Albanian Language Media:

• Teachers’ salaries not expected today; Minister: We will enforce the law (Kosovapress)
• Union implies new actions if teachers’ salaries are not paid by 16:00 (Indeksonline)
• PDK leaders calls on government to pay teachers’ salaries (media)
• Municipalities call on government to urgently pay teachers’ salaries (media)
• Bislimi: Kurti and Vucic expected to meet in October, but no confirmation yet (Koha)
• EU doesn’t have date for new meeting between Kurti and Vucic (Kallxo)
• Council of Europe: The issue of Kosovo, confidential (Klan Kosova)
• Kurti: Youth is still in the focus of our government policies (media)
• Muja: Kosovo with high drop in unemployment rate during Kurti’s governance (EO)

Serbian Language Media:

• RFE: Gracanica municipality and businessman exchange land despite protests (KiM radio) 
• Brnabic: New gov't to be formed within constitutional timeframes (Tanjug)
• Stefanovic: The signatories of the Proclamation for the Defense of KiM want the removal of Vucic (Beta, NMagazin)
• Opposition, intellectuals publish declaration on Kosovo (N1)
• Vucic’s 'renunciation' of Dodik (RFE)
• Djilas: Neutrality on Russia’s aggression no longer exists (Beta, N1)
• Vucic meets with Saudi FM (Tanjug)

Opinion:

• Rama and Rutte: The European Political Community is a good idea (media)
• At the Prague Summit, the family photo is the message (politico.eu)

International:

• CoE Report: Pandemic Worsened Backlog in Balkan Courts (BIRN)
• ‘These are not factories – these are sadistic torture chambers’ (Kosovo 2.0)
• As Europe’s leaders meet, some fear for EU membership hopes (whec.com)
• Europa Nostra presents the Prague Manifesto “For a Value-based and Culture-driven Europe” (europanostra.com)
• China Builds A New Symbol In The Balkans -- At The Site Of A NATO Bombing (RFE)
• After Russia, now Turkey questions Europe’s territory (euractive.com)
• EU prepares for possible power cuts and other emergencies as energy crisis intensifies -RND (Reuters)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Teachers’ salaries not expected today; Minister: We will enforce the law (Kosovapress)

Kosovo’s Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, told Kosovapress news agency today that they will enforce the law regarding the salaries of teachers who were on strike in September. “We will enforce the law regarding the salaries of the strikers,” he said. 

The news agency also recalls that Rrahman Jasharaj, leader of the Union of Education, Science and Culture of Kosovo (SBASHK) said on Tuesday that they could reenter the strike if the government doesn’t pay their salaries by today.

Union implies new actions if teachers’ salaries are not paid by 16:00 (Indeksonline)

The Union of Education, Science and Culture of Kosovo (SBASHK) is waiting for the government to pay the salaries of teachers for the month of September. Union representatives said that if the salaries are not paid by 16:00 today, they will hold an urgent meeting with the mayors. “We hope the government will reflect, otherwise, there will be a decision for union actions,” the union said.

PDK leaders calls on government to pay teachers’ salaries (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, said today on the occasion of the World Teachers Day, that “Kosovo’s teachers have a Prime Minister who doesn’t care about their wellbeing and their historical contribution”. “I call on the government once again to, in addition to allocating the September salaries for the teachers, to bring the law on wages to the Assembly as soon as possible, because our teachers deserve dignifying treatment,” Krasniqi said.

Municipalities call on government to urgently pay teachers’ salaries (media)

The Board of the Association of Municipalities of Kosovo (AKK) called on the Kosovo government to urgently pay the salaries for teachers who were on strike in September. The AKK said in a statement today that the Ministry of Finance only allocates the salaries and that “it cannot undertake unilateral actions without the decision-making of the employers, in this case the municipalities”. “Kosovo’s municipalities are unjustly hit in this unnecessary dispute where the biggest losers are the pupils of Kosovo. The non-payment of salaries is an unnecessary approach and it does not serve the stability of the education process,” the statement notes.

Bislimi: Kurti and Vucic expected to meet in October, but no confirmation yet (Koha)

Kosovo’s First Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Development and Dialogue, Besnik Bislimi, said today that a meeting between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic could take place in October but that there is no confirmation yet.

