UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, September 19, 2024

UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, September 19, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti to take part in working lunch of Western Balkans leaders (media)
Osmani meets Hovenier, discuss strengthening Kosovo-US cooperation (media)
Conference on Survey with Multiple Indicators – MICS – held in Pristina (media)
KJC, KPC consider now not the right time to review resignation of Serbs (KTV)
Kurti on report that “documents Serbia’s culturicide in Kosovo” (media)
Royal Yorkshire Regiment troops assigned to NATO deploy to Kosovo (media)
Petritsch: If Trump returns, there’ll be a different policy toward Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic: Pristina trying to put blame on Belgrade (N1, TV Pink, media)
Djuric: Kurti and his aides have no intention of giving up on unilateral moves (Tanjug)
Djuric and Fernandez signed Agreement on Strategic Partnership between Serbia and USA in field of energy (Kosovo Online, media)
Serbian Coordination Directorate passports enter EU visa-free regime (KoSSev)
Residents of northern municipalities pleased with decision to lift visas for Coordination Directorate passport holders (Kosovo Online)
KFOR deploys reserves for routine exercise (N1)
Miroce landowners’ 24-year struggle: a battle for justice and property rights (KoSSev)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti to take part in working lunch of Western Balkans leaders (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti will take part in a working lunch of leaders of the Western Balkans, following an invitation from President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. RTK learns that Kurti has confirmed his participation. The meeting is expected to discuss the reform agendas which are a precondition for starting the first payments from the EU’s Growth Plan.

Osmani meets Hovenier, discuss strengthening Kosovo-US cooperation (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani hosted on Wednesday the U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, and discussed the latest developments in Kosovo and joint efforts to intensify bilateral cooperation in different areas. A press release issued by Osmani’s office notes that they also discussed expectations and activities from the upcoming high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly.

Conference on Survey with Multiple Indicators – MICS – held in Pristina (media)

The Kosovo government issued a press release on Thursday noting that the Multiple Indicator Survey (MICS) conference was held and that in attendance were Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Arnhild Spence, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations for Development in Kosovo, Avni Kastrati, UD of the Chief Executive of the Kosovo Statistics Agency, Veronika Vashchenko, Head of UNICEF in Kosovo, and representatives of the diplomatic corps.

The MICS survey is a powerful instrument that provides data on the well-being of children and families in our country and measures key indicators that enable states to generate data for use in national development policies, programs, and plans.

Kurti said in his address that access to reliable and quality data is essential to make informed decisions and make strategic investments. “One of the strongest points of MICS is the comprehensive set of 120 indicators it provides. These indicators enable us to select the most important ones to monitor the progress of our national strategies, including improvements in child well-being, maternal health and educational outcomes,” he said.

Kurti said that over the years the MICS has been a main pillar in shaping evidence-based policies, supporting our long-term objectives for the development of Kosovo, from the National Development Plan to the Children’s Rights Strategy and sectoral plans. He also mentioned two rounds of MICS in Kosovo, held in 2014 and 2020, which included a special sample for the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. These data, in addition to bringing attention to the needs of the communities in Kosovo, have also helped in the creation of targeted strategies, such as the Strategy and Action Plan for Roma and Egyptians. “Thanks to MICS, Kosovo’s data can be compared with those of other countries in the region and beyond. In addition, MICS provides us with a wealth of information that supports the monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals, i.e. SDGs or ‘Sustainable Development Goals,” Kurti said.

KJC, KPC consider now not the right time to review resignation of Serbs (KTV)

In November it will be two years since dozens of Serb prosecutors and judges resigned from Kosovo’s institutions, followed by resignations by Serb police officers, MPs and mayors of municipalities in the north of Kosovo. The resignation of Serb prosecutors and judges have not been reviewed by the Kosovo Judicial Council or the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, the TV station reported on Wednesday.

KJC representatives told KTV that the decision to accept or reject the resignations will be made at the right time. “Based on your request, the Kosovo Judicial Council informs all the media and the interested that it stands behind its earlier position that the issue of resignations by judges and the administration of the Serb community, will be reviewed when the KJC believes the time is right and in line with the procedure set for such cases,” they said.

KPC representatives said they would look into requests to return to work if there are any. “The resignations of prosecutors from the Serb community have not been treated by the Prosecutorial Council of Kosovo yet and the moment they are treated you will be informed. We also want to inform you that the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council has not received any request from Serb prosecutors for their return to the prosecutorial system and the moment such requests are made the KPC will address them,” they said.

Kurti on report that “documents Serbia’s culturicide in Kosovo” (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that “the report that documents the culturicide committed by Serbia in Kosovo is another proof of the systematic destruction of our cultural heritage”. He said that the report prepared by a government-appointed committee, proves the destruction of 1,784 monuments and 175 libraries, the extermination of 1.7 million books in Albanian, the theft of 3,724 artefacts and tens of thousands of archive documents, the damaging and theft of hundreds of works of art. Kurti also said that Kosovo “is committed for the truth and justice for all crimes committed by Serbia”.

Royal Yorkshire Regiment troops assigned to NATO deploy to Kosovo (media)

NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo – KFOR – said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that the UK personnel from the Royal Yorkshire Regiment assigned to NATO reserve forces in support to the NATO-led KFOR mission have been temporarily deployed to Kosovo, for a routine Operational Rehearsal Training exercise with other KFOR troops. This exercise is scheduled to run from 18 September until the end of October.

