for their client to be released on bail. The prosecution also said they would make the same decisions on the requests of Krasniqi and Selimi’s defense teams.

Kosnett: Excellent news, MCC reaffirmed support for Kosovo development (media)

The United States Ambassador to Kosovo, Philip Kosnett, took to Twitter to welcome the news that the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation has reaffirmed its support for continuing compact development in Kosovo. “Excellent news: the @MCCgov reaffirmed its support for continuing compact development in Kosovo,” Kosnett tweeted.

Haradinaj-Stublla: Kosovo ready to join Adriatic Charter (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Meliza Haradinaj – Stublla, said today that Kosovo is ready to join the Adriatic Charter as soon as circumstances allow. “Participated in U.S.-Adriatic Charter meeting with Ministers of Foreign Affairs. Expressed that Kosovo is ready to join as member as soon as circumstances allow. EU-Atlantic integration is our only direction. Kosovo in the Adriatic Charter would further expand the diameter of stability and peace in the Western Balkans,” Haradinaj – Stublla wrote in a Twitter post.

Citaku returns as Kosovo’s ambassador to Washington (RFE)

Vlora Citaku has returned to her position as Kosovo’s Ambassador to the United States, although two months ago then-President Hashim Thaci had signed a decree on her withdrawal from the position. Citaku returned to Washington as partners of the ruling coalition in Kosovo have yet to decide who will replace her. Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to the news website that Citaku is still ambassador to Washington and will remain in that position until a new ambassador is appointed.

Inclusion of non-majority students at UP remains low (Prishtina Insight)

Over the last 12 years, the University of Prishtina has admitted only 990 students from Kosovo’s non-majority ethnic communities, with just 237 going on to graduate.

On Wednesday, Admovere, a transitional justice and education NGO, published a report highlighting the shortcomings of higher education policies regarding non-majority ethnic communities in Kosovo, particularly at the University of Prishtina, UP.

In 2016, a quota entered into force for public higher education institutions, stipulating that 12 percent of the number of students admitted in each academic year be from non-majority communities. 

However, according to Admovere’s report, in the 12 years since Kosovo declared independence, no faculty at UP has managed to fill more than 50 percent of the places reserved for non-majority ethnic students. The Faculty of Medicine has managed to fill exactly 50 percent of its reserved places during this period, while no other faculty has filled more than 26 percent of places. 

A total of 5,372 places were foreseen for non-majority communities at UP between 2008 and 2020, while only 990 students were admitted during that time.

The report adds that, of these 990 students, only 237 graduated, of whom 119 were students from the Turkish community, 92 were from the Bosniak community and nine each were from the Roma and Egyptian communities. 

At the launch event for the report, its author Aulone Memeti revealed that only one student from the Kosovo Serb community has studied at UP in the last 12 years.

Memeti also revealed that the two issues most raised by non-majority ethnic students were economic conditions and concerns over language, adding that for the Serbian community, political factors were also an issue.

According to the report, there are no concrete policies in place at UP to provide assistance in cases where students are experiencing difficulties with language, despite legal provisions guaranteeing language rights for Kosovo’s non-majority ethnic communities in public life. 

As for financial issues, the report states that faculties do not have the competences or a budget line that could enable a scheme to provide support to non-majority ethnic students with economic difficulties. 

   

Serbian Language Media

  47 new cases of Covid-19, one death registered in Serbian areas in Kosovo (KoSSev)

Out of 128 tested samples, 47 were positive on Covid-19, while one person passed away in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo, Crisis Committee of Mitrovica North announced, KoSSev portal reports.

Out of 47 new registered cases 36 are in the north, while 11 are in central Kosovo.

The breakdown of new cases is as follows: 13 in Mitrovica North, nine in Zvecan, eight in Zubin Potok, six each in Strpce and Leposavic, three in Priluzje, and two cases in Gnjilane.

Deceased person was from Prizren.

At the same time 113 people have completed a two-week isolation period.

A total number of 70 people passed away due to Covid-19 in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo since the outbreak of the pandemic.  

