Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 271 new cases, 12 deaths (media)
• Mustafa: LDK to announce candidate for prime minister after elections are set (media)
• Bislimi: Polls indicate LVV stands to win 55 MP seats (media)
• PDK spokesperson reacts to LVV's poll (Kallxo)
• LDK blames CEC for the downfall of Hoti-led government (Kosovapress/Koha)
• NISMA: We have no red lines towards any party (media)
• AKR open to prospects of a pre-election coalition (media)
• Osmani meets representatives of 6+ Group, Serbian List (media)
• Kusari-Lila to run alongside LVV in upcoming elections (media)
• Haradinaj: I would drop presidential candidacy in favour of Jashari family (Zeri/RTK)
• Barrie Lynne Freeman from USA appointed deputy head of UNMIK (media)
• EU supports Kosovo with 24 million euros (media)
• Kosovo suspends flights with UK over coronavirus variant concerns (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• In Serbian communities 39 new cases of Covid-19, four deceased (Kontakt plus radio) 
• Vucic: State official to get vaccine first (N1, FoNet)
• Reeker: The Balkans are a geopolitical field (KiM radio, Tanjug)
• EU: Pristina to respect and implement the agreements from the dialogue with Belgrade (Tanjug, Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Belgrade-Pristina agreement within next couple of months impossible (Radio KIM)
• Jevtic: No PCR test needed to enter Kosovo from Serbia (KoSSev)
• RTS: Murders and disappearances of journalists in Kosovo - crimes that everyone is silent about (Kosovo Online)
• Office for KiM reacts to stoning of school in Vitina (TV Most)
• Serbian List: EULEX, UNMIK and KFOR to ensure safety for all citizens (Kosovo-online)
• The Fatherland Movement: Vucic to say loud and clear whether he sold or gave away the energy system (nspm.rs)
• Serbian List: Fabrications that someone sold the electricity system in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

Opinion:

• A New EU Deal for the Balkans: Time to Remake the Anteroom (geopoliticalmonitor.com)

International:

• Kosovo Finds 11 War Victims in Hidden Graves in 2020 (Balkan Insight)

 

 

Albanian Language Media 

 

COVID-19: 271 new cases, 12 deaths (media)

271 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed of 1,066 tests carried out in the last 24 hours, Kosovo's National Institute for Public Health said. 

Meanwhile, 12 deaths and 417 recoveries have been reported over the same time period. 

There are currently 11,807 active cases of coronavirus in Kosovo.

Mustafa: LDK to announce candidate for prime minister after elections are set (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Isa Mustafa said today that the party will come out stronger from the upcoming elections and that the candidate for prime minister will be decided once elections are announced. 

After visiting the grave of the first LDK leader Ibrahim Rugova on the 31st anniversary of the party's establishment, Mustafa said: "We have not mentioned anyone yet and we are waiting for what the Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said yesterday for the Assembly to convene and adopt the budget and international agreements that needed to be passed and then proceed with announcing elections. Once elections are set, we will gather our structures and discuss in an institutional way and not based on reports and personal wishes because we have an institutional party."

Meanwhile, in a congratulatory message on Facebook, Mustafa said LDK is committed in performing all constitutional duties in leading the Government of Kosovo until the result of next elections. "The LDK will come out of these elections even more powerful, by respecting the citizens' vote and will," he said. "The Democratic League of Kosovo will continue to be the main political formation in the country. All interests of the state of Kosovo will be the main priority of LDK's policy making."

Bislimi: Polls indicate LVV stands to win 55 MP seats (media)

Deputy leader of the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) Besnik Bislimi presented the results of a poll showing the party winning 55 MPs in the new Assembly of Kosovo.

The poll, carried out by a Pristina-based research and consulting firm “UBO Consulting” last week, puts the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) in second place with 19 MPs, followed by the Deomcratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with 18, and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) with 8 seats.

Bislimi pointed out that the poll has not incorporated certain variables that could have an impact on the final number of seats in the Assembly, namely the Diaspora votes and the possible effect of the civic initiative led by Vjosa Osmani.

