UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, June 17, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani: Time for EU to make concrete decisions on Kosovo (media)
Gervalla: Spahiu’s arrest confirms Serbia is behind Banjska attack (media)
Kosovo MPs to meet today in another attempt to form the new legislative (media)
Embassy calls for legal remedies in deportation of Serbian MIA members (RFE)
Govt officials accuse some politicians in Presevo Valley for blocking funds (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

Macut: Serbia did not vote for South-East European Cooperation Process declaration in Tirana (N1)
Djuric: Visit to Switzerland substantial, lends new impetus to our relations (Tanjug)
Serbian Ombudsperson: Arrests and expulsions of Serbs from Kosovo only confirm continuous and systematic discrimination against Serbian community (KoSSev, media)
German Embassy: We are closely monitoring case of deported Serbs (Kosovo Online)
Serbian Democracy condemns ‘arbitrary revocation’ of Kosovo documents from Serbs, warns of ethnically-targeted deportations (KoSSev)
Milosavljevic’s defense: Tragedy and disgrace that he spent so many years in detention proving his innocence (Kosovo Online)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani: Time for EU to make concrete decisions on Kosovo (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on Monday that it is time for the European Union to make concrete and merited decisions on Kosovo. In her address at the summit of leaders of South-East Europe in Tirana, Albania, Osmani said that the EU must remove its unfair measures against Kosovo and give it the candidate status. “Thank you [Albanian] President Begaj for hosting and leading the high-level summit of leaders of Southeast European countries in Tirana. In my address. I said that the enlargement of the European Union is not a charity process but a strategic investment in the security, stability and future of Europe. Therefore, it is time for the EU to move forward with concrete and merited decisions on Kosovo, including removing the unfair measures and giving the candidate status to our country. The citizens of Kosovo should not be held hostage by measures that damage them directly and do not serve peace, dialogue, or the European future of our region. Kosovo’s orientation is clear and unwavering: toward EU and NATO as a natural part of the Euro-Atlantic family,” Osmani said in a Facebook post.

Gervalla: Spahiu’s arrest confirms Serbia is behind Banjska attack (media)

Kosovo’s caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, said on Monday that Kosovo has an unwavering position on its Euro-Atlantic path and that it is a continuation of democratic and economic reforms. In her address at the meeting of foreign ministers within the framework of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Tirana, Gervalla expressed concerns about destabilizing actions in the region and condemned the attack in Banjska and the attack on the Iber Lepenci water canal in the north of Kosovo. She also condemned the arrest of former Kosovo Police officer Arbnor Spahiu by Serbian authorities, saying that it confirms that Serbia was behind the attack in Banjska.

Kosovo MPs to meet today in another attempt to form the new legislative (media)

Members of the Kosovo Assembly will meet again today in what will be the 33rd attempt to form the new legislative. The Vetevendosje Movement is not giving up on their candidate for Assembly Speaker Albulena Haxhiu, while the PDK and AAK have asked it to propose another candidate for the post. The LDK on the other said have said they will not vote for any candidate proposed by the Vetevendosje Movement.

German embassy calls for legal remedies in deportation of Serbian MIA members (RFE)

The German Embassy in Kosovo said on Monday that it believes that sensitive decisions, including revoking citizenship and deportation, must be made in accordance with all legal provisions, including the European Convention on Human Rights. Commenting on the decision of Kosovo authorities to expel four officials of Serbia’s Ministry of Interior Affairs, who reside in Kosovo, the embassy said that “those affected by such decisions must be provided full access to legal advice and remedies”. The embassy also said that it has discussed the matter with Kosovo’s caretaker Minister of Interior Affairs and that it is closely monitoring developments in these cases.

Govt officials accuse some politicians in Presevo Valley for blocking funds (Koha)

Officials of Kosovo’s caretaker government have accused some political representatives in Presevo Valley in Serbia of cooperating with Serbian authorities to block funds allocated for Albanian farmers by the government in Pristina. In a letter to a Serbian ministry in 2024, the Alternative for Change asked if the Albanian National Council in Presevo Valley superseded its legal competencies while distributing funds from Kosovo. “Bearing in mind that the Albanian National Council operates within your ministry, and the distribution of subsidies does not fall within their competencies, I address you as the relevant Ministry with the following questions: Are you aware of this, and have you given the ANC permission to distribute subsidies to farmers, when we know that the ANC’s areas of responsibility are education, culture, information, and the use of language and script?” the Alternative for Change said in their letter. In response in January this year, the Serbian ministry decided to annul the grant call. Afterwards, the Albanian National Council filed a complaint with the administrative court which was rejected.

Ragmi Mustafi, advisor to Kosovo’s caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi, blamed representatives of the Alternative for Change, for blocking the disbursement of the funds, which he claims were intended to support the preservation of agricultural heritage. According to him, 100 farmers would benefit from the fund.

Serbian Language Media

Macut: Serbia did not vote for South-East European Cooperation Process declaration in Tirana (N1)

Serbian Prime Minister Djuro Macut said on Monday Serbia did not vote for declaration at the South-East European Cooperation Process summit held in Tirana, N1 reported. As the Serbian Government said in a statement Macut underlined that “peace and stability have no alternative for Serbia and represent guiding principles on the path of the region to the EU”. He noted these goals are achievable only with the dialogue, mutual respect and civilized approach in resolving all eventual problems.

