Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: There’s a negative mood in the State Prosecution against our government (KSP)
• PDK’s Tahiri calls on Kurti to dismiss KEK Board and CEO (Indeksonline)
• Rizvanolli on arrest of KEK CEO: We will wait for the facts (media)
• Escobar: Waiting for concrete proposal from Kosovo for Association by May 2 (RTK)
• Konjufca: Can’t accept Association without de facto recognition from Serbia (media)
• “Kurti govt’s seriousness prevented further conditioning of visa liberalisation” (Kallxo)
• Government with €3 million aid package for non-majority communities (Klan)
• Election commission accredits around 360 observers for elections in north (Kallxo)

Serbian Language Media:

• Milatovic: Open Balkans better than closed Balkans (Beta, NIN, N1)
• Dacic: We have returned to the pre-Brussels era (NMagazin, Politika, RTV)
• Escobar: US will recognize Kosovo election results (Tanjug, N1)
• Botsan-Kharchenko on Community of Serb Municipalities (Danas)
• KP: Three minors admitted that they damaged the door of the church in Prizren (KiM radio)
• Ponos: Ten years after Brussels Agreement, Kosovo further from Serbia (N1, Danas)
• No visa liberalisation for Serbian passport holders in Kosovo (N1, media)
• Petkovic reacts to von Cramon statement, says make Pristina establish ZSO (Radio KIM)
• Court of Appeals increases sentence to Vukotic, lawyer announces complaint to Supreme Court (KoSSev, media)
• Dacic: Pristina has almost no chance of becoming a UNESCO member (Tanjug)
• US ambassadors discuss regional stability with Vucic (N1, social media)

Opinion:

• Editor of RTV KiM: Serbs got a one-way ticket, Albanians an unsettled situation (Danas, Insajder)
• “Serbs from Kosovo humiliated, term Kosovar insulting” (N1)

International:

• Kosovo Parties Split Over Energy Corporation Head’s Arrest (BIRN)
• Serbia, Kosovo, Take First Steps To Implement EU Ohrid Deal (BIRN)  

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Kurti: There’s a negative mood in the State Prosecution against our government (KSP)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in today’s session of the Kosovo Assembly that there is a negative mood in the State Prosecution against his government. He said the opposition parties rejoiced at the arrest of the chief executive officer of the Kosovo Power Corporation yesterday. “It is a fact that the opposition rejoiced at the arrest of CEO Krasniqi. But this relates to the opposition, it is not a fact of the matter. We know that there have been many CEOs in KEK in the past, there have been mind-blowing abuses, but they were never addressed by the judicial system, namely by the prosecution. The prosecution is very zealous in this case, where the profit of KEK in 2022 has been €107 million. The new management of KEK has certainly submitted dozens of facts and material evidence about the abuses it has found there. But the prosecution has had zero zeal to address the facts and evidence of previous abuses,” he argued. 

PDK’s Tahiri calls on Kurti to dismiss KEK Board and CEO (Indeksonline)

Head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, Abelard Tahiri, called on Prime Minister Albin Kurti today to urgently summon his government and dismiss the whole board and the chief executive officer of the Kosovo Power Corporation (KEK), Nagip Krasniqi, after the latter was raided and arrested yesterday on the suspicion of abuse of duty.

“We can see you and your parliamentary group are in great discomfort. I remind you that the first thing you should do today as Prime Minister is to urgently summon the government, dismiss the KEK Board and relieve the chief executive officer from duty … The least you can do today in order to make way for investigations is to dismiss the whole board as they are your people,” Tahiri said in today’s session of the Kosovo Assembly.

Rizvanolli on arrest of KEK CEO: We will wait for the facts (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, said today that they don’t have any official information about the arrest of the chief executive officer of the Kosovo Power Corporation (KEK), Nagip Krasniqi, suspected of three criminal offences. Rizvanolli said in today’s session of the Kosovo Assembly: “with regards to the [police] raid yesterday, we in the ministry have received no official information. We will wait for the facts and information from judicial institutions before making any statement and we will also be in contact with the board about the developments there”.

Escobar: Waiting for concrete proposal from Kosovo for Association by May 2 (RTK)

The U.S. special envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, says he expects to have a proposal from the Kosovo government for the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities by May 2 when the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia meet in Brussels.

"I hope that by May 2 there will be a concrete proposal," Escobar said in an interview with the Albanian service of the Voice of America.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Southern and Central Europe said that there has been progress regarding this issue and an extraordinary evolution in the attitude of the Kosovo government, and in particular the Prime Minister, to accept this legal obligation.

