UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, May 16, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Gervalla: Government to send draft statute to court before end of May (media)
Govt: Ready to implement Association, if internationals accept our offer (media)
Gervalla: Letter to Council of Europe, a serious commitment (media)
German Embassy: Draft should be sent to court before ministers meet (Kallxo)
Position of U.S. on Association remains unchanged (Klan)
Knaus, Martens on Kosovo’s move to prepare draft statute for Association (media)
LDK says Gervalla's letter on Association politically and tactically wrong (media)
Musliu-Shoshi: Propaganda and deception do not work with CoE countries (media)
Haradinaj: Kosovo is late with draft statute, doesn’t produce right effect (media)
O'Brien: Fulfilling its potential, vital for Western Balkans (RTK)
Kurti: We expect mutual recognition from all countries of region (media)
Hovenier thanks Escobar for his tireless commitment to dialogue (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic: Letter to CoE with promises about CSM – new Pristina’s trick (Kosovo Online)
Petkovic: The Statute of the CSM is negotiated and adopted in a high-level dialogue (KiM radio)
Because of CSM draft statute Pristina was late for CoE, yet it will send to Constitutional Court its own draft, not the one prepared by EU (KoSSev)
Mijacic: Decision on Kosovo admission to CoE is made by member states, Gervalla wrote to PACE which has nothing to do with it any longer (Kosovo Online, social media)
The Western Balkans six, the EU and the USA representatives today in Kotor on the Growth Plan for the region (Danas, Beta, media)
Vucic: I believe that with EU membership we can achieve important results (RTS, Radio Mitrovica sever)
Rights of Serbs in Kosovo only on paper: Who and why is bothered by the Serbian flag? (Kosovo Online)

Opinion:

Orban will sacrifice Kosovo to keep Serbian ally sweet (BIRN)

International:

BIRN Journalists Awarded for Exposing Public Broadcaster’s Gender Discrimination in Top Job Recruitments (Prishtina Insight)
From Bosnia to Ukraine: How a Serb Sportsman Became a Russian Fighter (BIRN)
Trump Son-in-Law’s Company to Renovate Serbia’s NATO-Struck Army HQ (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Gervalla: Government to send draft statute to court before end of May (media)

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla, in a letter addressed to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Theodoros Rousopoulos, has said that the government of Kosovo is preparing a draft statute of the Association, and pledged to send it to the Constitutional Court by the end of May.

"Following the letter of commitment dated March 23, 2024 signed by the political leadership of Kosovo, namely President Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Speaker Glauk Konjufca, I am writing to inform you about the concrete steps we are taking in accordance with our commitments after voting for membership. Since April 17, 2024, the Government of Kosovo has taken concrete and tangible steps towards the full implementation of the Basic Agreement and its implementation annex, including the Association as one of the post-membership commitments. In accordance with the spirit of Article 7 in conjunction with Article 10 of the Basic Agreement, we have already begun consultations with representatives of members of the Serb community to consider their needs. In this regard, the Government of Kosovo is preparing a draft statute for the Association, inspired by the FES, which will be sent to the Constitutional Court by the end of May 2024", the minister's letter states.

The Foreign Minister says that taking these steps into account, "we expect that the Committee of Ministers will have additional reasons to invite Kosovo to become the 47th member of the Council of Europe".

Govt: Ready to implement Association, if internationals accept our offer (media)

The spokesperson of the government of Kosovo Perparim Kryeziu said that the promise of the Deputy Prime Minister Donika Gervalla-Schwarz in the letter sent to the Bureau of the Council of Europe is a repetition of the promise that Prime Minister Albin Kurti made on March 18, 2023 in Ohrid, and on May 2, 2023 in Brussels, when he offered readiness to write a draft statute for the Association based on Article 7 in conjunction with Article 10 of the Basic Agreement.

"Prime Minister Kurti's first offer was with three pillars that had to be agreed in advance (I. The Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and the Judgment of the Constitutional Court from December 23, 2015; II. the European position of Ms. Federica Mogherini on August 24, 2015; and, III. the American position of the officials of the U.S. Department of State, Derek Chollet and Gabriel Escobar on January 30, 2023)", wrote Kryeziu on Facebook.

The second offer, he wrote, was inspired by the Croatian model, which is also in line with the constitutionality and legality of the Republic of Kosovo.