Bislimi said that there are no criteria that Kosovo needs to meet to apply for the candidate status for the EU. He argued that there is a general assessment that Kosovo stands much better compared to other countries in the region in terms of meeting its obligations toward the EU.

Commenting on the issue of visa liberalisation, Bislimi said the topic is the fifth point on the agenda of the next meeting of the visa liberalisation working group which will be held on October 12-13. “This is the first step but not the last, because there are five more steps. We hope that all steps will be concluded within a short period of time but we don’t think it is useful to mention any specific dates,” he added.

EU doesn’t have date for new meeting between Kurti and Vucic (Kallxo)

Although the parties have agreed to meet on a monthly basis in Brussels, there is no date yet for a meeting in October between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Peter Stano, a spokesman for the European Union, did not say if a high-level meeting is expected to happen this month. “As always, we will notify you about the next meeting in the dialogue in due time,” he said.

The news website notes that the last meeting between Kurti and Vucic was held in August. Following their meeting, the U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, said that the parties have agreed to meet on a monthly basis.

Council of Europe: The issue of Kosovo, confidential (Klan Kosova)

A spokesman for the Council of Europe, Daniel Holtgen, told the TV station today that discussions at the Committee of Ministers are confidential, when asked if Kosovo is on the agenda of the Council. “In more general terms, the procedures to become a member of the Council of Europe are outlined in the Statute of the CoE (specifically articles 4, 5 and 20) and the Statutory Resolution that determines the role of the CoE Parliamentary Assembly in the process. We want to draw your attention to the fact that discussions at the Committee of Ministers are confidential. We don’t have more information at this point,” Holtgen said.

Klan Kosova also notes that according to some Serbian media, the issue of Kosovo’s membership has been removed from the agenda.

Kurti: Youth is still in the focus of our government policies (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said today that “the youth is still in the focus of the Kosovo government’s policies because our future development depends largely on how we will help and treat our youth”. Kurti made these remarks at the conclusion of a project implemented by the Office for Community Affairs in the Office of the Prime Minister and supported by the Norwegian Embassy. 100 youths from all communities benefited from practical work in the institutions.

Kurti said the government remains committed to provide more training and employment opportunities through different policies, such as the initiative “one employer in every family” which was launched this summer. 

“While we are implementing the guaranteed employment scheme for the youth through the Economic Revival Package, we are also continuing to support youth organisations,” he added.

Muja: Kosovo with high drop in unemployment rate during Kurti’s governance (EO)

MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, Armend Muja, said today that during Kurti’s governance the level of unemployment has dropped to 17.7 percent. “The key indicators of the labour market: the number of employed in the third quarter of 2021 has reached 414,705, while the level of unemployment has dropped to 17.7 percent. During 2021, were reported around 32,000 jobs more compared to the same period in 2019. The unemployment rate has dropped from 24.6 to 17.7 percent,” Muja said.

     

Serbian Language Media 

  RFE: Gracanica municipality and businessman exchange land despite protests (KiM radio) 

Radio Free Europe in Serbian language reported that the municipality of Gracanica plans to exchange the land with businessman Rexhe Shoshi located right next to the Badovac, i.e., Gracanica lake, reported KiM radio. 

According to RFE, Shoshi already had land exchanges with the Municipality of Pristina.

Rexhe Shoshi, with whom the municipality of Gracanica intends to exchange plots, i.e., a part of the cadastral zone of 17 hectares for 18 ares of a private road owned by Shoshi, is, based on information from the Business Registration Agency, the owner of two companies, writes RFE. 

On the same page, according to RFE, it is stated that the company AMF COMPANY is a passive company, i.e., while TCT SH.P.K. is very active, i.e., it deals with business from the transportation of various products to the construction of residential buildings, roads and highways, and various other construction works.

RFE contacted Shoshi in order to get an answer about what he plans to do with the property he will receive from the Municipality of Gracanica and whether it is true that the property is "unusable", as the mayor of Gracanica claimed. However, Shoshi stated that he was travelling outside the country and would respond when he got out of the airport. However, by the time the text was published, he did not respond, reported RFE.

