Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Budget for municipalities this year is 40% higher than 3 years ago (RTK)
• Konjufca: The U.S. sees Kosovo from a much higher level (RTK)
• Central Bank Governor meets with Austrian Ambassador Schnetzer (media)
• Krasniqi: Allegations that process for electing new mayors in north is dragging on, unfair (Kallxo)
• Ajeti reports to Committee that supervises the KIA (RTK)
• Maqedonci visits Finland, security of Kosovo also discussed (RTK)
• Kurti denies accusations of unequal treatment of municipalities (Kallxo)
• Trial against Milan Jovanovic, accused of war crimes in Kosovo, begins (Koha)
• Ambassadors go to Prime Minister Kurti's office (Reporteri)

Serbian Language Media:

• Nenezic: Dinar is just an excuse to open issue of remaining Serbian institutions in Kosovo (KoSSev)
• Serbian NGOs from Kosovo: Systematic and orchestrated attacks by GoK officials on the civil sector (Beta, NMagazin, KoSSev, KiM radio )
• Less and less dinars in Kosovo (Radio KIM)
• Education staff express protest in Mitrovica North, say they cannot withdraw salaries because of CBK decision (Kosovo Online)
• Djuric: We have exposed Kurti's disinformation systematically (Tanjug)
• Drecun: Kurti is putting obstacles in dialogue with Belgrade with unilateral moves (RTV)
• Dacic: SPS supports establishment of movement (Tanjug)
• Vucic receives new head of CoE office in Belgrade (Tanjug)
• Swiss daily: Fewer and fewer Serbs in Kosovo - and in Serbia as well (DW)

International:

• Ethnocentric Yugoslav War Commemorations Taint the Future, Experts Warn (BIRN)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Kurti: Budget for municipalities this year is 40% higher than 3 years ago (RTK)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in today’s meeting with mayors of municipalities that the budget for municipalities this year is €742 million, which is almost €90 million higher than last year, and that in three years of the government’s mandate the budget for municipalities has increased by €195 million.

“The overall grant for municipalities for 2024 reaches €284 million, which is the biggest grant ever. The municipalities of Ferizaj and Gjakova are the municipalities with most infrastructure projects, while Obiliq, Skenderaj and Rahovec are ranked as the top three municipalities that benefited from the municipal performance grant that is allocated by the Ministry for Local Government,” he said.

Kurti said that four shelters will be built for stray dogs – in Pristina, Prizren, Peja and Gjilan, and called on the municipalities to cooperate in meeting the objectives of the Strategy for Stray Dogs.

Kurti also argued that every municipality this year has a budget that is at least 40 percent higher than the budget they had three years ago.

Konjufca: The U.S. sees Kosovo from a much higher level (RTK)

Kosovo’s Speaker of the Assembly, Glauk Konjufca, has stated that the relations between Kosovo and the United States of America are nothing to worry about.

"I think that these are not relations to worry about, to panic. I think that the relations are beyond these changes in the perception that we have on how to act in the northern part of Kosovo. We fully understand that remark and the criticism that the USA gives us, these are always appropriate criticisms because in the USA they see Kosovo at a much higher level than we see it, they see it in the region, they see it in Europe and they see it in general global context. As we see it, it is the right of the state of Kosovo to extend the rule of law and sovereignty in the country. This is a lower, narrower perspective, but it is the perspective of the law of Kosovo. As we see it, it is the right of the state of Kosovo to extend the rule of law and its own sovereignty, this is a lower, narrower perspective, but it is a perspective of Kosovo's right to carry out its own affairs", he declared.

According to him, the Americans are afraid that Serbia may react, which could cause the situation to get out of control.

"I think that these difficulties of Kosovo sometimes with the USA are not new, that is, we have had some disagreements during our political activity, in any case, how they perceive what is necessary for Kosovo to move forward, i.e. in which direction to move forward. The strategy that the government of Kosovo has adopted is a strategy of Kosovo's sovereignty, while the USA sees this process much more from a security perspective, that is, they are afraid that Serbia may react and this will take the situation out of control. This is the perception of the USA and it has always been this way", Konjufca stressed.

