• Rasic: Now there are no obstacles to forming the new government (RTK2)
• Maqedonci meets Wikoff and Ulutas, discusses security, KSF development (media)
• NATO chief grateful to Croatia for its contribution to KFOR (AP)
• Muhaxheri: LDK doesn’t have a position yet on the issue of the President (RTV21)
• Pristina Mayor on a potential coalition between Vetevendosje and LDK (EO)
• Initial hearing in “state reserves” case held behind closed doors (RFE)
• Gervalla: Kosovo stands in solidarity with the people of Iran (media)
• Tahiri: If US didn’t intervene, war in Kosovo wouldn’t have stopped (Nacionale)
• Hamza meets William Walker (media)
• As the EU eases sanctions on Pristina, what’s next for Kosovo? (RFE)
• Ethnic Albanian journalist recalls threats, harassment as Yugoslavia unravelled (BIRN)
• Kosovo's 5th Novara Lancers Regiment arrives from Friuli Venezia Giulia (ANSA)

Rasic: Now there are no obstacles to forming the new government (RTK2)

Leader of the Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival, Nenad Rasic, in an interview with RTK2 this morning, said that the announcement of the final election results will pave the way to the constitution of the Assembly and the formation of the new government. “The obstacles that existed before are no longer there,” he said, adding that the assembly and the government could be constituted on the same day. “We are now in a situation where Vetevendosje is the absolute winner, they have the majority, and with the non-majority communities they can have 65 or even more MPs. Hypothetically, they can certainly have 68 MPs, but it depends on them if they will need the other parties too”.

Maqedonci meets Wikoff and Ulutas, discusses security and KSF development (media)

Kosovo’s caretaker Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, said in a Facebook post today that he met with JFC Naples Commander Admiral George M. Wikoff, and COMKFOR Major General Ozkan Ulutas. “We discussed the security situation in the country and the region, the development of the Kosovo Security Force and cooperation with KFOR. I reiterated our engagement to strengthen KSF capacities through the education of officers according to the doctrine of western countries and modernization with weapons systems procured from NATO member states, in the function of the security of the people and our aspirations to become a member of NATO,” Maqedonci said.

NATO chief grateful to Croatia for its contribution to KFOR (AP)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said today that Croatia plays a key role in maintaining stability in the Western Balkans. “You have been a long-standing contributor to the KFOR mission in Kosovo,” Rutte said at a joint press conference with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. “We will not allow the creation of a security vacuum. NATO will continue to strengthen dialogue and cooperation throughout the region”.

Muhaxheri: LDK doesn’t have a position yet on the issue of the President (RTV21)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and mayor of Peja municipality, Gazmend Muhaxheri, told the TV station today that the LDK does not have a position yet on the topic of the President of Kosovo. “After the meetings and coordination, the LDK will decide what position it will have on the issue of the President. There is no official decision. Certainly the presidency of the LDK supports [party leader Lumir] Abdixhiku’s position,” he said.

Muhaxheri also said that it is the responsibility of the winning party – the Vetevendosje Movement – to form the new institutions. “This does not depend on us. The leader of the winning party has enough votes to form the Assembly and the new institutions,” he said.

Pristina Mayor on a potential coalition between Vetevendosje and LDK (EO)

Mayor of Pristina municipality, Perparim Rama, was asked today if he would support an eventual coalition between the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Vetevendosje Movement. He said that any coalition that would serve for the good of the people is welcome. He ruled out the possibility of him taking over the post of LDK leader but said he would be there to help the party if necessary. 

“I say that all elected representatives both in the capital and all over Kosovo are a result of the votes of the people for the good of Kosovo. Any coalition that paves way to processes that transform our country are welcome. During my time in the municipality, I did not have a good experience (with VV) because in the first two years I tried to cooperate, but they sabotaged and blocked us, and I hope that from now on they will be more cooperative because society cannot move forward with sabotage,” he argued.

Rama also said that in the LDK there are “wonderful people that can push forward processes, and I don’t think they need me … My focus is on the capital”. 

Initial hearing in “state reserves” case held behind closed doors (RFE)

The initial hearing of the so-called state reserves case was held today at the Basic Court in Pristina, where caretaker Minister of Trade and Industry Rozeta Hajdari, is also among the defendants. The judge in the case decided that the session would be closed to the public in order to protect classified information. The lawyers asked that before the session continued the declassification of documents begins, otherwise, they could be held legally responsible because they don’t have security certificates which are needed for access to classified documents.

The prosecution had filed an indictment against Hajdari and another three defendants over abuse of state reserves. Hajdari and two officials of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, according to the indictment, damaged the Kosovo budget by around €3 million in February-March 2022, when they were suspected of purchasing an amount of oil and grain from abroad and which was never delivered in Kosovo.

Gervalla: Kosovo stands in solidarity with the people of Iran (media)

Kosovo’s caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, said on Monday that Kosovo stands “in solidarity with the people of Iran as they peacefully demand a future built on freedom, dignity, and fundamental rights”. “Any violence against peaceful demonstrators and any disproportionate use of force is unacceptable. Shutting down the internet to silence citizens only exposes a regime afraid of its own people. In line with the clear positions of the U.S. and the EU, we urge the Iranian authorities to end repression, respect the rights to peaceful assembly and free expression, and ensure accountability for abuses,” Gervalla wrote in a post on X.