Previous exchanges between Shoshi and the Municipality of Pristina

RFE established that the Municipality of Pristina also exchanged property with Shoshi last year. Namely, the local authorities gave several of their plots in the settlement "Nova Pristina" and in return received plots on which "a road was built that is used in the public interest".

In the meantime, in March of this year, Shoshi requested permission from the local authorities in Pristina to start the construction of a residential and commercial building on the plots he received from them in exchange. Along with the request, he also submitted a project proposal for construction. RFE was unable to find out whether the local authorities in Pristina approved such a request.

What does the Law on Local Self-Government say?

The Law on Local Self-Government states that the municipality, in the name of public interest, has the right to exchange immovable property with physical and legal entities, central institutions and the Kosovo Privatization Agency.

Article 24 of this law defines the conditions under which an exchange can be made between a municipality and a private person.

"Municipal immovable property can be exchanged only for securing property in order to fulfil the public interest, in accordance with the legal powers at the local self-government level," the law states.

Among other things, the Law states that in order to start procedures for the exchange of municipal property, the president is obliged to provide an official assessment report that there is no other municipal property suitable for that purpose.

Who initiated and who completed the property exchange process?

The final decision on the exchange of property, after the Ministry of Local Self-Government Administration, is made by the Authority for Financial Assessment, which functions within the Ministry of Finance.

In a written response to RFE, the Ministry states that the assessment has been completed in the case of the exchange of plots between the Municipality of Pristina and the private person Rexhe Shoshi, i.e., that the Municipality has received consent to carry out the aforementioned exchange. However, they add that the Municipality of Gracanica did not forward a similar request for assessment.

The initiative to exchange property with Shoshi was first launched on June 15, 2021, by the then mayor Srdjan Popovic, after one such decision was adopted in the Municipal Assembly. Popovic's explanation was that the exchange will be carried out in order to "achieve public interest, that is, to connect 32 parcels with a public road".

RFE reports that well-informed sources say that the Ministry of Local Self-Government Administration refused to evaluate that decision as legal, because the Municipal Assembly was in a technical mandate due to the announcement of local elections.

The same source explains, reports RFE, that this means that the current local authorities in Gracanica were not obliged to re-initiate the land exchange. The competent Ministry did not confirm such a thing, reported RFE.

Brnabic: New gov't to be formed within constitutional timeframes (Tanjug)

Serbian PM Designate Ana Brnabic says her new cabinet will be formed within the constitutional timeframes and that the process is underway amid unprecedented circumstances, reported Tanjug agency.

"I think it is going as quickly as possible in the given circumstances when we really have to put out various fires on a daily basis and fight for stability - not only political but also energy stability. As far as the citizens' daily lives are concerned, nothing has changed, regardless of whether the government is a caretaker government or we are waiting for a new one," Brnabic told Blic TV on Monday evening.

The fact the government is operating in a caretaker capacity has no effect on the ministers' responsibility or attitude towards work, Brnabic noted.

"To be honest with you, WWIII has broken out in the past six months," she also said, adding that "those are not circumstances we have had to date".

Stefanovic: The signatories of the Proclamation for the Defense of KiM want the removal of Vucic (Beta, NMagazin)

Minister of Defense Nebojsa Stefanovic called the Proclamation for the Defense of Kosovo and Metohija a "pamphlet” and assessed that its signatories want only one thing - the removal of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, reported NMagazin. 

He stated that this is the wish of all of them together, no matter how hard they tried to differ from one another, read the statement of the Ministry of Defense. 

Stefanovic stated that their desire is only one thing, and it is not that "Kosovo and Metohija is part of Serbia" nor the correction of historical injustice'', adding that "their desire is purely political, to overthrow Aleksandar Vucic," said the Minister of Defense.

He calls the proclamation a "pamphlet" and "personal shame" for each of the signatories "both individually and as a group" who, as he said, would "defend Kosovo with fiddling and war drums", while everyone staying in Belgrade.

"It's not the defense of Kosovo and Metohija, it's just your vein desire to add yourself to the list of everyone trying to put pressure on Vucic in the decisive days for Serbia, so that you can see his back," said Stefanovic.

He also stated that this will not happen and that, as he said, Kosovo "will be defended thanks to the strong and wise political policy" of Aleksandar Vucic.