He added on Facebook: "It does not reflect the impact on votes produced by the success or the failure of the election campaign," nor does it reflect, as he said, the blow to ruling coalition parties following the decision that their government was unconstitutional.

"What we can say with full certainty is that despite all these elements listed above, with only a little bit more of an effort, LVV will have more than 60 MPs in the future Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo," he concluded.

PDK spokesperson reacts to LVV's poll (Kallxo)

Avni Bytyci, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), reacted to the findings of a poll presented by the deputy leader of the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) Besnik Bislimi showing LVV as winning 55 seats in the new Assembly.

"It seems Besnik Bislimi is in a serious race of becoming the most ridiculous politician for 2020," he wrote on social media. Bytyci said LVV and its leader Albin Kurti have been proclaiming they will win 50 percent of the votes in the upcoming elections which, Bytyci pointed out, will not translate into 55 seats. "Between the statement of Albin Kurti and Besnik Bislimi there is a discrepancy. Someone here is not telling the truth."

LDK blames CEC for the downfall of Hoti-led government (Kosovapress/Koha)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lutfi Haziri has blamed the Central Election Commission for allowing Etem Arifi to run for MP despite having been convicted. Arifi's vote in favour of the LDK-led government was declared unlawful by the Constitutional Court.

Saying that the LDK has always accepted the Constitutional Court's decisions regardless of what they entailed, Haziri noted: "The Court has concluded that the vote of an MP was invalid because of the final verdict of the Supreme Court, which in fact has to do with other constitutional mechanisms. It has to do with the CEC which certified the MP in question."

Speaking about upcoming elections as a result of the Court's ruling, Haziri said the LDK aims to win the elections. "If we manage to build ideological coalitions or principled coalitions this is a different matter but there will be no coalitions with political rivals. Political rivals are Vetevendosje and PDK."

NISMA: We have no red lines towards any party (media)

Endrit Shala from the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA) met today acting President Vjosa Osmani to discuss elections following the ruling of the Constitutional Court that declared the election of the government led by Avdullah Hoti to be unlawful. 

Shala said NISMA has no red lines against any other political party and that elections could be announced for early February of 2021. 

He also said the party's position is that the next year's budget should be adopted by the Assembly before it is dissolved. 

AKR open to prospects of a pre-election coalition (media)

Jetlir Zyberaj from the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) met the acting President Vjosa Osmani to discuss the date for early parliamentary elections following the ruling of the Constitutional Court.

Zyberaj said AKR's position is that elections should take place as soon as possible and that it is ready to join a political party in a pre-election coalition. "We have not decided yet but chances are we will enter a coalition with a political party. We have not decided which one but it will be one of the largest parties."

Osmani meets representatives of 6+ Group, Serbian List (media)

Acting President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani continued meetings with representatives of political parties to discuss early elections in light of the Constitutional Court's decision.

Osmani met separately representatives of the 6+ group and the Serbian List. 

Fikrim Damka, representing the 6+ group, said they are ready for elections and that they will run on their own. "We have reserved seats so we will not join a coalition with another party," he said. 

The representative of the Serbian List did not make any comments to the media following the meeting with Osmani.

Kusari-Lila to run alongside LVV in upcoming elections (media)

Mimoza Kusari-Lila from the Alternativa political party met acting President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani in light of the Constitutional Court's ruling calling for early elections.

Kusari-Lila said she will continue cooperation with LVV. "I believe we will continue together as two entities whose goal is to make positive changes. I believe we will run in these elections with a joint ticket through a coalition agreement," she said. 

Haradinaj: I would drop presidential candidacy in favour of Jashari family (Zeri/RTK)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj announced he would give up his candidacy for the president of Kosovo if someone from the family of the late KLA commander Adem Jashari decides to run.

Speaking to Kanal 10, Haradinaj said that there have been political parties who have used the Jashari family for their own agendas but noted that the AAK has great respect for it. "The Jashari family will have my vote and trust on anything."

Barrie Lynne Freeman from USA appointed deputy head of UNMIK (media)

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Tuesday the appointment of Barrie Lynne Freeman from the USA as deputy head of UNMIK. Freeman succeeds Christopher Coleman, also from the USA.

