Albanian Language Media:

• Konjufca: If dialogue’s price is destroying Kosovo, it is good to say goodbye (media)
• Osmani meets Peach, discuss recent developments, including dialogue (media)
• Kurti welcomes attendees of 20th Vienna Economic Forum (media)
• Sobotka: Challenging political situation in Kosovo, parties should dialogue (media)
• EP members: Evident that Serbia has violated agreement by voting against Kosovo (Reporteri)
• Jackovich: A lot of pressure from Washington, Brussels and Belgrade (EO)
• Dugolli calls on Special Court to initiate investigations into Dubrava massacre (Koha)
• Serwer criticises West for approach toward Balkans (Gazeta Express/VoA)
• Opposition warns it will send law on strategic investments to court (TeVe1)
• Croatian Foreign Minister on two-day visit to Kosovo (Kosovapress)

Serbian Language Media:

• Serbian Education Minister resigns in light of recent school shooting (N1, media)
• Anniversary of NATO bombing of Chinese Embassy in Belgrade marked (N1, media)
• Russian Ambassador: We share grief with kindred Serbian people (media)
• Odalovic: Information about the possible location of a mass grave that has been kept quiet for years (RTS)
• Gornji Livoc: Son of attacked journalist threatened (Radio KIM, KoSSev)
• Serbian opposition calls for gathering on Monday (Danas)
• Ruling party officials blast opposition protest organisers (N1)
• Professor on ‘Croatian model’, says no analogy between Serbs in Kosovo and Croatia (Kosovo Online)
• Vucic, Kurti meeting in the shadow of the great tragedies in Belgrade and Mladenovac (KoSSev)
• Petkovic with the ICRC delegation on the importance of respecting the Declaration on Missing Persons (Kosovo Online, RTS)

International:

• Kurti Outlines Renewable Energy Goals at Vienna Economic Forum (BIRN)
• Hague Court Urges Kosovo to Treat War Victims and Defendants Equally (BIRN)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Konjufca: If dialogue’s price is destroying Kosovo, it is good to say goodbye (media)

The Speaker of the Assembly, Glauk Konjufca, has said that Kosovo has started and remains in dialogue based on two principles, that dialogue is for mutual recognition and that any regulation for the rights of Serbs is within the framework of the Constitution of Kosovo.

In response to the statement of the EU emissary, Miroslav Lajcak, who said that the draft of the Management Team is the starting point for further discussions about the Association, Konjufca said that any unconstitutional position cannot be the basis for negotiations. He added that Kosovo has no interest in dialogue with Serbia, if the internationals do not consider the solution within the Constitution of Kosovo.

"If this process has the price of destroying Kosovo, undermining the foundations of our state, then it is good to say farewell, that there is no interest here. Normalisation comes by moving towards mutual recognition, normalisation does not come by destroying the state of Kosovo with a Serbian republic," he said.

Speaker Konjufca has stated that Goran Rakiq violated the oath of an MP when he chose the members of the Management Team for drafting the Association.

"Unfortunately, Kosovo has inherited a decision-making of past governments regarding this dialogue framework, which is the appointment of management team members by a deputy prime minister who answers only to Vucic, who is Rakic. Rakic has selected the team members. He has taken care that these members are accountable to Serbia, and this is a violation of the Constitution of Kosovo, our laws, even a violation of the MP’s oath. When we take the oath in this institution where we are, we pledge that we will only serve the interests of the Republic of Kosovo and its constitutionality. Anyone who violates the oath and does actions that are contrary to this oath, the government of Kosovo has no obligations to their actions. If you read the statute, this statute that was presented was correct according to Vucic's order, because it was an order to create a Serbian republic within Kosovo and this is unconstitutional. Any unconstitutional position cannot be a basis for negotiations," Konjufca said.

"I raised my concern with the president Subotka about the unacceptable behaviour of the Serbian state, not only in Kosovo but also in the region. Kosovo accepted the Ohrid agreement with a lot of good will, but we are witnessing how Serbia reads the agreement it accepted in a completely opposite way from what the Republic of Kosovo reads,” Konjufca said adding that ‘they insistently seek a Serbian republic within Kosovo.’

Konjufca has emphasised that by calling on the Serbian List not to register in local elections in Kosovo and not to participate in Kosovo's institutions, Serbia does not contribute to stability in the region at all,"on the contrary, it causes incitement to challenge stability and destabilise the situation".