The signatories of the Proclamation for gathering in defense of Kosovo and Metohija assessed yesterday that it was the last moment to change Serbia's Kosovo policy and prepared a declaration on the reintegration of Kosovo and Metohija into the constitutional and legal order of Serbia, reported the media.

Opposition, intellectuals publish declaration on Kosovo (N1)

A group of opposition parties and intellectuals published a declaration calling for the reintegration of Kosovo into Serbia on Tuesday, reported N1.

The declaration was read out at a news conference by Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences (SANU) member Matija Beckovic who said that full reintegration is the only acceptable solution for Serbia and the Serbian people.

The document titled Declaration to Rally in Defense of Kosovo and Metohija was signed by the People’s Party, Dveri movement, Oathkeepers, NADA coalition and a group of professors and academy members. 

Beckovic said that Serbia would “do something that no state has ever done and would become the exception and a laughingstock among nations” if it recognizes Kosovo. He added that they are prepared for a dialogue with the Kosovo Albanians on integration for a common future.

He said proposals on a division, renouncing or Kosovo’s membership in the United Nations are unacceptable. “No one has the right or the legitimacy to sign international documents contrary to the Constitution of Serbia,” Beckovic said.

Vucic’s 'renunciation' of Dodik (RFE)

Radio Free Europe writes that unlike Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic did not publicly declare his support for Dodik before the elections. 

RFE recalls that Dodik is a frequent guest at Vucic’s official events, and the two leaders have very close relations. In his statements, Dodik does not hide that he is counting on the support of official Belgrade for his positions, which have met with condemnation from the West. 

University professor from Sarajevo, Enver Kazaz, assesses the fact of absent support from Vucic as not only a cooling off, but that Vucic still opted for the opposition in Republika Srpska in some way. Kazaz told RFE that Vucic’s policy is not determined by aggressive attitudes like Dodik's. 

"And that the time is coming when Dodik will really bother him with his robust, nationalist politics, especially his departures to Putin, because Vucic plays as much on the card of Europe as he does on the card of Russia", assessed Kazaz for RFE. 

On September 20, Dodik, as a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, met in Moscow with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Putin and Russia are under international isolation and sanctions due to aggression against neighbouring Ukraine. The Radio Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS) reported that during the meeting, Putin wished Dodik success in the elections with the hope that he would strengthen patriotic forces in Republika Srpska. "It's always important for us to have friends like you," replied Dodik. 

Vucic also was saying that Putin is a friend of Serbia and has met with the Russian leader several times, recalled RFE. However, since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine in February, Vucic has been facing calls from the EU and Western countries for Serbia to impose sanctions on Moscow. Serbia, as the only country in the Western Balkans, did not join the Western sanctions against Russia. Nevertheless, by voting in the EU for several resolutions, it joined the condemnation of Russian aggression against Ukraine. 

'Dodik played the Putin card' 

Aleksandar Popov from the Novi Sad based non-governmental Center for Regionalism told RFE that Serbia is trying to balance as much as possible. 

"However, Dodik obviously played the Putin card when he directly received support from Putin for the elections. So, he turned out to be a direct exponent of Russian politics and Putin himself in the region," Popov said. 

RFE wrote that Vucic’s and Dodik's cabinets did not respond to the request to comment on allegations of a cooling of mutual relations. 

Popov estimates that in the earlier periods, a much larger campaign in support of Dodik was conducted from Serbia. Now, as he says, there was only one such event - the Day of Serbian Unity in Bijeljina. On September 15, Vucic led the delegation of Serbia in Bijeljina, a city in the northeast of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the celebration of the "Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and the National Flag". Since 2020, Serbia has been celebrating this holiday together with BiH’s entity Republika Srpska, recalled RFE. 

In his public appearances, Dodik emphasizes that BiH is not his home country, but Serbia.

Vucic, on the other hand, often emphasizes that Serbia respects the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the integrity of the RS within BIH.

"If you only knew how much we love Republika Srpska (RS) and how much it means to us, regardless of how much we respect Bosnia and Herzegovina and all others," Vucic said to the crowd in the central square in Bijeljina on September 15, wrote RFE. 