Ms. Freeman brings to the position over 30 years of experience in international peace and security issues.  In the last two years, Ms. Freeman has worked in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.  She also worked for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).  Prior to her work with the United Nations, Ms. Freeman worked at the National Democratic Institute, and with the United States Department of State in Washington D.C. and in Africa. 

Ms. Freeman has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tulane University and Georgetown University and is fluent in English and French. 

EU supports Kosovo with 24 million euros (media)

The European Union has processed the payment of 24.05 million euros to support Kosovo to mitigate the impact of COVID-19,  to support the modernisation of Kosovo’s public administration and to strengthen public finance management.  

A press release issued by the EU's Office in Pristina states that the EU will continue to support Kosovo with much-needed funding to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the Kosovo population and businesses and quotes the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Várhelyi saying: “Kosovo and the EU are both still in the midst of the pandemic. Through these budget support payments we assist Kosovo to take the necessary actions to fight the pandemic:  help stabilise public finances, support small businesses, and vulnerable people to cope with the financial hardships they are faced with in this difficult situation. We stand by the people of Kosovo.” 

Kosovo suspends flights with UK over coronavirus variant concerns (media)

Kosovo's Minister of Health Armend Zemaj has issued a decision today on special protective measures against the spread of COVID-19 and suspended all flights from the United Kingdom to Kosovo and vice-versa.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said all citizens travelling from the UK through land border crossings will have to self-isolate for a period of 14 days. The Ministry of Health also instructs the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Interior to take all necessary steps to implement the decision.

The decision enters into force today, 23 December.

 

 

Serbian Language Media

 

In Serbian communities 39 new cases of Covid-19, four deceased (Kontakt plus radio) 

North Mitrovica Crisis Staff announced today that in Serbian communities in Kosovo four people died as a result of the coronavirus, 39 new cases of infection were registered, while 72 people came out of isolation, reported Kontakt plus radio. 

Two people from North Mitrovica died, one from Zvecan and one from Pec.

Out of 93 processed samples, positive cases were recorded in the municipalities: North Mitrovica (10), Leposavic (9), Gnjilane (8), Zubin Potok (6), Priluzje (3), Zvecan (2), and Pec (1).

There are currently 923 active cases.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 82 people have died in the Serb areas as a result of Covid-19.

Vucic: State official to get vaccine first (N1, FoNet)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday that a state official would be the first to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, N1 reports.

"Whether it's me, (Prime Minister) Ana Brnabic or Minister Darija Kisic Tepavcevic, we'll see", he said, adding that this would prove that the vaccine is good.

The vaccination with the Pfizer vaccine, which we procured independently, bilaterally, starts tomorrow, Vucic told reporters, adding that the vaccination would start at care facilities for elderly people.

He said that a team of doctors from Serbia, headed by the CEO of the Infectious Diseases clinic in Belgrade Dr Goran Stevanovic, went to Banja Luka to check on Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency member Milorad Dodik. Vucic said that Dodik's state of health is not ideal but not terrible and added that he would be transferred to Belgrade if need be.

See at: https://bit.ly/37JiMGc

Reeker: The Balkans are a geopolitical field (KiM radio, Tanjug)

Senior State Department official Philip Reeker is convinced that the administration of President Joseph Biden will remain committed to the Western Balkans and the partnership with Serbia.  

"I cannot speculate on what the Biden administration will do, but I can say that the American commitment to the Western Balkans and our partnership with Serbia is consistent, from one administration to another," Reeker told Belgrade based news agency Tanjug.

He added that he believes that support will remain strong.

"In that context, I am convinced that the interests of the United States are above "American policy" and that these interests will continue to be the guide in our relations towards a brighter, more prosperous, stable and more increased European future of Serbia and the region," Reeker said.

Asked to clarify his statement that the status quo between Belgrade and Pristina is unsustainable, and that the Washington agreements are an example of leadership needed by the Western Balkans, and what that means when it comes to the final settlement of Kosovo, Reeker answered that Kosovo and Serbia will not reach the full potential of cooperation until their differences are resolved.

