Albanian Language Media:

• Osmani meets Ambassador Hovenier, discuss security situation (media)

• Zulfaj responds to Varhely about Association: Deal with EU enlargement (RTK)

• Kurti congratulates Ardita Sinani for being elected mayor of Presheva Municipality (RTK)

• EU and Serbia blamed for delays in addressing issue of missing persons (Koha)

• Konjufca congratulates Spiropali: Looking forward to start joint work and deepen cooperation(Kosovapress)

• Poll shows Kosovans want EU and NATO membership, worried about tensions with Serbia (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

• Sejdilar: Gorani in Kosovo without a representative in the government, it shows the government's attitude towards this community (KoSSev)

• How AKP explained the entry of Exfis into the former NIS pump in North Mitrovica (KoSSev)

• 80 new notaries in Kosovo sworn in; none from the Serbian community (Radio Mitrovica sever)

• New local government in Bujanovac, multi-ethnic majority after two decades (RTS)

• Four Serbian sanctuaries in Kosovo on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger for 18 years, what does it indicate? (Kosovo Online)

International Media:

• Ineffective and Inhumane: Denmark-Kosovo Prison Transfer Deal Continues Nordic Discrimination Towards Foreigners (Prishtina Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani meets Ambassador Hovenier, discuss security situation (media)

Kosovo President, Vjosa Osmani, received the U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, in a meeting.The presidency announced that they discussed the latest developments in the Kosovo, with a special focus on security issues.

"In the meeting, President Osmani and Ambassador Hovenier discussed coordination for meetings and activities during the High Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where President Osmani will represent the Republic of Kosovo in her capacity as head of the state. Furthermore, the meeting discussed the latest developments in the country with a special focus on security issues, as well as other topics of national interest. The President has informed the American Ambassador about the start of the phase of consultations with the leaders of the political parties regarding the regular elections, while in this meeting, President Osmani was also introduced with the new Deputy U.S. ambassador, Mrs. Anu Prattipati", announced the Presidency of Kosovo.

Zulfaj responds to Varhely for Association: Deal with EU enlargement (RTK)

Prime Minister Kurti's political adviser, Jeton Zulfaj, has responded to the suggestion of the European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, regarding the Association of municipalities with a Serb majority.

In a post on X, Zulfaj said that Varhelyi is better off dealing with the expansion of the European Union.

"I saw your suggestion, Mr. Varhelyi, for the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo, without mentioning the Brussels Basic Agreement, i.e. mutual recognition and good neighborly relations. Perhaps it is better for you to focus on EU enlargement as the dialogue in Brussels is someone else's portfolio," he wrote.

Kurti congratulates Ardita Sinani for being elected mayor of Presheva Municipality (RTK)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has congratulated Ardita Sinani for being elected as the head of the Municipality of Presheva. Kurit has expressed his Government's readiness for institutional cooperation in the service of Presheva.

"The most sincere and heartfelt congratulations to Ardita Sinani for her new position as Mayor of the Municipality of Presheva, as well as to her residents for the new mayor of their municipality. The convincing victory in the June elections was a clear determination of the will of the citizens for the municipality they want and Ardita's strong mandate to lead and govern in that direction", wrote Kurti.

EU and Serbia blamed for delays in addressing issue of missing persons (Koha)

The Declaration on Missing Persons, agreed by the Prime Minister of Kosovo and the President of Serbia, has not been followed by further actions to enlighten the fate of the missing persons. A year after the approval of this document, the authorities in Kosovo said that unlike the Serbian side, they have undertaken actions to fulfill the obligations received in Brussels.

The head of the Governmental Commission for Missing Persons, Andin Hoti, has raised concerns about the non-implementation of the statement.

"At the last meeting in Brussels, I had a discussion with Mr. Lajcak, precisely because the EU did not treat the declaration with seriousness and urgency, and unfortunately I did not receive any concrete answer in the last meeting either, even though we have already started implementing the declaration in the first days immediately after the agreement in Brussels", he said.

The news website further reports that it has not received answers from the EU even two days after addressing them.

And, the approach of the EU, but also of the Kosovo authorities, has been criticised by the Chairman of the Coordinating Council of Family Members of Missing Persons, Ahmet Grajcevci, has criticised the approach of the EU and that of Kosovo authorities.

"We have always been blocked by Serbia, but to be blocked by the European Union, the international community, this is a bit strange. Because the international community and the EU must put pressure on Serbia as much as possible to find and trace the locations that are known to be in Serbia, but the obstacle is also in our institutions that neglect this process at the same time, intentionally or unintentionally I don't know. We don't have new results about this process since 2022," said Grajcevci.

Andin Hoti emphasised that the lack of readiness of the official Belgrade to implement the declaration has also affected the work in the field. He stated the need to re-excavate in several locations in Serbia.

The director of the Fund for Humanitarian Law in Serbia, Natasa Kandic, also told Koha on Sunday that there is an urgent need to especially pressure  Serbia, in order to clarify the fate of the missing. She also said that re-excavations should be done in Batajnica, Petrovo Sello, Peruqac, but also in Budisavc.

