• KLA veterans end protest after Assembly halts session (media)
• Kosovo Parliament Paralysed as War Veterans, Opposition MPs Protest (BIRN)
• Lajcak trying to set meeting between Kurti and Vucic before summer break (media)
• Osmani: Our path to EU cannot be stopped by Moscow (media)
• Cautious optimism over visa liberalisation for Kosovo (media)
• Kosovars tire of knocking at Europe's closed doors (AFP/France 24)
• Greece appoints special envoy for the Western Balkans (Kallxo)
• Albanian PM Calls on Ukraine to Recognise Kosovo (Exit)
• Krasniqi: I don't believe this government will see its term through (Koha)
• 72 bomb threats reported across Kosovo yesterday, all false (media)
• Police arrest, later release, PSD leader Dardan Molliqaj (media)
• Supreme Court rules in favour of new electricity tariffs (media)

 

 

KLA veterans end protest after Assembly halts session (media)

KLA war veterans ended their protest over non-inclusion in the minimum wage bill yesterday after the Kosovo Assembly closed its session. Opposition parties insisted on the session being halted while the ruling parties argued that it should continue as the minimum wage bill was not on today’s agenda.

Organisers of the protest also agreed to meet Prime Minister Albin Kurti today after he cancelled his scheduled trip to North Macedonia to attend the Prespa Forum.

Kosovo Parliament Paralysed as War Veterans, Opposition MPs Protest (BIRN)

Hundreds of ex-fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, gathered outside parliament from the early hours of the morning on Thursday, inside the legislature, opposition MPs blocked a vote on the bill that includes a proposed increase in the minimum wage, but not for veterans.

The head of parliamentary group of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, Abelard Tahiri, pulled out the microphone from the parliamentary chamber, preventing the session from continuing.

The protest by war veterans’ organisations came three days after ruling coalition MPs voted in a first reading for the legislation which increases the minimum monthly salary to 264 euros, but does not include increases in payments to veterans.

The current minimum wage in Kosovo is 170 euros a month.

Before coming into force, the law must be approved in a second vote in parliament and signed into law by the president.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3N6xqJ2

Lajcak trying to set meeting between Kurti and Vucic before summer break (media)

The EU Special Representative for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, said at the Prespa Forum that he is preparing to schedule a new meeting between Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic which he said is expected to take place before summer holidays.

He said the EU is also working on addressing current issues such as that with license plates. "We are making sure things do not get out of hand and there are no tensions because this is something no one needs. The third and more important thing is to shape future relations between Kosovo and Serbia and this is what we termed normalisation. There is a lot of work, not very visible, negotiators meet every month and we have 7,8,9 topics on the agenda, we have documents in the advanced preparation stage and I am planning to set the next meeting between President Vucic and Prime Minister Kurti in Brussels soon," Lajcak is quoted by RTV21.

Osmani: Our path to EU cannot be stopped by Moscow (media)

President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani said at the Prespa Forum Dialogue that Kosovo deserves to be part of European Union.

"Our path to the EU cannot be stopped by Moscow," she said, adding that she hoped the upcoming EU-Western Balkans summit will be positive for the Western Balkans as a whole. "If the EU wants to stop Russian and Chinese influence it needs to be sincere to the countries in the region."

Addressing a panel on the topic: "What after the war in Ukraine?" whose goal was to discuss the new geopolitical reality created by the war in Ukraine, the strengthening of transatlantic unity as well as the joint response against Russian aggression, Osmani also called on the EU member states to grant Kosovo visa liberalisation, noting that the failure to do so, five years after conditions were met, is an 'injustice'.

Cautious optimism over visa liberalisation for Kosovo (media)

Koha quotes unnamed diplomatic sources in Brussels saying that France will end its opposition to visa liberalisation for Kosovo after its second round of elections set to take place this Sunday and once the country concludes its presidency of the EU. Sources also said that visa liberalisation for Kosovo will be discussed at the highest level of EU leaders' meeting and that this gives signs of optimism that a positive decision may be imminent.