"Through the mediation of the White House, agreements were reached on September 4 with Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, which opened new perspectives for cooperation and strengthening confidence-building measures," Reeker said.

He emphasizes that these agreements have strengthened the foundation for future agreements, opening the perspective for comprehensive normalization of relations, which, he reminds, the EU itself is working on, which otherwise remains the main priority of the USA in the region.

"Implementation of these agreements will not only bring growth and jobs to the citizens of Serbia and Kosovo but will convince them to have a brighter future at home, in their countries, and will also contribute to reconciliation and progress throughout the Western Balkans," Reeker said.

Asked to explain what it means for Serbia and its position of a military neutral country when he said in a recent online regional gathering - that the Western Balkans will remain the focus of the United States until full transatlantic integration is achieved, Reeker stressed that Moscow and Beijing are actively working against achieving the set goals in the region - its "integration with the West".

But he points out, Serbia has decided for itself that its future is in the West, together with EU membership. "We support that, and we would like to be, together with European partners, part of the choice of Serbian partners. To that end, we have invested significant effort, energy and resources to help Serbia realize its strategic interest in European integration," Reeker said.

He also emphasizes that Serbia's path to EU membership is clear. "The Serbian leadership knows what it needs to do to make progress on that path," Reeker said, adding: "We hope that Serbia will make rapid progress towards that goal, which includes improving the rule of law, freedom of the media and harmonizing foreign and security policy with the European union ".

In the context of the position that the region will remain in the focus of the United States until it gets a full transatlantic structure, and when asked by Tanjug whether Serbia should be worried about potential pressures, as well as what would be the mechanism and goal of such pressure, Reeker answered indirectly that Europe, and especially the Western Balkans, are the undoubted center of geopolitical competition.

"We continue to deter Russian and Chinese influence in Serbia, and that includes constantly reminding the Serbian leadership that none of these relations are helping to achieve Serbia's strategic goal of joining the EU, but are actually influencing the opposite," Reeker said.

The US and the EU, he explains, believe that their collective interests serve best in "cementing" democratic norms, the rule of law and cooperation based on common values and a common future.

"Russia in Serbia is using the disinformation campaign to distract the public from the sympathies it has for Western ideals and goals, and it is also undermining democratic institutions," Reeker claims. China, on the other hand, uses investments, which are usually not transparent, nor are the projects of high quality, in order to secure its way to Serbia, said Philip Reeker.

EU: Pristina to respect and implement the agreements from the dialogue with Belgrade (Tanjug, Radio Mitrovica sever)

The European Union is monitoring the events in Kosovo on the occasion of the announcement of early parliamentary elections, the EU told Belgrade based news agency Tanjug, adding that even in such circumstances, work on the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina continues, and Kosovo ''is still expected to respect and implement all agreements reached so far".

"The EU will continue to cooperate with its interlocutors in Kosovo in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Kosovo and Serbia's path to the EU goes through dialogue. We still expect Kosovo to respect and implement all past agreements," an EU spokesman said.

Answering Tanjug's question whether the decision of the Constitutional Court on the illegality of the government of Avdullah Hoti and the announcement of new parliamentary elections in Kosovo affects the process of normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, the EU said that they had taken note of the court's decision and were waiting for its full publication.

"It is now up to Kosovo's institutions to take appropriate steps in line with the ruling. The EU will continue to engage with everyone in Kosovo to promote the European integration agenda and necessary reforms," the statement added.

In Brussels, they emphasize that it is especially important for the Assembly in Pristina to agree and adopt the budget for 2021 as soon as possible.

Belgrade-Pristina agreement within next couple of months impossible (Radio KIM)

Reaching Belgrade-Pristina agreement within the deadline of a couple of months is almost impossible, assessed participants of a third online discussion “New Year, Old Dialogue” organized by Kosovo Democratic Institute, Radio KIM reports.

Agron Bajrami, Miodrag Milicevic and Bodo Weber as experts for the dialogue and associated topics took part in discussion, along with other civil society representatives.

Editor-in-Chief of Koha media group Agron Bajrami said the decision of the Constitutional Court on unconstitutional government was belated, and should be made in August, in order not to further complicate Kosovo position in the process of a dialogue, Democratic Institute said.

