Albanian Language Media:

• Hovenier: Constitutional Court, the only body on planet that can assess draft statute of Association (Klan)
• Vetevendosje expects EU to convince Serbia to implement agreement (media)
• Haxhiu doesn’t expect Serbia will respond to request to extradite Kosovars (RFE)
• Serbia arrests person suspected of war crimes in Koshare in 1999 (media)
• Haxholli: Kosovo prisoners in Serbia not allowed visits as Serbia does not recognize their Kosovo documents  (Klan)
• Haradinaj meets Hovenier, discuss current developments, cooperation (media)
• EULEX and Ministry of Justice sign two agreements on missing persons (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

• Dacic: Suspect arrested for alleged crimes committed in Kosovo in 1999 (Tanjug, media)
• Drecun: No mechanism or EU bureaucrats will force Belgrade to recognize “the so-called Kosovo” (Tanjug, RTV, Kosovo Online)
• Milos Besic: The Brussels dialogue should be stopped (Danas, Kosovo Online)
• A Serb arrested in Brnjak released pending trial (KiM radio, KoSSev)
• Brnabic discusses “environmentally friendly lithium mining” with German businessmen (N1, Beta)

International Media: 

• New HR Kallas to focus on Russia, appointment of special representative for Serbia and Kosovo expected (EWB)

 Albanian Language Media

Hovenier: Constitutional Court, the only body on planet that can assess draft statute of Association (Klan)

The U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, has spoken in an extensive interview in Klan Kosova about the issue of the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority and the draft statute compiled by the EU. He said that the U.S. expects the government of Kosovo to take some action to send the draft statute to the Constitutional Court, saying that "this is the government's choice".

"But, let's be clear, this is not an unofficial document, this is not something we just randomly handed over. A delegation composed of the highest person of the European Union, responsible for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, with the national security advisors, the closest advisors of the Chancellor of Germany, the President of France, the Prime Minister of Italy and the special envoy of the States of The United States of America for Kosovo and Serbia came and submitted that document saying: We believe that this creates an Association of Serb-majority municipalities that addresses all the concerns raised, that does not require changes to your constitution, has no executive power , does not create another layer of government".

"And as we have told Kosovo, we believe that it is good enough and it is sufficient for Kosovo to fulfil its obligations using this draft. This is very powerful. These are not just a string of ideas from some consulting organisation. So our best advice to the government of Kosovo is to use this opportunity to push it forward. There is only one body on the planet that can absolutely decide whether this draft statute is in accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo - the Constitutional Court of Kosovo itself", said Hovenier.

He further said that the USA and the EU would respect any decision of the Constitution, as he added that they would expect Kosovo to do the same. Speaking about Prime Minister Albin Kurti's proposal for the draft to be sent to The Venice Commission by the special emissary, Miroslav Lajcak, Hovenier said “I don't know the purpose of this proposal. Again, I don't believe it…. We greatly respect the Venice Commission, but many respected experts have been involved in the drafting of this draft statute. I don't think we're afraid of whatever the Venice Commission wants to do with it, but it doesn't solve the underlying problem. The issue as I understand it or as I have heard from the government is that they are not convinced that the draft statute is in accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo".

Listen the entire interview here: https://tinyurl.com/bdzkj3nn

Vetevendosje expects EU to convince Serbia to implement agreement (media)

Representatives of the ruling Vetevendosje Movement expect the European Union to convince Serbia to implement the agreement reached in Brussels last year. VV MP Driton Hyseni said on Wednesday that “what we have seen so far is that there has not been any progress in the eventual sequencing of the agreements in Brussels and Ohrid. I hope the EU facilitators will manage to convince Serbia to implement the agreements reached. We need to have a sequencing of the agreement, and the implementation of every article of the agreement,” he said.

Haxhiu doesn’t expect Serbia will respond to request to extradite Kosovars (RFE)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said on Wednesday that due to the lack of legal cooperation she doesn’t believe Serbia will answer the request of Kosovo’s authorities to extradite Kosovo citizens who are being held in detention in Serbia. “We haven’t received any response yet. I cannot say whether or not we will get a response but considering that there has been constant refusal for legal cooperation … it is certainly unlikely that we will receive a response,” she said.