"Both these offers of Prime Minister Kurti have been rejected. Let's see if it will be accepted for the third time", wrote the spokesperson of the government.

Gervalla: Letter to Council of Europe, a serious commitment (media)

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla, in a press conference, spoke about the letter addressed to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Theodoros Rousopoulos, where it is said that the government of Kosovo is preparing a draft statute for the Association of which she has promised to send to the Constitutional Court by the end of May.

"Our commitment in the letter sent to the Council of Europe is a serious and sincere commitment and is a repetition of Prime Minister Kurti's offer made in Ohrid, Brussels and in recent weeks," she said.

She said that since applying to the Council of Europe, Kosovo has lobbied to be part of this important organization. Gervalla emphasized that the government of Kosovo has expressed its will and hopes that its commitment will be fulfilled.

"After today's concretization of our commitment to take an important and tangible step in fulfilling our commitments, we ask and expect from the Council of Europe to fulfill its part of the obligation and invite Kosovo to join without delay CoE as the country that has not only been set the most conditions for membership in this organization, but as the country that has fulfilled these conditions", Gervalla said.

German Embassy: Draft should be sent to court before ministers meet (Kallxo)

After Kosovo institutions said they will prepare a draft statute that foresees “the establishment of a mechanism for self-management”, the German Embassy in Pristina said that the draft of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities should be sent to the Constitutional Court before the meeting of foreign ministers of members of the Council of Europe scheduled for May 17. The embassy also said that the QUINT countries and others have continuously said that Kosovo should make tangible steps toward the establishment of the Association in order to secure the required two thirds at the Committee of Ministers for the membership bid to be successful.

Position of U.S. on Association remains unchanged (Klan)

A source within the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo told the news website that the United States of America has not changed its position on the Association for the Serb-majority Municipalities, expressed on May 8 by the envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar.

"The USA does not have a vote in the Council of Europe. But, I know that there are concerns among some members, that the Association and some other requests that have been made in recent years and some issues with minorities have not been fulfilled. It is the position of the USA that Kosovo should be part of the EU and NATO and we will continue to work for this. Kosovo should listen to the European partners and work with them", he said.

Knaus, Martens on Kosovo’s move to prepare draft statute for Association (media)

Gerald Knaus, chairman of the European Stability Initiative (ESI), said in a post on X today that “Kosovo will submit statutes of association of municipalities ASM to constitutional court before the end of May; Based on very good proposal of FES [Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation] that meets all EU conditions and requirements and promises made since 2013. This is fulfilling a promise made to PACE. Vucic will not like it. The issue is then: is this about getting an ASM established? Or giving him a veto on Kosovo joining the Council of Europe?”

Michael Martens, reporter with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, shared Knaus’ post and added “remarkable last-minute-move on 🇽🇰application for CoE membership. Note that Friedrich Ebert Stiftung is the foundation of the SPD & thus close to chancellor Scholz & his people, some of whom so far were reluctant on the issue. But if your own foundation produces good ideas...”

LDK says Gervalla's letter on Association politically and tactically wrong (media)

Arben Gashi, head of the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), has said that the letter of the Minister for Foreign Affairs Donika Gervalla, promising to send the draft statute on Association drafted by government to the Constitutional Court, was sent to the wrong address.

"Strange letter from the substantive and procedural sense. This letter was sent after Kosovo was left out of the discussion of the Committee of Ministers. The second problem is that this letter is addressed to the wrong person. The Parliamentary Assembly has done its job, you don't have to tell them about the Association. A natural response of the Speaker of the Parliamentary Assembly would be 'why did you send me a letter at all', when this is outside the scope of the Parliamentary Assembly. The report of the Parliamentary Assembly does not foresee the request for the establishment of the Association. Then the third problem is the announcement that it will be sent to the Constitutional Court by the end of the month. Why was it left until the end of the month when it has been known for six months that the meeting of the Committee of Ministers will be held on May 16 and 17. It is a politically and tactically wrong action and a loss for Kosovo. Kosovo has lost the opportunity to take a positive decision for it in the Council of Europe", said Gashi during the entrance to the Assembly.

Musliu-Shoshi: Propaganda and deception do not work with CoE countries (media)

Ariana Musliu-Shoshi, MP of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) addressed the Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, telling them to keep the deception and propaganda for internal consumption, because, she said, these two do not pass with the states of the Council of Europe.

