UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, April 22, 2022

No agreement on license plates, negotiators invited to meet again (media)
U.S. senators support Kosovo's Euro-Atlantic aspirations (media)
U.S. Assistant Secretary Donfried to visit Western Balkans (media)
KSF commander and Latvian defence chief agree to step up cooperation (media)
Government opposes idea of citizens withdrawing money from pension trust (media)
Kosovo's ambassador alleged to be involved in a major financial affair in Slovenia (media)
Kosovo Serb Businessman ‘Still Being Probed’ for Politician’s Murder (BIRN)
Kosovo and World Bank sign €50.6 million agreement (media)
COVID-19: 22 new cases, no deaths (media)

No agreement on license plates, negotiators invited to meet again (media)

Kosovo and Serbia did not reach agreement on the issue of license plates during their two-day talks in Brussels.

EU facilitator, Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, called on chief negotiators - Kosovo's Besnik Bislimi and Serbia's Petar Petkovic - to meet again. "No agreement has been reached on licence plates today. I invite Chief negotiators to meet again in coming days to agree on the way forward & continue discussions on other current issues. We expect all actors to refrain from actions, which could jeopardise the security on the ground," he wrote on Twitter.

Bislimi accused the Serbian side for the failure to have an agreement. "Unfortunately there is zero readiness on the Serbian party to agree on a possible solution within the framework set out in the item three of the 30 September agreement," he said.

Petkovic on his part accused Kosovo of "not being ready for any proposal during the six months while the working groups on license plates functioned." He said that in the absence of an agreement, the current sticker regime will remain applicable.

U.S. senators support Kosovo's Euro-Atlantic aspirations (media)

United States support Kosovo's aspirations of joining NATO and the European Union, said in Pristina yesterday U.S. senators Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Murphy and Thom Tillis after meetings with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Senator Shaheen said the visit shows the bipartisan support of the U.S. Senate. "We are looking forward to supporting your aspirations to be part of NATO," she said. Senator Shaheen also said the U.S. shares Kosovo's concerns that the conflict in Ukraine could affect the Western Balkans region.

President Osmani said she briefed the senators about security threats coming from Serbia and Russia. "It is no secret that security order in Europe is under threat. There was and is interest from Russia to destabilise our continent and our region," she said.

At the same time, Senator Murphy told a news conference after meeting PM Kurti that the U.S. supports Kosovo's membership path to NATO and the EU. He also underlined the importance of Kosovo and Serbia making progress in the EU-facilitated dialogue.

Kurti thanked the United States for support to Kosovo. "I stressed that it has never been more important for all democratic countries to stand together against Russia's aggression and illegal war in Ukraine."

U.S. Assistant Secretary Donfried to visit Western Balkans (media)

Karen Donfried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, will travel to the Western Balkans from April 25 to 29, with stops in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, the State Department announced.

On April 25, she will thank Kosovo for providing refuge to Afghans and Ukrainians, encourage work on reforms for democratic consolidation and integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions, and review prospects for progress in the U.S.-supported, EU-facilitated Dialogue with Serbia toward an agreement on normalized relations centered on mutual recognition.

KSF commander and Latvian defence chief agree to step up cooperation (media)

Kosovo Security Force Commander, Lieutenant General Bashkim Jashari, met Latvia's Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Leonids Kalnins.

According to a press release issued by the KSF, "the two generals discussed the situation in Ukraine and Russia's influence in the Baltic and Balkans regions, and underlined the need for mutual support between the two countries at this sensitive period." They also vowed to step up military cooperation.

Government opposes idea of citizens withdrawing money from pension trust (media)

The Government of Kosovo has said it does not support the idea of amending the Law on Pension Funds to enable citizens to withdraw money from their pension contributions.

"The Government of the Republic of Kosovo is by the side of the citizens to help through redistribution, increase of employment, increase of social welfare schemes for children, women, and youth, as well as for farmers and the small and medium size enterprises. The withdrawal of funds from the Trust does not help the vulnerable categories as even the percentage of their pension fund is low. Savings for the old age should not be abused and such an action should be considered as flawed," the Government said.

Kosovo's ambassador alleged to be involved in a major financial affair in Slovenia (media)

Several Kosovo media outlets carry a report from the Slovenia-based Planet TV which alleged that Martin Berishaj, Kosovo's Ambassador to Croatia, is involved in a suspected money laundering scheme.

The report said that Berishaj transferred large sums of money from his consulting company based in Montenegro to the leader of Freedom Party of Slovenia, Robert Golob. Berishaj is alleged to have acted as a middle man between a company in Serbia and the Slovenian politician. Planet TV discovered that Berishaj's company in Montenegro was founded only days before the first payment from Belgrade was deposited.

Golob denied allegations while Berishaj did not yet comment.

Kosovo Serb Businessman ‘Still Being Probed’ for Politician’s Murder (BIRN)

Chief State Prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi said on Wednesday evening that the arrest warrant for Milan Radoicic, suspected of being one of the heads of a criminal organisation that murdered political party leader Oliver Ivanovic in January 2018, was withdrawn for “technical and tactical reasons” but insisted that “the criminal case against him continues”.

“This is a very serious case. Milan Radoicic was investigated in the case of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, alongside some other people. There is a decision to continue investigations into him,” Lumezi told BIRN Kosovo’s TV show ‘Kallxo Pernime’.

Radoicic, a powerful businessman and vice-president of the Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista political party, has denied any involvement in the killing of Ivanovic, who was gunned down outside his party’s office in the divided Kosovo city of Mitrovica. In an interview with BIRN not long before his death, Ivanovic described Radoicic, a truck company owner and debt collector, as the real power-holder in the Serb-majority north of Kosovo.

In March last year, a judge at Pristina Basic Court confirmed the case prosecutor’s request to withdraw the arrest warrant for Radoicic, who had fled to Serbia to avoid being caught. With the threat of arrest lifted, Radoicic returned to Mitrovica several days later.