Four persons from Kosovo – Nezir Mehmetaj, Hasan Dakaj, Sadik Duraku and Tefik Mustafa – are held in Serbian jails facing charges for war crimes. Kosovo’s authorities said the arrest of Kosovars on war crimes allegations are arbitrary and unfair. 

Serbia arrests person suspected of war crimes in Koshare in 1999 (media)

Serbian police arrested a person suspected of war crimes allegedly committed in Koshare, Kosovo, in 1999, Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said on Wednesday. The Serbian ministry did not say where the suspect is from and published only the initials. The suspect is believed to have committed war crimes against members of the Yugoslav army in May in 1999. 

Secretary of Kosovo’s liaison office in Serbia, Fatmir Haxholli, reacted to the announcement, saying that the only ones that committed crimes in Kosovo were Serbian military and paramilitary forces, “and if someone should be persecuted for war crimes in Kosovo and in Koshare, it should be the members of those forces”.

Haxholli: Kosovo prisoners in Serbia not allowed visits as Serbia does not recognize their Kosovo documents  (Klan)

The secretary of the Kosovo Office in Belgrade, Fatmir Haxholli, has raised concerns about the high level of physical and legal insecurity for citizens from Kosovo who have been arrested by the Serbian authorities.

Haxholli shared a communication between a Serbian lawyer and a citizen of Kosovo, who, according to him, recently went to visit a family member imprisoned in Serbia, but was unable to do so. "A fragment of the text of the Serbian lawyer: I called the head of the prison... He told me that these are some political games, and that this is what he was ordered to do and he cannot allow anyone until further instructions," wrote Haxholli.

A Kosovo citizen who went to visit a family member claimed that even though the visit was approved, it was put in jeopardy on the grounds that they could not recognize the identification document of the RKS to carry out this visit.

Haradinaj meets Hovenier, discuss current developments, cooperation (media)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj met on Wednesday with the U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier. Haradinaj said in a Facebook post that they discussed current developments, cooperation, “without forgetting the crucial support of the United States of America in all phases of Kosovo’s freedom and state-building”.

EULEX and Ministry of Justice sign two agreements on missing persons (RTK)

The Head of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), Giovanni Pietro Barbano, and the Kosovo Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, signed on Wednesday two Technical Arrangements aimed at consolidating the ongoing excellent co-operation between EULEX and the Institute of Forensic Medicine (IFM), for an increased effectiveness of the work on missing persons.

The ‘Technical Arrangement between EULEX and IFM on Conducting Joint Casework’ covers the essential provision of assistance by EULEX’s Forensic Medicine Team to IFM in all technical aspects of the search, exhumation and identification of missing persons related to the Kosovo conflict.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/5t3uphz4

Serbian Language Media 

Dacic: Suspect arrested for alleged crimes committed in Kosovo in 1999 (Tanjug, media)

Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dacic announced yesterday that a suspect has been arrested for crimes committed in May 1999 in Kosovo against members of the Yugoslav Army.

"Police officers from the War Crimes Investigation Service have arrested and, with a criminal complaint for the criminal offence of war crimes against prisoners, brought in for questioning and further action by the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office, the suspect F.K. (56)," stated Dacic, as reported by the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP).

Dacic added that F.K. is suspected of allegedly committing crimes in May 1999 in the village of Kosare in Kosovo against members of the Yugoslav Army, reported news agency Tanjug. 

Drecun: No mechanism or EU bureaucrats will force Belgrade to recognize “the so-called Kosovo” (Tanjug, RTV, Kosovo Online)

President of the Committee for Defense and Internal Affairs of the Serbian National Assembly, Milovan Drecun, said yesterday that no mechanism of the EU or some European bureaucrats will be able to force Belgrade to accept the recognition of "the fake state of Kosovo".

He told this Tanjug agency regarding the claims of Tobi Vogel from the Council for Democratisation Policy to the Albanian media that the election of the Estonian Kaja Kallas is positive for Pristina and that she will be much harsher towards Belgrade "in terms of politics and atmosphere", than the EU High Commissioner for Foreign Policy and the security of Josep Borrell and the EU's special envoy for dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak.