The post also notes that KFOR continues to implement its UN mandate - based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 - to contribute to a safe and secure environment for all people living in Kosovo and freedom of movement, at all times and impartially. KFOR acts across Kosovo as third security responder, in close coordination with the Kosovo Police and the EU Rule of Law (EULEX) mission, which are the first and second security responders, respectively.

Petritsch: If Trump returns, there’ll be a different policy toward Kosovo (media)

Austrian diplomat and former EU representative in the Rambouillet talks, Wolfgang Petritsch, said in an interview with RTV21 on Wednesday that a new format of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia must be considered as according to him the current process is in a difficult state.

Petritsch also said that whoever wins the elections in the United States, there will be a different policy toward Kosovo. “Washington is losing patience. This is my impression. There is no more support like before,” he argued.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: Pristina trying to put blame on Belgrade (N1, TV Pink, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday that the authorities in Pristina are trying to blame the situation on the ground in Kosovo on Belgrade, N1 reported.

Speaking on TV Pink, Vucic said that Pristina never wanted a dialogue and is following an “anarchistic-Marxist-Hoxhist” (a reference to the Communist regime under Albanian leader Enver Hoxha who was accused of wanting to annex parts of Yugoslavia after WWII) ideology intended to expel and destroy the Serbs in Kosovo.

“We are dealing with people who are Enver Hoxhists. They never wanted a dialogue; we never shook hands. Their primary goal is to expel and destroy the Serbs in Kosovo. When that is your goal, you have nothing to offer economically and it’s clear what you are going to do”, Vucic said.

According to Vucic, official Belgrade wants nothing more than was agreed in the EU-facilitated dialogue with Pristina including the Community of Serb Municipalities and peaceful and democratic local elections in northern Kosovo majority-Serb municipalities.

“We are filling a legal vacuum because certain decisions are either invalid or non-existent for us because they were taken outside of international law and everything agreed in the dialogue. This is completely legitimate and legal”, he said.

The Serbian President also said he expects no better days in terms of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. “We will always be without our people in Kosovo and are waiting to see if KFOR will keep its promise to not allow the opening of the bridge across the Ibar River, without a dialogue and agreement”, Vucic said.

Djuric: Kurti and his aides have no intention of giving up on unilateral moves (Tanjug)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his aides have no intention of giving up on a policy of unilateral moves and denying the very essence of normalisation of relations, Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said in a reaction to earlier Kurti’s statements that Belgrade's measures aimed at helping Serbs in Kosovo were desperate and not conducive to peace, Tanjug news agency reported citing Serbian Foreign Ministry’s statement.

Djuric called on the highest-ranking Pristina representatives “to give up on a policy of violent ethno-nationalism and return to the negotiating table”. That is the only way to unblock the normalisation process where Pristina has blocked it - on the issue of establishing a Community of Serb Municipalities, he said.

"Rather than use phrases about Europe, international partners and democracy, they need to immediately stop the violence against Serbs and the blatant violations of their individual and collective rights, because that is the most European thing they can do right now", Djuric also said. If it wants a stable Western Balkans and a renewal of productive dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, the international community must exert pressure to put an end to Kurti's policy of violence since he is unwilling to do so by his own will, Djuric added.

Djuric and Fernandez signed Agreement on Strategic Partnership between Serbia and USA in field of energy (Kosovo Online, media)

Serban Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said in relation to the Agreement on Strategic Partnership in the field of energy that Serbia by signing this agreement has made an important and responsible step towards enhancing its partnership with the USA and a significant move towards securing long-term energy security, Kosovo Online portal reported. Djuric conveyed that the Agreement also sends a strong message about Serbia's commitment to improving its overall relations with the USA.

"The word 'strategic' itself indicates that this is another step closer to a strategic partnership and strong, quality, long-term relations with the USA. I believe this is responsible statecraft, and that both Serbian and American energy companies, but most importantly the citizens of Serbia, will benefit from this agreement, which will result in more reliable, secure, and long-term stable energy supply, especially as our industry and economy continue to develop day by day", Djuric said.

US Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez expressed his satisfaction with Minister Djuric’s visit, emphasising that the Agreement will elevate Serbia-USA cooperation to a higher level. "Our ability to work on clean energy, as well as the potential for American companies to invest in clean energy technologies in Serbia, is something we highly value. We've been working on this for many years, and we are excited to see how this progresses", Fernandez said.

Serbian Coordination Directorate passports enter EU visa-free regime (KoSSev)

In a significant diplomatic development, as KoSSev portal reported, the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of the European Union have officially signed a decision to lift visa requirements for holders of passports issued by Serbian Coordination Directorate. The decision was signed by EP President Roberta Metsola and Hungary’s Minister for European Affairs, János Bóka, whose country currently presides over the EU Council.

The signing ceremony in Strasbourg was attended by key officials, including Javier Zarzalejos, chair of the EP Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and EP member Matjaž Nemec, who was a key rapporteur for the abolition of these visas in the previous Parliament.

The European Council had already made the decision in July 2024 to include passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate in the visa-free regime. These passports are issued by the Serbian authorities for residents in Kosovo.