• EU: Kurti and Vucic statements hinder scheduling of meeting (RFE)
• Plenkovic: EU leaders discussed the tense situation in north of Kosovo (media)
• Osmani meets Hovenier; discuss dialogue with Serbia (media)
• Kosovo willing to establish a national council of Serbs, minister says (media)
• Informal meeting at U.S. Embassy ends; no statements to media (Kosovapress)
• Ministry: Wealth accumulated illegally by state officials will be returned (media)
• What is being built in Dren in Leposavic, “Bondsteel or police station?” (Kallxo)
• Kosovars grow weary of EU’s isolating visa regime (Kosovo 2.0)
• New President could bring clarity to Czechia’s ambiguous policy on Kosovo (BIRN)

EU: Kurti and Vucic statements hinder scheduling of meeting (RFE)

European Union officials said on Thursday that public statements by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, where they set conditions, are hindering the scheduling of a high-level meeting in Brussels. An unnamed source, preferring to remain anonymous, told the news website that “this type of public position of the two leaders, who preliminarily present their conditions, creates the biggest obstacle to setting the date for the meeting in Brussels”. The source also said that the next round of talks depends on whether leaders from Pristina and Belgrade “agree on the date of the first agenda”, without disclosing further details.

Plenkovic: EU leaders discussed the tense situation in north of Kosovo (media)

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that leaders of the European Union discussed the continuation of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia “because the situation in the north of Kosovo is the most tense aspect now”.

Plenkovic said that the European proposal, previously known as the French-German proposal, is good and that it needs to be supported because it contributes to stability in South-East Europe. “We need to a have a long-term sustainable solution and for this reason the conclusions (of the EU leaders’ meeting) call on Serbia and Kosovo to support the plan,” he said.

Osmani meets Hovenier; discuss dialogue with Serbia (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani hosted a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier on Thursday, and discussed recent developments, dialogue with Serbia, and continuous coordination between Kosovo’s institutions and the United States. A press release by Osmani’s office noted that Osmani and Hovenier also discussed activities for the 15^th anniversary of Kosovo’s independence and other joint activities.

Kosovo willing to establish a national council of Serbs, minister says (media)

Kosovo’s Minister for Administration and Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, said on Thursday that the government is willing to establish a national council of Serbs in Kosovo. Reacting to a statement by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic who said that Serbia is a model for respecting communities, Krasniqi said that the Constitution of Kosovo provides the Serb community and other non-majority communities with the most advanced rights in the region and Europe.

Krasniqi said: “We believe that the Constitution and our practices in Kosovo provide the most advanced rights in the region and Europe, but if Serbia thinks that it is the best example and model for protecting the rights of communities, we are ready to listen and we discuss the possibility of establishing a national council of Serbs, and in doing so advance the process”.

Krasniqi also argued that sustainable peace in the Western Balkans is secured through the symmetry of the representation of communities, and not through a privileged approach for a certain community.

Informal meeting at U.S. Embassy ends; no statements to the media (Kosovapress)

The news agency reported on Thursday that no statements were given to the media after the informal meeting at the residence of U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier, with participants who in an earlier meeting on January 31 talked about the Association of Serb-majority municipalities.

The news agency also notes that Hovenier called on the Kosovo government to offer its vision for the Association, which he said, protects the future of Kosovo as a sovereign, independent, multiethnic and democratic country.

Ministry: Wealth accumulated illegally by state officials will be returned (media)

Kosovo’s Ministry of Justice said in a statement on Thursday, after the adoption of the Law on the State Bureau for the Verification and Confiscation of Unjustifiable Wealth, that it cooperated closely with civil society and international organisations on the law in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission. “The Venice Commission, in its second opinion, concluded that all recommendations made in the first opinion were addressed … Through this law, the Republic of Kosovo will be able to return wealth that was illegally accumulated by state officials. The Bureau will verify if the accumulated wealth is in discordance with legitimate income, while the Court will work on the verification and confiscation of cases initiated by the Bureau,” the statement notes.

What is being built in Dren in Leposavic, “Bondsteel or police station?” (Kallxo)

A long debate between political representatives of the Serb community, reporters and civil society activists did not give an accurate response what is exactly being built in Leposavic, the news website reports. Residents of the village of Dren, in the municipality of Leposavic, have been protesting the government’s decision to expropriate several parcels where according to police, a police station will be built. However, the lack of information has created uncertainties and led to protests in the area. According to political representatives from the region, the government did not organise a preliminary debate with the residents.

Aleksandar Jablanovic, political representatives of Serbs from the region, said the situation comes as a result of lack of cooperation and communication between the central government and the municipalities. He argued that both the residents and the outgoing municipal leadership were surprised by news of the expropriation. “We heard about this in the media. A serious work and enterprise, such as the expropriation of land, especially in that area, requires a deep analysis. I think the central authorities should have informed the municipality of Leposavic,” Jablanovic said.

Kosovars grow weary of EU’s isolating visa regime (Kosovo 2.0)

“Why doesn’t he get a megaphone?” asks a 73-year-old woman waiting among around 50 other people in front of the Prishtina offices of TLScontact, an international visa application center. From the back of the line she can hardly hear the guard reading out names from a piece of paper, so she keeps her eyes on his mouth, like many of the others nervously waiting in line, and tries to read his lips.

Another name is called out. “That’s me,” a man says, interrupting the quiet noises of applicants flipping through their papers and folders. Everyone makes room as he shuffles to the front of the queue.

The rest wait. They ask each other questions. “Is this your first time?” “Where to?” Some ask for tips from those who’ve been here before.

Despite the exhaustion, there is a sense of solidarity. People give each other advice and offer more comfortable waiting spots to the elderly. “Good luck,” they say to each other, convinced as they are that it all depends on luck.

The guard shouts another name, but no one responds. He raises his voice and tries again. The urgency of his voice unsettles the crowd.

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

New President could bring clarity to Czechia’s ambiguous policy on Kosovo (BIRN)

The change in Czech president foreshadows a prospective turn in the country's inconsistent approach toward Kosovo, which has been characterised by the long-term clash between the outgoing pro-Serbian president and the government policy of recognition.

The day after Czechs elected their new president, the fourth in the country's post-1989 democratic history, the outgoing president, well known in the Western Balkans for his pro-Serbian agenda, travelled to Belgrade for his last but one foreign visit to meet President Aleksandar Vucic and express once again his personal sympathies toward the Serb nation.

Petr Pavel, who will replace Milos Zeman in March, ran his successful campaign for the presidency as the antithesis of Zeman, whose two terms were marked by strongly pro-Chinese and pro-Russian rhetoric. Pavel, a veteran of the Balkan peacekeeping missions who concluded his career as chief of the Czech Armed Forces and chairman of the NATO Military Committee, stood in clear opposition to Zeman’s political style, portraying himself as a cultivated, consensus-seeking and clearly pro-Western candidate.

The upcoming fundamental change in the presidential office will thus bring a change of tone in many spheres of Czech politics, including the foreign policy area. Czech relations with Kosovo, which have been tainted by Zeman’s pro-Serbian agenda, should be one of the issues where this change will have an instant, direct impact.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3DYEB41