• Kurti meets Quint representatives at OSCE and UK Ambassador (media)
• Hovenier welcomes Kosovo decision to accept French-German proposal (media)
• Konjufca: French-German plan is acceptable; a new form for Association must be found (Ekonomia Online)
• Osmani: Future of Kosovo and Montenegro lies within European Union (media)
• Mehaj meets NATO representatives; discuss role of KFOR (media)
• Hyseni: Constitutional Court must not interpret agreement on Association (KSP)
• Investigation: Religious Propaganda that Threatens Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

Kurti meets Quint representatives at OSCE and UK Ambassador (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met on Tuesday with the permanent representatives of Quint countries at the OSCE and UK Ambassador to Kosovo, Nicholas Abbott. They discussed cooperation between Kosovo and Quint countries within the scope of the OSCE and how this cooperation can be furthered in the second half of the government’s mandate. Kurti expressed gratitude for the role and contribution of the OSCE and their continuous support to Kosovo’s institutions.

Kurti briefed the ambassadors about the latest development in Kosovo and the government’s achievements in the rule of law area, reforms, economic and democratic progress. The meeting also discussed relations between Kosovo and Serbia and the European proposal, for which Kurti said it is acceptable as a good basis for further discussions and a solid platform to move forward.

Hovenier welcomes Kosovo decision to accept French-German proposal (media)

United States Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said on Tuesday that the U.S. welcomes the decision of the Kosovo institutions to accept the French-German proposal for an agreement with Serbia. “The United States is encouraged by and welcomes the decision by Kosovo also to accept the EU Proposal in principle, and we will continue to provide our full support to the EU-facilitated Dialogue. The interim agreement will bring significant benefits to both Kosovo and Serbia,” Hovenier wrote on Twitter.

Konjufca: French-German plan is acceptable; a new form for Association must be found (Ekonomia Online)

Kosovo Assembly President, Glauk Konjufca, said on Tuesday that the French-German plan is acceptable for Kosovo because it does not mention the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. But he said that with the plan, Kosovo assumes the obligation to implement the agreements signed so far. And since the Association was ruled out by the Constitutional Court, he said a new form must be found for the association.

Konjufca said international representatives have asked to keep the confidentiality of the plan and not make it public. He also said that Prime Minister Kurti had the plan since September last year. “As far as I know, the German and French representatives presented to him in September last year, but the proposers of the plan asked not to share it with the public … because the process can be ruined if confidentiality is not protected,” he said.

Osmani: Future of Kosovo and Montenegro lies within European Union (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on Tuesday after meeting her Montenegrin counterpart Milo Djukanovic that “the future of Republic of Kosovo and Montenegro lies within the European Union!” “We reaffirmed our readiness to continue joint efforts to strengthen the Kosovo-Montenegro friendship and continue cooperation to achieve this goal,” Osmani tweeted.

Djukanovic said after the meeting: “We understand Kosovo’s ambitions to become a member of the Council of Europe, to get the candidate status for the European Union, and we strongly support this”.

Mehaj meets NATO representatives; discuss role of KFOR (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defence, Armend Mehaj, posted on Twitter on Tuesday about his meeting with NATO representatives. “Great meeting with interested Allies @NATO, hosted by the @UKNATO Ambassador @DavidQuarrey. Very important discussion on the security sector reform progress, the essential role of @NATO_KFOR & excellent relations & contribution of the #NATO-#NALT in Kosovo,” Mehaj tweeted.

Hyseni: Constitutional Court must not interpret agreement on Association (KSP)

Gjilan Mayor and member of the Vetevendosje presidency, Alban Hyseni, said on Tuesday that the Constitutional Court in Kosovo should not interpreted international agreements, such as the agreement on the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. “The Constitutional Court should not be asked if the agreement on the Association should be implemented or not,” he said.

According to Hyseni, the Constitutional Court can interpret the agreement only if it is asked a direct question about the constitutionality of principles.

Investigation: Religious Propaganda that Threatens Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

Dangerous content promoting political Islam, religious extremism, ‘holy war’ or jihad and disobedience towards Kosovo’s constitution, continues to be present on hundreds of websites in the Albanian language. BIRN’s research sheds light on some of the topics touched by this propaganda.

Recent research, by BIRN found that during the year 2022, substantial quantities of materials promoting political Islam in Albanian were published on the Internet and shared on social networks.

Although security institutions say they have shut down hundreds of such sites, many of the posts are still accessible to the public. Meanwhile, the Government has yet to adopt a strategic plan to delegitimize this narrative with a counter-narrative.

The research shows that publications made during the year 2022 are dominated by narratives promoting the victimization of Muslims in Kosovo and beyond.

The source of propaganda

Between the years 2012-2022, security institutions in Kosovo closed hundreds of pages and platforms promoting political Islam and religious terrorism.

The term “political Islam”, refers broadly to any interpretation of Islam that serves as a basis for political identity and action. More specifically, it refers to movements that represent modern political mobilization in the name of Islam.

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