Meanwhile, several media outlets carry a response from the French Foreign Ministry published on its website to the question of whether visa liberalization for Kosovo would be discussed at the upcoming EU-Western Balkans Summit?

The French Ministry said: “The June 23rd European Union-Western Balkans leaders’ meeting will be an opportunity to discuss the possibility for countries in the region to fulfil their European perspective, among other topics. With regard to visa liberalization for Kosovo, this issue is part of the roadmap that was adopted by the European Union, which includes a set of conditions that must be effectively fulfilled over the long term.”

Kosovars tire of knocking at Europe's closed doors (AFP/France 24)

Of all the passports in the world, Kosovo's opens fewer doors than most, even the doors to other parts of Europe.

"It's a contradiction to be called European when you are not allowed to see, touch or travel around Europe," 27-year-old journalist Aulona Kadriu told AFP.

"I don't see why an entire population should be locked out and isolated."

Of the 199 countries ranked by the number of destinations their passport holders can visit according to the Henley index, only 10 offer fewer opportunities than Kosovo. The former province of Serbia languishes in the company of places like Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and North Korea.

Kadriu gave up trying to travel within Europe for work or for leisure, because she found the hoops Kosovars have to jump through too frustrating.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3HA5PPg

Greece appoints special envoy for the Western Balkans (Kallxo)

Greece’s Ambassador to Bucharest, Sofia Grammata, has been appointed Ministry of Foreign Affairs Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Kallxo reports quoting a statement issued by the Greek government.

The appointment comes shortly after the visit of the Greek foreign minister to Tirana, Skopje, Sarajevo, Belgrade, Podgorica and Pristina. The statement adds that Greece attaches primary importance to the consolidation of peace, security and stability in the wider region of Western Balkans.

Albanian PM Calls on Ukraine to Recognise Kosovo (Exit)

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has called on Ukraine to recognise Kosovo during a meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Rama visited the war-torn country and met with senior Ukrainian officials including President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. In a meeting with Shmyhal, Rama called upon the country to recognise Kosovo.

“Ukraine has not recognised Kosovo and I said during the press conference and publicly that you should reconsider the recognition of Kosovo because they deserve it and did not remain an obstacle of the past”.

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

Krasniqi: I don't believe this government will see its term through (Koha)

Memli Krasniqi, leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) said that although the government has a four-year mandate, no government in Kosovo has so far managed to see it through. "I don't think this government will be able to conclude its term. The truth is that in the formal sense of the word we unfortunately do not have the votes in the Assembly to bring down the government. We don't have them today but we may tomorrow."

On the Open Balkan, Krasniqi said PDK has its reservations about Kosovo joining but that Prime Minister Kurti should consider participating in its meetings. "Refusal of discussion I don't think should be a defining factor for Kosovo. If the U.S., whom Kosovo has always trusted, says come and listen at the table but do not join, the prime minister should not a priori reject it," he said.

72 bomb threats reported across Kosovo yesterday, all false (media)

Kosovo's Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said that a total of 72 bomb threats were received during the day yesterday and that all turned out to be false alarms.

Svecla said via Facebook that there is no reason for panic and that authorities remain committed in providing security for all the citizens throughout the territory of Kosovo.

Police arrest, later release, PSD leader Dardan Molliqaj (media)

The Kosovo Police arrested the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Dardan Molliqaj yesterday after a warrant was issued for failing to appear at a court hearing. Three other party members were also arrested for obstructing the police in carrying out Molliqaj's arrest. All were released few hours later.

Molliqaj faces a court case involving physical altercation with Vetevendosje MP Haki Abazi following a TV debate in 2019.

PSD accused the police of using force during the arrest and the government of Kosovo for what the party said is a persecution of the opposition.

Supreme Court rules in favour of new electricity tariffs (media)

The Supreme Court of Kosovo has decided in favour of the Energy Regulatory Office's decision on new electricity tariffs, a move which was suspended by the Basic and Appeals Courts pending a final verdict.

The Supreme Court argued that the Basic Court in Pristina and the Appeals Court did not accurately implement the Law on Administrative Dispute when they decided to suspend the new tariffs.