• Truss writes letter to Kurti, UK-Kosovo relations on focus (media)
• Kurti: Poll shows 2/3 of citizens support for vetting and the Bureau (media)
• Lajcak meets NATO DSG Geoana, talk about Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)
• Advance payment proposed for teachers who compensate lost hours (Kallxo)
• Jasharaj says teachers will not respect decision to compensate classes (Koha)
• Clark: Kosovo must control the north (media)
• Krasniqi: The World Bank confirmed government’s failure in economy (Koha)
• European Quality Assurance Association grants Kosovo Accreditation Agency Affiliate Status (BIRN)
• Balje comments on possibility of joining LDK parliamentary group (Klan)
• Feasibility study on hospitals: Surplus of 200 doctors and 1,500 nurses (Koha)

Truss writes letter to Kurti, UK-Kosovo relations on focus (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has received a letter from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Liz Truss. She thanked Kurti for the congratulatory letter sent on September 6, as well as for the condolences following the passing of Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth II.

“The United Kingdom and Kosovo are clearly aligned in many areas and there are great opportunities for our two countries to work together even more closely. The United Kingdom was proud to help Kosovo secure its independence, and to be the first country to formally recognize its independence in 2008,” says Truss’ letter to Kurti.

“Thank you also for Kosovo’s condemnation and swift implementation of sanctions in response to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. It is important that European partners remain united during the difficult months ahead and respond with appropriate steps to Russian aggression,” the letter further reads.

Kurti: Poll shows 2/3 of citizens support for vetting and the Bureau (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said in a Twitter post that a recent poll by the Kosovo Democratic Institute showed that “over 2/3 of citizens support the vetting process & the creation of the Bureau for Confiscation of Unjustified Assets. They also believe that justice reform is possible. A loud message & strong indication that our Government is on the right path.”

Lajcak meets NATO DSG Geoana, talk about Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)

The Special Representative of the European Union for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajak, met Tuesday with the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Mircea Geoana.

Lajcak, in a post on Twitter, announced that in the meeting with Geoana he discussed the latest developments in the Western Balkans and the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

"I welcomed the opportunity to meet with the deputy general secretary Mircea Geoana and NATO ambassadors to discuss the latest developments in the Western Balkans and dialogue," Lajcak wrote on Twitter.

Advance payment proposed for teachers who compensate lost hours (Kallxo)

The Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Arberie Nagavci has announced that they have proposed to the Ministry of Finance to consider the possibility of payment in advance, so that, according to her, the families of teachers are not left without salaries until the end of the month, when the salaries for the month of October come out. According to the new proposal, teachers will be paid for the hours they compensate, while the payment is proposed to be made in advance.

"The Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation is committed to the implementation of the Law on Strike, which, among other things, provides for the suspension of all rights and obligations from the labor contract, including the right to pay for the days of the strike. However, being convinced that the education workers will respect the new decision on the School Year calendar and do the work, and taking into account the fact that many of them have been led astray or have been unclear about the legal provisions, we have proposed to the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers to consider the possibility of payment in advance, so that the teachers' families do not remain without salaries until the end of the month, when the salaries for the month of October also come out" - it is stated in the announcement of Minister Nagavci of published on the social network "Facebook".

Jasharaj says teachers will not respect decision to compensate classes (Koha)

Rrahman Jasharaj, leader of the Union of Education, Science and Culture of Kosovo (SBASHK), said on Tuesday that the teachers will not respect the decision of the Ministry of Education to compensate the hours lost as a result of the strike.

Jasharaj told KTV that the decision was biased. According to him, the Collective Contract states that the hours should be replaced only when the Ministry of Education has an agreement with the Education Union.

"The position of SBASHK on the salary for September is clear, since the civil servants who were together in the strike have been paid, we expect that tomorrow they will pay the salaries for September for the education sector too. There cannot be a law that someone is allowed, and someone is not. Once this is done, because the suspension was done for the sake of students and parents, with a narrow result, Minister Nagavci should send positive messages and should feel bad as a minister when she saw that the sector of civil servants who were together on strike have received the salary while the education system not. This was a stab in the back for the SBASHK as it did its best to restore education in schools. Minister Nagavci should commit that tomorrow (October 5) the salary processing will take place. As for the classes, she cannot bring a unilateral decision because the collective contract of MASHTI with SBASHK clearly states that the hours cannot be compensated without a bilateral agreement. It clearly says that the hours of strikes are not replaced, but those lost for other reasons, such as those during COVID", said Jasharaj.

