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UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, July 1, 2025

 

Albanian Language Media: 

 

  • Another attempt today to form the new Kosovo Assembly (media)
  • EU concerned with deadlock, mentions timelines of Reforms Program (Koha)
  • CSOs react: Court ruling was clear; Assembly cannot be held hostage (media)
  • Gashi: Any deviation from open vote procedure is unconstitutional (media)
  • Barduani: Solution between Kosovo and Serbia is political not military (media)
  • Association of Journalists: Safety of journalists remains fragile (EO)
  • “Serb in the north against the Serbian List” (Telegrafi)

 

Serbian Language Media:

 

  • Vucic meets with von der Leyen, other officials in Seville (Tanjug)
  • Djuric met with Szijjarto: Serbia and Hungary on the right side of history (Kosovo Online)
  • Petkovic: "Kurti and his police are terrorists who persecute the Serbian people" (Tanjug)
  • 70 percent of Albanians see the CSM as a threat to Kosovo, while 68 percent of Serbs expect the situation to worsen (Kosovo Online, KiM radio) 
  • Picula on Serbia protests: Vucic hesitant on elections, senses his grip on power is no longer secure (Beta, N1)
  • Spokesman says EC closely monitoring situation in Serbia (N1)

 

Albanian Language Media 

 

Another attempt today to form the new Kosovo Assembly (media)

 

Most news websites report that MPs will meet in what will be the 40th attempt to form the new Kosovo Assembly. MPs are failing to reach an agreement on the election of the new Speaker of the Assembly, with Vetevendosje proposing a secret vote committee and parties that have been in the opposition in the previous mandate refusing the proposal.

 

EU concerned over deadlock, mentions timelines of Reforms Program (Koha)

 

The EU has expressed concern on Monday over the failure to form new institutions in Kosovo, due to which Kosovo currently cannot benefit from the Growth Plan dedicated to Western Balkan countries. The blockage of over €800 million from the European Union, due to the non-constitution of the ninth legislature of the Assembly – which is required to ratify the agreement with the bloc – directly affects projects related to education, economic development, and the wellbeing of citizens. If the agreement is not ratified, Kosovo will not get €61 million in pre-financing from the Growth Plan and €32.8 million from reforms that it has already implemented, totaling to around €94 million. 

 

A spokesperson for the European Commission said on Monday: “we are concerned that the institutions have still not been formed, further delaying the ratification of the Loan Agreements and Financial Instruments. Kosovo retains its right to benefit from pre-financing as soon as the relevant agreements related to the Reform and Growth Programme are ratified. However, the Reform and Growth Programme is a time-limited instrument, adopted for the period 2024–2027, and it is in Kosovo’s interest for the ratification to take place as soon as possible in order to fully utilise all the opportunities offered by the Growth Plan for the benefit of its citizens. Only then, and once all other conditions are met, can disbursement of funds take place under the Growth Plan”.

 

CSOs react: Court ruling was clear; Assembly cannot be held hostage (media)

 

Over 50 civil society organizations in Kosovo expressed deep concern on Monday over the deadlock in the Kosovo Assembly, arguing that it undermines Kosovo’s democratic order and constitutional functioning. In a joint statement, the organizations said that the Assembly is the highest institution and the pillar of parliamentary democracy. They said that the institutional vacuum has hindered the approval of laws, democratic oversight of the Government, and the addressing of urgent issues affecting people’s lives.

 

The organizations welcomed the ruling of the Constitutional Court saying that it was a necessary intervention to clarify procedural ambiguities and define constitutional limits regarding the constitution of the new assembly. They said that the ruling reiterates that the procedure for constitution is clearly defined by the Constitution, the rules of procedure of the Assembly, and parliamentary practices, and that any deviation constitutes a violation of the constitutional order.

 

“The Court emphasized that the winning party has the right to propose the candidate for Speaker of the Assembly, but this right is conditioned on building a parliamentary majority through inter-party cooperation,” the statement notes.

 

The organizations also harshly criticized the management of the constitutive session by chairperson Avni Dehari, saying that he deviated from the agreed order established during the 08 April 2025 meeting and for interfering in the procedure. They also argued that Dehari proposed a secret vote committee without legal grounds and allowed its composition without adequate representation of other parliamentary parties, seriously damaging fair representation and turning the process into a one-party action.

 

In closing, the organizations stressed that the Kosovo Assembly doesn’t belong to a single party and cannot be held hostage by any political party. “Democracy calls for functionality, respect for procedures, and readiness for compromise. We call on all political parties, especially the winning party, to fulfill their constitutional obligations and enable the unblocking of the process,” they said. 