Osmani meets Peach, discuss recent developments, including dialogue (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said today that during her stay in London she met with the UK’s Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Lord Peach. “We discussed recent developments including important steps in the dialogue, Kosovo’s Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as the necessity to further strengthen our bond &  cooperation with the UK,” Osmani wrote on Twitter.

Kurti welcomes attendees of 20th Vienna Economic Forum (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Twitter post on Sunday that he “welcomed the attendees of the 20th Vienna Economic Forum, which we're honoured to host this year in Kosova”. “Economic cooperation between democracies not only generates wealth, but also supports our shared values, creating fairer & more prosperous societies for our citizens,” he wrote.

Sobotka: Challenging political situation in Kosovo, parties should dialogue (media)

The Speaker of the Assembly of Austria, Wolfgang Sobotka, stated today after the meeting with Kosovo’s Assembly Speaker Glauk Konjufca that the current political situation in Kosovo is challenging, while calling on the parties to resolve disagreements through dialogue.

"Relations with Serbia are one of the challenges that must be resolved along the path of dialogue, and we will always try to provide an opportunity for both countries to get one step closer to each other. The Ohrid agreement is also very important, and we hope that both countries will make the same interpretation of this agreement, and this will give the opportunity to plan for the future as well. Austria in this aspect can also be an example for Kosovo, if you consider the history of the 20th century" he said.

According to Sobotka, Kosovo Serbs should participate in local elections as this is a democratic responsibility and right. He said that many countries in the world do not have the opportunity to vote, and democratic countries "must use this right".

Sobotka added that Kosovo has developed a lot in recent years, and Austria is the fourth largest investor in Kosovo.

EP members: it is evident that Serbia has violated agreement by voting against Kosovo (Reporteri)

Amendments have been added to the European Parliament’s report on Serbia where among other things, it is emphasised that Serbia has violated the agreement between the two countries by voting against Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe.

According to independent media in Serbia, the Group of Green MEPs insisted on this amendment.

“The Greens in their amendment request to express “regret” that Serbia has violated the agreement of Belgrade and Pristina, first of all the Ohrid agreement, by voting against the admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe, by boycotting the elections first of all in the North of Kosovo orchestrated in Belgrade, intimidating the opposition politicians,” media reported.

11 amendments were added to the report with 104 points that was approved in the Council for Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament, and which will be discussed in the plenary session. The vote in the European Parliament is scheduled for Wednesday.

Jackovich: A lot of pressure from Washington, Brussels and Belgrade (EO)

President of the Board of the Vienna Economic Forum, Victor Jackovich, said today in Pristina that Kosovo is part of Europe, but that Kosovo is also faced with challenges and pressure from the United States, the European and Serbia. In his address at the conference of the Vienna Economic Forum in Pristina, Jackovich said: “You have a vibrant economy today, a functioning state, very talented people, and a smart government. There are many challenges that you face, and even pressure I would say, from different countries, from Washington, Brussels, and Belgrade. Perhaps this is the fate of a small country. Because you have a democracy and because you have the support of your people and a democratically elected government, you are able to face these challenges and to overcome them”.

Dugolli calls on Special Court to initiate investigations into Dubrava massacre (Koha)

MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, Enver Dugolli, told a press conference on Sunday that he has submitted evidence to the Specialist Chambers in the Hague to initiate investigations into the massacre at Dubrava Prison in 1999. He said he expects the specialist prosecutor, Alex Whiting, to start the investigations and prove that the special court is not monoethnic. “If the Special Court is not monoethnic then there is no reason not to conduct investigations about this crime,” he said.

Dugolli said that since 1999 no Serbian official was charged by a court for the massacre at Dubrava Prison. “The time has come to end this impunity. My request to the specialist prosecutor contains enough evidence to start investigations and eventually file charges based on facts, against senior Serbian officials of that time who planned and carried out the massacre in Dubrava,” he argued.

Koha contacted the Specialist Chambers to comment on the issue but received no response. 

The massacre at Dubrava Prison took place from 19 to 24 May 1999, during which 160 Albanian inmates were killed and 300 were wounded.

Serwer criticises West for approach toward Balkans (Gazeta Express/VoA)

U.S. commentator on the Balkans, Daniel Serwer, commenting on a New York Times article about the Serbian President’s ties with the world of crime, criticised the west for trying to establish peace in the region by using nationalists. Serwer argued that the Biden administration is siding with positive positions toward Belgrade regardless of what is happening. He also said that westerners are deceiving themselves and that they are doing this intentionally.