"It is an existing obligation under the Brussels agreement and it was very difficult for this government and party to accept it as mandatory. But now they are considering it as an obligation, they have agreed with it and have said publicly what the framework and parameters of the Association should be. And we agree with these parameters," he said.

Escobar said the United States will recognize Sunday's elections in northern Kosovo even if the Serbian List boycotts it, saying the boycott does not define the election.

"We have called and I have personally asked the Serbs, the Serbian List, to participate and not give up their role. The fact that they do not participate is their decision. But these are foreseen by the Constitution. There are unfilled places. There are people who are not receiving services from the local government because there is no participation. So if these elections are free and fair, and I predict they will be, the result will be legitimate from our point of view," he said.

Escobar said he hopes that the Serbs in Kosovo will find a way to return to the institutions. However, he added that the boycott should not delay the establishment of the Association.

"That obligation is immediate, it is existing. So, regardless of who is in power, the Association must be formed," he said.

Escobar praised the Ohrid agreement as "extraordinary" and said that if it is properly implemented, it would usher in "a new era in peaceful relations between Serbia and Kosovo" and pave the way for their Euro- Atlantic future.

The full interview with senior State Department official Gabriel Escobar airs tonight on VOA's news.

Konjufca: Can’t accept Association without de facto recognition from Serbia (media)

U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, said he expects a proposal from the Kosovo government on the Association of Serb-majority municipalities before the meeting between Kosovo and Serbia leaders in Brussels on May 2. But, Kosovo Assembly President, Glauk Konjufca, said today that Kosovo needs to prove that it cannot make a single step with regards to the Association of Serb-majority municipalities without de facto recognition from Serbia. “This relates to the negotiations process in which Kosovo is a part, and everything that remains now is that the meeting on May 2 is expected to clarify the phase in which we are in. I think the agreement has been built in two parts or two tracks, the first track is the de facto recognition by Serbia, and the second track is the Association, which was accepted by Kosovo, the previous governments, and a previous majority in 2013, and this refers to the agreement in 2013. Everything that Kosovo needs to do now is to show that it has no obligation, and it cannot make a single step forward without the realisation of the first track, which is the de facto recognition,” Konjufca said before the start of the Kosovo Assembly session. 

Konjufca also said: “the way this issue was regulated in the past is that there is a management team, which had to offer a version of the Association. It offered one version and it did not function and it was not accepted, now it will offer another version. I don’t rule out the possibility that the new version will also not function, seeing the composition of the management, which includes MPs from Serbia, this is unacceptable for Kosovo. Let’s see how it goes but I think that if this management team offers a draft that suits the interests of Serbia, I think it is wise for Kosovo to dismiss this management team”.

“Kurti govt’s seriousness prevented further conditioning of visa liberalisation” (Kallxo)

Head of the Vetevendosje parliamentary group, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, said in today’s session of the Kosovo Assembly that the credibility of the government in Kosovo helped restore the absent political readiness among EU member states for visa liberalisation. She argued that the seriousness of the Kurti-led government prevented the further conditioning of visa liberalisation. “The seriousness of the Kurti government in the implementation of reforms for law and order, transparency and accountability, the freedom of speech and free media, commitment for equality among parties and holding Serbia accountable in the dialogue, prevented the further delay and conditioning of this right which was long denied to the citizens of Kosovo,” she said.

Kusari-Lila said that through the year, visa liberalisation was linked with the political process and with the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. “Without any formal justification, the visa liberalisation was used as a conditioning stick against Kosovo in the process of dialogue,” she said.

Kusari-Lila also said that the signing of the act in Strasbourg helped correct a 10-year-long injustice against the citizens of Kosovo.

Government with €3 million aid package for non-majority communities (Klan)

The Kosovo government will support non-majority communities with a €3 million aid package. A government press release notes that Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Deputy Prime Minister for Minority Affairs and Human Rights Emilja Redzepi, Finance Minister Hekuran Murati, Communities and Returns Minister Nenad Rasic and advisor to the Prime Minister for Community Affairs Elizabeth Gowing, held a meeting today where they discussed and agreed on the new aid package for non-majority communities. The package includes support measures for new jobs for existing and new businesses, farmers, and small producers in rural areas, and for civil society that contributes to the integration and affirmation of non-majority communities. The government is expected to adopt the package in its next meeting.

