Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti at Yale: “Serb parallel structures in Kosovo have lost the battle” (media)
• Gervalla: “Terrorism, radicalism have no room in our society and state” (media)
• Bajqinovci: There are 70 Kosovo Serb police officers working in the north (media)
• Two Vetevendosje MPs to announce departure from party (media)
• Kajtazi: Internationals strongly engaged for Kurti not to remain in power (media)
• Todorovic: Radoicic is somewhere in Serbia (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Djuric: Serbia committed to eradicating terrorism, actively cooperating with partners (Kosovo Online)
• Djuric to attend FMs meeting today within Berlin Process (Kosovo Online)
• Committee: Security situation in Kosovo tense, unstable (Tanjug)
• Office for KiM: Impermissible threats to Tanjug journalists (media)
• Outgoing KFOR Commander visits Tirana (N1)
• Svecla and Krasniqi visit Mitrovica North again, met with whistling from Serbian Democracy members (KoSSev)
• Protest starts minutes before Brnabic calls special session (N1)

International Media: 

• New EU Line-Up, But No Quick Fix for Balkan Enlargement Woes (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media 

Kurti at Yale: “Serb parallel structures in Kosovo have lost the battle” (media)

All news websites cover a discussion that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti had at Yale University. He said that “Serb parallel structures in Kosovo have lost the battle. Serbs in Kosovo have been freed from those criminal structures, but there is no enthusiasm and there is no happiness, and this is what worries me. I want them to be happy. Next year we are going to have local elections, and I hope that there will be greater legitimacy”.

Kurti also talked about Kosovo’s membership in the European Union and the fact that five EU member states still don’t recognize Kosovo. “We expect that next year the European Commission will send Kosovo thousands of questions together with the status of a candidate country. We had visa liberalization without the non-recognitions. Spain recognized Kosovo’s passports, and you can go to Madrid with a Kosovo passport. This wasn’t the case before January 1 this year. we also have the SAA which is a contractual relation with the EU. But in order to join the EU we need recognition from the non-recognizers, and the sooner the better. We work in multilateral forums and also in bilateral meetings. The atmosphere toward recognition is good. There are small and concrete steps, but we are still not at the point where they will join the majority,” he said.

Kurti also talked about Serbia’s close ties with Russia and China, arguing that their cooperation is not only historical or religious, but also based on economic and ideological interests.

More at: https://shorturl.at/7kMb4

Gervalla: “Terrorism, radicalism have no room in our society and state” (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, said in a Facebook post that following an invitation from the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, she attended the conference of the Global Coalition against DAESH/ISIS. “The Republic of Kosovo, 25 years after its liberation, gives its serious contribution for peace and global security. Terrorism and radicalism have no room in our society and state. Therefore, I am happy for having the opportunity to exchange valuable ideas and experiences with colleagues from the region and the whole world,” Gervalla said.

Bajqinovci: There are 70 Kosovo Serb police officers working in the north (media)

MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, Mefail Bajqinovci, said in an interview on Monday, that it is not true that there are no Kosovo Serb police officers in the north of Kosovo. “They lied when they said that there are no more Serb police officers in the north. It is not true. There are 70 Serb police officers in the north, and 30 Bosniak police officers. 150 police officers have applied in the last vacancy, and many of them are Serbs from the north. I think that there has never been more law enforcement,” he said.

Two Vetevendosje MPs to announce departure from party (media)

Gazeta Express reported on Monday that two MPs from the ruling Vetevendosje Movement – Eman Rrahmani and Visa Korenica - will officially announce their departure from the party today at a joint press conference with representatives of the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) and Ferid Agani of the Justice Party. The news website notes that Rrahmani and Korenica were against the proposed Civil Code and time after time had stances that were different from those of their party. At the last session of the Kosovo Assembly, they distanced themselves from the parliamentary group by sitting in other seats. 

Koha reported that the two MPs are expected to join the coalition The List for the Family led by the AKR and the Justice Party.

Kajtazi: Internationals strongly engaged for Kurti not to remain in power (media)

Reporter and owner of Paparaci news website, Vehbi Kajtazi, said during a TV on Monday evening that if Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the Vetevendosje Movement get less than 40 percent of the vote in next year’s parliamentary elections, then the international factor will have a determining role. 