Tahiri: If US didn’t intervene, war in Kosovo wouldn’t have stopped (Nacionale)

Former chief negotiator of Kosovo in the talks with Serbia, Edita Tahiri, said in a Facebook post today that as US President Donald Trump “is preparing to intervene in Iran to stop the killing of protesters who are calling for democracy, UN Secretary General Guterres said he was shocked”. According to Tahiri, “if it weren’t for the US intervention to stop the war in Kosovo, as far as the UN was concerned the war would not have stopped, even despite three resolutions by the Security Council that allowed for intervention to stop the war in Kosovo. This is one of the main reasons why the world order needs to change”.

Hamza meets William Walker (media)

Most news websites report that leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Bedri Hamza met today with Ambassador William Walker as part of activities for commemorating the victims of the massacre in Recak in January 1999. “In the days honoring the victims of the Recak Massacre, as in every year, Ambassador Walker is by our side, the same way he was in January 1999, when he bravely told the world about the Serbian crime in Recak and did not allow for truth to remain silent. Ambassador Walker’s friendship and contribution to Kosovo are outstanding. Thank you for everything you have done for Kosovo, Ambassador,” Hamza said in a Facebook post.

As the EU eases sanctions on Pristina, what’s next for Kosovo? (RFE)

The European Union says it will start lifting sanctions this month first imposed on Kosovo in summer 2023, when Pristina implemented the results of controversial elections in the Serb-dominated north despite warnings from Brussels.

The move could potentially resuscitate the Balkan country's EU hopes, allowing this to be the year its EU membership application, submitted in late 2022, can finally be assessed by the European Commission. It may also allow for a restart of the Brussels-facilitated dialogue with Serbia after a two-year hiatus.

The sanctions raised eyebrows when first adopted as they lacked precedent when it came to the bloc's relationship with an EU hopeful. For starters, they were not sanctions in a strict political and procedural sense and have been referred to as "measures" in the "corridor lingo" of Brussels.

European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas presents the European Union's annual enlargement package in Brussels on November 4. This year's report took on a distinctly geopolitical tone.

EU sanctions must be presented to the 27 EU member states in a formal legal act and then unanimously agreed. This was the case, for example, when Brussels imposed asset freezes and visa bans on individuals from EU candidate country Turkey in 2019 due to the unauthorized drilling for gas in the Eastern Mediterranean.

With Kosovo, nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the EU foreign policy chief at the time, Josep Borrell, wrote a letter to EU member states outlining the measures and recommending the capitals implement them even though there was no obligation. The directorate-general for enlargement, the EU's department dealing with countries wanting to join the bloc, then informed Kosovo of what would hit them.

These measures were mainly EU-related, meaning funding for Kosovo from the bloc's common budget would be frozen, high-level visits would be on hold, and the Stabilization and Association Council -- the main political conduit for Brussels-Pristina relations -- would not meet until further notice.

Intriguingly, while there was no formal EU unanimity to impose the sanctions, member states later stepped in to demand unanimity to lift them. In one of his last acts before leaving office in 2024, Borrell asked for the measures to be removed, but there was no consensus and the initial decision stood.

Some momentum in Kosovo's favor came with the new European Commission team starting at the tail-end of 2024 as diplomats noted that outgoing Hungarian Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi had "a soft spot" for Serbia and prevented any real movement in favor of Pristina.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/4ekn4nds

Ethnic Albanian journalist recalls threats, harassment as Yugoslavia unravelled (BIRN)

As an ethnic Albanian journalist in the 1980s and 1990s, Dijana Toska faced threats, censorship and harassment from authorities in Pristina and her Macedonian hometown Skopje - before, during and after the wars that tore Yugoslavia apart.

Dijana Toska did not set out to be a journalist.

She studied law in Pristina, Kosovo, in the early 1980s, moving there from her native Skopje because opportunities for ethnic Albanian students in then Macedonia were restricted.

Then, in 1982, Toska received the offer that would change her life - to host a music programme at the public broadcaster, Radio Television of Pristina, RTP, which at the time broadcasted in Serbian but also Albanian, the dominant language in Kosovo.

“This was my first contact with television and after that I fell in love with journalism,” Toska, 64, told BIRN.

The 1980s were a turbulent time in majority-Albanian Kosovo, then an autonomous southern province of Serbia, itself a part of federal Yugoslavia.

In 1981, when students in Pristina began protests calling for Kosovo to be granted the status of a Yugoslav republic, the Yugoslav authorities declared a state of emergency and sent in security forces to break up demonstrations that had begun to spread.

Toska graduated in 1984 and devoted herself to journalism, becoming the host of a political talk show on RTP.

“I reported on the important political events and later I hosted a TV show on current affairs,” she said. “We covered the important events of the time.”

It was a calling not without risk, particularly as protests grew again in the late 1980s and Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic revoked Kosovo’s autonomy.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2mkvucre

Kosovo's 5th Novara Lancers Regiment arrives from Friuli Venezia Giulia (ANSA)

The women and men of the 5th Novara Lancers Regiment were bid farewell today by the community of Codroipo (Udine), where the regiment is stationed, ahead of their departure for Kosovo, where they will be part of the NATO KFOR mission.

“Friuli Venezia Giulia is proud of the 5th Novara Lancers Regiment, which was called upon to carry out an important peacekeeping mission and provide assistance to civilians in Kosovo,” said Mario Anzil, Vice President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, who attended the unit's departure ceremony.

“We are here to say goodbye to these women and men who are leaving for an important mission, and to express the entire community's gratitude for how they represent our country around the world,” said Mauro Bordin, Resident of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Council.

“Italy is always at the forefront when it comes to assisting and bringing peace to regions that have experienced significant suffering,” Bordin added.