Central Bank Governor meets with Austrian Ambassador Schnetzer (media)

Governor of the Central Bank of Kosovo, Ahmet Ismaili, met with Austrian Ambassador to Kosovo, Georg Schnetzer, and briefed him on the Regulation for Cash Operations, its main aspects, effects, and arguments regarding its position. It was clarified that the Regulation advances the integrity of the financial system and aligns Kosovo with EU standards, and it does not prohibit or limit the acceptance of funds into Euro-denominated bank accounts, nor does it restrict foreign exchange activities carried out by financial institutions, whether banking or non-banking, licensed by the Central Bank. A press release issued by the Central Bank notes that “the Austrian Ambassador was also informed about the CBK's Plan for the implementation of this Regulation in practice, as well as the actions to ease its effects, in addition to the CBK’s constructive commitment to facilitate the transfer of funds according to the proposed model and the readiness to discuss possible legal options. At the end of the meeting, it was emphasized that the CBK is actively continuing its information and awareness-raising activities, including the launch of the toll-free line dedicated to our citizens and other informative information materials, by encouraging those citizens who do not have an account to open one at any bank, whereas vulnerable groups are exempt from account opening and maintenance fees, in alignment that does not charge opening or maintenance fees for vulnerable groups, with the CBK’s Regulation on Access to Payment Accounts for with Basic Services, effective from January 1, 2024.briefed on the Regulation for Cash Operations, its main aspects, effects, and arguments regarding its position. It was clarified that the Regulation advances the integrity of the financial system and aligns the Republic of Kosovo with EU standards, and it does not prohibit or limit the acceptance of funds into Euro-denominated bank accounts, nor does it restrict foreign exchange activities carried out by financial institutions, whether banking or non-banking, licensed by the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo. In this regard, the Austrian Ambassador was also informed about the CBK's Plan for the implementation of this Regulation in practice, as well as the actions to ease its effects, in addition to the CBK’s constructive commitment to facilitate the transfer of funds according to the proposed model and the readiness to discuss possible legal options. At the end of the meeting, it was emphasized that the CBK is actively continuing its information and awareness-raising activities, including the launch of the toll-free line dedicated to our citizens and other informative information materials, by encouraging those citizens who do not have an account to open one at any bank, whereas vulnerable groups are exempt from account opening and maintenance fees, in alignment that does not charge opening or maintenance fees for vulnerable groups, with the CBK’s Regulation on Access to Payment Accounts for with Basic Services, effective from January 1, 2024.”

Krasniqi: Allegations that process for electing new mayors in north is dragging on, unfair (Kallxo)

Kosovo’s Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, said that the signatures of the petitions for the dismissal of the mayors in the four municipalities of northern Kosovo, through which new elections are opened in these municipalities, have been submitted to the Central Election Commission and that it is not up to him to speak more on the matter. According to him, it is not right to say that the process of dismissing the mayors is dragging on, since all the necessary constitutional actions have been taken in this matter.

"The government had the will to compile the Administrative Instruction within a month, and we have done so. Now we have the document and based on it we have a process initiated in the four municipalities of the country. All the signatures that requested the dismissal of the mayors from their position have been submitted to the Central Election Commission" - said Krasniqi after the meeting of Prime Minister Albin Kurti with the mayors of the municipalities today.

Ajeti reports to Committee that supervises the KIA (RTK)

The Director of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, Petrit Ajeti, on Wednesday reported to the members of this Committee that supervises this agency.

The vice-chairman of this committee, Salih Zyba, after the meeting, without wanting to go into details, said that among the points that were discussed was the report by Public Television on Saturday about the assassination plan against Prime Minister Kurti, while he was staying in North Macedonia.

"Yes, of course, this has been in communication with the international factor that it is not only ours or only the citizens' concern. It is also the country for which the potential danger has been proclaimed and alluded to. Yes, the danger from Serbia, I say definitively, is permanent every time, only that we should keep our level of state responsibility", he said.

Maqedonci visits Finland, security of Kosovo also discussed (RTK)

The Minister of Defense of Kosovo, Ejup Maqedonci, was received today in a meeting by the Minister of Defense of Finland, Antti Hakkanen.