Election commission accredits around 360 observers for elections in north (Kallxo)

Kosovo’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has decided to accredit around 360 observers for the extraordinary elections for mayors in Mitrovica North, Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok, and for the extraordinary elections for the municipal assemblies in Zvecan and Leposavic.

   

Serbian Language Media 

  Milatovic: Open Balkans better than closed Balkans (Beta, NIN, N1)

Montenegro's new President Jakov Milatovic said that the matter of joining the Open Balkan initiative will be discussed both by the future Government and Parliament, and that his political position is clear – “it is better to be part of the open than closed Balkans.“

“The idea of the European Union (EU) arose as an idea of regional economic cooperation between the Benelux countries, Germany, France, and Italy. When we talk about European integration here in the Balkans, we often precisely forget the importance of our own regional economic integration processes. Advancing relations and regional cooperation is something that, as an economist, I have always advocated,” Milatovic told the weekly NIN commenting on the Open Balkan initiative.

He said EU membership is a top priority, and that “as long as that is our main goal, I see no problem why we wouldn’t at the same time improve our regional economic cooperation.”

“What’s more, I think it is an integral part of our EU integration,” stressed Milatovic.

Asked if he knew Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and whether he had congratulated him on his victory in the Montenegrin presidential vote, Milatovic said he did not have an opportunity to meet him in person.

“I am grateful for the congratulatory letter that I received after winning the presidential elections. We also had a friendly and decent phone conversation. We both expressed readiness to work on advancing cooperation and resolving the issues burdening our region,” said Milatovic.

Dacic: We have returned to the pre-Brussels era (NMagazin, Politika, RTV)

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic said, commenting on the statement of Washington's special envoy Gabriel Escobar, that we have thus "returned to the pre-Brussels situation", when it was unimportant whether Serbs participate in elections and institutions or not, reported Politika.

Dacic told Radio Television Vojvodina that the "new Brussels agreement", i.e. the acceptance of the Franco-German plan on the normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, did not mean either de facto or de jure recognition of Kosovo, that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic only verbally accepted that plan and clearly emphasised that the red lines are non-acceptance of independence and non-acceptance of Kosovo's membership in the UN.

When asked who would sign the new Brussels agreement, if it comes to that, Dacic said that the "Ohrid Agreement" stated that a solution to the status of Kosovo has not been reached, but that there were different approaches to the status, such that for Belgrade, Kosovo and Metohija was an autonomous province, and " for them it was independent".

Commenting on the decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe not to include Kosovo's request for admission on the agenda of yesterday's session, Dacic said that the pressure continued on Iceland, which chairs the CoE, to include it on the agenda.  

''They told me that it will not happen today, but maybe it will happen on Friday,'' Dacic said.

Referring to accusations from Pristina that by lobbying in Strasbourg, he violated the Ohrid Agreement, which stipulated that Belgrade would not prevent Kosovo's admission to international organisations, Dacic said: 

''This is said by the one who has not implemented the Brussels Agreement on the formation of the CSM (ZSO) for 10 years. Serbia is small, but it is not stupid. President Vucic speaks precisely, we will not implement what we did not agree to," Dacic said.

Escobar: US will recognize Kosovo election results (Tanjug, N1)

US diplomat Gabriel Escobar told Tanjug on Wednesday that Washington will recognize the results of the local elections in the north of Kosovo even if the Serbs boycott them.

The Assistant Secretary of State said that the election boycott by some political parties will not determine the outcome of the vote.

He said that he appealed to the Serbs to take part in the elections adding that he understands the problems they are facing. According to him, the Kosovo government has a constitutional obligation to hold elections.

He said the elections will take place and the US will recognize the outcome. He expressed the hope that the Kosovo Serbs will return to the institutions they quit.

Botsan-Kharchenko on Community of Serb Municipalities (Danas)

Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko wrote on Twitter that he was surprised with the statement of US Ambassador to Serbia, Cristopher Hill on the tenth anniversary since the signing of the Brussels agreement, Danas daily reports.

“Suddenly a question is being asked why this structure – crucial to ensuring rights and security of the province Serbs – has not been established. The answer is very simple – there is no ZSO because neither EU nor US had exerted necessary influence on Pristina all that time. The situation resembles much the approach of a collective West to the Minsk Agreements on Ukraine”, Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko wrote on Twitter. 

KP: Three minors admitted that they damaged the door of the church in Prizren (KiM radio)

The Kosovo police identified three minors (two fifteen-year-olds and one thirteen-year-old) who damaged the doors of the Church of St. Panteleimon in Prizren, KiM radio reported.