Macut noted that “membership in the EU is Serbia’s strategic goal and its foreign policy priority, along with preserving traditional friendly ties with Russia, China, US, countries in Africa and Middle East, as well as continuation of military neutral policy”.

Macut also said Serbia is sincerely committed to dialogue with Pristina. However, he added, “Pristina from the very beginning of the dialogue has shown extreme un-constructiveness and unwillingness to accept and hear the other side in the dialogue, while constantly creating and causing incidents that keep the population of Kosovo and Metohija in constant fear for their own safety".

"Taking into account the extremely difficult position of the Serbian community and the fact that Pristina still refuses to fulfil its obligations under the Brussels Agreement, we hope that the engagement of a newly appointed EU Special Representative for Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue will also aim at acting towards Pristina in order to (make it) fulfil the agreed obligations", Macut said.

Djuric: Visit to Switzerland substantial, lends new impetus to our relations (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said on Monday his visit to Switzerland was a substantial one, lending a new impetus to development of relations between the two countries. He also said Switzerland was a country with a very delicate, balancing role in global politics, Tanjug news agency reported.

"Like Serbia, Switzerland is a militarily neutral country and, as such - as an independent country that wants to contribute to security and peace in our continent - Switzerland, together with us, is thinking about how it can help to stop and resolve all these wars", Djuric said. He added that, in view of Switzerland's upcoming OSCE chairmanship next year, he believed that "we can do much together".

He said the Serbian delegation visiting Switzerland had been given a cordial and highly respectful welcome, adding that “Switzerland could contribute to normalisation of relations and stabilisation even when it comes to issues where the two countries had differing views, such as the status of Kosovo and Metohija. That is why expectations after this visit are really high", Djuric said.

Serbian Ombudsperson: Arrests and expulsions of Serbs from Kosovo only confirm continuous and systematic discrimination against Serbian community (KoSSev, media)

Serbian Ombudsperson Zoran Pasalic in the strongest terms condemned on Monday arrests and forceful removal of four Serbs from Kosovo, carried out over the last three days by Pristina authorities, KoSSev portal reported.

Pasalic underlined that following the Basic Court in Pristina decision to ban Gracanica municipality to display and use Serbian flags on the Saint Vitus Day, the act to arrest and expel four Serbs from Kosovo “only confirms that continuous and very serious systematic discrimination is being carried against the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija”. He urged all relevant international actors to stand in defence of their rights in their full capacities.

At the same time he confirmed that an initiative has been launched at International Institute of Ombudsperson to open the issue of, as he said, the most grave violation of the rights of 70 members of the Serbian community in Lesak settlement of Leposavic municipality, “who are asked to leave their homes by end of June as their houses will be demolished”.

Serbian media reported earlier that on May 31, Albanian mayor of Leposavic Lulzim Hetemi sent notification letters to the 17 Serbian families who built houses in Brace Matovic Street in Lesak over the last two decades, asking them to remove their personal belongings and demolish their houses. If they do not do so, the company will be hired to demolish their homes, and the costs will be borne by household owners, the notices added. The notices to the affected families were delivered by Hetemi’s Serb deputy Marina Bogojevic, who claimed that the municipality acts as per request of the Kosovo Interior Ministry which is the owner of the land. Affected household owners said the municipality offered them no alternative, arguing that hundreds of thousands of objects are constructed without permits, across Kosovo and yet no one is demolishing them. They see the act of the Leposavic municipality as yet another in a series of acts targeting the Serbian community in the north and discriminatory against them.

German Embassy: We are closely monitoring case of deported Serbs (Kosovo Online)

In a meeting with the acting Minister of Internal Affairs on Monday, the German Embassy addressed the measures taken by Kosovo Government over the past weekend, which resulted in the revocation of Kosovo citizenship and deportation of four Kosovo Serbs, the German Embassy in Pristina told Kosovo Online portal.

In a written response to the portal, the Embassy said the following: “We stress that such sensitive decisions must be made in full accordance with all legal provisions, including the European Convention on Human Rights, and that those affected must be guaranteed full access to legal counsel and the possibility of legal remedy. The Embassy is closely monitoring developments regarding these cases”.

The portal recalled that four Serbs have been deported from Kosovo over the past two days and have been banned from entering Kosovo for the next five years. These individuals are employed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia and have lived in Kosovo with their families.

Serbian Democracy condemns ‘arbitrary revocation’ of Kosovo documents from Serbs, warns of ethnically-targeted deportations (KoSSev)

The Serbian Democracy party has issued a strong protest over what it describes as the arbitrary revocation of Kosovo citizenship from ethnic Serbs and their unlawful deportations, accusing Kosovo caretaker government of engaging in ethnic and political discrimination, KoSSev portal reported.

In a statement released Monday, the party denounced recent actions by Kosovo acting Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, who acted as an “arbitrary authority“ in revoking the citizenship of several Serbs residing in Kosovo and expelling them from the territory without court orders, due process, or legal remedies.

According to the party, three members of Serbia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) - all Kosovo Serbs living in the territory - were deported within a 24-hour period over the weekend. Their Kosovo-issued documents were confiscated, and they were handed five-year bans on re-entering Kosovo. No prior notification, arrest warrants, or opportunities to appeal the decisions were provided.