Musliu-Shoshi said that Gervalla's addressing of the letter today to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where she pledged that Kosovo will submit the Association's draft statute to the Constitutional Court by the end of May, is a mistake because according to her, the Parliamentarian Assembly has already made its position public.

"Secondly, to join an organization you have to show seriousness as a state and NOT as a state with surprises as it conveys recklessness and this damages the perception that Kosovo has built with difficulty, that of a serious state. Therefore, these perverted movements and attitudes are not helpful examples for a serious state image. Wiseness and maturity are an important criterion for the consolidation of the state", Musliu-Shoshi wrote.

Further, she advised Kurti and Gervalla not to take steps only to tell the CoE that Kosovo was ready, and that the decision was not made by the CoE. "Our allies are loyal to Kosovo and its future, others will be discussed later", she said.

Haradinaj: Kosovo is late with draft statute, doesn’t produce right effect (media)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, in an interview with RTV21 today said that Kosovo is late with its move to prepare a draft statute for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. “I believe this duty was an option earlier and now unfortunately it doesn’t produce the right effect. Nevertheless, I think that it is way better to have a draft prepared by Kosovo. I have asked for this in the past too,” he said.

O'Brien: Fulfilling its potential, vital for Western Balkans (RTK)

James O'Brien, U.S. Secretary for the Region, who is participating in the Western Balkans-EU summit, which is being held in Kotor, Montenegro, said in a press conference that the U.S. supports the development plan that concerns 18 million people for a better future for citizens and their countries.

"This is about freedom, security, the classic EU freedom for services and capital to move across borders. This year, countries that comply with these reforms will join the single European market with lower prices, perhaps 7%. Each time someone sends money through the bank, they will have lower borrowing costs. This is about benefits for the citizens of the region and joining the single European market," said O'Brien.

Further, he emphasized that this is something that the U.S. believes is vital to help everyone in this region to fulfill their potential, while adding that he feels excited to see the official launch of this initiative and the possibility of countries to start approaching freedom.

Kurti: We expect mutual recognition from all countries of region (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, is participating in the EU-Western Balkans Summit that is being held in Kotor, Montenegro, where the expansion plan of the EU countries will be discussed. The leaders of the region, representatives from the EU and the USA are participating at the summit.

Kurti said that the third meeting of the EU Enlargement Plan is a great opportunity for all the countries of the Western Balkans to come together and discuss the possibilities of further integration.

"We celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Berlin Process, and we expect to have better cooperation and we also expect de-facto and de jure recognition from all the countries of the Western Balkans," said Kurti.

He further mentioned the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina has not approved the agreement on freedom of movement only with IDs, which he said he is not satisfied with.

"I call on Serbia to hand over to Kosovo Milan Radoicic and his paramilitary group that killed the police officer Afrim Bunjaku on September 24 of last year," said Kurti at this Summit.

Hovenier thanks Escobar for his tireless commitment to dialogue (Koha)

The Ambassador of the United States of America (USA) in Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, has thanked the U.S. envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, for his tireless commitment to the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Escobar's mandate as US envoy for the Western Balkans has ended. The State Department has announced that he will take up a new position.

“As my friend and colleague Gabriel Escobar wraps up his assignment as the Secretary of State's Special Representative for the Western Balkans, I wish him well in his next assignment. I've been honored to work with him to advance U.S. goals in Kosovo and the EU Dialogue. I extend my thanks for his tireless dedication to advancing our vision for a secure, prosperous, and democratic Kosovo and Western Balkans region,” Hovenier wrote on X.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: Letter to CoE with promises about CSM – new Pristina’s trick (Kosovo Online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today the letter Kosovo officials sent to the Council of Europe (CoE), promising they will send the draft statute of Community of Serbian Municipalities (CSM) to the Constitutional Court by end of May, was yet another Pristina’s trick, Kosovo Online portal reported.

“It is yet another trick jointly carried out by Albin Kurti and his helpers, including Gerald Knaus and other lobbyists”, Vucic said. He added Pristina said it will send its own draft CSM statute to the court.

“Who are you to deliver your own daft? The Brussels agreement clearly said it should be done by Serbian Management (team) or to be what we had at least conceptually agreed upon – the EU. It is about a trick because Englishmen pressure all others to accept Kosovo membership to the Council of Europe”, he said.