The suspects were interrogated in the presence of a social worker and a defence attorney, and they confessed to the crime, the Kosovo police stated last night.

"In consultation with the detention prosecutor, the three suspected minors were released in a regular procedure," the statement said.

The Kosovo police remind that the case of damage to the door of the Orthodox church was reported on April 17, when a passer-by noticed the fire and managed to put it out without causing major material damage.

The attempt to set fire to the church of Saint Panteleimon, which was built in the 14th century, was condemned by the Eparchy of Raska-Prizren, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, the Serbian List and international officials.

Ponos: Ten years after Brussels Agreement, Kosovo further from Serbia (N1, Danas)

Leader of the opposition Serbia-Center Movement (SRCE) Zdravko Ponos said that Serbs and Albanians are no closer now than they were ten years ago when the first Brussels Agreement was signed, which, among other things, envisages the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, while “Kosovo is getting further away from Serbia”, N1 reports.

Ponos told Belgrade-based Danas daily that “the Brussels Agreement was the first delivery in the realisation of (Serbian President Aleksandar) Vucic’s promises to solve the Kosovo issue”.

It is thanks to this that the West let him get away with “everything else that he did later on, stifling democracy in Serbia and diverting it from the European integration path”, he added.

Since then, as he said, Vucic has delivered everything that was asked of him, sometimes with a delay but always with melodramatic plots, rattling of sabres, citing of the Kosovo oath and making of personal sacrifices, adding that in return Serbia and Kosovo Serbs got nothing.

No visa liberalisation for Serbian passport holders in Kosovo (N1, media)

The European Union decision to grant Kosovo a visa liberalisation does not include holders of passports issued by the Serbian Internal Affairs Ministry (MUP) Coordination Department for Kosovo.

A post on the MUP web portal said that Serbian citizens resident in Kosovo have to submit requests for passports in Belgrade at the Coordination Department. The decision was taken by the Serbian government under a decree issued in 2009.

Thijs Reuten MEP, author of the visa liberalisation agreement, said that it is valid only for documents issued by the authorities in Pristina which means that Kosovo residents who have Serbian passports have to apply for visas to travel to the European Union in Pristina, Skoplje or Tirana, not Belgrade.

Some Serbian media reported that holders of Serbian passports in Kosovo if they wish to travel to some of the EU five non-recognizers of Kosovo, should apply for visas in Belgrade, while for other EU members they should apply either in Pristina, Skopje or Tirana.

Kosovo deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi said that people with passports issued in Belgrade have eight months to get passports issued by Pristina which would allow them to travel to the EU without visas.

Petkovic reacts to von Cramon statement, says make Pristina establish ZSO (Radio KIM)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic reacted to the statement of the EP Rapporteur for Kosovo Viola von Cramon that decision of the Serbian List to boycott elections in four northern municipalities was “a big mistake” by saying that “it would have been much better if she would regret and protest the fact that Pristina for decade refuses to implement its obligation and form Community of Serb Municipalities”, Radio KIM reports.

Petkovic also said it was regrettable that Viola von Cramon “does not wish to see that the problem is in Albin Kurit who wishes to be a factual mayor of all municipalities in northern Kosovo and Metohija with two percent support from Albanian voters”.

He also said instead of blaming official Belgrade without any evidence for being behind decision of Serbs in Kosovo to boycott elections there, she should better see the statement of the Serbian people from November 5, of the last year saying clearly that there is no return to the institutions until Community of Serb Municipalities is formed in line with the Brussels Agreement.

He noted that if von Cramon cares about participation of the Serbs in elections “then she should make Pristina establish ZSO and withdraw its illegal special police units from the north because they have no reasons to be there”. 

Court of Appeals increases sentence to Vukotic, lawyer announces complaint to Supreme Court (KoSSev, media)

The Court of Appeals in Pristina has decided to amend the verdict of the Basic Court and increase the sentence to Zoran Vukotic from Vucitrn from ten to 13 years in prison, convicted of alleged war crimes against civilian population in 1999, KoSSev portal reports today.

And while the Court of Appeals claimed that the testimony of a witness was credible, and the state of fact was done in a right manner based on evidence, Vukotic’s defence lawyer termed the decision as disputable. Nebojsa Vlajic told KoSSev that the verdict rests on “weak grounds” and any serious reconsideration of it would lead to its annulment.  

The KoSSev portal recalls that Vukotic was sentenced to ten years in prison in July 2021 for alleged raping of an Albanian woman, and the first-instance verdict was immediately welcomed by the highest Pristina officials, including Kosovo president and the prime minister.