According to the announcement from the Ministry of Defense of Finland, the meeting discussed the security situation in Europe, Finland and Kosovo, increasing support for Ukraine, as well as Finland's participation in KFOR operations.

Kurti denies accusations of unequal treatment of municipalities (Kallxo)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, met today with the mayors of the municipalities of Kosovo. He spoke about the budget data for the local level for 2024, and also dealt with the criticism and accusations of the opposition that the government has shown inequality regarding the budget allocations for the municipalities. For 2024, as he said, the budget allocated to the municipalities is somewhere around 90 million euros higher than last year, namely a total of 742 million euros. Each municipality, according to him, has at least a 40 percent higher budget than they had three years ago.

"The reason why we repeat these data is that we are continuously hearing accusations and criticism for lack of support from the government, for inequality in support" - said Kurti, calling on the critics not to contribute to misinformation, but to better inform the citizens when the support from the government is in question.

The news portal also reports that from 28 municipalities, only 15 mayors participated at the meeting.

Trial against Milan Jovanovic, accused of war crimes in Kosovo, begins (Koha)

The initial hearing in the case of Milan Jovanovic, who is accused of "war crimes", "crimes against humanity" and "sexual violence" in the war in Kosovo, started today.

Jovanovic is being tried in absentia.

According to the indictment of the Basic Court in Pristina, Jovanovic, during the war in Kosovo, as a member of the police forces of Serbia, carried out systematic attacks against the civilian population in Kosovo.

Ambassadors go to Prime Minister Kurti's office (Reporteri)

The news website reports that ambassador of Germany in Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, that of France, Olivier Guerot, as well as the Italian ambassador, Antonello De Riu, met today with the prime minister, Albin Kurti.

Reporteri does not bring news about the details of the visit, reporting only that after the CBK's decision to prohibit the use of the dinar, international pressure has increased. It is also worth noting that the ambassadors held a meeting with Kurti a week ago.

Meanwhile, the United States of America, Germany and the European Union have already made public their positions on this issue.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo has said that this is the decision of the CBK, and that politics cannot interfere in the decisions of independent institutions.

   

Serbian Language Media

  Nenezic: Dinar is just an excuse to open issue of remaining Serbian institutions in Kosovo (KoSSev)

Two key elements were listed in yesterday’s request that was submitted to Kosovo Constitutional Court to assess constitutionality of the recently adopted regulation of Kosovo Central Bank. Firstly, attention was drawn to the fact that the Constitution and the law on the Central Bank stipulate that the use of currency is prescribed only by law, not by regulations. Secondly, the effect of the application of the regulation, or Article 35, on citizens and their basic human rights has been highlighted, lawyer Dragutin Nenezic told KoSSev.

Nenezic is one of the four-member lawyer team that compiled the request submitted to the Constitutional Court for the constitutionality assessment of the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, which entered into force on February 1st.

Citizens have no alternative

As particularly problematic, Nenezic highlighted the fact that payment transactions in dinars have been abolished, yet no alternative has been found.

Kosovo Central Bank and Kosovo Prime Minister are persistently avoiding this issue, he added. According to Nenezic, it was even avoided in the adjustment measures recently shared by the Kosovo Central Bank.

“The ten points that the Central Bank has established as measures are also problematic, because the basic problem is being ignored, which is that currently the dinar payment transaction cannot be converted into payment transaction in euros. Everything that is paid in dinars cannot legally (according to Serbian laws) be paid in any other way. This is what Kurti and CBK are persistently going around“.

The dinar is just an excuse to launch a much bigger story – institutions

At the same time, the lawyer shared his belief that the reason why Pristina wants to receive euros from Belgrade into its treasury is for the institutions that function within the dinar payment system to come under the auspices of Pristina.

“A form of hidden insertion of institutions into the Kosovo system. In order for Pristina to carry out these distributions, it implies that those institutions are Pristina’s or Kosovo’s. And schools, and hospitals, and municipalities and everything else are operating within the Kosovo system“.

In his words, all this is actually just an introduction and preparation for this.