Commenting on the Washington agreement, Bajrami said it remains unclear in terms of its implementation, and it is not comprehensive, final and for mutual recognition.

“Pressure or rush of Trump’s administration and his envoy (Richard) Grenell to reach a swift agreement before elections took place in the US led to the fall of Kurti’s government and election of Hoti’s government in manners disputed also then. Now we have the toppling of Hoti’s government because it is no longer needed following the agreement made in Washington'', Bajrami said.

NGO Aktiv Executive Director, Miodrag Milicevic spoke about the importance of the Serb community participation in the dialogue, and also about the fact that interests of the local Serbs have not been advocated for in this process.

He also noted that completely opposite stances of the parties involved and the stance of EU Special Envoy Miroslav Lajcak that the sides should define normalization of the relations represent an important element of this process. Milicevic also recommended Belgrade-Pristina dialogue be held in respective cities, rather than in Brussels.

Senior Associate at the Democratization Policy Council based in Berlin, Bodo Weber talking about the period of three and a half years since the dialogue started, said this process got privatized by the actors on both sides, and international factor actors, by entering the talks on exchange of territories.

He added that due to incoherent stances in the politics of the international actors wished results were not achieved. He also termed Lajcak’s role as “unconstructive”.

Jevtic: No PCR test needed to enter Kosovo from Serbia (KoSSev)

Minister for Communities and Returns Dalibor Jevtic said on Twitter that no PCR test is needed to enter Kosovo from Serbia, KoSSev portal reports.

Kosovo Government adopted yesterday a set of epidemiological measures that would be valid during the holidays’ season. One of the measures relate to the possession of a negative PCR test for all Kosovo citizens, including those who have residence outside of Kosovo.

“Let’s clarify the dilemma on PCR tests to enter Kosovo from Serbia: Negative PCR test on Covid-19 IS NOT needed’, Jevtic wrote on Twitter this morning. 

RTS: Murders and disappearances of journalists in Kosovo - crimes that everyone is silent about (Kosovo Online)

17 Serbian and Albanian journalists and media workers were killed and disappeared in Kosovo from 1998 to 2005, writes RTS. 

The RTS TV Show 'Upitnik' interlocutors were pessimistic about clarification of crimes, stating that it hurts the most that no international mission in Kosovo has given answers so far. 

The president of the Commission for Missing Persons Veljko Odalovic, who was the head of the Kosovo district before the war, said that Serbs, who were journalists on assignment, suffered from the Kosovo Liberation Army.

"Some of them died before June 10, 1999, some of them were kidnapped or killed after the arrival of the international mission. That is what should be emphasized constantly," Odalovic said in the show ''Upitnik'' (Questionnaire) on RTS.

He mentioned that at the time when the indictments were filed against Ramush Haradinaj, Fatmir Limaj and others, the crimes committed against journalists should have been also treated.

Odalovic said that it hurts the most that no international mission that was in Kosovo answered the questions about the murders and disappearances of journalists

The president of the Court of the Association of Journalists of Serbia, Ljiljana Smajlovic said that it has only recently become known that 17 journalists were killed and disappeared, and that no one has counted them so far.

"The only reason we know it is the UNS Board member Jelena Petkovic, who researched it and did it for us. Nobody knew how many there were. Until recently, when I was the president of UNS, and that was a long time ago, four years ago, we announced that 14 journalists had been killed or disappeared," Smajlovic said, noting that no one had dealt with it before.

Smajlovic said that it seemed to her that the authorities in Pristina were the darlings of the international community, and that Jan Braathu, now the head of the OSCE in Belgrade, was the only international official who said that crimes must be investigated, what has made him 'unpopular' in Kosovo.

Lawyer Branislav Tapuskovic stated that he was afraid that only in television shows, crimes against journalists would be talked about and that no crime would be solved. 

He added that he had an insight into the indictments filed against members of the KLA before the Specialized Chambers in The Hague, and that there were no traces of murders of journalists, or other crimes.

