Albanian Language Media: 

• Sources: Borrell recommends lifting of EU measures against Kosovo (RFE)
• Kurti: In 1998-99, Serbia used sexual violence as weapon of war in Kosovo (media)
• U.S. is committed to supporting victims and survivors of CRSV (media)
• Maqedonci: Kosovo determined to join NATO (media)
• Lajcak meets international community representatives in Kosovo (media)
• Citaku: PDK is ready for new elections (media)
• Bogujevci, Perestrello talk Kosovo’s membership in intl organisations (media) 
• Kurti travelled to Hamburg following invitation by Sarrazin (Klan Kosova)

Serbian Language Media: 

• Lajcak appreciates reports of international community in Kosovo about situation on ground (Kosovo Online)
• Lajcak: My work continues; I am confident the CSM will be established, we have considered red lines of both sides (Kosovo Online)
• Petkovic: Pristina misuses sexual violence victims for daily political purposes (Radio KIM)
• Odalovic: 567 Serbs are still listed as missing (Radio KIM)
• The strengthening of the right not a good signal for the region's membership in the EU, and the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina (Kosovo Online, VoA)
• Darko Tanaskovic: Border changes in the Balkans as a distant possibility not impossible (N1, NMagazin, Danas)
• UEFA fines Albanian Football Federation (Kosovo Online, media)

International:

• Crosetto: NATO intervention in Kosovo, pillar of peace and democracy in world (Nova)
• Unconnected: Kosovo’s health information system remains ‘forgotten promise’ (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media  

Sources: Borrell recommends lifting of EU measures against Kosovo (RFE)

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has recommended to member states to decide in favour of lifting the EU measures against Kosovo, Radio Free Europe learns from unnamed diplomatic sources that had access to Borrell’s report.

The sources quoted Borrell’s recommendation in his report which notes that “given the steps that Kosovo has made toward meeting the EU requirements expressed in the declaration of June 3, 2023, the High Representative recommends to the Council to decide on lifting the measures against Kosovo, while at the same time respecting the institutional prerogatives”.

In his recommendation, Borrell wrote that “the decision by the Council would be a political signal and would contribute to a balanced context in which the EU-facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade can move forward”.

The report also notes that Kosovo is expected to use this opportunity to act toward de-escalation and avoid uncoordinated actions.

In the report, Borrell mentioned specifically the requirements that were made to Kosovo last year, related to the actions of Kosovo Police specialised units in the mainly Serb inhabited north and the functions of the Albanian mayors in the four northern municipalities.

Borrell also said that the EU would continue to closely follow developments in the north of Kosovo, as well as actions by Kosovo and Serbia, which he said must not create new tensions.

Kurti: In 1998-99, Serbia used sexual violence as weapon of war in Kosovo (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, that during 1998-99, Serbia used sexual violence as a weapon of war in Kosovo. “This is a crime not only against the individual, but against society as a whole. Therefore, it left deep wounds. On the International day for the elimination of sexual violence in conflict, we call for solidarity from families and society. It is our shared obligation to support the survivors. We need to be a powerful voice and a strong shoulder. Today and forever. We bow with respect in memory of the victims that lost their lives. We honour the survivors for their strength and resistance. We engage in institutional support and justice. By amending the law, we have extended the application deadline to recognize the status, victim of sexual violence in conflict, until May 15, 2025. By recognizing the suffering of the surviving women and girls, men and boys, we encourage them to break the silence about this war crime,” Kurti said in a Facebook post.

U.S. is committed to supporting victims and survivors of CRSV (media)

The United States Embassy in Pristina said in a post on X today “on this International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict let’s stand together for a world free from violence and conflict that enables women and girls to exercise their human rights and be represented and lead decision-making”. “Conflict-related sexual violence is not an inevitable consequence of war – it can, and must be prevented. The United States is committed to supporting victims and survivors of CRSV,” the post also notes.

Maqedonci: Kosovo determined to join NATO (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defence, Ejup Maqedonci, said on Tuesday that Kosovo’s main objective is to become a member of NATO and that the Kosovo Security Force is developing as a professional and democratic force, supervised by civil authorities. “Kosovo is determined to join NATO. We are developing the Ministry of Defence and the Kosovo Security Force in line with NATO standards. We are building a force that aims to be an integral part of NATO and as such oriented towards activities that are developed in NATO member states,” he said.

Lajcak meets international community representatives in Kosovo (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, met with representatives of the international community in Kosovo. “Appreciated the briefings of the international community in Kosovo about the situation on the ground and their assessment for the coming months ahead,” Lajcak wrote in a post on X.