Konjufca congratulates Spiropali: Looking forward to start joint work and deepen cooperation(Kosovapress)

The Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, Glauk Konjufca, has congratulated his counterpart from Albania, Elisa Spiropali, who was elected on Tuesday as the Speaker of the Assembly of Albania.

"My congratulations to Mrs. Elisa Spiropali for her election as Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania. I look forward to starting the joint work to continue and further deepen the cooperation between our assemblies, serving the common interest of our states, our citizens and our people", wrote Konjufca.

According to him, Kosovo and Albania are close to each other in every situation and in every field.

Poll shows Kosovans want EU and NATO membership, worried about tensions with Serbia (Koha)

 A poll throughout Kosovo by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research, shows a desire to join the European Union (EU) and NATO, strong support for democratic governance, and concerns over increasing tensions with Serbia. 

When asked about the European Union (EU), 92% of Kosovo citizens would vote to join the EU if a referendum were held today. Additionally, 94% would vote to join NATO.

“The people of Kosovo believe that economic progress and national security come with closer ties to the West,” said Paul McCarthy, Director of Europe for IRI. “Membership in both the EU and NATO will help achieve those goals.” 

The poll also found strong support for democratic governance. Eighty-five percent of adults believe democracy is the best possible form of government for Kosovo. The survey further showed that 92% believe it is very or somewhat important that women are included in political decision-making. Eighty-nine percent said the same for young adults. 

“The data clearly indicates that people are eager to participate in the national and local elections in 2025,” said McCarthy. “It is also important for them to see women and young people represented in the political process.” 

Kosovo citizens are also concerned about tensions with Serbia. Compared to a poll fielded in March 2023, the share of respondents who are very or somewhat worried that tensions with Serbia will develop into greater conflict and violence has increased by 17 percentage points.

View the poll report here: https://tinyurl.com/2jmxdfuf

Serbian Language Media 

Sejdilar: Gorani in Kosovo without a representative in the government, it shows the government's attitude towards this community (KoSSev)

There are currently no Goranis in high positions in the Kosovo government, which is the first time since its foundation, Nedzmedin Sejdilar said in the "Voice of Kosovo" podcast.

Sejdilar, a member of the Dragas Municipal Assembly from the Gorani community, spoke about the numerous problems faced by the Gorani in Kosovo. Among other things, about their (non)engagement in public administrations in Kosovo, the departure of young people, the position of this community between the relations between Serbs and Albanians, and between Belgrade and Pristina. The fact that, as he confirmed, there are almost no members of this community in the public administration in Kosovo - causes great concern, because it represents a precedent in the political engagement of the Gorani. Finally, it also indicates the attitude of the current government towards this community. He does not believe that the recently formed body, to deal with the proportional representation of non-majority communities in the public administration in Kosovo, headed by, as announced, the Minister for Communities and Return, Nenad Rasic, will help in this regard. He believes that this is only about an election campaign:

"I think that the pre-election campaign has already started and that the Government of Kosovo, Prime Minister Kurti, and Minister Nenad Rasic are using those 3,000 jobs as pre-election propaganda. They have been in the GoK for more than three years. Why they didn't bother to make something like this three years ago, that's one thing. And the second thing, speaking on behalf of the Gorani community, I can't believe in it because Kurti's government does not have a single political function in which a Goran is present. Currently, there is not a single minister, nor deputy minister, nothing. And how can I believe in something like this that is being served," said this councillor.

He expressed his doubts about the real intention of employing members of non-majority communities on the part of the GoK. 

Specifically, as far as Goranis are concerned, the competitions are often, he claims, "mounted behind the scenes", and during recruitment - the competitions are often deliberately made difficult in order to make employment impossible.

"There are very few unemployed people in our community because most of them 'ran away'. The rest are pensioners and some middle-aged people. The rest are students attending classes. As soon as they finish high school, some hurry to Europe, some go to universities. So, in a way,  unemployment is not felt so much here because we really managed to 'drive away' a huge amount of people," says Sejdilar.

In addition, young people are demotivated by the level of income in Kosovo, which, Sejdilar pointed out, is among the lowest in the Balkans. Young people, he says, are not even allowed to apply for a job in the Kosovo system, for the reason that, he points out, most Gorani in Kosovo attend classes in Serbian schools. In Kosovo, they don't recognize it:

"They finish school and college. There are those who are excellent and the best students at the faculties in Belgrade and Kosovska Mitrovica. However, when they come here, they don't even have the right to apply, because their diplomas are not recognized. And then they go," he points out.

Most of the remaining residents of Gora live on social assistance, but they are also fortunate enough to have Serbian health insurance and to be treated there.

It is clear to Sajdilar that relations, or the conflict between Serbs and Albanians, will eventually be resolved. But where are the Goranis?

"Serbs have Belgrade, which will give them maximum support. In Kosovo, negotiations are underway on the formation of the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority, which I believe will be formed eventually. There are only municipalities with a Serbian majority. When all that is resolved and with this kind of behaviour in Kosovo - Gora will die. That's how I see things. Imagine, they make a good deal, we have CSM (ZSO), we have the other side here, what will be left of Gora?".

