Albanian Language Media:

• Lajcak: Dialogue agreements remain valid, need to be fully implemented (media)

• Osmani begins two-day visit to Albania today (media)

• Stano: Elections in the north of Kosovo ASAP (media)

• Analysts: Elections through petition not expected to solve situation in north (VoA)

• Assembly to hold extraordinary session today, discuss school books (Express)

• Increase in direct foreign investments in Kosovo (Radio Free Europe)

• VV MP blames previous governments for EU measures (KTV)

• Halimi: Discrimination of women in RTK decision-making posts, evident (EO)

• Special Prosecution will file indictment for massacre at Dubrava Prison (RTK)

 

Serbian Language Media:

• Lajcak: Concern about the situation in the north, all agreements binding (KiM radio, media)

• Vucic: Challenging times await us, we must defend Serbia's interests (RTS, media)

• Radakovic: Resignations of the mayors in the north of Kosovo maybe in mid-November, December (Tanjug)

• Petkovic: Serbs accused in the "Brezovica" case released from custody (RTS)

• The Kosovo police conducted a control of fishermen on Lake Gazivode (Blic, KiM radio) 

• KFOR: In the battalion for intelligence work, surveillance and reconnaissance in Kosovo, soldiers from eight countries (Radio Mitrovica sever)

Albanian Language Media:

• Lajcak: Dialogue agreements remain valid, need to be fully implemented (media)

• Osmani begins two-day visit to Albania today (media)

• Stano: Elections in the north of Kosovo ASAP (media)

• Analysts: Elections through petition not expected to solve situation in north (VoA)

• Assembly to hold extraordinary session today, discuss school books (Express)

• Increase in direct foreign investments in Kosovo (Radio Free Europe)

• VV MP blames previous governments for EU measures (KTV)

• Halimi: Discrimination of women in RTK decision-making posts, evident (EO)

• Special Prosecution will file indictment for massacre at Dubrava Prison (RTK)

 

Serbian Language Media:

• Lajcak: Concern about the situation in the north, all agreements binding (KiM radio, media)

• Vucic: Challenging times await us, we must defend Serbia's interests (RTS, media)

• Radakovic: Resignations of the mayors in the north of Kosovo maybe in mid-November, December (Tanjug)

• Petkovic: Serbs accused in the "Brezovica" case released from custody (RTS)

• The Kosovo police conducted a control of fishermen on Lake Gazivode (Blic, KiM radio) 

• KFOR: In the battalion for intelligence work, surveillance and reconnaissance in Kosovo, soldiers from eight countries (Radio Mitrovica sever)

Albanian Language Media

Lajcak: Dialogue agreements remain valid, need to be fully implemented (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said in a Facebook post on Sunday that in his separate meetings with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, he reminded both leaders that the Dialogue Agreements remain valid and binding for both parties and that they must be fully implemented and without any conditions and delays.

Lajcak wrote in the post: “It is good to be back in Brussels after several days of intense travel. My week started with two days of enriching conversations at the 🇦🇹 Europa Forum Alpbach, where I discussed with experts, colleagues, friends, and above all young people about the need for Europe to be “bold” (which was the main theme of this meeting).

From Alpbach, I drove to Slovenia Bled for the annual Bled Strategic Forum. This year's forum was held in unusually rainy weather, but the weather did not have any impact on the quality of the discussions. The traditional Western Balkan panel focused on the question of whether the region is ready for enlargement. I stressed that the 🇪🇺 is ready for the Western Balkans, but that the region needs to do its part.

I also met with a number of partners, colleagues, and representatives from the region and EU member states at the forum. I am grateful for the insightful discussions about the situation in the region, regional initiatives and developments, as well as internal developments in the EU and the 🇪🇺 enlargement.