"It's not just about Serbia" (B92, Tanjug, VoA)

Sergei Lavrov's stay in the Balkans can be understood as an effort to provide stronger support for Russia, especially after the US elections.

This was assessed by Paul McCarthy, director for Europe of the International Republican Institute (IRI), and Ben Hodges, former commander-in-chief of the US Ground Forces in Europe, expresses hope that the Biden administration will be ready to "lend a hand" to President Aleksandar Vucic.

McCarthy believes that Russia wants to show that it is a player that can be counted on.

An associate of the Washington Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), Hodges, saw Lavrov's stay in Serbia as a possible opportunity to convey some messages to the Serbian authorities, which, as he says, they may not be ready to hear.

"It seems to me that the Serbian government is becoming less committed to traditional relations with the Kremlin. This, for example, shows the attitude of the new energy minister towards the director of the Serbian gas company, which cooperates with Gazprom. That could also be the reason for Lavrov's visit. "In that regard, I hope that the Biden administration will be ready to lend a hand to President Vucic," General Hodges told the Voice of America.

"Serbia's future is in the west - in the EU. Russia simply does not have enough economic power to meet Serbia's needs. And whether Serbia will meet the EU criteria depends on itself. Russia will try to create chaos by using misinformation regarding Serbia's progress towards the EU. But, I don't think it will succeed in that", McCarthy thinks.

Noting that part of the responsibility in Serbia is due to the delay on the path to European integration, Hodges signals that it is necessary to "look at what is happening on the other side." "This is not just about Serbia. The EU has not yet started negotiations with two NATO members. Unfortunately, the Kremlin could use that to drag the entire Western Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean, if we are not careful," Hodges said.

He assessed that the EU has many problems with credibility, and that it makes decisions slowly and clumsily.

Regarding the fact that Serbia did not open any negotiation chapters with the European Union in 2020, Paul McCarthy says that Russia could use such a state of affairs to further deter Serbia from the path to EU membership, but he is not sure that such aspirations could have an effect.

"The peoples of the Balkans and their political representatives are aware that membership is still a long way off. Serbia signed a good agreement in the White House in September, so the fact that no chapters were opened in the negotiations is a consequence of EU pressure and its disappointments in Serbia-Kosovo dialogue", Ben Hodges said.

Hodges does not agree with the interpretations that the election of the new American administration could influence some kind of turn in the relations between Serbia and the United States, which, it seems, were improved during the mandate of President Donald Trump. "I believe that Serbia is willing to continue to improve relations with the United States. The Trump administration has not withdrawn recognition of Kosovo's independence. The United States exclusively helped that process. Efforts and initiatives related to the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, the 'Mini Schengen' and the 'Three Seas' initiative (a.k.a. the Baltic, Adriatic, Black Sea (BABS) Initiative) should be continued by the Biden administration. If anyone understands to what extent Serbia and the Western Balkans has changed nowadays, then it is President-elect Biden. And when he visited Serbia while he was in the position of vice president a few years ago, he clearly showed that understanding", believes Ben Hodges.

McCarthy estimates that the current situation in Kosovo is "quite unsettled" and that only Prime Minister Hoti's party supports the dialogue with Belgrade.

"I think that things will become clearer when the elections are held at the start of 2021. Until then, I do not see that there could be any progress. On the other hand, it seems that waiting suits Belgrade."

The Washington CEPA expert expects that the United States will continue to view Serbia as a partner in the region and will provide Serbia with options that are better than dependence on the Kremlin.

"The United States can offer better opportunities in terms of investing in the economy. But Serbia is not helping itself when the UN votes against the resolution asking Russia to withdraw troops from Crimea," Hodges said.

The two experts do not rule out the possibility that Russia will continue to use the Kosovo issue to pursue its interests in the Balkans.

"The Kremlin sees no benefit for itself if Kosovo and Serbia are able to reach an agreement and make progress with improved economic and political opportunities," Hodges said.