“In the last two years, the opposition parties have accused Kurti of working for Serbia, isolating Kosovo, of being anti-American, of not working for our interests, taking the country toward partition, and for offering an Association similar to the Republika Srpska. If all these clashes have happened … how can Vetevendosje work with these three political parties … The international factor will have a major role in determining the coalitions [after the elections]. If Mr. Kurti remains under 40 percent, as it is being expected, then the international factor will have a determining role. I believe that internationals are strongly engaged for Kurti not to remain in power,” he argued.

Todorovic: Radoicic is somewhere in Serbia (media)

Sofija Todorovic, human rights activist from Serbia and member of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, said in an interview with Pristina-based TeVe1, that the attack in Banjska in the north of Kosovo last year was well planned, and criticized Serbian authorities for not being willing to penally prosecute Milan Radoicic, who claimed responsibility for the attack. “I can say that Banjska was a clear paramilitary attack. The weapons and machinery used [in the attack] cost millions of euros. Banjska can in no way be called only an incident, because you cannot enter the territory of another country incidentally. Seeing how trained the paramilitaries were and what equipment they used, it is clear that the attack was well planned. But there is a lack of information and we might never know completely the truth behind Banjska,” she said.

COMKFOR and head of Albanian Army talk security situation in Kosovo (media)

Commander of the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo, Ozkan Ulutas, met on Monday with the Albanian Minister of Defense, Pirro Vengu, and the head of the Albanian Army, Arben Kinji, and discussed the security situation in Kosovo. KFOR said in a press statement that they also discussed regional stability and the role of KFOR, while Ulutas highlighted “the long-standing and invaluable support of Albania in KFOR’s activities”. “The meetings were part of regular interactions that Major General Ulutas had with his counterparts in Kosovo and the whole region, at the end of his mandate,” the statement notes.

News websites also report that Ulutas will conclude his mandate next month and that Major General Enrico Barduani from Italy will assume the post of KFOR commander.

Serbian Language Media 

Djuric: Serbia committed to eradicating terrorism, actively cooperating with partners (Kosovo Online)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said in Washington yesterday, where he participated in the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, that Serbia is fully committed to eradicating terrorism and is cooperating with all international partners to combat this threat, Kosovo Online portal reported.

"With this participation, Serbia once again underscores the importance of the fight against global terrorism. Serbia is fully committed to eradicating terrorism, which represents a serious threat in the times we live in, and is actively cooperating with international partners through intelligence, security, military, and police channels to combat global terrorism as a threat", Djuric said.

He pointed out that for Serbia, terrorism is not an abstract or distant issue, but something that has unfortunately been present in the region for decades. "From our country’s territory, specifically from our southern province, a large number of terrorists have left to join ISIS, and all of this is an additional reason for us to cooperate with international partners in the fight against this global problem", Djuric underlined.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/KugUK

Djuric to attend FMs meeting today within Berlin Process (Kosovo Online)

Serbian Foreign Minister, Marko Djuric will attend today the meeting of the foreign ministers as part of the Berlin Process in this city, Kosovo Online portal reported.

As FAM’s said in a statement, Djuric will also have a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting in Berlin. The meeting of foreign ministers comes ahead of the regional leaders' summit that would mark this year a decade since the process was established.  

The Berlin Process was launched by former German Chancellor Angela Markel in order to advance cooperation in the region, aiming to bring the Western Balkans closer to the EU, the portal recalled. 

Committee: Security situation in Kosovo tense, unstable (Tanjug)

The Serbian Parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija said on Monday that the current security situation in Kosovo was highly tense and unstable, in particular in terms of the position of Serbs and other non-Albanians there, Tanjug news agency reported.

It added that such a state of affairs is a consequence of continued escalatory moves by Pristina and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, as they, “in a calculated manner, use institutional, physical and psychological violence on a daily basis, destabilising the situation and creating impossible living conditions for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija”.

At the same time, the Committee called on the international community, especially states which have influence on Pristina, “to urgently and vigorously stop Pristina's systematic, comprehensive and widespread violence against the Serbs”. It also called on Pristina institutions to implement the provisions of agreements signed in the dialogue in Brussels and establish a Community of Serb Municipalities without delay.

Office for KiM: Impermissible threats to Tanjug journalists (media)

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija in the strongest terms condemned the threats Tanjug news agency received in an email, which said that “each Tanjug’s journalist, after stepping foot on Kosovo, will get a bullet in the back of the head”, Serbian media reported.