"I just don't know what that court will serve for," Tapuskovic said, adding that the proceedings that will be conducted there will not be even close to those that were conducted before the Hague tribunal.

He mentioned that it is not an international court, but, as he said, a "hermaphrodite institution", according to the regulations of the temporary institutions in Pristina.

"It has some international characteristics, because it was expelled to the territory of a foreign country and it is judged by foreign judges. I am sure that the initiative initiated by Thaci and many other Kosovo officials, will certainly by the end of that court, and perhaps much faster, question the existence of that tribunal," Tapuskovic pointed out.

"I am a pessimist in relation to the things concerning the work of that court and its results, and that we would see a single verdict," said Branislav Tapuskovic.

Office for KiM reacts to stoning of school in Vitina (TV Most)

Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija issued a statement late Tuesday reacting to the stoning of a Serbian school in the municipality of Vitina, TV Most reports.

Serbian primary school “Mladen Markovic” in Vitina, a separate department of the Binac school, was stoned on Tuesday afternoon.

“Unknown persons threw stones at this educational institution, which is located in the multi-ethnic settlement of Binac in the municipality of Vitina. On that occasion, several windows at the school were broken, and vandals tried to break down the front door as well”, the Office said in a statement.

It requested “the competent institutions in Pristina to immediately uncover and bring to justice the perpetrators of this act of vandalism, whose targets were also minor children”.

“We are witnessing almost daily pressures and violence against the Serbian population and property in Kosovo and Metohija. After today’s unfounded arrest of retiree Svetomir Bacevic in Pec, now Serbian children have also been targeted, and fortunately no one was injured”, the statement added.

Serbian List: EULEX, UNMIK and KFOR to ensure safety for all citizens (Kosovo-online)

Latest attack against the Serbian school in Binac, in Vitina municipality was a result of increased tensions and general hysteria that prevails in Kosovo, where political games always go to the detriment of the Serbian people, Serbian List said, Kosovo-online portal reports.

As Serbian List added in a statement “yesterday, without any grounds, Svetomir Bacevic was illegally deprived of freedom, who came from Gornji Milanovic where he lives now to visit his property near Pec”.   

Serbian List further said by such an act a message to all displaced Serbs was sent that “return to their properties and home places is forbidden”.

“Serbian List in the strongest terms condemns these acts that exert pressure on our compatriots, and demands that Kosovo institutions and Albanian leaders do not score political points by aggressive acts against our people. Ahead of political events that await us we appeal to KFOR, EULEX, UNMIK and others who have the mandate to ensure peace and security, to increase their presence on the ground and act preventively in order to preserve the peace and security for all citizens”, Serbian List said in a statement.

The Fatherland Movement: Vucic to say loud and clear whether he sold or gave away the energy system (nspm.rs)

The Fatherland movement from Kosovo issued a press release pointing out that “not even after 172 hours, instead of 72, citizens of Serbia did not receive a clear reply whether the President of Serbia has given as a gift or sold the electro-energy system of the state of Serbia in Kosovo,’’ reported portal nspm.rs.

The movement stated that the “press conference of Director for Office for KiM, Petar Petkovic was unconvincing and not believable”, and stressed that his claim that former Minister of energy Goran Novakovic from DOS handed over the energy system to UNMIK in 2001 is a lie, “bearing in mind the fact that in 1999 UNMIK police and KFOR took over the entire electric energy potential in Kosovo and Metohija, from the power plant to the last substation, based on SC Resolution 1244”.

The Fatherland movement reminded that Petar Petkovic, now praising the Brussels Agreement, contrary to the time when he was spokesperson and MP of DSS, called the Brussels Agreement “the biggest treason in the history of Serbian people”. “This is why Petkovic cannot be trusted at all, but in this political trade he is the least important. President of Serbia, who signed the Brussels Agreement is important, who gave a signal these days for the electric energy system to pass over and be under Pristina’s competence”.

“The citizens of Serbia and Serbs in KiM expect the President of Serbia not to hide behind Petar Petkovic and to say, loud and clear, whether this most important economic resource in Kosovo and Metohija was gifted or sold by Aleksanar Vucic. If he gave it away, why did he do it, if he sold it, why did he sell it and for what money? Did the money from the sale go to the budget of the Republic of Serbia or somewhere else?”