How AKP explained the entry of Exfis into the former NIS pump in North Mitrovica (KoSSev)

The company for the sale of petroleum products Exfis submitted to the Privatization Agency of Kosovo a request for the "purchase of several sales points with direct lease", but Exfis "misunderstood" that it may enter the pump in North Mitrovica. The Agency claims this itself after the media covered in detail the first change of the logo on the former NIS pump, then the covering of the company's logo with white foil, and then the removal of the brand. At the same time, in the competition announced by the AKP itself, it is stated that bids for the recently closed gas stations in the North of Kosovo will be collected only on August 9, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., in order to be opened 15 minutes later, reported KoSSev last night among other things.

80 new notaries in Kosovo sworn in; none from the Serbian community (Radio Mitrovica sever)

A group of 80 new notaries took the oath yesterday in the Kosovo Ministry of Justice and thus officially took office. Among them there is no one who comes from the Serbian community, although there were five Serbian candidates, none of them, as explained by the Ministry of Justice, "met the criteria".

As announced on Facebook from this ministry, the notaries took the oath before the Minister of Justice Albulena Haxhiu, the President of the Supreme Court Fejzullah Rexhepi, and the President of the Chamber of Notaries Shpend Haskaj.

On July 15, the Kosovo Ministry of Justice announced the decision to appoint 101 new notaries for several municipalities in Kosovo. From 2012 until today, only one Serb has been working as a notary in the municipality of Novo Brdo.

Civil society organisations in Kosovo then expressed concern and protest regarding the decision of the Minister of Justice of Kosovo on the appointment of notaries.

New local government in Bujanovac, multi-ethnic majority after two decades (RTS)

A multi-ethnic local government was formed in Bujanovac after two decades of rule by Albanian parties. The new president of the municipality is Arber Pajaziti from the Front for Change, reported RTS.

The new councillor majority in Bujanovac has 23 councillors - from one Albanian party, three Serbian coalitions and groups of citizens, and one Roma.

Driton Redzepi from the Front for Change was elected president of the local parliament by secret ballot.

After that, the first regular session of the MA Bujanovac was called and the new president of the municipality, Arber Pajaziti, also from the Front for Change, was elected.

The members of the Albanian parties, which were in power for two decades and are now in the opposition, left the constitutive session before the election of the president of the assembly.

Ardita Sinani elected mayor of Presevo (KoSSev, Kosovo Online) 

Ardita Sinani from the Party for Democratic Action (PVD) was elected as the new president of the municipality of Presevo, replacing Ragmi Mustafa in this position, reported KoSSev. 

24 municipal councillors of Presevo, out of a total of 38, voted for the election of Sinani as the head of the municipality with an Albanian majority in Serbia.

Sinani, who is also an adviser to Kosovo PM Albin Kurti, will have Ragmi Mustafa from the Albanian Democratic Party as his vice president.

The election of Sinani as the mayor of the most important Albanian municipality in Serbia followed after she won the local elections on June 2.

But despite her victory, Sinani, who had the full support of Kurti during the election, her party still failed to have a majority to rule on its own. So, a coalition was formed again, as reported, with Kurti's help - with the second largest Albanian party in this municipality, the Alliance for the Valley, and the Albanian Democratic Union.

Four Serbian sanctuaries in Kosovo on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger for 18 years, what does it indicate? (Kosovo Online)

The UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, meeting in New Delhi, decided to keep four Serbian medieval sites in Kosovo on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Thus, the Patriarchate of Pec, Visoki Decani, Gracanica, and the Church of Our Lady of Ljevis in Prizren remain on the updated list, which includes 56 endangered sites worldwide.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added three Serbian monasteries and a church in Prizren to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2006. Despite Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and Speaker of the Assembly Glauk Konjufca requesting their removal from the list three years ago, claiming that "the security circumstances in Kosovo have completely changed since 2006 when these monuments were assessed as endangered," it was confirmed this year that there are still reasons for their inclusion on this list for a full 18 years.

Read more at:https://t.ly/5FV9c

International Media

Ineffective and Inhumane: Denmark-Kosovo Prison Transfer Deal Continues Nordic Discrimination Towards Foreigners (Prishtina Insight)

Despite the outward positivity towards the Denmark-Kosovo prison transfer deal, a closer analysis reveals an ugly underbelly to the accord, raising numerous abuse and discrimination concerns.

Mohamed Hassan Abdi moved to Denmark from Somalia when he was four years old and lived there throughout his life, never once returning to Somalia following his emigration.

Throughout his life in Denmark, Abdi was imprisoned for two separate robberies that he committed when he was a minor, along with several drug possession charges. His most serious sentencing occurred on May 18, 2018, after he illegally carried a loaded weapon in a public place. The District Court of Viborg sentenced Abdi to a two year and nine month long imprisonment, along with deportation from Denmark if he violated his two-year probation. However, after Abdi appealed, the Western Denmark High Court, on October 31, 2018, reduced his prison sentence to two years and six months but also ruled for permanent expulsion from Denmark. 

Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/42787uvk