Read the full article at: rb.gy/2lqk5f Serbian NGOs from Kosovo: Systematic and orchestrated attacks by GoK officials on the civil sector (Beta, NMagazin, KoSSev, KiM radio)

Non-governmental organizations from Serbian communities in Kosovo assessed today that certain officials in Kosovo Government, by targeting representatives of civil society, show "their aversion to constructive criticism and unwillingness to engage in dialogue", reported NMagazin, citing Beta agency.

The New Social Initiative, InTER and Aktiv organizations in a joint statement, regarding the "systematic and orchestrated attacks by Kosovo Government officials" after their visit to Brussels last week, emphasized that the work of these organizations is in accordance with the laws of Kosovo and is independent of any state structures, whether they come from Pristina, Belgrade or some other center.

"The accusations that we are 'Vucic's millionaire propagandists', that we receive instructions from Vucic or anyone else are the most heinous lies designed to scare us, expose us to public lynching and prevent further cooperation with partners from different ethnic communities in Kosovo," the statement added.

They added that Kosovo PM Albin Kurti proudly points out that the high degree of democracy is "among the greatest achievements of Kosovo's modern history", which is why they called on him to publicly distance himself from the "discriminatory and falsely constructed attacks" directed at them by Besnik Bislimi, Deputy Prime Minister and Arber Vokrri, Deputy Minister of Local Self-Government, reported Beta, citing the statement.

Full statement available at: http://tinyurl.com/y7h55t34 Less and less dinars in Kosovo (Radio KIM)

The payment of social assistance, child and parents’ allowances started yesterday, while allowances for unemployed persons started today, Radio KIM reports. Post offices in central Kosovo do not have money, and most of the residents had to travel either to Kursumlija, outside of Kosovo, or Mitrovica North to get their money.

Some people who went to withdraw the money in Mitrovica North told the Radio they could only withdraw a limited amount of 10.000 dinars (approximately 85 euros).

Beneficiaries of social assistance do not have the possibility to withdraw the money at the banks in Kosovo, as they have to do it only at the Serbian post offices upon presenting personal documents.

Pristina authorities recently prevented two attempts of Serbia to deliver dinars in Kosovo, at Jarinje crossing point, after the decision of Kosovo Central Bank on currency and payment transactions entered into force on February 1.

Education staff express protest in Mitrovica North, say they cannot withdraw salaries because of CBK decision (Kosovo Online)

The staff working in the Serbian education system in Kosovo gathered today in front of the Postal Saving Bank in Mitrovica North in an attempt to withdraw their salaries, but also to express protest because of not being able to do so, Kosovo Online portal reports.

As the portal said there were around 150 people attempting to withdraw salaries, and some expressed their dissatisfaction in relation to the current situation, following the decision of Kosovo Central Bank to abolish dinar in payment transactions, which directly endangers them.

Pedagogue Mara Jovic from Mitrovica North told the portal salaries have been paid and they came to the bank to withdraw the money.

“However, there is no money, because the dinar has been abolished. Now the question arises how shall we survive, how we will buy books and teaching materials for our schools, how we will educate our children”, she said.

Milena Vuckovic said that after 39 years working in the education system for the first time she was not able to withdraw the money she earned. She described the situation as a pressure exerted on all of them to leave Kosovo.

Silovo education workers: If this continues, we will not be able to survive

Kosovo Online reported in a separate article that education workers in Silovo were not able to get their salaries, expressing their shock at everything that is happening. They say that it will be difficult for them to survive if this situation continues.

"Today we created this crowd unplanned because we cannot withdraw our incomes. People are shocked and if these measures continue, we will have a tough time surviving", teacher Jovica Filipovic said.

His colleague said that everyone was disappointed.

"We are here today to withdraw the money that our state paid us, the second part of the salary for the month of January. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the dinar, we are not able to withdraw the money", teacher Marina Zakic said.

Djuric: We have exposed Kurti's disinformation systematically (Tanjug)

Serbian outgoing ambassador to the US Marko Djuric said on Tuesday Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti had developed an "imposing capacity" for spreading disinformation about Kosovo in the international community, adding Serbia had approached that systematically and had responsibility to expose it with facts and through developing capacities to fight disinformation, Tanjug news agency reported.