The movement recalled the citizens of Serbia about the loans which the Republic of Serbia has paid for the construction of Ibar-Lepenac hydro system to London and Paris clubs and “is not only the owner of Lake Gazivode, hydroelectric power plant Gazivode, but also of forty kilometers of canals that lead from Zubin Potok to Batlava Lake near Pristina”. 

Therefore this movement asked the President of Serbia, whether ‘’Lake Gazivode and HPP Gazivode still bear the name of Donald Trump or now it has some other name? Maybe the name of his friend Edi Rama?” they concluded.

Serbian List: Fabrications that someone sold the electricity system in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

Serbian List issued a press release as a reaction to the earlier statements of Rada Trajkovic and Fatherland movement.

“Political dilettantes from Djilas’s milieu, such as rent-a-Rada, have an obvious desire to wash themselves of the misdeeds that were left after the period of autocracy of their regime. And thus rent-a-Rada and “members of Fatherland” speak about people leaving from KiM, but they do not mention the vast number of their real estates in Belgrade, they do not apologize for the defeatism they’re spreading, they do not apologize to Serbs for everything they did while they were in power, but they’re doing their best to use lies to hide their misdeeds,” the press release reads. 

When it comes to the electricity issue the Serbian List stated : “The fabrications that someone sold the electrical system in Kosovo and Metohija come from sick minds and fraudsters who can only think of such things, because as our people say, the thief does not believe in honesty.”

 

 

Opinion

 

A New EU Deal for the Balkans: Time to Remake the Anteroom (geopoliticalmonitor.com)

The summer of 2015 has seared itself into Europeans’ collective memory: more than a million migrants fleeing conflict in the Middle East streamed into the European Union (EU), the responses of European governments to this migration crisis were haphazard, all too often unilateral, and have continued to haunt European politics to this day. However, what is often forgotten is that more than 120,000 of those people applying for refugee status in Germany in 2015 were actually Europeans themselves—from the Western Balkans. The fact, that more than 120,000 people from this small region made the trip to Germany, despite the almost nonexistent chance of being able to stay speaks volumes about the lack of opportunity they see in their own countries. The COVID-19 pandemic will not only further exacerbate this situation but also leave the region more vulnerable to malign outside powers – like Russia and especially China. Conversely, Washington’s upcoming conversion from disruptor to constructive actor also presents a chance to reenlist US support for a common transatlantic approach. 25 years after the Dayton Agreement, it is high time for the EU to offer the region a new level of association short of full membership.

Unfulfilled Promises and Disillusion

After the violent break-up of Yugoslavia, the only possible path forward for the six Western Balkan states (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia) appeared to be their eventual accession to the EU. After all, membership in the bloc seemed to embody the promise of peace, prosperity and generous subsidies – in other words a better life. Thereby, helping to stabilize the region and creating a powerful impetus for reform. However, much has changed since European leaders pledged to make Western Balkan countries “an integral part of the European Union” in 2003. For one, the near-glacial progress of the accession process has led to rising popular disillusionment in the region and with the prospects for membership growing more distant, the pace of reforms has been noticeably slow. This development is compounded by the EU’s growing enlargement fatigue, with new members increasingly perceived not as an overall benefit, but as an additional burden.

See more at: https://bit.ly/34CVsb3

 

 

International

 

Kosovo Finds 11 War Victims in Hidden Graves in 2020 (Balkan Insight)

The head of Kosovo’s Missing Persons Commission, Kushtrim Gara, told BIRN that exhumations were carried out at ten locations in Kosovo and Serbia this year and “the mortal remains of at least 11 persons, victims of the war, were found and exhumed”.

As well as the new discoveries, Gara said that in 2020, “the mortal remains of four people identified years ago have been returned to their families for reburial”.

The most recent finds happened on December 18, when the remains of one war victim in Rahovec/Orahovac and some bone parts of another victim in Prizren’s Tusuz neighbourhood were found and sent for forensic analysis and DNA identification, Gara added.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3rjci8J