Citaku: PDK is ready for new elections (media)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Secretary General, Vlora Citaku, said in an interview with RTV21, that this party is ready for new elections. “The regular elections will be held in 2025. The PDK has been consistent on this issue since last year and the question is if Prime Minister Kurti wants elections and if he is ready to consider the options that are on the table, be it through resigning, a no-confidence motion, or the dissolution of the Assembly. The PDK is ready for all options, we are consistent, and there is no ray of doubt here,” she argued.

According to Citaku, Kurti is using different phrases and jokes “to cover up his failures in government”. “In reality the Prime Minister has failed with his governance. The people deserve a better government, a government that is in their service, and not a government of crisis,” she added.

Bogujevci, Perestrello talk Kosovo’s membership in intl organisations (media) 

Vice President of the Kosovo Assembly, Saranda Bogujevci, met today in Pristina with the Vice President of the Parliament of Portugal, Marcos Perestrello, and discussed general political developments in Kosovo and the region, excellent bilateral relations, and opportunities for further cooperation. Bogujevci expressed appreciation for Portugal’s continuous support for Kosovo and asked for continued support for Kosovo’s membership in international organisations. Perestrello thanked Bogujevci for the reception and expressed readiness to further inter-parliamentary cooperation and in other areas of mutual interest.

Kurti travelled to Hamburg following invitation by Sarrazin (Klan Kosova)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti is staying in Hamburg, Germany, following an invitation from the German Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin, the news website reports. Kurti is accompanied by Returns and Communities Minister Nenad Rasic and Culture Deputy Minister Daulina Osmani. Kurti is scheduled to attend the football match between Albania and Croatia today and he will also visit the Hamburg port to see the x-ray cargo screening system.

Serbian Language Media 

Lajcak appreciates reports of international community in Kosovo about situation on ground (Kosovo Online)

The EU's special envoy for dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, met yesterday in Pristina with representatives of the international community, reported portal Kosovo Online. 

Lajcak wrote in a post on X that they discussed the situation on the ground and the assessment of international representatives about the situation that is possible in the coming months.

"I appreciate the briefings of the international community in Kosovo on the situation on the ground and their assessment for the coming months," said Lajcak.

Lajcak: My work continues; I am confident the CSM will be established, we have considered red lines of both sides (Kosovo Online)

I have been asked to stay a little longer in this position, so my work continues. Our latest proposal is for Kosovo to initiate the process of establishing the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, and for Serbia to begin implementing the obligation to recognize Kosovo's documents, institutions, and symbols. Regarding the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo on cash transactions, we suggested creating a temporary new body or business that would handle the distribution of financial support to the most vulnerable. Unfortunately, it was not possible to find common ground on what this new entity would be allowed to do and how we could handle financial assistance from Serbia to Serbia-supported institutions in Kosovo. The goal of this temporary solution would also be to enable Serbian-funded institutions, such as schools and hospitals, to receive funds from Serbia until a permanent solution is found, EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak said in an interview with Kosovo Online.

Read more at: https://t.ly/R-mKU

Petkovic: Pristina misuses sexual violence victims for daily political purposes (Radio KIM)

On the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict any sound and human person must point out necessity of curbing and punishing this phenomenon, as well as call for offering any kind of help and support to the victims, Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said, Radio KIM reported.

Petkovic added that sadly “we are witnessing inhuman practices of politicians in Pristina, headed by Albin Kurti, to misuse victims of the sexual violence during the conflict in our region for daily political purposes and tendentiously exaggerate the number of victims by multiply counts”. 

Petkovic also said it is a fact “that without any empathy sexual violence in conflict they show as a one-sided phenomenon in order to demonize one side in the conflict”.

“Kurti and his associates for years speak about 20 thousand victims of the sexual violence in Kosovo and Metohija during the conflict in 1999, although responsible institution in Prisitna confirmed the status of the victims of sexual violence for less than one thousand persons. These official figures are also mentioned in the report of the UN Secretary General from October 1, 2020. At the same time, Serbian civilians who were brutally mistreated and raped by members of the terrorist KLA in Pristina no one is mentioning, although that phenomenon was massive”, Petkovic said in a statement.

He also said the biggest damage because of such attitude is inflicted upon victims and that is why it is not and for Belgrade will never be a topic of political reckoning and manipulation with figures.

Odalovic: 567 Serbs are still listed as missing (Radio KIM)

Chairman of the Serbian Government Missing Persons Commission Veljko Odalovic said that 567 Serbs are still listed as missing in relation to the conflict in Kosovo in the period from 1998 to 1999, adding that until now mortal remains of 385 Serbs and non-Albanians were taken over, according to the figures of the Commission, Radio KIM reported. 