“They have given up on liberal democracy in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, in general in the Balkans. And what they are trying to do is use nationalists to safeguard peace, in essence, to stabilise the region. This is an idea that has always existed in the west, but it has become very apparent in the Biden administration and it leans toward being positive vis-à-vis Belgade, regardless of what is happening,” Serwer said.

Robert F. Worth, a reporter, said that there are Serbs who believe that the situation in general is worse than during the time of Slobodan Milosevic. “Some Serbs have told me that in some ways the situation is worse than during Milosevic. The judiciary is more politicised now. There are no more bloody civil wars and this is good, but Serbia is now a country where police, at some levels, have been involved in criminal activities,” he argued.

Opposition warns it will send law on strategic investments to court (TeVe1)

The law on strategic investments passed the first reading at the Kosovo Assembly, but opposition parties are opposing the law saying it is insufficient and anti-constitutional. Opposition MPs say they will send the law to the Constitutional Court.

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Ferat Shala, said: “It is unusual both in terms of how it is drafted, the approach it has, and the competencies it gives to certain sectors, namely certain groups, and in this case political committees or councils. Bearing in mind that it addresses essential issues, priorities, and strategic resources, we have implied that if it is not changed between the two readings, in its current form it is anti-constitutional and goes against economic values and the development prospects of the country”.

Shala warned that if MPs from the ruling party adopt the law in the second reading, the PDK will send the law to the Constitutional Court. “We will definitely complain if our concerns are not addressed, and corrections are not made. We gave our recommendations for every article, it does not make sense even in legal terms because it gives the Minister competencies to operate above the law,” he argued.

Croatian Foreign Minister on two-day visit to Kosovo (Kosovapress)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, will welcome her Croatian counterpart, Gordan Grlic Radman, in Pristina this evening. The two ministers will hold a bilateral meeting and a joint press conference tomorrow.

     

Serbian Language Media 

  Serbian Education Minister resigns in light of recent school shooting (N1, media)

Serbian Education Minister Branko Ruzic submitted his irrevocable resignation from the position of Minister of Education Sunday afternoon, the Ministry told N1.

He resigned a few days after the tragedy that happened at the Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School in Belgrade.

“In the silence of the three-day national mourning, as a responsible and well-mannered man, professional in the performance of all previous public duties, as a parent and citizen of the Republic of Serbia, which always comes first to me, and in accordance with Article 23 of the Law on Government, I made the only rational and honourable decision in these circumstances.

I submit my irrevocable resignation from the position of Minister of Education in the Government of the Republic of Serbia”, Ruzic wrote in resignation letter.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3B1ZxoY Anniversary of NATO bombing of Chinese Embassy in Belgrade marked (N1, media)

Belgrade Deputy Mayor Vesna Vidovic laid a wreath on the memorial plaque to the Chinese journalists killed in the NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999.

As stated in the press release of the Belgrade Secretariat for Information, the Minister of Youth and Sports Zoran Gajic, Chinese Ambassador Chen Bo, as well as representatives of the Association of Serbian Journalists and numerous citizens paid their tribute on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the bombing of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Belgrade.

“Serbia always remembers the NATO aggression and May 7, 1999, when the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade was destroyed by a terrible bombing. The Chinese citizens, who then lost their lives, chose to be with us, the Serbs, with their own free will and to share with us that very difficult time of suffering and death of innocent citizens, which is why they will remain in our eternal memory“, Deputy Mayor of Belgrade Vesna Vidovic told Beoinfo.

Ambassador Chen Bo thanked the Government of Serbia and the City of Belgrade, but also everyone who keeps the memory of the death of three Chinese journalists in the NATO bombing.

“The common memory of them reflects not only how much we cherish our traditional, ironclad friendship, but also the common aspiration for peace, independent politics, international justice. In today’s international situation, it is more necessary than ever to adhere to the principles of the UN Charter, international law and the basic norms of international relations and to oppose hegemony“, she said.

Russian Ambassador: We share grief with kindred Serbian people (media)

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko expressed his condolences over the tragedy that befell the kindred Serbian people, N1 reports.

“I express my deepest condolences regarding the tragedy that befell the fraternal Serbian people just a few days after the death of innocent children at the Vladislav Ribnikar school”, Botsan-Kharchenko wrote on Twitter.