Paul McCarthy claims that Russia supports Serbia when it comes to its territorial integrity, and on the other hand, it supports the creation, as he says, of a "parastate in Bosnia", undermining the unity of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"I think that the way in which he tries to undermine the legitimate claims of the officials of the Republika Srpska and Serbia regarding Dayton, leaving aside the policy they are pursuing, is not helpful. On the contrary, it provides excuses and arguments to the separatists in RS and the Russians. Serbia, on the other hand, has repeatedly shown that it does not undermine BiH's statehood. "Serbia's interference in the Balkans cannot always be blamed for the failures of the western and local policies in the Balkans," Hodges concluded.

See at: https://bit.ly/3p481DR EU Delegation official says Serbia should step up efforts to align with Brussels (Beta, N1)

A senior official of the European Union Delegation in Serbia told the annual ISAC Fund conference on Wednesday that Serbia has to step up its efforts to align its policies with the EU’s common foreign and security.

Dirk Lorenz, the head of the political department at the EU Delegation, told the conference that Brussels wants Serbia to progressively align its foreign and security policy with that of the EU in the pre-accession period. He said that this would certainly have a positive effect on the speed of the process. He is quoted as saying that the EU respects sovereign choice, autonomous decisions, including Serbia's decision to maintain military neutrality but we believe that military neutrality does not mean political neutrality,” he said.  

Lorenz said that Serbia is expected to step up the alignment of its policies before an agreement is reached with Pristina. “We know that a binding agreement on comprehensive normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations will probably make it easier for Serbia to do that,” he said.  

According to Lorenz, Serbia has been stuck at 50-60 percent alignment with EU decisions over the past few years, adding that this is the lowest level in the region, but that progress has been made by aligning with the two declarations on Belarus.

See at: https://bit.ly/38dtcgc Selakovic: EU membership is key priority (FoNet, N1)

Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Selakovic told European Union ambassadors on Wednesday that membership in the EU remains a key foreign policy priority, the ministry said in a press release, FoNet news agency reports.

Speaking at an online meeting with EU member state ambassadors and the head of the EU Delegation he said that European integration is a strategic goal which will improve the quality of society. Selakovic said Serbia is prepared to pick up the pace in the pre-accession process and would accept the new methodology and expressed the hope that clear guidelines are coming.

Selakovic also said that Serbia had achieved a number of significant steps in the reform process which, according to him, the latest European Commission progress report did not reflect that progress.

Serbian Health Minister: We are ready to produce vaccines with Russia (B92, Tanjug)

Serbia is ready to cooperate with Russia in combating coronavirus in the sphere of joint production of the vaccine, Minister of Health, Zlatibor Loncar said, B92 reports.

He told Russia-24 TV that “Serbia is open for cooperation with Russia. We would like our two countries to work together on the production of vaccines, but also on the joint fight against coronavirus and other diseases", Loncar said, as reported by TASS.

He also thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for providing Serbia with the Sputnik V vaccine for research.

"No other country has done that, only Russia. We have a laboratory in which the quality of the Russian vaccine is currently being analyzed," Loncar added.

Serbia does not even know its energy border with Kosovo (Danas)

Belgrade based daily Danas assesses as contradictory the claims of both Pristina and Serbian companies about the supply of electricity to Kosovo, and reports that at this moment none of the authorities is answering the question of who distributes and who charges for electricity in the north of Kosovo.

Although Serbia signed an energy agreement in Brussels in 2013, which provides the independence of Kosovo's electricity system, now that it has been announced that the transition process is over. Kosovo has completely separated from Serbia's power bloc, which still includes Northern Macedonia and Montenegro, and annexed to the Albanian one, thus opening numerous dilemmas.

One of the first dilemmas is the status of consumers from the north of Kosovo, who do not know what the supply will be, to whom they will pay the bills and whether they will have to settle long-term debts to the Serbian distribution.

So far, they have received electricity from Serbia through the Valac substation, and it is now part of the Kosovo operator KOSTT. However, the Electric Network of Serbia (EMS) claims that it is still in their system.