Popov says that Dodik was "compromised on several grounds" and that he began to harm not only the citizens of Republika Srpska and the RS itself, but also the authorities in Serbia. He recalls that Dodik crossed all red lines towards the international community by not accepting the appointment of German diplomat Christian Schmidt as high representative or his authority.

When the presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Serbia in April, Milorad Dodik sent his support to Aleksandar Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party, reported RFE.

"(To the Republic of) Srpska, the support provided by Serbia and which you have shown in the best way is very important. This support is our greatest support," Dodik stated in a letter to Vucic dated March 31.

Support for Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party in the parliamentary elections was extended by almost all opposition parties and their leaders in the RS. 

However, before the general elections in BiH on September 2, the regional media reported about the lack of clear support of Vucic's progressives for Dodik and his SNSD.

SNS officials were not seen in the photos shared from Dodik's pre-election rallies.

Instead of the progressives, support came from Kosovo, from Goran Rakic, the leader of the Serbian List.

Before the election day, Dodik's son Igor published on Twitter a joint photo with Rakic with the message "support of the brothers from Kosovo, representatives of the Serbian List".

On September 29, in Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, the police stopped and controlled members of Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party, Adam Sukalo and Vlada Mandic, recalled Radio Free Europe. 

It happened three days before the general elections in BiH. 

Sukalo then told N1 that they were interrogated at the Criminal Police Department of the RS MUP.

Both Sukalo and Mandic are members of the Main Board of Vucic’s SNS.

RFE reports that some regional media interpreted this event as a message from Dodik to the authorities in Serbia, due to the lack of support before the elections.

Dodik, however, according to the preliminary results of the election, leads for the president of the Republic of Srpska, in relation to his opponent Jelena Trivic from the Party of Democratic Progress, reported RFE yesterday. 

Professor Kazaz says that Vucic had to support the opposition in Republika Srpska more radically if he intended to "get rid of Dodik".

"And what is very important, he had to change the ideological course of his politics, not to flirt with right-wing positions and not to give Dodik support for secessionist politics," said Kazaz.

Years ago, Dodik was next to Vucic at all important events in Belgrade, adding that one of the indicators of their relationship will be whether Dodik will appear in Belgrade as often as before, concluded RFE.

Djilas: Neutrality on Russia’s aggression no longer exists (Beta, N1)

Leader of the opposition Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) Dragan Djilas said that neutrality regarding Russia’s aggression on Ukraine “no longer exists” and that, at this time, political neutrality is viewed as “siding with the other side”, reported N1.

Commenting the European Union’s (EU) and America’s request for Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia, Djilas told the Serbia state TV (RTS) that “46 out of 50 countries in Europe have imposed sanctions on Russia” and that Serbia is “an island” because if failed to do so.

He said that Russia’s position, its calling for the annexation of parts of Ukraine citing the example of Kosovo, is “very dangerous”.

“Ninety percent of investments come from the West, mainly from Germany, and they are the most aggressive in demanding sanctions against Russia,” said Djilas, adding that there is a danger that companies will pull out and that there will most certainly be a drop in investments.

“The Russian Federation has six times more investments in Croatia than in Serbia,” said Djilas.

“The policy of cooperating with everyone is not possible. We have to do everything possible to increase investments. Our relations at this time go in the direction of Europe, we are part of Europe and that is where we belong,” said Djilas.

Vucic meets with Saudi FM (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Wednesday to discuss cooperation in defense, the defense industry, energy, and the field of renewable energy sources, reported Tanjug.

Vucic thanked the high-ranking guest for a first bilateral visit to Serbia by the Saudi foreign ministry and added that Serbia was interested in deepening its cooperation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which he noted it saw as a potentially important partner, the presidential press office said in a statement.

Speaking about economic cooperation, the parties agreed there was a great deal of untapped potential to develop a partnership in agriculture, tourism, and the construction, IT, and energy sectors, as well as in the field of renewables, which was particularly discussed at the meeting.

They also noted military economic, military medical and military education cooperation as areas that needed to be strengthened and advanced further.

Noting that a great many global companies have been operating in Serbia successfully for a long time now, Vucic urged Saudi businesspeople and investors to invest in Serbia and get involved in joint projects with Serbian businesspeople.

Prince Al Saud said the business community was a key factor in building good relations between countries.

He expressed interest in strengthening cooperation in all domains of mutual interest.