After that the Court of Appeals annulled the verdict and sent the case for retrial citing violations in the proceedings. In the second trial, Vukotic was again sentenced to ten years in prison by the Basic Court in November 2022.

In the meantime, Kosovo Special Prosecution and the defence lawyer of Vukotic filed complaints to the Court of Appeals in Pristina.

In a statement issued two days ago, the Court of Appeals said the verdict was made on February 15, and partially adopted a complaint of the Kosovo Special Prosecution, thus increasing the sentence of the defendant and dismissed other complaints, including that of Zoran Vukotic and his defence lawyer as ungrounded.

Nebojsa Vlajic said he has not received the verdict yet and would certainly not get it in the upcoming days, he assumes because of the translation process. Commenting on the fact that the trial was repeated because of numerous violations in the proceedings, Vlajic said he does not see that those violations have been corrected in this new proceeding either.

“That is why I will file a new request for the protection of legality to the Supreme Court, to examine the verdict once again, and then to see what will happen”, he said.

Dacic: Pristina has almost no chance of becoming a UNESCO member (Tanjug)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, said today that it was unlikely that ''the so-called Kosovo will receive support for membership in that organisation'', reported Tanjug agency.

After a meeting with UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay in Paris, he said that he asked the organisation to pay special attention to the cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija.

"The UNESCO Assembly is also being prepared in November. It is important for us that, bearing in mind our views on KiM, there is no application by Kosovo for membership in UNESCO, but that does not mean that it may not happen. It is good for us that it is a world organisation, not a European one where most countries recognize Kosovo. I think there are almost no chances for Kosovo to receive confirmation of admission to membership," Dacic said.

US ambassadors discuss regional stability with Vucic (N1, social media)

The US ambassadors to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina said on Wednesday that they had a productive meeting in Belgrade with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic about regional stability in the Western Balkans.

“Productive meeting with President Vucic and Ambassador Murphy about EU prospects and regional dynamics in the Western Balkans. We all agreed on the importance of supporting BiH’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and multiethnic character and functional state-level institutions”, US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill tweeted following the meeting.

The US Embassy in Sarajevo retweeted the statement, emphasising that this was an “important meeting on regional stability, with focus on BiH sovereignty, territorial integrity, and functional state level institutions”.

Vucic said in an Instagram post that their talks on important regional issues were comprehensive and open, adding that he “expressed Serbia’s commitment to respect for the norms of the Dayton Peace Agreement and conviction that peace and stability are the highest values”. “Serbia always supported the integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the rights of the Republika Srpska and the other entity in line with the Dayton Agreement”, he wrote.

   

Opinion 

  Editor of RTV KiM: Serbs got a one-way ticket, Albanians an unsettled situation (Danas, Insajder)

The editor-in-chief of Radio-Television KiM from Caglavica, Goran Avramovic, said last night that the Kosovo Serbs got a one-way ticket, while the Albanians got an "unsettled situation" and "illnesses that they need to overcome in order to have a democratic society", reported Danas. 

"A society in which a community or people lives exclusively in villages cannot be considered democratic. On the other hand, you have a majority community society that does not respect the decisions of its own parliament and the Constitutional Court, and then we have the situation on the ground as it is," Avramovic told Insajder. 

He said that the Serbs south of the Ibar still live "trapped in enclaves", adding that no one was talking about the return of the displaced, and that the Serbs in the north have left the institutions.

"In short, people are leaving Kosovo and will continue to do so. The decade since the signing of the Brussels Agreement is a decade of missed opportunities," he said.

Speaking about Pristina's refusal to form the CSM (ZSO), Avramovic said that Pristina was referring to the decision of the Constitutional Court when it came to the CSM (ZSO), but not referring to the decision of the same court when it came to the property of the Decani monastery.

Asked how much the atmosphere in Kosovo and Metohija depended on the meetings in Brussels or the last one in Ohrid, Avramovic said that the people did not expect solutions to their daily problems at those meetings because, in his opinion, those solutions were not sought.

"The political careers of the elites in Belgrade and Pristina are being saved, and I can freely say the careers of the elite part of the international community participating in these negotiations," said Avramovic, reported Danas.