Mortal remains of three Serbian civilians killed in Kosovo in 1999 were handed over to their families on Tuesday, at Merdare crossing point. Odalovic told RTS these persons went missing and were murdered, according to the autopsy reports after June 10, 1999 when the international community assumed full responsibility in Kosovo.

“When we reflect on the event that happened, the perpetrator is certainly someone of those Albanians who  could do what they did. Full responsibility rests upon the international community to find out who did it”, Odalovic said. He added families have the right to know who killed their loved ones. This is a question Serbia has no response to, but it is known very well who was kidnapping and attacking, he said.  

Two more persons identified

Odalovic also said that two more persons have been identified. They, in line with the wishes of the families, will be buried in Pristina and Djakovica.

A total of 1.613 persons of different ethnicities are still listed as missing in Kosovo in relation to the conflict.

The British Embassy in Pristina welcomed the handover of the mortal remains at Merdare crossing yesterday. “We remain committed to our work on supporting the basic right of these families to know the whereabouts of their relatives and we encourage further and deeper cooperation on this issue”, the Embassy said in a post on Facebook.

The strengthening of the right not a good signal for the region's membership in the EU, and the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina (Kosovo Online, VoA)

The results of the elections for the EP, showing the strengthening of right-wing parties in Europe, are not a good signal for the European integration process of the countries of the Western Balkans, nor for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, according to analysts, reported Kosovo Online, citing VoA.

Professor of political science at the University of Rome, Federiga Bindi and analyst of the European Council for Foreign Affairs Maria Simonova believe that the elections have revealed a gloomy picture in Europe under the shadow of the war in Ukraine, which will continue to be the main concern of the European bloc. The bloc is currently also in a financial crisis and is fueled by anti-immigration rhetoric. The WB will be the main loser of the new political reality in Europe, resulting from the European parliamentary elections, they believe.

Professor Federiga Bindi says that the integration of the WB has not been a priority of the European Union's policy for almost a decade and that this European orientation, which she calls "short-sighted", will continue to follow the region during the next five years of the mandate.

"The countries of the Western Balkans are the big losers in this whole situation, especially because of the war in Ukraine. The efforts of the EU to integrate them have decreased. During the last eight years there is no talk of the Balkans anymore, although there is enough evidence that the EU can bring about changes in this region The influence of the EU is visible not only in Slovenia and Croatia, but also in other parts of the Western Balkans, in Bosnia or Albania, and in other countries. It can be seen how much effort these countries have put into becoming EU members, and the fact that the EU does not react and gives priority to other countries, such as Ukraine, is frankly unfair and short-sighted,'' she said. 

The expert of the European Council on Foreign Relations Maria Simeonova says that although right-wing parties increased their presence in all 27 countries of the EU, the most shocking results were in France and Germany, which shook the position of the leaders of the two main countries of the bloc, which had a greater commitment to the Balkans.

"France and Germany are the main players in the region and as the two largest member states play an essential role in the processes in the Balkans, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the process of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. This will have a negative effect on new initiatives for the WB since the president Macron and Chancellor Scholz have weakened a lot in their countries," she says.

Simeonova says that the election results will "complicate the process of enlargement" of the EU with the countries of the region and weaken efforts to engage with Kosovo and Serbia to improve the normalisation process.

"Taking into account the results of the elections, it will be more difficult for the European Union to reach a consensus on enlargement. This does not necessarily mean that there will be no political will, nor that concrete steps will not be taken. But I think that the greater presence of right-wing parties in the parliament allows them to curb some of the boldest initiatives that should be launched in relation to the Western Balkans," she said.

Professor Bindi says that ''the lack of attention of the EU has left behind a fragile situation, including the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, where the bloc has a significant role as a mediator in reaching an agreement on normalisation between the two countries, which, according to her, has stalled due to the war in Ukraine''. 

"What will the EU be able to offer these countries to achieve peace? When (former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine) Ashton negotiated the deal, we had something to offer, but now it is clear that membership is a long-term goal. We don't have what to offer and this situation is not helping," says Bindi.

She adds that the lack of attention of the EU and the United States in the Western Balkans has created space for other powers in the region.

"Foreign policy is like physics. When there is a gap, it tends to be filled. There are regional and international actors who are interested in filling this gap. Russia with the entire Serbian side, China is everywhere, then Turkey among the Muslims and the Gulf states that have invested in Bosnia and Albania. Therefore, the EU is losing an opportunity in its own backyard, in a region that needs to be taken care of more," says Bindi.