There are doubts about where the energy border between Serbia and Kosovo is, writes Danas and adds that about 50 companies trade in electricity on the regional market but which still did not receive an answer to emails they have sent to the Electric Network of Serbia (EMS). 

Nikola Nedic from the company 'Energy Gas & Power' says for Danas that no one has yet received information on whether the transformer Valac physically passed into the hands of KOSTT.

- EMS does not publish any data yet. We know that Kosovo has agreed on that and with Northern Macedonia and Montenegro, it has been written about it for two weeks on LinkedIn, but not with Serbia. And they would have to do that right now so that the electricity could flow. It is possible that these agreements are in progress, but no one is disclosing anything. The fact is that the division happened quickly and that the Kosovo authorities immediately presented it as a political success, a secession from Serbia, which gave it a political connotation. But there is another side. Now that they are in the energy bloc with Albania, Kosovo is obliged to cover every shortcoming in the network, even though it does not have enough energy. Albania gets about 90 percent of its electricity from hydroelectric power plants, and in periods when the reservoirs go down, it has to draw reserves, which is too expensive. To such a situation is added Kosovo with power plants that are old, which fall out of operation and Albania will be in big trouble - says Nedic and adds that Electric power industry of Serbia (EPS) and KOSTT should determine who will manage the transmission lines between Kosovo and Serbia, who will organize auctions and charge rents of these capacities to draw electricity during imports and exports.

But that doesn’t close the list of questions.

Professor of the Faculty of Economics Ljubodrag Savic says that the separation could probably not be prevented because EPS is part of a single European connection and if we opposed this would produce consequences, some punitive measures that Serbia should not risk because through these networks, in liberalized conditions trading, is earned  a lot from the transmission of energy through Serbia.

He reminds that in the captured Serbian property in Kosovo, according to earlier data, the energy system has the largest share, and that separating from the bloc with Serbia does not mean that property relations have been resolved to the end.

- Analogous to the agreement on succession, which is applied at delimitation with the former republics, the property is returned to the country where the parent company is, and that parallel is applicable because Kosovo in SFRY also had the status of a legal entity. While nothing could have been done differently with the independence of energy capacities, in terms of ownership, it is possible for Serbia to seek that property in the coming decades - says Savic and adds that Serbia will certainly not be able to take over and manage these facilities, but will be able to count on compensation.

Neither side (Belgrade and Pristina) give answers to the multiplied practical and strategic questions, writes daily Danas. 

The Kosovo Ministry of Economy and Environment, within which the energy department is located, did not answer to daily Danas when asked what will change in the way of supply and payment for consumers in the north of Kosovo and when two Serbian companies in the field of electricity supply are expected to get a license.

Neither the Serbian Ministry of Energy and Mining, nor EPS explained what the separation of the Kosovo energy system means for Serbia, what and whether Serbia is losing something, whether it is the seizure of EPS property and what is changing among consumers in the province.

EMS, on which all eyes are fixed, says that "all issues related to the supply of electricity are not within the competence of Electric Network of Serbia AD".

Serbian companies still without licenses

With the agreement signed by the then prime ministers Ivica Dacic and Hashim Thaci in 2013, mediated by Catherine Ashton, Serbia undertook obligations in the field of energy, among other things, that the Kosovo operator be recognized for the entire territory of Kosovo and that Electric Networks of Serbia support it ENTSO operator network. The establishment of the companies Elektrosever and EPS Trgovina was also specified, which, as a daughter of the company Elektroprivreda Srbije, would work according to Kosovo laws and supply mainly municipalities in the north of the province. Transformer station Valač, key for the transmission of electricity from Serbia to Kosovo, was agreed to be taken over by KOSTT, which tried to do so in 2018, but Serbia blocked it because the companies formed by EPS for the north of Kosovo did not receive a license. However, in December last year, KOSTT signed an agreement with the Albanian operator, and in April this year it became part of the Kosovo-Albanian regulatory bloc, and in early December it was announced that by taking over the Valac substation, they gained independence throughout the territory.