In Bled, I also met with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. We spoke about the preparations for the next High-level Meeting of the Dialogue in September, with a focus on the normalization of relations and the implementation of the EU statement of 3 June. I also raised my concerns about  the situation in the north of Kosovo. From Bled, I flew to Belgrade, where I met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. We spoke in detail about the efforts to lower tensions and hold new local elections in the north of Kosovo, as well as the implementation of all Dialogue Agreements. I reminded both leaders that all Dialogue Agreements remain valid and binding for both parties, and need to be fully implemented without any conditions or delays. Our discussions will continue and we are getting ready for the leaders meeting in Brussels on 14 September for another round of talks on the highest level.”

Osmani begins two-day visit to Albania today (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani will start her two-day visit to Albania following an invitation by her Albanian counterpart, Bajram Begaj. “In addition to their tete-a-tete meeting, the two Presidents will also meet together with their delegations. After the meeting, the two Presidents will hold a joint press conference, and in the evening President Begaj will host a state dinner for President Osmani and the delegation from Kosovo,” a press release issued by Osmani’s office notes.

During her stay in Albania, Osmanis also scheduled to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and the President of the Albanian Parliament, Lindita Nikolla.

Stano: Elections in the north of Kosovo ASAP (media)

Spokesperson for the European Union, Peter Stano, told Koha that it is important to organize local elections in the north of Kosovo as soon as possible, in which Serbs would participate without preconditions. “Although the partial elections for mayors in April 2023 in four municipalities in the north were conducted in accordance with the legal framework of Kosovo, we were very clear that due to the low voter turnout, they did not offer a long-term political solution. That is why it is important to hold local elections as soon as possible, in which Kosovo Serbs would participate without preconditions,” Stano said.

Stano also said that the elections in the north must be held in accordance with the agreement on the de-escalation of the situation. "The EU underlines the statement of the High Representative from 3 June this year, which asks Kosovo and Serbia to take measures to de-escalate the situation and refrain from any further uncoordinated actions. Kosovo committed to these principles in Bratislava in July," he added.

Analysts: Elections through petition not expected to solve situation in north (VoA)

The Kosovo government is expected this week to finalise the legal provisions that make way for the petition to remove the mayors in the north of Kosovo and to announce new elections. The document is expected to outline the rules on how the petition will be organised. But Albanian and Serb political commentators don’t believe that the petition will solve the problem in the north of Kosovo.

Political commentator in Mitrovica North, Ognjen Gogic, said in an interview with the Voice of America that Serbs will not comply with the petition because they don’t want to participate in any kind of elections if their conditions are not met. “The Serb community in the north does not want to take part in new elections, regardless of whether there is a petition, or the mayors of municipalities resign. As far as the petition is concerned, the Serbs will not take part in collecting signatures because this would mean returning to Kosovo’s institutions, and this is something that they still don’t want to do because some of their conditions have not been met yet,” he argued.

Eugen Cakolli from the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) said the government’s document does not suffice for the required procedures and that it falls in opposition with the law on local self-government. According to him, going to new elections through a petition would completely delay the process of elections. “The process would take at least four to six months, if all nominal procedures are followed as foreseen by the administrative directive …,” he said.

Cakolli also argued that the best solution would be for the current mayors to resign, because the petition does not offer any guarantees that the participation of the Serb community in the removal of the mayors will be followed with their participation in the election of new mayors.

Gogic meanwhile said that Kosovo and Serbia leaders want to prolong the crisis in the north as long as possible so that they don’t have to implement the obligations they have assumed. “The situation suits both of them [the leaders] because right now it is tolerable and it is not at the point where violent incidents can happen …,” he said.

Gogic also said that the best way to overcome the crisis in the north of Kosovo is for the western countries to step up their pressure by suspending visa liberalisation for Serbia and Kosovo.

Assembly to hold extraordinary session today, discuss school books (Express)

Members of the Kosovo Assembly will meet in an extraordinary session today to discuss the issue of school books. The opposition submitted a request for a parliamentary debate on the supply with school books for pupils. The session starts at 12:00. MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Eliza Hoxha, said that members of the parliamentary committee on education, supported by other opposition MPs, supported the request. She criticised the government and said that the “Assembly must return from leave and go back to work, and discuss the government’s irresponsibility and an unprecedented failure to implement its constitutional and legal obligation”.