The parties agreed that more work must be done to connect the business communities of the two countries and that a business summit bringing together successful business people and investors would give a major boost to Serbia-Saudi Arabia economic ties.

They also discussed ways of further advancement and strengthening of overall bilateral and economic relations as well as political dialogue at all levels as a foundation for deeper mutual ties and understanding on issues of significance at bilateral and multilateral level, the statement said.

     

Opinion 

  Rama and Rutte: The European Political Community is a good idea (media)

Joint opinion by Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania, and Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

The Continent must shape its own future, and the only way to do so is by working together as democratic members of the European family.

As Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Europe suddenly awoke realizing peace on the Continent is not guaranteed. This unprecedented and unjustified war is an attack on the international legal order, and as such, it constitutes a threat to our own freedom and security. 

With this war, Russian President Vladimir Putin hoped to sow division between the countries of Europe, but in fact, he achieved the opposite. We stand united — not just the members of the European Union, but all European countries.  

We will do everything in our power to help Ukraine regain its full sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we will support its reconstruction. But the fact is that Russia’s unprovoked aggression also forces us all to rethink some fundamentals about this Continent we all share, and how to best protect our democracy and common values. The need for a strong, ongoing, united European response is self-evident.  

That is why we fully support French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal for a European Political Community (EPC).  

Read in full at: https://politi.co/3REt3a2 At the Prague Summit, the family photo is the message (politico.eu)

The European Political Community could anchor Ukraine and other countries in the European world, on “our side” of the divide with Russia.

Seven months into Russia’s war against Ukraine, deep uncertainties remain as to its outcome. However, one strategic challenge has become unmistakably clear — Russia and Europe are destined to be geopolitical rivals for decades to come.  

Step by step, European leaders are all coming to this conclusion, and they will do so again at the summit in Prague on October 6, where barring Russian President Vladimir Putin, nearly all of the Continent’s leaders — 27 from the European Union and 17 from outside it — will meet to establish a European Political Community (EPC). 

The idea of such a pan-European community, first proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron in May, has been acquiring momentum, yet it simultaneously continues to cause puzzlement. Why, its critics wonder, do we need a new European organization? What is its purpose? What will it do? 

Read more at:https://politi.co/3M5EHtC      

International 

  CoE Report: Pandemic Worsened Backlog in Balkan Courts (BIRN)

The Council of Europe’s Commission for the Efficiency of Justice, CEPEJ, published its 2022 evaluation report on Wednesday.

Drawing on data from 2020, It concluded that judicial systems in Central Europe efficiently handled the COVID-19 pandemic, while those in Southeast Europe did less well, and still struggle with a backlog of pending cases.

“The developments in the number of pending cases may cause concern in Albania, Croatia, the Republic of Moldova and Serbia,” the report noted.

It said that the number of pending court cases in Albania had doubled, and “Croatia went from reducing it [the backlog] between 2010 and 2020 to increase it by more than one-fifth within the shorter period, from 2018 to 2020”.

The report blamed Albania’s backlog of pending cases also on the country’s controversial judicial vetting system.

“In Albania, the vetting procedure affected not only the number of professionals but also the Clearance Rate (CR) and length of proceedings (especially in the second and third instances where many judges were dismissed or voluntarily retired),” the report reads. It adds that the remaining “judges have not been able to cope with the influx of cases”.

A clearance rate lower than 100 means the country’s judicial system resolves fewer cases than it receives. Albania’s second-instance courts have a CR level of less than 60.

Central European countries such as Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia on the other hand “managed to effectively tackle their pending civil and commercial litigious cases in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic”.

According to the report, Moldova reported no cases older than two years in highest instance courts.

Meanwhile, “the share of civil and commercial litigious cases older than two years of these cases is 84.8 per cent in Montenegro and 48.2 per cent in Croatia”.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3ry0cK6 ‘These are not factories – these are sadistic torture chambers’ (Kosovo 2.0)

Workers across the region fight back against labor abuses and union-busting.