The Ambassador said he shares the grief of the families and friends of the school shooting victims and of the victims of the Thursday attack and wished all the wounded a speedy recovery. “I strongly condemn the grave crime that happened on May 4”, he added.

He also said that the Russian Embassy decided to postpone all its planned public events because of the shootings.

Odalovic: Information about the possible location of a mass grave that has been kept quiet for years (RTS)

The President of the Commission for Missing Persons of the Government of Serbia, Veljko Odalovic, told RTS that the start of the continuation of the investigation would begin quickly if the Pristina side showed its willingness to implement the agreement signed in the area of missing persons. This meant that field work, search and verification of locations would begin. 

Odalovic told RTS in the morning program that the unblocking of the process was agreed upon, which was of extreme importance.

He pointed out that Kurti blocked the process two years ago in Brussels. "If the Pristina side is willing to implement what it has signed, we will very soon continue the process and start working on the ground, to search the locations where, according to the information mentioned and by Pristina, checks will be carried out," Odalovic said. 

"We have information about the possible location of the mass grave, but it has been kept quiet for years, it is not being searched. That is an important thing in this whole process," underlined Odalovic.

He mentioned the formation of a joint commission, with the EU at the head, with representatives of Belgrade and Pristina and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which normally chairs the working group for missing persons.

"And that to be something that will be additional support, because we need the wind at our backs, due to the huge number of archives presented by international representatives who were on different missions, to be available to Pristina and Belgrade, so that in their searches we can see whether we have information about potential locations," said the president of the Commission for Missing Persons.

He also noted that families have a more significant role here.

"President Vucic said in Brussels that we need 24 hours from the notification of the location, about the existence of the grave - we will be at the location. We will invite Pristina to be together with us, to do it transparently, but we also ask Pristina to do the same, it is an elementary matter because of the access," concluded Odalovic.

Gornji Livoc: Son of attacked journalist threatened (Radio KIM, KoSSev)

Following a Friday evening attack in the village of Gornji Livoc near Gnjilane against the RTV Puls journalist Bojan Antic, Radio KIM reported on Saturday that a new incident took place in which Antic’s son A.A. was threatened.

A.A. together with relatives on the occasion of a family Saint Guardian Day celebration (Saint George’s Day) visited his grandmother and a grandfather who live in Gornji Livoc village. Upon returning from a family house, near the bridge at the village the same person who was interrogated by Kosovo police over the incident on Friday and then released threatened A.A., Radio KIM adds.

As the Radio further said the same person voiced the threats “that this was only the beginning that would not end on this”. A.A. reported the case to the Kosovo police which took his statement in Gnjilane.

RTV Puls journalist Bojan Antic was assaulted by a group of Albanians in Gornji Livoc on Friday evening, Serbian media reported. He together with his family members visited the parents and upon leaving the family house were pelted with stones.

KoSSev portal contacted Kosovo police to inquire about the incident on Friday. According to Kosovo police spokesperson for Gnjilane region the case has been reported to the police but that, as he said, “there is no case” and only police note as per order of the prosecutor. “No one is injured, there is no material damage on the vehicle of the complainant. There is no case, but we say – a police note”, Hasani explained.

Serbian opposition calls for gathering on Monday (Danas)

Some Serbian opposition parliamentary parties called for protest against the violence on Monday, starting at 18.00 in front of the Serbian Assembly in Belgrade, Danas daily reports. The call comes after two massive shootings that struck Serbia in just two days, claiming the lives of 17 people and leaving 20 injured.

The opposition demanded institutional responsibility, dismissal of the minister of internal affairs, Bratislav Gasic, minister of education Branko Ruzic and head of Security Informative Agency (BIA) Aleksadnar Vulin. They requested an end to airing reality programmes and broadcasts that promote violence, aggression, lack of ethics and primitivism on TV stations with national coverage. They also called for a ban on media promoting primitivism, violating code of conduct and publishing fake news. They asked for the dismissal of Serbian public broadcaster RTS top leadership over, what was said, was promotion of violence and crime, People’s Party (NS) MP Miroslav Aleksic said on behalf of the opposition that supported those requests.

He added that Democratic Party (DS), Do Not Let Belgrade Drawn (NDBG) Movement, Together, People’s Party, Freedom and Justice Party and Dveri Movement supported those requests, adding he expects support from other parliamentary groups as well, because this, as he said, overpasses divisions among political parties.

