UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, July 12, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani among world leaders: Kosovo included in NATO summit for the first time (media)
Kosovo with 1,586,659 resident inhabitants (media)
Government defends Law on Independent Media Commission (media)
Slovenia will double its presence in peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (RTK)
Kica-Xhelili on Law on IMC: Intended to exercise direct control over media in Kosovo (media)
Kurti received Turkish ambassador, discussed about latest developments in Kosovo (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

SRSG Ziadeh: Regrettable that adopted IMC law does not incorporate recommendations of international community (Kosovo Online)
UNS and its branch in Kosovo say IMC law – an open censorship (Kosovo Online, media)
Vucic to visit Egypt, announces important visit to Serbia for July 19 (Tanjug)
Djuric, Bass discuss Serbia-US partnership (Tanjug)
Property Comparison and Verification Agency calls on Serbs facing evictions to leave their apartments (Kosovo Online)
Arsenijevic on evictions from disputed apartments in northern Kosovo (social media)
More than 2.400 requests to switch Serbian to Kosovo drivers’ licences submitted (KoSSev)

Opinion:

Eviction from the apartments in the North, or the ‘sticker’ policy towards Kosovo (NSI, Alternativna)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani among world leaders: Kosovo included in NATO summit for the first time (media)

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, has represented Kosovo at the closing event of the NATO Summit in Washington at the invitation of the U.S. President, Joe Biden. She has assessed the participation there as of special importance for Kosovo.

"It is the first time in history that Kosovo is included in a Summit of the Alliance of Hope and for this I am personally grateful to President Biden and the USA", Osmani emphasised.

The Kosovo presidency has announced that "At the end of the Summit, President Osmani spoke with President Biden, whom she thanked for his contribution and dedication to Kosovo, and also had the opportunity to discuss with other leaders from several countries around the world".

Further, Osmani said that 25 years ago, NATO saved the people of Kosovo from extermination, and 25 years later, it is an honour to join forces with allies in support of Ukraine, through the establishment of the "Compact Ukraine" initiative.

Kosovo with 1,586,659 resident inhabitants (media)

The Statistics Agency of Kosovo (SAK) has published the preliminary results of the population census, according to which Kosovo has 1,586,659 inhabitants, of which 795,046 are men and 791,614 are women. This is the number of the resident population, and does not include the diaspora, for which registration remains open. Currently, about 600,000 are registered in the diaspora.

SAK said that the average age in Kosovo has increased. In 2011, the average age of the population was 29.97, while in 2024, according to preliminary data, the average age is 34.82, an increase of 4.85 years.

On the occasion of the publication of these statistics, Prime Minister Albin Kurti spoke about the importance of statistics. "Without accurate data, without statistics, decisions will also be inaccurate. In a democracy, making political decisions is very important. I am proud as Prime Minister of the dedication and commitment of those who participated in this process. I personally in a short period of time have talked to SAK several times to offer my support. EU, USAID rely on other statistical data to make other decisions. This commitment increases integration in the international arena. A powerful statistics agency that provides important statistics is a precious agency for the country", said Kurti.

The acting director of SAK, Avni Kastrati, has emphasised that the entire registration process was digital. He said that the registration process for the diaspora will continue until the end of August and invited the expatriates to use the opportunity to register. According to him, the final results of the process will be published in December of this year.

"The final results are not expected to change much from the preliminary ones. In the 4 northern municipalities of Kosovo, there was a boycott in large part, however there is a participation of citizens. The data quality is higher compared to the previous recording. Technology enables us to monitor and publish this data", said Kastrati.

Government defends Law on Independent Media Commission (media)

All media cover a press release issued by the Kosovo government on Thursday defending the adoption of the law on the Independent Media Commission (IMC). It notes that the law brings equality and a fair competition to the market, “as the law fully follows the Audiovisual Media Services Directive of the European Union, drafted by experts of the European Union”.