Increase in direct foreign investments in Kosovo (Radio Free Europe)

The news website cites a report by the Central Bank of Kosovo according to which there has been an increase by a dozen of millions of euros in direct foreign investments in Kosovo in the first four months compared to the same period from last year. Germany leads with the highest level of investments.

VV MP blames previous governments for EU measures (KTV)

MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, Enver Dugolli, said in an interview with the TV station that the EU measures against Kosovo are related to “previous governments’ lack of control over the alleged integration of the Serbs in the north”. According to him, the integration of Serbs was only a farce. He said that the efforts by the Kurti-led government to yield sovereignty in the north have alarmed the illegal structures there.

Commenting on the international pressure on Kosovo, Dugolli said that this is encouraging Serbia’s structures. “I believe in the attempts to reach an agreement on final de-escalation, to move forward, but the tolerance for Serbia’s structures seems to be encouraging destructive and hostile forces against the Republic of Kosovo, because we have inherited this situation. It was a situation where there was the state control in that part [the north] was very formal, there was no genuine control because the alleged integration of local Serbs never really happened. It was only a farce, and we are paying the price,” he said.

Dugolli argued that the European Union should put pressure on Serbia to implement the agreement and that Serbia is interested only in wasting time in the dialogue.

According to Dugolli, coordination with internationals “existed and still exists”. “But coordination on everything and at every time is not possible especially in circumstances where there are direct attacks against Kosovo’s institutions and for us to wait and see what the international community says would be to underestimate ourselves, the Republic of Kosovo, and our ability to react and to establish peace, order, and law. We want coordination, but we are also obliged to enforce law and order,” he argued.

Halimi: Discrimination of women in RTK decision-making posts, evident (EO)

Spokeswoman for the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Sibel Halimi, complained in a Facebook post about the discrimination of women in decision-making posts in the public broadcast, the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK). Referring to an article by Kallxo which shows that three female candidates were refused to take up managerial positions, Halimi argued that gender equality is one the fundamental values of democratic societies. “Where women are under-estimated compared to men, and where institutions don’t acknowledge meritocracy, that place suffers from the lack of justice and social emancipation. Although Kosovo has a law on gender equality, the discrimination of women in decision-making posts in the RTK is evident and there should be a broad-based social reaction to this,” she argued.

Special Prosecution will file indictment for massacre at Dubrava Prison (RTK)

A spokesperson for the Special Prosecution of Kosovo told RTK that an indictment will soon be filed against suspects for the massacre at Dubrava Prison in May 1999, during which around 99 Albanian inmates were killed and another 200 were wounded. The spokesperson said that investigations into the massacre have been finalised. “We have arrested a suspect for the massacre at Dubrava. We have finalised the investigations and we are now in the phase of assessing the evidence so that within weeks or months we can file an indictment about the case,” he said.

Serbian Language Media

Lajcak: Concern about the situation in the north, all agreements binding (KiM radio, media)

All agreements remain valid and binding for both parties and must be fully implemented without any conditions or delays - said Miroslav Lajcak to the leaders in Belgrade and Pristina, reported KiM radio.

As he stated, he reminded both leaders of this during the last talks - with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, in Belgrade, and with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, in Bled.

"We discussed preparations for the next high-level dialogue meeting in September, with a focus on the normalization of relations and the implementation of the EU statement of June 3. I also expressed my concern about the situation in the north of Kosovo," said Lajcak in connection with the meeting with Kurti.

Regarding the meeting with Vucic, he stated:

"We talked in detail about efforts to reduce tensions and hold new local elections in the north of Kosovo, as well as about the implementation of all agreements from the dialogue."

He adds that he will continue the talks and recalls the meeting with the two leaders in Brussels, announced for September 14.

In his post on Facebook, he referred to the panel on the Western Balkans and European integration held at this week's Bled Forum, in which he participated.