Ruling party officials blast opposition protest organisers (N1)

Two high-ranking officials of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) blasted the opposition for organising a protest against violence on Monday evening. 

The protest was called by several opposition parties following the mass killing at a Belgrade elementary school but it will not include any speakers and no political party insignia, N1 reports.

Parliament Speaker Vladimir Orlic and Family Care and Demography Minister Darija Kisic spoke out against the protest, labelling it anti-Serbian and a self-promotion for the opposition.

Orlic told TV Pink that the opposition is using the school shooting and later mass killing “in a sly and selfish way for political battle”. He added that the protest is meaningless and is being used to justify preconceived views.

Kisic told TV Prva that the opposition parties are actually opposition to Serbia.

“There are people who immediately tried to use the pain for political purposes. Those parties in the opposition are the opposition to Serbia”, she said.

Professor on ‘Croatian model’, says no analogy between Serbs in Kosovo and Croatia (Kosovo Online)

Professor at University in Amsterdam and Balkans expert, Nevenka Tromp said she sees no analogy between Serbs in Kosovo and Serbs in Croatia, adding “Croatian model” Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti presented in Brussels and talks about recently is unacceptable, Kosovo Online portal reports.

She opined the Community of Serb Municipalities should be formed based on models from Europe, where self-governance of minority communities functions successfully. She added that following the war in Croatia there was no autonomous area where Serbs could exercise self-governance.

She said majority of Serbs in Croatia live now in larger cities such as Zagreb and Rijeka, and that there were 11 municipalities where Serbs had majority before the war in Croatia, however it is no longer the case as out of 12 percent Serbs who lived in Croatia before 1991, only four percent remained living there now.

“That is why I am surprised by the Croatian model. Serbs were expelled from there (…)” she said, adding that it is unclear to her what Albin Kurti has in mind when talking about this model.

According to her, there is no analogy between Serb minority in Kosovo and that in Croatia. She also said it was not told that the Serbian model of the Community of Serb Municipalities should be accepted “just like that” but that it should not be taken off the table.

“One should know that once Kosovo enters the process of EU membership it would be necessary to close many chapters, and one of them is minority rights. Whatever Kosovo would do for the integration process, one of the criticisms of Copenhagen would be treatment of minorities (…). The Constitution of one country is very important, but at the same time political challenges are sometimes so complicated that solutions can not be implemented through existing documents”, she said.

She also said the draft Statute of ZSO cannot be rejected just like that by a simple excuse that it goes against the Constitution. She added political solutions will have to be found and that it is very important for Kosovo, at any stage of the negotiations, to show its clear interest that it is committed to solving those issues once and for all.

"This does not mean that the Serbian model should simply be accepted as it is presented", Tromp pointed out.

Vucic, Kurti meeting in the shadow of the great tragedies in Belgrade and Mladenovac (KoSSev)

On the first working day of last week, as was announced, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met in Brussels. They adopted the Declaration on the Missing and for the first time listened to the Management Team that presented the Draft Statute for the Community of Serbian Municipalities, wrote portal KoSSev. 

The adoption of the Declaration on the Missing Persons is not new, because its text was determined at the beginning of April by the main negotiators Petar Petkovic and Besnik Bislimi, with the announcement at the time that it would be officially adopted only at a high-level political meeting. 

Already in the first half hour on Tuesday, the Declaration was adopted, and then its content was published.

That was not the case with the continuation of this meeting when the Management Team for the Draft Statute for the CSM (ZSO) entered the room.

Although what they presented was not supported by Pristina, the Europeans assessed it as "an important step and a starting point for further discussion."

Just one day later, Pristina decided to dismiss the Management Team, which consists of Serbs from Kosovo, which Belgrade condemned.

However, the tragedies that occurred in the second half of last week in central Serbia - Belgrade and Mladenovac threw aside everything related to Kosovo. 

Moreover, the news of two mass shootings, one of which took place in a Belgrade elementary school, travelled around the region and the world.

Two days in a row in mass shootings on Wednesday and Thursday, a total of 17 people died - mostly children and young people, and 14 were wounded, four of them in a serious condition.

From numerous international addresses came messages of support and condolences to the victims of these unfortunate events. 

Three days of mourning were declared in Serbia, and candles for the victims were lit in almost all cities, as well as in Serbian communities in Kosovo and Metohija.

The region also mourned. Serbia declared the Day of Mourning for the tragedy in Belgrade, but also Montenegro and all of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Candles for the victims were lit in Pristina and Zagreb, reported portal KoSSev.