 

Gashi: Any deviation from open vote procedure is unconstitutional (media)

 

MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Arben Gashi said in a Facebook post on Monday that the Constitutional Court made it clear in its ruling that the vote on the new Assembly Speaker needs to be open and in line with the regulation and parliamentary practices. He also harshly criticized any attempt by the chair of the constitutive session to determine the way of voting, saying that such an action is arbitrary, unacceptable and against the Constitution. “The Constitutional Court was clear: the election of the Speaker of the Assembly is done through an open vote, in accordance with the regulation and the practices so far,” he said.

 

Barduani: Solution between Kosovo and Serbia is political not military (media)

 

Commander of NATO’s peacekeeping forces in Kosovo, KFOR, Major General Enrico Barduani, said on Monday that the security situation in Kosovo is calm but also fragile due to unresolved political issues. He reiterated NATO’s commitment to security and stability in Kosovo, and said that the EU-facilitated dialogue between the parties is the only path toward lasting peace.

 

Barduani mentioned the attack against KFOR troops in Zvecan in May 2023 and the attack on the Iber Lepenci water canal in November 2024, adding that KFOR is taking preventive measures to maintain calm and cooperation with all local communities. “We are prepared and fully present to fulfil our UN-mandated mission. But regional stability does not depend solely on KFOR – it depends on the political will for dialogue and cooperation … The violence in Zvecan and Banjska was unacceptable. NATO has demanded that those responsible be brought to justice, but unfortunately, we have not seen sufficient progress in this regard,” he said.

 

Association of Journalists: Safety of journalists remains fragile (EO)

 

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo held a roundtable in Pristina on Monday where it presented the latest findings from the monitoring of hate speech in the media and indicators about the freedom of the media and safety of journalists in Kosovo. 

 

Xhemajl Rexha, chairman of the AJK Board, said that the safety of journalists remains fragile and highlighted an increase in attacks and pressure especially during election campaigns. He said that the report covers the period April-June 2025 and that it was drafted in cooperation with UNMIK. “Throughout the year, we monitor cases of attacks against journalists in order to reach conclusions about the level of respect for the freedom of the media and the safety of journalists. For the first time, the monitoring report covers the period April–June 2025, focusing on hate speech in Kosovo media, including reporting by both Albanian and Serbian news outlets, and this was done in cooperation with UNMIK. In general, the safety of journalists continues to be fragile. Journalists in Kosovo continue to be attacked in various forms. The findings cover 2024, during which attacks on journalists persisted. The number of cases has continued to rise year by year, and the forms of interference in journalists’ work are diverse. Pressures and various forms of attacks on journalists also intensified at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, especially during the election campaign, with increased incidents attributed to various actors, primarily the ruling political party of the previous government, Vetevendosje,” Rexha said.

 

“Serb in the north against Serbian List” (Telegrafi)

 

The news website reports that a Serb working at the Jarinje crossing has accused the biggest Serb political party in Kosovo, the Serbian List, of putting pressure against him and others that did not obey their calls to withdraw from Kosovo’s institutions. “I did not withdraw from the institutions. I work in Jarinje with Kosovo’s institutions and I have decided to stay here and work,” he said, adding that he is currently the only Serb that works at the Jarinje crossing. 

 

Asked if there was pressure by the Serbian List to withdraw from their jobs, as different Serbian officials, including Aleksandar Vulin, said the withdrawal of Serbs from Kosovo’s institutions was spontaneous, he said: “no it was not spontaneous. It is well known who orchestrates and who does these things”.

 

Serbian Language Media

 

Vucic meets with von der Leyen, other officials in Seville (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday he had had a useful discussion with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and meetings with other world officials at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville and that he would hold a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of his visit to Spain.

Speaking to reporters, Vucic said the discussion with von der Leyen had addressed Serbia's EU path, the economy and decisions to be made by both the European Commission and Serbia in the coming period.

"I think it was extremely useful. I had a long discussion, we have never discussed our bilateral cooperation for so long," he said.

He said he expected Qatari PM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, with whom he also met in Seville, to visit Belgrade by the end of the year, and that he had also spoken with the newly-elected president of Mozambique, which he noted was an exceptionally friendly country that had made a last-minute decision to abstain in a UN General Assembly vote on a Srebrenica resolution. Vucic also said that he had a long conversation with Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, president of Angola,  the World Bank president,  the Georgian FM. 

He also said that he had a friendly and cordial meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, discussing  further improvement of bilateral cooperation, Serbia's European path and the situation in Europe and the world. Vucic also informed Macron with the political developments in Serbia.