“Threats to journalists and media workers of Tanjug are impermissible and come from persons who refer to their links with Pristina’s separatists and as such must be taken the most seriously. Such monstrous death threats to Tanjug journalists are precisely the consequence of the environment of hatred and violence which Albin Kurti’s regime deliberately and systematically creates in Kosovo and Metohija”, reads the statement from Office for KiM.

The Office also said that international representatives in Kosovo, are obliged, not only in the name of the security of those threatened, but also on behalf of democracy and rule of law to undertake immediate measures so the sender of such threats to Tanjug news agency is arrested and prosecuted. 

Outgoing KFOR Commander visits Tirana (N1)

Outgoing KFOR Commander Major General Ozkan Ulutas discussed security in Kosovo and regional stability with Albanian Defense Minister and Chief of Staff, a press release said on Monday, N1 reported.

Ulutas met in Tirana with Defense Minister Pirro Vengu and Chief of Defense Major General Arben Kinji. “They shared views on a range of topics, including the security situation across Kosovo, regional stability, and KFOR’s role”, the press release said.

“The meetings were part of Major General Ulutaş’ regular interactions with his main counterparts in Kosovo and across the region, as he is about to complete his tenure”, the statement added. Albania contributed troops to KFOR, N1 recalled. 

Svecla and Krasniqi visit Mitrovica North again, met with whistling from Serbian Democracy members (KoSSev)

The ministerial duo, as KoSSev portal refers to them, Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla and Minister of Local Administration Elbert Krasniqi, once again without notification of the local media, came to Mitrovica North yesterday and visited this time the building that was hosting Mitrovica North Provisional Municipal Authority, the portal reported.

The visits of Kosovo ministers to the north have become frequent over the last two years, and in particular this summer marked with taking over premises in which Serbian institutions were functioning. Svecla and Krasniqi visited yesterday the premises which Kosovo police special forces closed down on August 30.

The reasons for their visit were unknown. In addition to the two ministers, the Albanian mayor of Mitrovica North, Erden Atiq was also present. While they were in the building, the members of Kosovo special police took out from the building a package of unknown content, with the ministers soon leaving the building, the portal further reported.

As it has become a regular practice as well, they were met with whistling from Serbian Democracy leaders, who expressed their protest and discontent over the lastest actions of Pristina authorities in this manner.

The last joint visit of this ministerial duo to the north was at the beginning of September, when together with Prime Minister Albin Kurti they laid foundations stone for housing reconstruction dedicated to the Albanian families in Leposavic municipality. In the meantime, they visited northern Kosovo separately, and the last time on September 24, on the Banjska armed incident one year anniversary. 

Protest starts minutes before Brnabic calls special session (N1)

People gathered in front of the Serbian Parliament on Monday evening to protest the fact that a special session to debate lithium mining was not called, just minutes before Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabic said she would call the session, N1 reported.

The protest was called earlier in the day after Brnabic failed to call MPs to a debate on the issue which has divided the Serbian public. Opposition MPs and organisations opposed to Rio Tinto’s plans to open a mine in the Jadar area called the protest for 7 pm. Brnabic said in an X post at 7:07 pm that she would submit the paperwork to call the session at a minute after midnight to meet the legal requirements. Brnabic said in the post that she was impatient to show the public the draft law submitted by the opposition to ban lithium mining.

Leading anti-lithium mining activist Zlatko Kokanovic accused the authorities of violating the Constitution and laws because they failed to call the special session of parliament within a legal deadline. The gathered people carried banners with slogans opposing the Jadar Project and Serbian state flags.

International Media

New EU Line-Up, But No Quick Fix for Balkan Enlargement Woes (Balkan Insight)

Supporters of EU enlargement to the Balkans may take heart from Ursula von der Leyen’s proposed new line-up at the European Commission, but it will take more than a change at the top to reinvigorate the stalled accession process.

Aday after being named as Ursula von der Leyen’s candidate to lead European Union enlargement, Marta Kos took to Facebook with a pledge to “work intensively” with Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Turkey and the Western Balkan countries to realise their “European perspective” through full accession to the bloc.

As a Slovenian diplomat and politician, Kos comes from a country with a keen interest in getting its fellow former Yugoslav republics and Albania into the EU. Indeed, in setting out her vision for a second term as president of the European Commission, von der Leyen said it was “a moral, political and geostrategic imperative to further complete our Union”.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/9Elom