“Serbs from Kosovo humiliated, term Kosovar insulting” (N1)

Visa liberalisation for Kosovo has additionally complicated possibilities of the Serbian citizens there to travel abroad, N1 reports today. 14 years ago, when the EU abolished visas for Serbia, Serbian citizens with residence in Kosovo and Metohija could not travel abroad with the Serbian travel documents issued by the Coordination Administration. Serbs from Kosovo, holders of those passports, still needed to wait in queues in front of the embassies. Following the latest decision on visa liberalisation for Kosovo, they think that they are discriminated against and brought to a fait accompli – either take Kosovo passport or leave Kosovo, N1 adds.

President of the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) Zivojin Rakocevic, who lives in Gracanica, said that “every process in which Kosovo makes steps towards Europe means that you lose some of your previous rights”. Srdjan Simonovic from Human Center Mitrovica said “that a constant disappointment in the mother state is what characterises the lives of Serbs in Kosovo”.

“This decision will force certain number of Serbs in Kosovo to apply for Kosovo passports, which additionally relaxes position of Kosovo government and (Albin) Kurti, who will be able to present himself as a great democrat, because he enabled Serbs to travel without visas, something that their mother state had not enabled for them”, Simonovic said.

Rakocevic said that “the process of losing our documents is a process of losing our rights and it goes on for 20 years”.

“We have the feeling of humiliation. The crucial issue is how is it possible that you can not treat our passports the same as Kosovo passports at this moment, and you keep telling us that for 20 years”, Rakocevic said, adding that by accepting someone else's documents you accept someone else's freedom.

He added he expects from Belgrade to seek a solution and asks a crucial question – what will you do with those documents? He also said that once Serbs obtain Kosovo ID card “it is written there that you are a Kosovar” which is “equally insulting to Serbs as the term Siptar for Albanians”.

He also said he can’t identify who is responsible for their humiliation, but that they direct their attention to whom they believe to be their support, and that is Belgrade.

Asked if Serbs will start applying for Kosovo passports, Simonovic said if there is no response from Serbia, in a sense of support, a large number will apply for Kosovo passports.   

   

International 

  Kosovo Parties Split Over Energy Corporation Head’s Arrest (BIRN)

The arrest of the director of the Kosovo Energy Corporation, who has ties to the ruling party, has sparked diverging reactions – with government MPs calling it 'revenge' and the opposition hailing it as proof of government abuse of the energy sector.

The arrest of the director of the Kosovo Energy Corporation, KEK, has drawn completely different reactions from the ruling and opposition parties.

Members of the former deemed it “revenge” by the acting Chief State Prosecutor while the opposition described it as proof of government abuse in the energy sector.

Kosovo’s Prosecutorial Council on Thursday said that “some senior state officials are trying to systematically influence the affairs of the prosecutorial system and are conveying tendentious political messages … using derogatory language against the … candidate for Chief State Prosecutor, Blerim Isufaj, which is against all ethical, legal and constitutional norms”.

Nagip Krasniqi, director of KEK, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of misuse of his position or official authority, exercise of influence and conflict of interest.

His lawyer, Taulant Ferizi, told BIRN the raid on his client’s house on Wednesday was against legal procedures because there was no written order, only a verbal one.

Ferizi said suspicions against his client “are related to two contracts in the procurement sector concluded between the KEK and economic operators”.

MPs of the ruling Vetevendosje party claimed the arrest was revenge by Acting Chief State Prosecutor Blerim Isufaj, who does not have the support of Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, PM Albin Kurti and Parliament Speaker Glauk Konjufca to be made Chief State Prosecutor.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3ovqXAI Serbia, Kosovo, Take First Steps To Implement EU Ohrid Deal (BIRN)

Kosovo and Serbia have established a Joint Monitoring Committee to oversee implementation of the verbal deal on normalization of relations reached in Ohrid, North Macedonia, on March 18.

Kosovo and Serbia have taken the first steps towards implementation of their verbal deal to normalize relations reached in March in Ohrid, North Macedonia, by establishing a Joint Monitoring Committee to oversee the implementation as well as an initial endorsement of a declaration on missing persons .

A Joint Monitoring Committee for implementation of the deal reached in Ohrid on March 18 was established exactly 30 days after, within the deadline.

The EU announced on Tuesday that, “the Joint Monitoring Committee will be chaired by EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues, Miroslav Lajcak. Kosovo will be represented by its ambassador in Brussels, Agron Bajrami, and Serbia by its chief negotiator Petar Petkovic”.

The Terms of Reference for the committee are expected to be arranged at a meeting between Kosovo and Serbia due on May 2. “The Committee will meet on a regular basis in Brussels,” the EU announced.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3UVj03J