• Osmani to meet US Deputy Secretary of State Landau today (RFE)
• One third of candidates for MPs for Dec 28 elections are women (Indeksonline)
• Decrease in number of asylum applications in second year of visa liberalization (RFE)
• The lifting of measures that should have never been imposed (Koha)
• Kosovo awards 3.6 mln euro customs terminal upgrade deal (SeeNews)
• AJK: Individual arrested for threatening Klan Kosova and its journalists (media)
• Doyle: SCK mandate defined by Council of Europe report (Kosovo Online)
• Alija: After Thaci’s trial, gradual closure of SCK will follow (Kosovo Online)

Osmani to meet US Deputy Secretary of State Landau today (RFE)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani will meet in Washington today with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, the US State Department said in a statement today. No further details were given about the topics of discussion.

The news website notes that Osmani met with Landau in July this year and discussed potential areas of economic cooperation in the future. Osmani had said that Kosovo and the United States can benefit from cooperation in energy, information technology and defense. 

One third of candidates for MPs for Dec 28 elections are women (Indeksonline)

Head of Kosovo’s Central Election Commission, Kreshnik Radoniqi, said today that from 1,180 candidates for MPs for the December 28 parliamentary elections, 789 or 66.86 are men, and 391 or 33.13 are women. He made these remarks during a discussion organized by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the French Embassy about the participation of women in the election process.

Radoniqi also said that empowering the role of women in the democratic life is one of the main pillars of institutional and social development.

French Ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guerot, and OSCE Head of Mission, Ambassador Gerard McGurk, also called for greater engagement of women in the institutions.

Decrease in number of asylum applications in EU in second year of visa liberalization (RFE)

The news website reports that when visa liberalization was announced for Kosovo, there were also warnings that the process could worsen the migration trend from Kosovo. And this is exactly what happened in the first year of the process (2024) according to data from the 2024, this was exactly what happened, according to data from the EU Statistical Office, Eurostat. The trend, however, changed in the second year of the visa liberalization process.

Although January this year marked the highest number of asylum applications from people from Kosovo to EU countries for the start of a year, the trend then dropped significantly in the following months. And in some months, the number of asylum applications was even lower than in the years before visa liberalization.

In Kosovo, there were concerns that many young people might use the opportunity of visa-free travel to try to find work or seek asylum.

Although in the past there were significantly larger numbers of men seeking asylum in the EU, this distinction almost disappeared in the last two years.

This year, in addition to the general decline in the number of asylum seekers, there is also a drastic decrease in the number of asylum seekers under 14 years old.

This is good news for Kosovars, as the trend of larger asylum applications also jeopardizes the visa liberalization agreement.

The European Union has in its hands the so-called Visa Suspension Mechanism. With this mechanism, a non-EU country, such as Kosovo, can be temporarily suspended from its visa waiver if it misuses or there is a significant increase in irregular migration.

Moreover, this month, the Council of the European Union added Kosovo to the list of safe countries of origin, in an effort to speed up the return of migrants, making it harder for citizens from these countries to seek asylum in the EU.

The lifting of measures that should have never been imposed (Koha)

Opinion by Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj.

Kosovo is not only the sole place in Europe that aspires to join the EU and doesn’t have the candidate status, but it is also the only one from the group of candidates and aspirants that continues to be under EU penalty measures. Some of them, related to three or four programs amounting to around €34 million, have been removed now. A decision was made to remove the rest, while all financial measures will be removed “early next year”. In this way, if the EU structures don’t find another magic trick to keep some of the measures in force, the measures, which were called unbalanced, unfair, unclear and untransparent, will be removed.

The EU structures, primarily former envoy for the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, and director of the Directorate General for Enlargement, Gert Jan Koopman, who decided on the imposition and management of these measures, did everything in their power for the measures to last as long as possible. There was no formal decision by the EU Council to impose the measures. And this is why they were not called classical sanctions. But EU member states, through a political statement, enabled the then-High Representative to impose the measures. The High Representative and the Commission used that political statement to impose measures only on Kosovo, although according to the same statement, similar measures could have been imposed on Serbia too. Because the Council’s statement allowed for measures to be taken against any party that was seen as responsible for steps that created tensions. Especially after the terrorist attack in Banjska, for which no serious official in Brussels believes that it could have happened without the knowledge of Serbia’s state structures, there were increased calls to remove the measures against Kosovo or at least to impose measures on Serbia too. Because even those who agreed that Kosovo deserved the measures because of what they called “uncoordinated and unilateral actions”, they thought that measures should be imposed against Belgrade too.

So those structures in the EU that did not want measures to be imposed on Serbia, and did not want the measures on Kosovo to be removed, created a situation in which all EU member states had to agree on removing the measures toward Kosovo, and in which all member states had to agree on imposing measures toward Serbia. For over two years, it was proved that both were impossible and only Kosovo was left under measures. For two years, the great majority of member states, the European Parliament, and even the High Representatives, call for and recommended the removal of measures. The response from the EU was always that “it is in the hands of the Commission” and the Commission would say that it “waits for all member states to agree on this”. And this is how a vicious cycle was created.

Every time that Kosovo was “commended” for several steps toward de-escalation, it was criticized for some other “unilateral” actions, and the measures were kept in force. So for Kosovo, the removal of measures became a moving target, and they were kept in force until now causing serious consequences for many beneficiaries in Kosovo who until the imposition of measures were financing projects through EU funds.

Now that the measures are being removed, it is becoming clear that even organizations from the EU, which were implementing some of the projects, also suffered from the measures. Many entities from the EU also benefit from the funds that the EU allocates for Kosovo, so part of those funds remain in the EU.