He also assessed it was not about a serious attempt to do anything related to the implementation of the agreement, not even about the statute submitted by the EU.

Asked about Pristina’s decision to ban Patriarch Porfirije from entering Kosovo, Vucic responded it is a proof of how human rights are being respected there.

“The fact they did not permit the Patriarch to enter Kosovo is a proof of how they respect human rights and yet they candidate themselves to join the Council of Europe. I will receive Patriarch and bishops tomorrow, and will also discuss with them about that”, he added.

Petkovic: The Statute of the CSM is negotiated and adopted in a high-level dialogue (KiM radio)

The director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, assessed the preparation of the draft statute of the Association/Community of Serbian Municipalities, which the Kosovo government committed to in a letter to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as a "big fraud", reported KiM radio.

Kosovo Foreign Minister, Donika Gervalla, stated that within the process of accession to the CoE, the government of Kosovo undertook to prepare a draft for the establishment of a mechanism for self-governance, coordination, and cooperation of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo.

"In order to deceive the CoE, Kurti and Gervalla sent a letter at the last minute, before the beginning of the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in which they state that by the end of the month they will allegedly fulfill their obligation and send the draft of the statute of the CSM to the so-called Constitutional Court of Kosovo. In the letter, it is additionally said that the statute is drawn up by Kurti, in coordination with the loyal Serbs from Kosovo, and based on the document prepared by the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation," says the statement of the director of the Office for KiM.

Petkovic noted that it is 'a pure forgery', through which the PM of Kosovo wants to avoid his obligations from the dialogue.

"According to the agreements reached in Brussels, the final Statute is negotiated and adopted in a high-level dialogue, so there is no question that it can be a unilateral act of Pristina!", said Petkovic, and added:

"Also, according to the agreements, the Draft Statute of the CSM is under the jurisdiction of the Management Team, which presented its Draft on May 2, 2023, in Brussels, in a high-level dialogue. The management team consists of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija and they officially represent the interests of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija in this matter, with whom they closely coordinated for several months on the drafting of the Statute".

He notes that on October 21, 2023, the Big Five, together with Lajcak, presented to Belgrade the Draft Statute of the A/SM prepared by the EU.

"Belgrade expressed its willingness to work on that document, as a good starting point, for drafting the final Statute. We have clearly expressed our positive attitude towards this document in the part that refers to the observance of the Agreements from 2013 and 2015, and without getting into issues that would be of a status nature," said Petkovic.

According to Petkovic, Kurti publicly rejected the draft of the EU Statute and said that he did not want to discuss it.

"It is impossible for non-governmental organizations to write the statute of the CSM, and even less for such a document to be disguised as some kind of an official proposal. No small group gathered around illegitimate Albanian mayors can be legitimate representatives of the Serbian people, with whom Kurti would discuss Statute, especially considering that these individuals won 3.5 percent of the Albanian votes in the north, while those elections held were boycotted by the Serbian the people," said Petkovic.

The CoE, noted the director of the Office for KiM, "must not fall for the scam, because everything that Kurti is doing at the moment has nothing to do with dialogue, but only with his unilateral and violent moves, directed against the Serbian people in Kosovo," the statement concluded.

Because of CSM draft statute Pristina was late for CoE, yet it will send to Constitutional Court its own draft, not the one prepared by EU (KoSSev)

Kosovo is not included on the agenda of the Council of Europe (CoE) Ministerial Committee meeting which starts today. Although defined as post-membership obligation, some European states ahead of this day, requested from Pristina concretization of at least part of its obligations, related to the Community of Serbian Municipalities (CSM), namely to send the draft statute prepared by the European Union (EU) to the Constitutional Court. Pristina did not accept this requirement, KoSSev portal reported today.

Still, on a date of the meeting, although the agenda of the meeting has been practically concluded, through organizations whose reports go in favor of Kosovo, information was announced that the Kosovo Government agreed to take this step.

They said they will send a draft statute to the Constitutional Court by the end of May. But not any draft, not the one prepared by the EU, but completely new, their own draft.

Dragisa Mijacic, Coordinator of National Convent Working Group for EU Chapter 35 in an ironic tone commented on this latest development, citing the famous rock band from Belgrade Party-breakers song title “The same, the special, free, their own”.