Analysts also agree that the American presidential elections, which will be held in November, will play a special role in the dynamics of events in the region in the coming months, which, according to them, can also determine the speed of action of European leaders in the Western Balkans.

Darko Tanaskovic: Border changes in the Balkans as a distant possibility not impossible (N1, NMagazin, Danas)

Changing the borders in the Balkans as a distant possibility should not be ruled out in principle, said Professor Darko Tanaskovic for today's edition of the Belgrade based daily Danas.

When asked if he sees a connection between the future of the Republika Srpska and Kosovo and what he thinks about the allegations about the recognition of Kosovo independence so that the Republika Srpska would become part of Serbia, Tanaskovic told Danas: "I would not deal with such 'stories' as long as they are just stories. Otherwise, I think that, in principle, changing the borders in the Balkans should not be ruled out as a distant possibility".

Asked about the Resolution on Srebrenica, Tanaskovic assessed that the imposition of that resolution in the United Nations General Assembly indicates that "the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not over."

Speaking about the Declaration of the All-Serb Assembly, he pointed out that any collective action in the interest of strengthening a Serb national unity in the environment is by definition considered inadmissible nationalist and disruptive, "so the Declaration already shares the unhappy fate of the famous unfinished and publicly smuggled SANU Memorandum, which was immediately declared a criminal Great Serb Manifesto".

UEFA fines Albanian Football Federation (Kosovo Online, media)

Disciplinary Commission of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has fined Albanian Football Federation over the conduct of its fans at the first match of the European Championship, Kosovo Online portal reported. 

Albania lost to Italy, in the first match of group B with a result 2-1, and their fans were involved in incidents prior and during the match. The fans threw objects onto the football pitch, lit torches and one of them ran onto the pitch. There were also provocative messages, so UEFA fined the Albanian Football Federation a total of 37.375 euros.

Albania was fined 10,000 euros for setting off fireworks, 12,375 euros for throwing objects, 5,000 euros for fans invading the field, and 10,000 euros for displaying inappropriate messages.

International 

Crosetto: NATO intervention in Kosovo, pillar of peace and democracy in world (Nova)

NATO's intervention in Kosovo "has represented a pillar of peace and democracy in the world". This was stated by the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto, who spoke at the conference organised on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Kosovo at the Cento senior studies for defence (Casd) in Rome. “The role that every democracy must play outside its borders – said Crosetto – is the defence of the values of peace and freedom, a value that is also defended through deterrence”.

The Defense Minister then focused on the complicated liberation path of Kosovo, which must give an idea of "how long and complex the peace paths are" as will also be the case "in the Ukrainian lands occupied by Russia".

“In these 25 years – continued Crosetto – in Kosovo we have learned to speak with different ethnic groups and mentalities, with different religions, and find a way to respect them all. Today is a moment of double reflection: on the one hand we look at the difficulties we have experienced and those we have ahead of us, on the other at how much Kosovo has changed in recent years”.

Finally, Crosetto reiterated how in these two decades Italy has learned, through Kosovo, to deal "with different ethnic groups and mentalities, with different religions" and to "find a way to respect them all". This - concludes the Minister of Defense - is "an effort that must be entrusted to people who have the ability and this ability cannot be learned in school, and Italy has learned it in decades of international missions".

Unconnected: Kosovo’s health information system remains ‘forgotten promise’ (BIRN)

A system designed to digitalise and link up the various parts of Kosovo’s healthcare network is still not up and running, 13 years after it was introduced.

Zejnullah Berisha woke up early on May 20 to go to the University Clinical Centre, UCCK, in the Kosovo capital Pristina for a check-up with a urology specialist.

With a bag full of documents and medical reports, he arrived at 7am to get a queue number. He was called to the doctor’s office at 11.30am.

After waiting more than four-and-a-half hours, the 81-year-old left for home feeling tired.

“I just finished the visit. They told me to continue the medications I’m using and added another drug. I will come again in July. But it’s not easy for me to come here in this condition,” he told BIRN, as he walked home on crutches.

The Specialist Clinic Centre at UCCK starts work at 8am. Patients must arrive before 7am to get a number and wait in line.

Easier scheduling appointments, better information sharing between doctors about patients’ conditions and many other things in the healthcare system would work better for patients like Berisha if the Health Information System, HIS, functioned as was promised over a decade ago.

A pilot project for HIS was implemented in Kosovo over a decade ago, which current Prime Minister Albin Kurti promised to realise in the 2017 election campaign.

“The Vetevendosje Movement [Kurti’s party] with a new government … will implement the Health Information System, and then healthcare insurance as well, which are crucial for health insurance in general and for social justice,” Kurti declared seven years ago.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/SvgH5