Wearing knee-high rubber boots and work clothes as she gives a tour of her garden in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Emina Busuladžić, now retired, exudes the same energy that helped her lead a yearslong struggle for the survival of the city’s DITA detergent factory. In this long fight to revive a factory damaged by war and a corrupt privatization process, Busuladžić has gone on hunger strikes, occupied the factory in the face of police resistance, led protesters through the streets and even once laid her body in front of a vehicle to preserve evidence of financial crimes related to the factory’s privatization.

A charismatic figure, she has become a symbol of the fight for workers’ rights across the region. But she’s not the only one. Struggles for independent unions and labor rights are occurring across Bosnia and the wider region.

In the transition from socialism to market capitalism it wasn’t only firms and businesses that transformed, unions and labor organizing did too. But few today put much faith in the large union holdover organizations from the socialist past, while smaller upstart independent unions are battling harassment and pressure from management in Bosnia, Serbia, Albania and beyond.

Anđela Pepić, a PhD candidate from Banja Luka who studies the role of trade unions in today’s Bosnia, says that though trade unions still have power, their role has been greatly diminished in past decades. With the transition from socialism to capitalism, she said, “trade unions were forced to scrape by, adjusting their operations to the new system.” 

This adjustment has been made harder, she says, by the efforts of political and economic elites to keep workers docile and disempowered. Union-busting is common, “exemplified by threats of dismissal and attempts to bribe union activists and leaders,” Papić said, adding that some trade unions are politically compromised.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Cu1kUj As Europe’s leaders meet, some fear for EU membership hopes (whec.com)

BRUSSELS (AP) — Leaders from more than 40 countries meeting in the Czech capital Thursday are set to launch a “European Political Community” aimed at boosting security and prosperity across the continent. But critics claim the new forum is an attempt to put the brakes on European Union enlargement.

The Prague meeting is the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron and is backed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. It’s taking place with Russia’s war on Ukraine in its eighth month and as pressure builds to allow Ukraine to join the 27-nation EU.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3fJFWCE Europa Nostra presents the Prague Manifesto “For a Value-based and Culture-driven Europe” (europanostra.com)

Europa Nostra, the European Voice of Civil Society Committed to Cultural Heritage, has just released the Prague Manifesto “For a Value-based and Culture-driven Europe”. The Manifesto contains the key policy messages formulated during the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2022 recently held in the Czech capital, and especially during its concluding event – the European Heritage Policy Agora (see below). In the context of the pressing challenges facing our continent – from the unjustifiable brutal Russian aggression against Ukraine and the increasing threats to democracy, peace and solidarity all over Europe, to the dramatic impact of climate change on our society and living environment – the Prague Manifesto stresses the fundamental and irreplaceable role of culture and cultural heritage as a vector to address these challenges.

Read more at:https://bit.ly/3RDQLmM China Builds A New Symbol In The Balkans -- At The Site Of A NATO Bombing (RFE)

BELGRADE -- The NATO air campaign had been in full swing in Yugoslav skies for more than a month as the Western military alliance tried to end the deadly assault by Serbian forces on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

But on May 7, 1999, the NATO bombardment escalated and set off a series of events that still bind Beijing and Belgrade together more than 20 years later.

Five NATO bombs from U.S. jets hit the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, setting the building ablaze as dramatic scenes of employees covered in blood and dust escaping from the wreckage unfolded.

Read more at:https://bit.ly/3SDjyJP After Russia, now Turkey questions Europe’s territory (euractive.com)

A memorandum of understanding for exploring hydrocarbons at sea signed between the government of Tripoli and Turkey openly questions EU territory causing more headaches in Brussels amid an ongoing war in Ukraine.

“Ankara’s latest agreement shows that Turkey follows a pattern”, an EU source told EURACTIV ahead of an EU summit this week which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to attend.

The preliminary deal on energy exploration was signed between the Libyan Government of National Unity and Turkey and is considered a follow-up of a wider memorandum of understanding between the two countries in 2019.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3MbYYxx EU prepares for possible power cuts and other emergencies as energy crisis intensifies -RND (Reuters)

BERLIN, Oct 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission is preparing for power cuts and other emergencies within the European Union, media group RND reported, citing a senior EU official, amid concerns over the conflict in Ukraine and a possible energy crisis within the bloc.

Falling Russian fossil-fuel exports to the bloc have pushed several EU states to put into effect emergency plans that may lead to rationing as they race to find alternative supplies.

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