The still “gradual” removal of measures toward Kosovo is proving that they were neither limited, nor reversible nor temporary. In fact, even some diplomats of EU member states are shocked when they are learning now that the measures were comprehensive and that sanctions included projects like drinkable water, youth programs and rule of law programs. It is hard to find cases of similar measures by the EU against someone else.

Seeing the behavior of European Commission structures so far, one gets the impression that they would not prefer removing the measures at all. But it seems that they were caught a bit by surprise by their chief, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, with the announcement for the removal of the rest of the measures. And these structures could not act so easily against what Von der Leyen said, although this too should not come as a surprise when it comes to Kosovo’s case.

Now the EU too wants to remove the measures as soon as possible in order to save losing hundreds of millions. But the time lost and the consequences for suspending numerous projects in Kosovo because of the measures cannot be compensated. A great majority in the EU agree that the measures should not have existed at all, and that toward the political authorities that were seen as “non-cooperative” at the time there could have been other actions and not punish the citizens, and now they hope that the EU will learn lessons for the future and that it will not impose such measures on anyone anymore. If they want to impose sanctions they can do so in line with the existing rules and make them transparent.

Kosovo awards 3.6 mln euro customs terminal upgrade deal (SeeNews)

Kosovo customs authority said on Monday it has awarded a 3.58 million euro ($4.2 million) contract for the upgrade of the customs terminal in Vermice, at the border with Albania, to a consortium of four companies led by local construction firm World Medium.

Other members of the consortium are: Albania's Adea Construction, and Kosovo-based Kab Holding and Haxha Kom, the customs authority said in a notice published on the country's e-procurement portal.

The contract also includes improvement of vehicle access to the nearby motorway.

The project should be completed within two years.

AJK: Individual arrested for threatening Klan Kosova and its journalists (media)

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) said in a statement that Kosovo Police have arrested and taken into custody an individual who issued a series of online threats against Klan Kosova television and its staff. “By order of the State Prosecutor, a person has been arrested for 48 hours on suspicion of committing the criminal offense of ‘Threatening’ under Article 181 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo. The State Prosecutor is currently carrying out investigative actions in coordination with other relevant institutions,” the Kosovo Police said in a statement. The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) strongly condemned the serious and unacceptable threats made by the individual, identified as V.H., and welcomed the swift response from the Kosovo Police, expressing confidence that the case will be treated as a priority. AJK emphasized that all forms of threats and intimidation against journalists are attacks on media freedom in Kosovo,” the statement notes.

Doyle: SCK mandate defined by Council of Europe report (Kosovo Online)

The jurisdiction of the Kosovo Specialized Chambers based in The Hague does not depend on nationality or affiliation with a particular side in the conflict, but on whether the alleged crimes are linked to the Report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the court’s spokesperson Michael Doyle told the Kosovo Online portal.

The caretaker Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, recently stated that in a letter to the President of the Specialized Chambers, Ekaterina Trendafilova, he asked whether it was possible for this institution to also consider cases related to alleged crimes committed by Serbia during the war in Kosovo, adding that the answer he received was “more yes than no.”

In his response to Kosovo Online, the spokesperson of the Specialized Chambers, Michael Doyle, did not wish to comment on the claims made by the caretaker Prime Minister. “It is not for the Specialized Chambers to interpret the words of Mr. Kurti,” Doyle said.

He stressed that the mandate of the Specialized Chambers is clear and pointed out that it is linked to the Council of Europe report from 2011, which, it should be recalled, was prepared by Special Rapporteur Dick Marty while investigating KLA crimes and human organ trafficking in Kosovo and Albania.

“The Specialized Chambers have jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the period from January 1998 to December 2000, which were initiated or carried out in Kosovo, or in which the perpetrator or the victim was from Kosovo or from the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Therefore, the legal framework does not limit the court’s jurisdiction to a specific nationality, except to nationals of Kosovo or the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In addition, we note that the legal framework requires that the alleged crimes be linked to the Report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,” Doyle said.

Alija: After Thaci’s trial, gradual closure of SCK will follow (Kosovo Online)

The Kosovo Specialized Chambers based in The Hague will likely begin a process of closure after the completion of the main judicial proceedings against former KLA leaders, lawyer Amer Alija told Kosovo Online.

According to him, the work of the Specialized Chambers to date shows that the mandate of this court is strictly limited to the allegations contained in the 2011 Council of Europe report, namely the report by Dick Marty, which concerns crimes committed by certain members of the KLA.

“If we look at the Law on the Specialized Chambers, it is clear that the jurisdiction of this court and the Prosecutor’s Office is limited to crimes committed in the period from 1998 to 2000, and committed by nationals of the Republic of Kosovo or the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. If we also take into account who over the years has been called to give statements as a witness or a suspect before these institutions, it can be concluded that the court deals exclusively with the allegations from the Dick Marty report and the Council of Europe resolution, which relate only to the actions of certain individuals from the KLA,” Alija said.

He emphasized that, although the court was established more than ten years ago, no member of Serbian military or police structures has so far been summoned in the capacity of a suspect.

“Therefore, it can be concluded that indictments will not be brought against Serbian leaders accused of having committed crimes during the war in Kosovo,” our interlocutor noted.

He assessed that, after the conclusion of the ongoing proceedings, primarily the one against Hashim Thaci and the other defendants, the Specialized Chambers will have fulfilled their primary purpose.

“I think that this court will slowly begin to close after the major case against Hashim Thaci and others. Over these years, we have seen that around 15 people have been indicted in three proceedings dealing with war crimes and another three for obstruction of justice in cases related to proceedings,” Alija said.