Petkovic with the ICRC delegation on the importance of respecting the Declaration on Missing Persons (Kosovo Online, RTS)

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, met today with the head of the regional delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Belgrade, Jelena Stijacic, and the protection coordinator and chairperson of the Working Group for Missing Persons, Aurelie Gauthier, and the President of the Commission for Missing Persons of the Government of Serbia, Veljko Odalovic, also attended the meeting, read the statement of the Office. 

As stated in the statement of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petkovic informed the interlocutors that Belgrade and Pristina adopted the Declaration on Missing Persons on May 2 in Brussels, which above all was a civilizational issue of extreme importance that Belgrade has been insisting on for more than two years, reported Kosovo Online. 

"Unfortunately, Pristina has been obstructing this process for years and has avoided allowing the search of nine locations that Belgrade has well-founded knowledge of hiding the remains of Serbs who died during the conflict in KiM. On the other hand, Belgrade has so far enabled the search of 23 locations that Pristina has marked as relevant," said Petkovic.

Petkovic pointed out to the interlocutors the necessity of increased activity of the International Committee of the Red Cross with the aim of starting the operationalization of this Declaration as soon as possible and taking the first steps in its implementation.

He pointed out that it is very necessary for the International Committee of the Red Cross, which also chairs the Working Group for Missing Persons, to make efforts to unblock that process and exert the necessary influence on Pristina to fulfill the accepted obligations.

"It is important that the process of searching for the missing returns to function as soon as possible for the sake of the families of the missing and the building of peace and peaceful coexistence in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija," added Petkovic.

Petkovic expressed expectations that Pristina, at least in this area, will stop obstructing and that the process of searching for those missing during the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija will finally be unblocked.

     

International 

  Kurti Outlines Renewable Energy Goals at Vienna Economic Forum (BIRN)

The 20th Economic Forum of Vienna, taking place for the first time in Prishtina, has heard renewed discussion about regional cooperation in fragmented environments.

For the first time, on Monday, Prishtina played host to the Economic Forum of Vienna, which has provided hope for the advancement of renewable energy over the past decade.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti, in his introductory speech, said the Kosovo government 

Has made investments in the economy and according to him, “ various international organizations have confirmed Kosovo’s progress”.

Kurti foresees the development of renewable energy in the next 10 years by more than 1,300 MWh generated from renewable sources.

Connecting it with the government’s strategy, Kurti said that the last agreement with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, will be used for renewable energy.

The latest IMF agreement offers Kosovo an initial 80 million euros for the construction of renewable energy and solar capacitors with the possibility of another 80 million.

“We are also creating our country’s first sovereign wealth funds,” Kurti said.

Kurti called for more cooperation, so that the slogan of the Vienna Economic Forum, “Go South East”, becomes synonymous with Western nearshoring.

During three sessions, senior representatives of local and international institutions in this Forum will discuss regional cooperation in the field of investments through technological innovation.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/42g30wf Hague Court Urges Kosovo to Treat War Victims and Defendants Equally (BIRN)

Officials in Pristina have yet to publicly respond since the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague urged Kosovo to create a new reparation mechanism for war crimes victims in order to ensure “equal treatment between the suspects and accused”.

When former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrilla Salih Mustafa was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity under a first-instance ruling in March, the judges ordered him to pay 207,000 euros in compensation to the victims of the crimes.

But the judges also noted that Mustafa “currently does not have the means to fully comply with the order”. In order words, he is unable to pay.

The judges therefore told the Kosovo Specialist Chambers’ registrar, in cooperation with the legal counsel representing the victims in the case, to “seek compensation from the existing Kosovo Crime Victim Compensation Programme, on behalf of the victims,” the Specialist Chambers’ spokesperson, Angela Griep, told BIRN.

But Kosovo has not yet shown any willingness to create any reparation mechanism or to step in to compensate the victims.

The Kosovo prime minister’s office and Ministry of Justice declined to answer BIRN’s inquiries about how they will respond to the court’s requests.

Amer Alija from the Pristina-based Humanitarian Law Centre NGO, which monitors war crime trials, said that the government must introduce adequate legislation and functional mechanisms to provide compensation for victims of war crimes in Kosovo.

“The right to compensation should also be recognised for the victims of previous war crime trials in cases where final judgments have been issued,” Alija told BIRN.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3HOZZdV