• “Agreement in Munich signed by unauthorised Kosovo officials” (media)
• Kurti and Vucic have their first encounter at MSC (DW)
• Kurti says he did not have a meeting with Vucic (RFE)
• Borrell: Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is the only solution (Koha)
• Minister Hajdari meets CEFTA representatives (media)

Kosovo Media Highlights

“Agreement in Munich signed by unauthorised Kosovo officials” (media)

The Government of Kosovo has issued a statement following the agreement signed in Munich under the U.S. mediation for the establishment of a railway and highway connection between Kosovo and Serbia.

The statement notes that the Kosovo officials that signed the agreement were authorized by the former government, namely former minister of infrastructure, Pal Lekaj. “Therefore, these officials did not get new authorizations from the new government to either negotiate or sign agreement.”

The Government of Kosovo added that the text of the agreement has not been made public: “Notwithstanding that all links and advancement of infrastructure standards are necessary for the development of our countries and part of the European vision for regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations, it is nevertheless very important for the process to be transparent, a result of meaningful negotiation and in full respect of the country’s sovereignty and laws, economic priorities and in harmony with obligations stemming from the SAA process.”

The statement further underlined that if one of the unofficial versions of the agreement is studied on the aspect of economic viability, “the railway to Leshak is more of a priority and beneficial than that for Merdare.”

Kurti and Vucic have their first encounter at MSC (DW)

A debate on the Western Balkans took place yesterday as part of the Munich Security Conference, Deutsche Welle in Albanian reports.

The discussion panel was held behind closed doors but sources told DW that the message conveyed by the organisers was that the European Union and the U.S. have not turned their backs on the Western Balkans region.

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti is reported to have talked in his remarks about three principles regarding dialogue with Serbia: No agreement without dialogue; no dialogue with maps; and no presidents around maps. According to DW, this was an indirect criticism towards presidents Hashim Thaci and Aleksandar Vucic, as well as Albanian PM Edi Rama who is said to have been involved in supporting the border change idea between Kosovo and Serbia.

Sources told DW that President of Serbia Vucic was seemingly upset by Kurti's remarks that "the world has helped Kosovo to be liberated from Serbia and it now has to help Serbia be liberated from Kosovo". Vucic has opposed this saying that "Kosovo is still part of Serbia based on Resolution 1244 and that Kosovo is still not recognised by half of UN member states."

Kurti is reported to have been the only leader in the panel who argued for the Western Balkans countries join the EU at the same time. "If one or two countries join the EU before the rest, this will cause even more problems," Kurti said.

He also opposed the idea of a mini-Schengen arrangement noting that what the Balkans need is a mini-Marshall Plan.

At the same time, President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci is reported to have called for a stronger engagement of the EU, primarily regarding visa liberalisation for Kosovo. He said the EU has failed to act on its promise and that the people of Kosovo feel deceived by the EU.

Kurti says he did not have a meeting with Vucic (RFE)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti told Radio Free Europe that he did not have a meeting with President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and that they were only part of a same event with other Western Balkans.

“I did not meet Vucic. We were at a roundtable where all Western Balkans leaders were invited,” Kurti said.

He did not comment on the roundtable discussions but did admit there were tensions with Vucic. “He felt pressure because of what I said. Then he reacted angrily,” Kurti said.

Borrell: Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is the only solution (Koha)

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said that dialogue is the only way to resolve disputes between Kosovo and Serbia.

“We need de-escalation and to rewind, otherwise talks won’t be possible. Negotiations need to start as soon as possible – also to advance on the European path,” Borrell wrote on Twitter.

He added that the whole region of the Western Balkans needs to be assured of a European perspective.

Minister Hajdari meets CEFTA representatives (media)

Minister of Economic, Work, Trade, Industry, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Investements, Rozeta Hajdari, met representatives of the Central Europe Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and discussed elimination of trade barriers and strengthening of Kosovo’s role in regional integration.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry, Hajdari expressed commitment to forward the CEFTA protocols 5 and 6 to the Assembly of Kosovo for endorsement in the shortest possible time.

She said Kosovo supports any initiative that contributes to regional cooperation: “For us it is important to have a sound cooperation with all countries in the region, by working actively to eliminate all non-tariff barriers and I therefore request a more active role of the CEFTA Secretariat in identifying and resolving trade barriers.”

With regards to the 100-percent tariff and reciprocity, Minister Hajdari said they are looking into all possibilities of future actions and that the government will very soon come out with a proposal.

“But of course it should be noted that Kosovo was forced to act this way considering the approach and discrimination it faced in trade relations by CEFTA member states,” she said.