"We have approached that in a very systematic manner. Every day, we submitted arguments to the key addresses, the numerous offices monitoring the situation in the Western Balkans", Djuric told Tanjug in an interview. "We have been able to formulate the argumentation in a manner and from an angle that was appealing to the audiences here", he said.

He also said the Kosovo issue and Kurti's actions “showed the strength of a hybrid information war Kurti was waging against Serbia on a daily basis to divide Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and portray their leaders as a criminal organization and divide the Serbian public over the Kosovo issue”.

Commenting on Pristina's arms acquisitions from Western states, he said he believed everyone would be better off without militarisation of Kosovo, adding Pristina authorities had no good intentions not only towards the Serbs, but all non-majority communities there. "I think this is understood by more people today than it was perhaps three years ago", he noted.

Drecun: Kurti is putting obstacles in dialogue with Belgrade with unilateral moves (RTV)

Milovan Drecun, former Chairperson of Assembly Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, said today Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti is constantly putting obstacles in the dialogue with Belgrade by making unilateral moves, which are directed against the survival of the Serbian people in Kosovo, Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) reports.

“There is something else behind those moves, there is no de-escalation in the north, Kurti is postponing as much as possible the elections that should be held in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, there is no withdrawal of those special parapolice units, he did not withdraw the decision to ban the movement of goods from central Serbia to Kosovo and Metohija”, Drecun told TV Pink.

“On the one hand, they are attacking Belgrade, that it is allegedly preparing some kind of destabilization, an attack on Kosovo and Metohija. They want to have a say in the deployment of our security forces in central Serbia and talk about Serbia as a kind of extended arm of Vladimir Putin, that is, Russia. Everything they are doing, what they are planning, they are transferring it to Belgrade’s field”, Drecun said.

According to him, the continuous support of certain countries of the NATO pact in the transformation of Kosovo Security Force into the army is not stopping.

“Macedonci said that during the three years of Kurti’s governance, the military budget was significantly increased and that it was doubled to 202 million euros. He stated that 115 million euros was allocated for the purchase of weapons”. Drecun explained.

Dacic: SPS supports establishment of movement (Tanjug)

Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Tuesday his Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) supported the establishment of a movement that would unify the activities of Serbia's ruling coalition and all other patriotic parties.

"There will definitely be discussions in the coming days about modalities for cooperation and running together in the upcoming local elections", Dacic said in a statement.

He said the SPS maintained very good cooperation with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) - the main party in the ruling coalition - and that it was proud of what it had done together with Aleksandar Vucic in the past 11 years.

"President Vucic and I have discussed this several times in the past years - the need for a joint approach to defending national and state interests while retaining the identities of the parties that would make up the movement", he said.

Vucic receives new head of CoE office in Belgrade (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received the new head of the Council of Europe (CoE) Office in Belgrade Janos Babity on Wednesday and thanked the organization for its cooperation providing Serbia with access to the CoE's expertise, great experience and resources.

"I welcomed new Mission Head in Belgrade Janos Babity and wished him much success in his tenure in our country. We discussed Serbia's progress in carrying out reforms and implementation of the EU's good practices in many areas, as well as the significance of this process for Serbia's further progress towards European integration," Vucic wrote in an Instagram post.

Swiss daily: Fewer and fewer Serbs in Kosovo - and in Serbia as well (DW)

“Fewer and fewer Serbs live in Kosovo, but also in Serbia itself. The reasons for this are complex,” writes the Swiss Neue Zürcher Zeitung and cites the results of a study published at the beginning of the week, reported Deutsche Welle in Serbian language.

NZZ wrote that when Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke before the UN SC about the situation in Kosovo two weeks ago, he chose drastic words: the leadership of Pristina has been systematically conducting structural violence against the Serbian minority for years in order to make life impossible for them, he said. "The ban on the Serbian dinar", as Vucic called it, is the latest example of this, reported DW.

According to the new regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, the euro is the only legal means of payment in the country. Foreign currencies must be imported through regular channels. In areas inhabited by Serbs, the Serbian dinar previously served as an unofficial, parallel currency, writes the Swiss newspaper. NZZ recalls that Serbia does not recognize the statehood of its former province even 16 years after Kosovo declared independence and maintains parallel structures there, adding that this is a thorn in the side of the authorities in Pristina.