During public consultations and hearings organised by the Office of the Prime Minister, many parties, experts of the field, members of the media and civil society were heard. They also met with experts that drafted the law, also under the organisation of the Office of the Prime Minister. We offered the Association of Journalists of Kosovo a separate meeting with the experts following their comments, to ensure that their concerns were addressed by the most qualified people in the field of the media within the EU.

The statement notes that the government adopted the law based on the following principles: full respect for the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) of the European Union, harmonising the law with the existing legislation, and ensuring the enforcement of the guaranteed rights and responsibilities for all entities, by an independent constitutional body, namely the IMC.

“The EU’s AVMS Directive consists of two main principles: ensuring that every media that produces information is subject to the same rules and that every citizen has the right to be informed about who is publishing the news through which they get informed, bearing in mind that our judgments are formed through the news that we are served.”

“In light of this, every news portal that produces news is self-regulated, but every news portal that produces and publishes news through audio or video messages, should abide by the same rules as those that apply for TV stations, because both have the same audience and purpose – information. Therefore, in order to ensure market competitiveness, both are subject to regulation by the same independent body, in this case the Independent Media Commission”.

“Kosovo does not have other independent, institutional mechanisms that could perform this duty of the IMC. And these positions are harmonised with the decisions of the European Court of Justice.”

“We have safeguarded the independence of the media from political influence or any other form of influence that could be perceived as such by the public. Therefore, no political party or religious community can have ownership over a media.”

“Our citizens will be informed in time about who is publishing the news, through access on the IMC platform which will accurately present the final beneficiaries of every media.”

“The foreseen fines that have been criticised by civil society are such because they have been harmonised with the applicable Law on Offences. It is our duty to ensure the harmonisation and efficient enforcement of our national laws.”

“Led by the experts of the European Union and with the willingness to strengthen the IMC as an independent constitutional institution, but above all to offer the citizens of Kosovo the possibility to form their opinion in an independent way, always according to the guidelines of the AVMS Directive.”

Kica-Xhelili on Law on IMC: Intended to exercise direct control over media in Kosovo (media)

Kosovo Assembly MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Doarsa Kica-Xjelili has strongly criticised the adoption of the law for the Independent Media Commission (IMC), describing it as an "attack on democracy". "The vote is disturbing, it is painful but not unexpected. So, it has been a long time since regarding the laws that are being advocated to be removed from the agenda on a daily basis, they are continuing with an unparalleled insistence, and we are not only talking about the law for the IMC. The law passed today is an attack on democracy. As for the attacks on democracy, I think that today's government is establishing its participation as an example to be given tomorrow by a government that overturns all the pillars of democracy."

Kica-Xhelili argued that the law, which in itself contains the intention to "politicise the IMC ", reflects the government's intention to exercise direct control over the media in Kosovo. "A law so vital for the media, which has not exhausted public consultation, a law which in its content can be seen that its aim is to politicise the IMC, one does not have to look further than the membership of the IMC with the game that is being played with the number of members of the Council, it can be seen that the aim has nothing to do with the regulation of the audio-visual media. It can be noticed that it has nothing to do with the support of the media, but it has to do with the necessity of the current government to directly control the media in Kosovo", she said. According to her, Kosovo "is turning into an unstable state, which is undertaking actions that go against democracy in the country."

Asked about the future elections, Kica - Xjelili said that her party has no red lines with any party, but emphasised that they will not form a coalition if Albin Kurti is proposed to be the prime minister.

Slovenia will double its presence in peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (RTK)

Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob has announced at the end of the NATO summit in Washington that Slovenia will double its presence in the NATO mission in Kosovo next year.

Slovenia explained that the alliance's presence in the Western Balkans is growing at the initiative of U.S. President Joe Biden, who knows the region well, reported a Slovenian News Agency.