"I emphasized that the EU is ready for the Western Balkans, but that the region needs to do its part," he said.

Vucic: Challenging times await us, we must defend Serbia's interests (RTS, media)

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, stated on Instagram on Sunday that challenging times are ahead and that, "we must be united, hardworking, defend the interests of Serbia and make the maximum contribution to its development".

Summarizing the previous week, Vucic, stated that this week ''it was shown that good results are achieved with persistence, hard work, and that, by investing in education and schools, we contribute to a safer and more promising future for our children.

"Although the times we live in are not easy, the state has not forgotten the common man and his needs. That is why, more than ever, we continue to build and work on the restoration of local roads and bridges, to listen to the problems and ideas of citizens and move forward together without stopping." stated Vucic.

As he said, challenging times ''await us and that's why we have to be united, hard-working, defend the interests of Serbia and make the maximum contribution to its development", stated Vucic on Instagram.

Radakovic: Resignations of the mayors in the north of Kosovo maybe in mid-November, December (Tanjug)

Dusan Radakovic, the executive director of the "Center for Representation of Democratic Culture" from Mitrovica north, estimated for Tanjug today that the new round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on September 14 in Brussels "will definitely start something", and that, after that, four mayors from the north Kosovo could resign under the pressure of the international community.

"I think that the new round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on September 14 in Brussels will definitely start something, and I expect that the elections will be called sooner. My estimates are either in mid-November, if there is support for the agreement in Brussels or, through some other means, maybe resignations, to be in mid-December," said Radakovic.

As he said, in the north Kosovo, there is a "big political tussle", resulting from the fact that the mayors of Leposavic and northern Mitrovica come from the party of the Kosovo's PM, Albin Kurti, "Self-Determination", while the mayors of Zvecan and Zubin Potok are from the party of former president Hashim Thaci, "PDK".

Petkovic: Serbs accused in the "Brezovica" case released from custody (RTS)

The director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, announced that six Serbs, accused in the "Brezovica" case, were released after paying bail, reported RTS.

''All six of our compatriots from Strpce have just been released from detention,'' wrote Petar Petkovic on Twitter.

"Bratislav Nikolic, Sasa Milosavljevic, Dimitrije Racicevic, Dragomir Milosavljevic, Sasa Spasic and Jadran Kostic spent a year and nine months in Kurti's casemate without any reason," said Petkovic.

He points out that ''they suffered and were separated from their families only because they are Serbs''.

"The State of Serbia will continue to stand by them and all our unjustly arrested compatriots," said Petkovic.

According to Pristina's Koha, the accused Serbs paid a total of 190,000 euros for bail.

In December of last year, an indictment was brought against a total of 12 people for alleged abuses during the construction of buildings on Brezovica.

The Kosovo police conducted a control of fishermen on Lake Gazivode (Blic, KiM radio) 

At Lake Gazivode, yesterday, representatives of the Kosovo Fishermen's Association, accompanied by members of the Kosovo Police, conducted a control and inspection action. 

- After 24 years, for the first time, the Kosovo Fishermen's Association is conducting control on Lake Gazivode - the Mitropol media portal announced on Facebook, cited Blic. 

As seen in the photos, there were several members of the Association in the boat, as well as two police officers, who on the shore registered the fishermen who happened to be there today. In one of the photos, a member of the Kosovo Police is holding a rifle.

KFOR: In the battalion for intelligence work, surveillance and reconnaissance in Kosovo, soldiers from eight countries (Radio Mitrovica sever)

The KFOR mission announced on its official Facebook page that its Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Battalion (ISRBN) consists of soldiers from eight NATO countries, as well as those that are not members of this Alliance, reported Radio Mitrovica sever.

As explained, this battalion is a KFOR unit that specializes in information gathering as a basic military skill.

"The International Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Battalion (ISRBN) consists of highly trained professionals from eight NATO countries, as well as non-NATO countries, whose primary function is to form critical information for commanders through surveillance and reconnaissance," the FB post reads.