Belgrade has been talking about a "policy of non-violent expulsion" in Kosovo for a long time and indicates its readiness to intervene, the article states, but also assesses that such a scenario is unlikely, as it would lead to an open conflict with the NATO army in Kosovo.

Drastic decline of the Serbian population

Bearing in mind that debate, the European Initiative for Stability (ESI) research center analyzed the demographic development of Serbs in Kosovo. At first glance, it seems that the results of the study are very much in favor of the Belgrade thesis about the expulsion of the Serbs. A report published on Monday (19 February) shows a dramatic decrease in the Serbian population in Kosovo.

At the time of the last Yugoslav census in 1991, 194,000 Serbs lived in Kosovo, in 2002 there were 129,000, and today, however, there are at most 100,000.

Given the difficult situation with data, ESI relies, among other things, on official statistics on the number of students in Serbian schools in Kosovo. Between 2004 and today, the number of students dropped from 14,368 to 10,700. And based on the age structure of the Serbian population in Kosovo, the total population can be calculated.

The population decline of 22 percent in two decades is drastic and raises questions about the future of that minority, writes Neue Zircher Zeitung. However, according to the authors who titled their study "Invented pogroms", this is not evidence of discrimination against Serbs in Kosovo.

Declining birth rate and emigration

The NZZ article states further, the trend in Serbia itself is almost as unfavorable. In 20 years, between 2002 and 2022, the population of Serbia decreased by more than 11 percent. In eight out of 25 districts, the decline is even greater than for Serbs in Kosovo.

And Serbia is not an isolated case either. Everywhere in Southeast Europe, the population is decreasing due to emigration and low birth rates. While dynamic capital cities benefit from internal migration, the situation in the structurally weak periphery is often dramatic. It also includes areas inhabited by Serbs in Kosovo.

According to the Swiss daily ''this does not mean that the unresolved status issue and the latent instability in the north of Kosovo do not contribute to the exodus of Serbs''. Increased tensions, for which Pristina is partly responsible, could further increase the exodus. ''But it is also true'', as the authors of the study write, that ''the rhetoric of fictitious pogroms and the threat of violence contribute to the acceleration of the trend of departure'', reported DW, citing the NZZ.

   

International 

  Ethnocentric Yugoslav War Commemorations Taint the Future, Experts Warn (BIRN)

In post-Yugoslav countries, there are often conflicting narratives surrounding events from the 1990s wars, which instead of becoming less contentious over time have been increasingly diverging in their differing interpretations of judicially-established facts.

This is the issue highlighted by a recently-published regional report entitled ‘Decade of Remembrance: Memory Politics and Commemorative Practices in the Post-Yugoslav Countries’, a project by the RECOM Reconciliation Network. The authors offer a range of examples to exemplify the contradictions between various states (and sometimes within the same state) in commemorating the same wartime event on the same day in completely contradictory ways.

“The same event – for example, [1995’s Operation] Storm in Croatia – is celebrated as a victory, honouring fallen soldiers of the Croatian Army, while in Serbia, the government organises events commemorating [Serb] victims [of the operation],” explained one of the editors of the report, Natasa Kandic, a human rights activist, coordinator of the RECOM Reconciliation Network and founder of the Humanitarian Law Centre in Belgrade.

“The key message from this commemorative practice is that Storm is further evidence that Serbs are the biggest historical victims,” Kandic added.

The Croatian government also marks the anniversary of the Medak Pocket operation each year by celebrating the military heroism involved, but fails to mention any Serb civilian victims who became collateral damage during the operation. But the most notorious example comes from Bosnia and Herzegovina, where officials within the same state and at the same time mourn and deny the Srebrenica genocide.

“The NATO bombing is marked in Kosovo with gratitude to the international community, while in Serbia, the responsibility for the killing of more than 6,700 Albanian civilians by Serbian forces is hidden by the accusation that NATO killed thousands of Serbian citizens, despite the Humanitarian Law Centre determining, by name and surname, that NATO attacks killed 854 Albanians, Serbs and Roma,” said Kandic.

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