According to Drecun, if a firmer position should be taken in order to achieve progress in the dialogue, it should be towards Pristina, reported Tanjug.

Milos Besic: The Brussels dialogue should be stopped (Danas, Kosovo Online)

Milos Besic, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, believes that after a series of unsuccessful meetings in Brussels and the new conditions of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the negotiations on the normalisation of relations should be stopped because it is clear that neither Pristina nor the EU has the political will to end them.

"I think that these negotiations should simply be stopped. It is very clear that there is no political will for negotiations. It is very clear that the only goal and strategy of Mr. Kurti is an independent Kosovo at any cost, without making any compromise or concession. And it is very clear that what we call mediators, international mediators in negotiations, are actually on the side of independent Kosovo. Therefore, there is no doubt that the Quint countries and all key EU countries support Kosovo's independence and are doing everything they can in order to put pressure on Serbia, in order for Kosovo to get that independence," Besic told Kosovo Online, quoted Danas. 

He added, among other things, that the leadership of Serbia was aware that there are no negotiations, but that its position was forced at the moment.

A Serb arrested in Brnjak released pending trial (KiM radio, KoSSev)

Man A.P. who was arrested two days ago at the Brnjak crossing, and whom the Kosovo authorities were looking for in connection with the narcotics case, based on the judge's decision, was released pending trial, it was confirmed for KoSSev yesterday.

"Today, a hearing was held in order to decide on measures to ensure the presence of the accused, that is, custody. The judge made a decision that A.P. be released pending trial, which the prosecutor did not object to," said lawyer Jelena Krivokapic for portal KoSSev. She added that the main trial in the case of her client is scheduled for September 17 this year.

The Kosovo police could not specify the details of the case, except that the person was wanted in connection with the case of narcotics. 

According to Krivokapic, it is a case from 2004 involving four defendants.

Brnabic discusses “environmentally friendly lithium mining” with German businessmen (N1, Beta)

During her official visit to Berlin, Serbian Parliament speaker Ana Brnabic discussed with German businessmen “environmentally friendly lithium mining practices,” said a press release issued by the Serbian Parliament, reported N1 yesterday.

“I would like to invite German companies to think about what we could do together regarding renewable energy sources, large-scale energy storage systems, battery technology production,” the Parliament quoted her as saying.

Brnabic presented Serbia’s economic indicators and cooperation with German companies, adding that she would like to hear from the Germans about the progress of their two major lithium extraction projects – Vulkan and Zinnwald.

“Like Germany, we too have lithium reserves. Germany is much smarter than Serbia and Germany will be a country that will produce lithium,” she said, adding she would like to see how they produce lithium in accordance with the highest environmental protection standards.

N1 recall recall that the Serbian Government has decided to launch in the next two weeks a media campaign to support the lithium mining project in Serbia. A source told N1 that a list of people has been forwarded to pro-government media who are expected to participate as speakers in daily guest appearances, debates, and roundtable discussions on the topic of lithium mining.

During her visit to Germany, Brnabic also said that Germany is Serbia’s most important trade partner, with bilateral trade exceeding nine billion euros in 2023.

International Media

New HR Kallas to focus on Russia, appointment of special representative for Serbia and Kosovo expected (EWB)

Estonian politician Kaja Kallas will be faced with difficult tasks in the next phase of negotiations on resolving the Kosovo issue, when she replaces Spaniard Josep Borrell as High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy this autumn, our interlocutors note. Kallas is expected to lead the Brussels Dialogue on Kosovo at the highest political level, as Borrell did, but it is believed that a new EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue will be appointed, since Miroslav Lajčak’s mandate expires in January 2025.

At last week’s summit, EU leaders agreed that Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, would be nominated as top EU diplomat, while Ursula von der Leyen was nominated for a second term as President of the European Commission and Antonio Costa as President of the European Council.

Kaja Kallas told reporters after the EU leaders’ decision to nominate a “leading trio” was announced: ”We will be a great team”.

“Your trust means a lot to me. We must continue to work together to ensure that Europe is an effective global partner and that our citizens remain free, secure and prosperous,” she said.

Asked what he expected if Kaja Kallas became the EU top diplomat, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he would wait to see what it looked like.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yw73ydcc