Mijacic: Decision on Kosovo admission to CoE is made by member states, Gervalla wrote to PACE which has nothing to do with it any longer (Kosovo Online, social media)

Coordinator of the National Convent Working Group for EU Chapter 35, Dragisa Mijacic said decision on Kosovo admission to the Council of Europe (CoE) is a political decision made by member states, while Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) whom Kosovo Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla addressed with a letter, pledging intention of Kosovo to send their CSM draft statute to the Constitutional Court by end of May, has nothing to do any longer with Kosovo membership request, Kosovo Online portal reported.

In a post on X social media, Mijacic wrote that “it was the funniest of all, that Gervalla writes to the PACE Chair, where the story (on membership bid) was completed by voting on April 16”, adding Bodo Weber recently explained well Pristina’s intentions.

The Western Balkans six, the EU and the USA representatives today in Kotor on the Growth Plan for the region (Danas, Beta, media)

Montenegro will gather leaders from the Western Balkans and representatives of the European Union and the USA today at a summit where they will discuss the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

The host of the summit in Kotor, under the slogan "One region, common vision", will be the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajic.

The participation of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, the Prime Ministers of Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia, Albin Kurti, Edi Rama and Talat Xhaferi, as well as the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Kristo, was announced.

European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi and US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia James O'Brien will also participate in the meeting.

The US State Department announced that O'Brien and other participants of the Kotor summit will focus on regional economic integration and the opportunity for growth offered by the Western Balkans Growth Plan and will reinforce strong US support for the Western Balkans' path to EU membership.

Along with the leaders and ministers of the countries of the region, partner organizations were invited to Kotor, such as the Council for Regional Cooperation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, the Transport Community, the Atlantic Alliance, the Energy Community, the Open Society Foundation , ReSPA, GIZ.

The growth plan for the Western Balkans, which was adopted by the European Commission in November and the EU two weeks ago, foresees financial support of six billion euros, of which two billion are grants and four billion are favorable loans provided by the EU.

The condition for obtaining funds is the implementation of reforms, primarily in the area of respect for democratic mechanisms, the rule of law and fundamental rights. The plan covers the period from 2024 to 2027 and foresees that each government of the Western Balkans six will receive a certain amount of money every six months, depending on the reforms it implemented during that period.

For Serbia and Kosovo, there is also a precondition - "constructive engagement on the normalization of relations in order to fully implement all obligations" arising from the Agreement on the Road to Normalization and its Implementation Annex from Ohrid, as well as from all previous agreements reached in the Brussels dialogue.

Vucic: I believe that with EU membership we can achieve important results (RTS, Radio Mitrovica sever)

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said today at the WB and EU Summit in Kotor that he believed that with EU membership we could achieve important results.

He said on the eve of the summit, under the slogan "One region, common vision", that with difficult reforms we could get closer to the EU market, which was important for the Western Balkans.

"I believe that with EU membership we can achieve important results", he said and noted that there are "not easy tasks".

When asked "what is the meaning of the resolution on Srebrenica", he said that he did not have any message and that it was "their matter".

''They decide how to stand on those issues. We know what our message is. They have some others here who will say how and what they expect. We don't do that. I have one question, to which no one has an answer, and that is - what is the meaning of that day, what is the meaning of that resolution. They say it is not the imposition of collective guilt, but what is it since individual guilt has already been determined by judgments. No name is mentioned in the resolution itself. Everyone should make their own decision, and we will act accordingly in the future," said Vucic.

O'Brien: The US strongly supports the growth plan for the Western Balkans

US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien said that the US strongly supports the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans because it implies a better future for citizens and countries.

Before the start of the summit of the leaders of the Western Balkans and the EU in Kotor, he said that it comes down to four freedoms - people, goods, capital, and services, to move across borders.

"Countries that meet their reform requirements will join the European Payments Area, which will reduce costs by perhaps seven percent every time someone sends money. This will reduce the cost of borrowing, which will allow businesses to expand. This is about showing the advantages for the citizens of the region in joining the European market," said O'Brien.

Rights of Serbs in Kosovo only on paper: Who and why is bothered by the Serbian flag? (Kosovo Online)

Anyone who has ever been to Kosovo could notice that the flags of Albania, Germany, the USA, Switzerland, and many others fly freely, but not Serbia's. Kosovo even celebrates the Flag Day of neighboring Albania, but there is no place for the symbols of the Serbian community, which has lived in this area for centuries, even on flagpoles. When asked why this is the case, interlocutors of Kosovo Online had a unanimous response - flags have always been the first target when the people were under attack.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, often informs the public in his speeches that Kosovo operates as a multiethnic and multicultural place, regularly boasting that "Kosovo is the most democratic country in the Western Balkans." Even the Kosovo Constitution states that all communities are free to display their symbols.