Kurti received Turkish ambassador, discussed about latest developments in Kosovo (RTK)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, welcomed today the ambassador of Turkiye to Kosovo, Sabri Tunc Angılı. Through a press release, it is announced that Prime Minister Kurti and the Turkish ambassador discussed bilateral relations between Kosovo and Turkey, economic relations, cooperation in the field of defense and security and about the latest developments in Kosovo.

"This meeting took place as a continuation of Prime Minister Kurti's visit to the Republic of Turkiye a few days ago," the announcement states.

Serbian Language Media

SRSG Ziadeh: Regrettable that adopted IMC law does not incorporate recommendations of international community (Kosovo Online)

Head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh said she regrets that the adopted law on Independent Media Commission does not fully incorporate or address the concerns and recommendations raised by international partners, members of the media and civil society, Kosovo Online portal reported.

In a post on social network X, Ziadeh said it is crucial to safeguard media freedom and the Commission’s independence.

“The robustness of diverse and pluralist media is a fundamental pillar of democratic societies, providing platforms for information, encouraging public debate, representing diverse perspectives and fostering trust and accountability”, she added in a post.

UNS and its branch in Kosovo say IMC law – an open censorship (Kosovo Online, media)

Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) and its branch in Kosovo (DNKiM) called upon international organisations and Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani to prevent enforcement of the law on Independent Media Commission (IMC) because it, as they said, brutally limit freedom of media in Kosovo, Kosovo Online portal reported.

They also said this law stipulates licensing of online media, monitoring of their content and fines up to 40.000 euros which brutally limit freedom of media. They also recalled that representatives of the Serbian media, such as UNS in Kosovo, did not take part in drafting this law, nor did anyone invited or consulted them.

Vucic to visit Egypt, announces important visit to Serbia for July 19 (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced he would be paying a two-day visit to Egypt on Saturday and Sunday for bilateral talks with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, noting that a FTA with Egypt was extremely important. In a public address, Vucic said that, after the visit to Egypt, he would travel to London for a July 17-18 European Political Community meeting.

"As early as the 19th (of July), we expect a major visit here in our country. After that, we expect major openings, major economic events for our country," Vucic noted.

Speaking about the FTA with Egypt, Vucic said 87 pct of Serbian agricultural products would be given the "absolute green light" to enter the Egyptian market.

Djuric, Bass discuss Serbia-US partnership (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric met on Thursday in Washington with John Bass, acting under secretary for political affairs at the US State Department, highlighting the significance of a good dynamics of meetings between Serbian and US officials and open dialogue at high and the highest level, Tanjug news agency reported.

Serbia and the US are connected by 143 years of diplomatic relations and we are ready to continue to strengthen our partnership in all areas of mutual interest, Djuric said at the meeting.

Djuric informed Bass of the foreign policy priorities of Serbia's new government, including completion of key reforms on the path to EU membership by 2027, and thanked the US for supporting Serbia's EU integration process.

Speaking about Kosovo as the top national issue for Serbia, Djuric expressed regret Pristina continued to undermine dialogue and all attempts by Belgrade to find a compromise solution. Djuric noted that, as in the past, Belgrade would remain a constructive partner in the process of normalisation of relations with Pristina but that, on the other hand, more active presence of the international community was needed to get the Pristina institutions to finally meet all their commitments from more than a decade ago, the statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

Property Comparison and Verification Agency calls on Serbs facing evictions to leave their apartments (Kosovo Online)

Kosovo Property Comparison and Verification Agency, Aferdita Beka Arifaj, has called on Serbs facing eviction from their apartments in the north to voluntarily leave them, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Earlier yesterday, she met with Serbs at the European House in North Mitrovica, where they conveyed that the meeting did not provide any solutions to their problems.

In a statement from the Agency, it was noted that the goal of the meeting, with the help of the EU Special Representative’s team in Kosovo, was to ensure ongoing communication with the affected parties and discuss their housing needs. Stating that these cases have been resolved by final and binding decisions, Beka Arifaj committed to "finding appropriate housing solutions together with those affected”.