• COVID – 19: 348 new cases, 5 deaths (media)
• Hoti: Situation with COVID – 19 in Kosovo under control (media)
• EU Head of Office: Kosovo will get free vaccines for over 300,000 people (media)
• Osmani: Going to elections helps further democracy (Radio Free Europe)
• Hoti: New elections are not excluded (RTK)
• Gashi: No political readiness to resolve President issue (media)
• Konjufca: We expect to win up to 50 percent of votes (media)
• Xhemajli: PDK has a candidate for post of Kosovo President (media)
• Palmer: US, EU working together on Kosovo – Serbia dialogue (Indeksonline)
• Ruecker denies knowing of any corruption affair while heading KTA (EO/Koha)
• WHO vaccine scheme risks failure, leaving poor countries with no COVID shots until 2024 (Reuters)

COVID – 19: 348 new cases, 5 deaths (media)

348 new cases of COVID – 19 and five deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 421 persons have recovered from the virus during this time. There are 12,784 active cases of COVID – 19 in Kosovo.

Hoti: Situation with COVID – 19 in Kosovo under control (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said on Wednesday that the situation with the coronavirus pandemic in Kosovo is under control and that the restrictive measures which have been in place since November 11 have shown satisfactory results.

“In the last couple of days, the number of new cases has stabilised, there is a slight decrease, but we can say that the situation has become more stable. We have stopped the exponential rise in new cases and the situation is under control,” Hoti told a press conference in Prishtina.

Hoti said the situation is not expected to improve in the coming weeks and that there is a similar trend all over Europe. “We need to prepare for all possible scenarios,” he added.

EU Head of Office: Kosovo will get free vaccines for over 300,000 people (media)

The European Union Head of Office in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, took to Twitter on Wednesday that to note that thanks to the European Union’s contribution to the COVAX initiative, Kosovo will get free vaccines for more than 300,000 people.

Osmani: Going to elections helps further democracy (Radio Free Europe)

Kosovo Acting President Vjosa Osmani said on Wednesday that she believes that by the end of January next year the situation with the new Kosovo President will become clearer. “We will see if the current political forces will be able to elect a new President or if the country will go to new elections,” Osmani said in a joint press conference with her Albanian counterpart, Ilir Meta, in Tirana.

Osmani argued that going to elections does not damage Kosovo but rather helps to further develop democracy. “Elections could produce stronger institutions in terms of processes and challenges that lie ahead,” she said.

Osmani said new elections could result in a new Assembly that will overcome several difficulties. “We cannot allow for these blockades to continue at a time when we are combating the pandemic and all its consequences,” she added.

Osmani, who is also President of the Kosovo Assembly, said she will run with an independent list in the new elections and not as part of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).

Hoti: New elections are not excluded (RTK)

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti commented on Wednesday on a possible agreement with political parties to reach a consensus on a candidate for the Kosovo President post. “We are trying to overcome the situation and arrange a meeting. The possibility of new elections is not excluded,” Hoti was quoted as saying.

Gashi: No political readiness to resolve President issue (media)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) parliamentary group chief Arben Gashi said in an interview with T7 on Thursday that there is no political readiness to resolve the Kosovo President issue.

“We have a coalition with 63 – 64 MPs. There is a constitutional requirement to elect the President. 81 MPs need to take part in the voting process regardless of how they will vote. Now we have an unacceptable approach by the opposition parties – the PDK and VV – as well as our partner in the ruling coalition, the Serbian List. In general, there is no political readiness to resolve the President issue,” he said.

Asked to comment on calls for early parliamentary elections, Gashi said that “if a new President is not elected, we are obliged to go to new elections within 45 days”.

Konjufca: We expect to win up to 50 percent of votes (media)

Vetevendosje Movement (VV) deputy leader Glauk Konjufca said on Wednesday in a debate on T7 that VV is the only option for the people of Kosovo. “VV is the absolute option. The people have seen this, and they are deciding. In the current circumstances, I don’t believe there is any other party worth voting for,” he argued.

Konjufca also said: “PDK [Democratic Party of Kosovo] officials are saying we are the first and claiming that they are second. Veliu [senior LDK official] said recently he doesn’t believe we will win 50 percent of votes, but he did say that we are the first. Pal Lekaj [senior AAK official] said the same thing. I will tell you how much we expect to win in the elections. We expect to win up to 50 percent of the votes.”

Xhemajli: PDK has a candidate for post of Kosovo President (media)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Secretary Bajrush Xhemajli said in an interview with ABC on Wednesday that the PDK has a candidate for the post of Kosovo President.

Xhemajli said they would announce their candidate when the time is right and that “it would be healthy for the political landscape in Kosovo for the PDK to keep the post of President”.

“The situation is grave especially after some of the leaders went to The Hague. A gap has been created especially with the post of President and this has made the political landscape very fragile. We want a new President to be elected. 80 votes are needed to elect the President. The other option is to go to elections,” he said.

“We have a candidate from our party, but we need to meet and discuss … This is a person with credibility, and I think he meets the requirements of the post of President. The parties must communicate,” Xhemajli said.

Palmer: US, EU working together on Kosovo – Serbia dialogue (Indeksonline)

Matthew Palmer, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Special Representative for the Western Balkans, said on Wednesday that the U.S. and the European Union are working closely together on the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

“We are working side by side. There is now a greater dynamic. The normalisation of relations between Prishtina and Belgrade will be a major step forward,” he said.

Palmer said there were exaggerated statements that the U.S. and the European Union are competing in the process. “A lot of work remains to be done, starting from where they are right now and where they want to go,” he said.

Palmer argued that the political elite in Kosovo must unite in the process of dialogue. He also said that the U.S. fully supports the EU Special Representative for the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak.

Ruecker denies knowing of any corruption affair while heading KTA (EO/Koha)

Joachim Ruecker, former chairman of the Kosovo Trust Agency (KTA), told members of the Kosovo Assembly inquiry committee on the process of privatisation that he has no knowledge of any corruption affair during his work, Ekonomia Online initially reported.

Ruecker said he was not directly involved in the privatisation process. “I am not aware of any corruption case in the privatisation process when I was overseeing,” he said.

Ruecker, who was former head of UNMIK during 2006-2008, said the privatisation process was a joint responsibility of the KTA Board and UNMIK.

WHO vaccine scheme risks failure, leaving poor countries with no COVID shots until 2024 (Reuters)

The global scheme to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries faces a “very high” risk of failure, potentially leaving nations home to billions of people with no access to vaccines until as late as 2024, internal documents say.

The World Health Organization’s COVAX programme is the main global scheme to vaccinate people in poor and middle income countries around the world against the coronavirus. It aims to deliver at least 2 billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021 to cover 20% of the most vulnerable people in 91 poor and middle-income countries, mostly in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

But in internal documents reviewed by Reuters, the scheme’s promoters say the programme is struggling from a lack of funds, supply risks and complex contractual arrangements which could make it impossible to achieve its goals.

See more at: https://reut.rs/3al7WHU