However, the reality is different. Kosovo's "multiculturalism" once again proved itself during the celebration of the town feast day of Saint Basil of Ostrog in Leposavic, when Mayor Luljzim Hetemi banned the use of the Serbian tricolor. This is not an isolated incident but official policy, as evidenced by Hetemi's and other Albanian mayors' promise in northern Kosovo in April last year that as soon as they took office, they would remove Serbian flags, which indeed happened.

Opinion

Orban will sacrifice Kosovo to keep Serbian ally sweet (BIRN) Opinion piece by Alejandro Esteso Pérez, political scientist and researcher specializing in EU enlargement and Western Balkan politics.

Hungary will always prioritize its shared goals with Serbia over any interest it has in maintaining relations with Kosovo.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s realist and pragmatic approach to international politics and trade was on display last week as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hungary to sign off on 18 cooperation agreements, adding to the billions already invested in the country.

Orban’s approach has increasingly drawn him towards the East, where he fraternizes not only with Xi’s China, but also Vladimir Putin’s Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the autocracies of Central Asia.

In his relentless pursuit of his self-termed governance ideal, the “illiberal state”, Orban likewise showcases versatility in his relations with the countries of the Western Balkans, whose EU accession prospects he has systematically supported.

Among the six EU hopefuls, however, Serbia stands out as Budapest’s preferred partner, which, perhaps not coincidentally, was Xi’s stop before arriving in Hungary last week.

Hungary’s close relations with Belgrade, cemented upon strong political, economic and social ties, frame a major share of its approach to EU enlargement.

In light of this privileged partnership, several concerns emerge with respect to Hungary’s relations with other countries in the region – the most critical case being Kosovo.

International

BIRN Journalists Awarded for Exposing Public Broadcaster’s Gender Discrimination in Top Job Recruitments (Prishtina Insight)

BIRN journalists Jeta Xharra and Mediana Halili were recognized by the D4D Institute for their reporting on discrimination against women at Radio Television of Kosova regarding leadership positions.

BIRN journalists Jeta Xharra and Mediana Halili were awarded second prize by the Democracy for Development, D4D, institute on Tuesday for their investigative reporting exposing discrimination against women applying for top positions at public broadcaster Radio Television of Kosova, RTK.

The awards were announced during the Regional Conference “Empowered Women: Empowering Women” in Prishtina in a ceremony which saw first prize given to Nacionale journalist Besian Beha for his article on the absence of women from the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities in the Kosovo Security Force, while third place went to freelance journalist Agnesa Qorri for her article ‘Unseen Efforts’.

“I am honoured to receive the prize together with my colleague Jeta Xharra for an investigation which stirred reactions from both inside and outside Kosovo,” Mediana Halili said.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/fjtvW From Bosnia to Ukraine: How a Serb Sportsman Became a Russian Fighter (BIRN)

A Bosnian Serb former martial arts fighter has been posting videos and pictures online, documenting his new life as a volunteer soldier with a Russian unit fighting in Ukraine. BIRN was able to track his posts, following his journey to the frontline.

A few weeks after returning home to Modrica in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity, after several years in Switzerland, Dario Ristic left for another trip abroad.

But this time, his father, Ljubomir Ristic, worries whether Dario will ever come back.

“I expect something bad [to happen to him],” he said, standing in the doorway of his house in Mladicevo, a settlement in Modrica.

The last time he was away, according to his father, Dario was in prison in Switzerland. This time, he let neighbours know that he was off to Russia.

Online posts from Russia and Ukraine tracked by BIRN show that Ristic is now a volunteer soldier fighting for Russia in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

His father also found out from his other son that Ristic, a martial arts fighter who has won medals in competitions, now has Russian citizenship.

He and his fellow fighters have been posting videos and photos glorifying their involvement in Russia’s continuing war against Ukraine. Some have also threatened to bring violence home with them.

In one video posted on Telegram, a fellow volunteer from Serbia sits next to Ristic in a trench and vows to return and seize back Serbia’s former province of Kosovo by force.