Djuric met with Szijjarto: Serbia and Hungary on the right side of history (Kosovo Online)

Following his meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, Serbian FM Marko Djuric stated yesterday that Hungary and Serbia are on the right side of history and on the side of protecting true democracy. Djuric emphasized Serbia's gratitude to its Hungarian friends for understanding the difficult position of Serbs in Kosovo and noted that Hungary, through its participation in the KFOR mission, contributes to the security of both the Serbian population and others.

Djuric said that the meeting with Szijjarto was one of many regular meetings held over the years and reflects the exceptional political, economic, energy, security, and cultural cooperation between the two countries, which he noted was growing year by year.

Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/yn6yp79d

Petkovic: "Kurti and his police are terrorists who persecute the Serbian people" (Tanjug)

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, said yesterday that the prime minister of Kosovo in a technical mandate, Albin Kurti, and his police are ''terrorists who persecute the Serbian people''.

"The only real terrorists are Kurti and his police who persecute the Serbian people every day! And that can be confirmed by every Serb who lives in Kosovo and Metohija. Kurti will not impose a narrative on us about Banjska, because if Kurti himself was asked, there would be no Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija," said Petkovic in a post on the X.

 

70 percent of Albanians see the CSM as a threat to Kosovo, while 68 percent of Serbs expect the situation to worsen (Kosovo Online, KiM radio) 

More than two-thirds of Serbs in Kosovo, specifically 68.36 percent, expect the situation to deteriorate further, while as many as 70 percent of Albanians see the Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities (CSM) as a threat to Kosovo, according to the results of the research “Perceptions of Compromise in the Normalization Process Between Kosovo and Serbia – Difficult Questions Ahead,” presented yesterday in Pristina.

The author of the study, political scientist Ognjen Gogic, stated that 79.19 percent of respondents assessed the position of the Serbian community in Kosovo as bad or very bad, while senior researcher at the Kosovo Centre for Security Studies, Ramadan Ilazi, noted that 74 percent of respondents believe Serbia is responsible for the poor relations between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo.

The public opinion poll was conducted by the NGO CASA with the support of the Open Society Foundation.

In the survey portion of the research, 300 respondents of Serbian ethnicity from both the north and south of Kosovo participated, while the second part included opinions of Albanian respondents.

Among Serbian respondents, as many as 82.65 percent said the position of the Serbian community had worsened in recent years, while 68.36 percent expect the situation to deteriorate even further in the future.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/k78bndxz

Picula on Serbia protests: Vucic hesitant on elections, senses his grip on power is no longer secure (Beta, N1)

Tonino Picula, the European Parliament (EP) Rapporteur for Serbia and Croatian MEP from the Social Democratic Party, said Monday that there is a clear evolution in the dissatisfaction of a significant portion of Serbian citizens with Aleksandar Vucic’s government, who is hesitant to call snap parliamentary elections because he senses his grip on power is no longer secure.

“The evolution (over eight months since the Novi Sad disaster) has shown that dissatisfaction exists and is gaining strength over time,” Picula told Croatian Radio. On November 1, 2024, a concrete canopy collapsed at the renovated Novi Sad Train Station, killing 16 people.

He added that observers have noticed the problem lies in how the people’s dissatisfaction is being articulated.

“Students demanded an impartial investigation into who was responsible for the deaths of 16 people. They called for a state free from corruption. Saturday’s protest in Serbia brought something new. The demand for snap elections in Serbia was emphasized and repeated. Students have long been toying with the idea of a student list that would include respected figures from Serbia. They rejected any connection with the institutional opposition in Serbia,” Picula explained.

He assessed that Sunday brought a new dimension - the open and systematic use of violence that continued after the protests, which has sparked a fresh wave of dissatisfaction in Serbia.

“I assume this will produce further waves of protests, especially since Vucic feels emboldened and continues to use all the means at his disposal,” Picula emphasized.

Spokesman says EC closely monitoring situation in Serbia (N1)

European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier said on Monday that the Commission is monitoring the situation in Serbia and warned that the right to peaceful demonstrations must be respected.

"We are closely monitoring the situation. We condemn all acts of hate and violence. The right of peaceful demonstration is to be upheld,” he told a news briefing answering a question from an N1 correspondent.

Mercier said that “police action must be proportionate and respect fundamental rights, including for all those being detained”.

“We expect a swift, transparent and credible investigation into allegations of excessive use of force by law enforcement authorities. And we also expect that due process is ensured for all those detained in the context of protests. Fundamental values are at the core of our common European project and need to be respected. This also applies to freedom of assembly as a fundamental right,” he said.