Mitrovica North MA session on electricity, water supply, non-compliance with COVID-19 measures (Kontakt plus radio)

Non-compliance with epidemiological measures, increase in the number of cases of domestic violence, problems with water supply and electricity, crowds in front of COVID outpatient facility - these were just some of the topics discussed at yesterday’s Mitrovica North Municipal Assembly session, Kontakt plus radio reports..

Mitrovica North police station commander Djordje Karamarkovic said Kosovo police has been involved in the implementation of epidemiological measures since the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic, and added that the isolation of people caused additional problems.

“Domestic violence is on the rise compared to the same period last year. The number of other crimes is declining. From August until today, the police have filed 988 misdemeanor charges against citizens for non-compliance with epidemiological measures. In the last month and a half, 244 cases of illegal parking of vehicles in the city have been registered, and those persons have been sanctioned”, Karamarkovic explained.

Mitrovica North deputy mayor Adrijana Hodzic said there was no information when it comes to the issue of electricity in the north of Kosovo.

As for the increasingly frequent interruption of water supply in the municipalities of Mitrovica North and Zvecan, Hodzic pointed out this is a big problem.

“We had funds in the budget that we could use and, as a sign of good will, pay a part of the debt to the water supply system in Mitrovica South when it comes to water consumption by institutions in this part of the city. The municipality gave its maximum - 44,500 euros were paid in the name of debts. There is no system, citizens do not know to whom they should pay, because the bills for water consumption do not arrive… The interruption of water supply during the pandemic is a catastrophe, it is necessary to urgently solve this problem”, Hodzic pointed out.

She added that the Crisis Management Committee was active every day and that it received timely information on the number of sick and cured patients in the municipality.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, the municipality has delivered 250,000 protective masks, 2,600 overalls, 13,700 packages of gloves, 2,750 packages of hand disinfectants, 700 visors, 60,000 pairs of surgical booties and 2,000 packages of floor disinfectants to the Health House and Health Centre in Mitrovica”, she said.

Hodzic also noted that entrepreneurs in Mitrovica North would be assisted by the Kosovo Ministry of Local Government Administration, with a total value of 280,000 euros, in the form of protective masks, disinfectants and other things.

Head of infectious diseases department of Mitrovica Health Centre, Dr. Danica Radomirovic, noted that the epidemiological situation was serious, pointing out that a large number of covid-positive patients had pneumonia.

“A large number of people who tested positive have a mild manifestation of disease, while 850 people were seriously ill and hospitalized. Some 140 health workers tested positive for coronavirus and that number is growing each day”, Radomirovic warned. She urged citizens to get serious and respect the epidemiological measures.

NGO Aktiv presented trend analysis on attitudes of Serbian community in Kosovo (social media)

One of the most stable findings of the Trend Analysis for the past few years has been the distrust of Kosovo Serbs towards political leaders in Kosovo, NGO Aktiv said while presenting its 2020 research on attitudes of the Serbian community in Kosovo.

Similar to previous years, about 58.7% of respondents from the Serb community in Kosovo claim that they do not trust the people who represent them. When asked to identify political party options or leaders from the Serb community they trust, 87% of respondents did not single out any name on the list as trustworthy.

Respondents expressed even less confidence when it came to the political representatives from the Albanian community in Kosovo. Only 1.5% of them cited one of the Albanian leaders as a trusted politician, a percentage which borders on statistical error.

Widespread lack of trust of the Kosovo Serbs in political representatives and institutions is one of the main findings of the research “Trend Analysis 2020: Attitudes of the Serb Community in Kosovo”. The research was presented at the same-titled conference, held on 16 December via Zoom platform.

The full research is available at: https://bit.ly/2KcjHpu    

Opinion

  EU dream fading in Western Balkans, a local's view (euobserver.com)

It might be a trauma, but no one can claim Bulgaria's recent veto on North Macedonia's EU accession talks came as a shock.