According to him, the attitudes of the government towards the strikers, mainly the teachers, "are tending to break and extinguish the largest union". "But Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Minister Nagavci and Minister of Finance Hekuran Murati, have seen it. The SBASHK is not broken by orders, blackmail and punishments," he said.

Clark: Kosovo must control the north (media)

Former NATO Secretary General, Wesley Clark, said in an interview with Prishtina-based TV station Teve1 that Kosovo must strengthen its sovereignty and control the north. He said that in addition to the issue of license plates, there are other ways to strengthen sovereignty.

“The situation between Kosovo and Serbia is different. What I want to say is that Kosovo must strengthen its sovereignty and control the northern part of the country. The issue of license plates is a good example to show sovereignty, but there are other ways too that can be used. Meanwhile, in Belgrade, we have a great ambassador, he is Christopher Hill, and he has a great understanding of the situation. He was ambassador in Macedonia too during the 1998-1999 war. He is in the right place at the right time,” he said.

Clark also argued there needs to be continuity in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia because this would be in the interest of the citizens of Kosovo.

Asked about a potential threat of war, Clark said he is not concerned knowing the capacities of NATO. “In Kosovo too, the United States have appointed a great ambassador. The situation in Kosovo is safe, knowing the role of KFOR. Dialogue with Serbia must continue despite the differences and problems. This is in the interest of the people of Kosovo. I am not very concerned about the Balkans because I know that NATO is there to intervene fast if there is unrest. I am not concerned about words of war because I know the capacities of NATO,” he said.

According to Clark, “there is no doubt that Kosovo will one day become part of NATO”.

Krasniqi: The World Bank confirmed government’s failure in economy (Koha)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi, has said that the government has failed in the economy, and that, he added, the World Bank report has also confirmed this.

"The new World Bank report confirmed what we have been saying for months - the government has failed in the economy! Lack of investments, slowed economic growth, record inflation of over 20% for food products and many other failures are evident in this report," Krasniqi wrote on Facebook.

Krasniqi said that citizens are bearing the burden of the crisis which, according to him, was created by the incompetence of Prime Minister Kurti's governance.

Read the full World Bank report at: https://bit.ly/3Ejl93c

European Quality Assurance Association grants Kosovo Accreditation Agency Affiliate Status (BIRN)

The Kosovo Accreditation Agency has become an affiliate member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education - four years after it was expelled.

The director of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, ENQA, Anna Gover, has written to the director of the Kosovo Accreditation Agency, KAA, Naim Gashi, confirming the KAA's application to become an "affiliate" member.

"I am pleased to inform you that at the meeting of September 20, 2022, the Board of ENQA decided to give KAA the status of 'affiliate' member in ENQA," the October 3 letter said.

The announcement to Gashi emphasized that from that day on, the KAA may use the ENQA logo in its decisions and communications, both within Kosovo but also in international communication.

"KAA considers that this is an extraordinary achievement that will benefit students, graduates, the academic community and the state of Kosovo in general. Today's decision is a credible guarantee for quality in higher education and facilitates the process of recognition of students and graduates' diplomas in European countries, the KAA stated.

According to KAA, this decision will facilitate the exchange of students and professors with European countries and beyond.

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

Balje comments on possibility of joining LDK parliamentary group (Klan Kosova)

Duda Balje, MP from the 6+ parliamentary group, which is part of the ruling coalition, said in an interview with the TV station on Tuesday that recently she has had disagreements with the government. “I am not against the government, but I don’t think like them in several cases. Cooperation requires a middle ground and respect,” she said.

Asked about the possibility of joining the LDK parliamentary group, Balje said she doesn’t know what the future holds but that she is in favor of cooperating with the LDK, as the oldest party in Kosovo, and that she has great respect for them. “I met with Abdixhiku [LDK leader] together with my party. The meeting was very good and constructive, and we discussed problems that the country is facing. I have great respect for the LDK as the oldest party in Kosovo and as a community we always had good relations with governments led by the LDK,” Balje said.

Feasibility study on hospitals: Surplus of 200 doctors and 1,500 nurses (Koha)

The daily covers on its front page an EU-supported feasibility study by Thomas Weismann, a German expert on health economics, according to which there are different problems from what is discussed on a daily basis about the public healthcare sector in Kosovo. The study shows that Kosovo has a surplus of doctors and nurses working in public health institutions. It also notes that around 1,400 beds in public hospitals are not used.