It was seen coming from, at least, late August by EU states' diplomats who meet in the relevant EU Council working group, the committee on enlargement (Coela), in Brussels.

But Germany, the outgoing EU presidency, showed little sense of urgency.

Berlin behaved as if its mighty chancellor, Angela Merkel, would get a last-minute deal, the way she did, for instance, on the EU budget and on climate targets.

Those were important and difficult issues.

But when it comes to political and psychological complexity, the Western Balkans are in a league of their own.

Identity and language are still weaponised in the region, the same way they were in all of Europe after World War 2, when the EU project began.

"We left some unfinished business to the [incoming] Portuguese [EU presidency]," Merkel said at her end-of-year EU summit, in what was quite an understatement.

To be honest, if Bulgaria/North Macedonia was the only problem, it would probably have been solved by now.

But in fact, France, and other EU states, such as Denmark, the Netherlands, and Spain, have, for years, been putting obstacle after obstacle in the way of enlargement.

On paper, the EU accession process has its 'Copenhagen criteria', which tell those on the outside to fix their problems before they get in.

But in reality, it is EU national elections and even EU leaders' personal ambitions which have become the bloc's enlargement conditionality.

"Let's first win elections against the far-right/xenophobes/eurosceptics, then do enlargement," EU politicians think.

"And while we're at it, let's use frightening propaganda about Balkan asylum seekers, blackening their image to make ourselves look whiter-than-white."

I got confirmation of some of this mentality when I asked for an interview with Albanian prime minister Edi Rama for French newspaper Libération back in May 2019, in the middle of the French presidential elections.

"Edi Rama has given his word to [the now-president] Emmanuel Macron that he will not open his mouth on enlargement until the last day of the elections in France", a member of Rama's cabinet told me at the time.

Despite Rama's subservience, Macron still vetoed North Macedonia and Albania's accession talks in October 2019.

See more at: https://bit.ly/387vmhg    

International

  Clientelist Networks Lie Behind Western Balkans State Capture – Transparency (Balkan Insight)

A new report by the international anti-corruption watchdog shows how political elites in the Western Balkans and Turkey rely on impunity for corruption and tailor-made laws to further their de facto capture of states.

Political elites and their grip on power are the main driving force behind state capture in the Western Balkans and Turkey, a new Transparency International report asserts.

The report, “Examining state capture”, published on Tuesday, notes “two key enabling factors of state capture in the Western Balkans and Turkey: impunity for high-level corruption and tailor-made laws”.

Lidija Prokic, Regional Advisor for Eastern Europe at Transparency International, says the new report shows “the mechanisms through which particular groups are able to exert undue influence on state functions, to such an extent that the state serves their interests over the public good”.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3mrK8Vh    

Humanitarian/Development

  Serbian epidemiologist: More expensive PCR test economic move and should reduce travels (N1)

Serbian epidemiologist and a member of anti-coronavirus Crisis Team Predrag Kon said Thursday that the 50 percent rise more expensive PCR test on the novel virus was an economic measure, but also an attempt to limit people's travels during the forthcoming holidays, N1 reports.

Serbian Government raised PCR test charge earlier this week from EUR 50 to 75 for locals and from EUR 100 to 150 for foreign nationals who asked for the test on their own volition.

The decision caused a bitter reaction by the opposition and some experts who accused the Government of filling holes in the budget.

Speaking for Belgrade-based Prva TV, Kon said that "no epidemiologist is focused on the price" of the test, adding that the aspects of the medical and political members of the Crisis Team "are opposite by default." "Some preserve the country's economy, some the people's health".

"But, we are all on the same Team, and the decision is always joint. What has to be understood is that the medical part of the Team will always be reserved if the decisions are not completely in line with the suggested measures", Kon said.

He added that "the health system is under enormous pressure and can be compared to the state of war".

"The number of admitted patients is still higher than the discharged ones. When that becomes the opposite, we will be able to calm down and relax a bit", Kon said.

See at: https://bit.ly/3r2HMj7