UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, April 30, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Scholz call with Kurti, support and highlights importance of dialogue (media)
Osmani thanks MEPs: You were true champions of our people (media)
Kurti meets Italian MPs, thanks them for Italy’s support for Kosovo (media)
EU: Lack of political will, reason why implementation of agreement failed (RTK)
EU sees next meeting on dinar as last chance for solution (RFE)
Guerot: Concrete steps on Association if Kosovo wants to join CoE (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic: Belgrade faces diplomatic battles (N1, Tanjug, media)
Vucic speaks with Prince Albert II of Monaco (Tanjug)
Stano: Lajcak did not fail (N1, FoNet)
Dacic: Serbia to get new government over the holidays (N1, BETA)
Serbian List says Radomirovic is “informant of Kosovo police, betrays Serbs who are then arrested and persecuted” (Kosovo Online)
One more person arrested in relation to attack on Serbs in Bosniak Mahala (KoSSev)
Surveillance cameras installed on a crossroad near Technical School in Mitrovica North (Radio KIM)

Albanian Language Media

Scholz call with Kurti, support and highlights importance of dialogue (media)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a telephone call with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Monday stressed the Federal Government’s support for Kosovo’s European integration and recalled the importance of the EU-mediated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and the full implementation of the Ohrid agreement. “The Chancellor welcomed the implementation of the Kosovo Constitutional Court’s decision on the Decani Monastery. He underlined the importance of concrete steps by the Kosovo authorities to establish the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority, also in connection with Kosovo’s application for membership of the Council of Europe. The Chancellor and the Kosovo Prime Minister agreed to continue their open and result-oriented exchange and to remain in contact,” a press release issued by the German government notes.

Osmani thanks MEPs: You were true champions of our people (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani in a post on X on Monday thanked the legislative term of the European Parliament, saying that “Kosovo was blessed to have countless friends, allies, advocates—MEPs who stood by us”. “They relentlessly supported our clear determination towards the EU, persistently advocated for the conclusion of the visa liberalization process and were true champions of our people. To President Roberta Metsola and all MEPs who raised their voices for the people of Kosovo: thank you! We will continue to stay on this path, undeterred,” Osmani said.

Kurti meets Italian MPs, thanks them for Italy’s support for Kosovo (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met on Monday with Italian MPs Emanuele Loperfido and Lia Quartapelle Procopio and thanked them for Italy’s support for Kosovo. “We discussed Kosova's numerous advancements & progress in various fields. I expressed our trust that Italy will support our admission to the Council of Europe,” Kurti said.

EU: Lack of political will, reason why implementation of agreement failed (RTK)

European Union officials said on Monday that the lack of political will by politicians in Kosovo and Serbia is the reason why there was no progress on the implementation of the agreement reached last year. EU spokesperson Peter Stano told reporters on Monday that “you can only help someone as much as they are ready to accept your help. The European Union does not oblige its partners. The partners have voluntarily said that one day they want to join the European Union. However, if you try to help your partners, and they don’t want to be helped and point at others by raising new obstacles, acting unilaterally, without any coordination or consultation, then you can only do as much as they allow you to do”.

Stano also confirmed the readiness of EU institutions to continue working on the process of normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

EU sees next meeting on dinar as last chance for solution (RFE)

Spokesperson for the European Union Peter Stano said in an answer to Radio Free Europe on Monday that the European Union expects that the next meeting between the chief negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia on the issue of the Serbian dinar will be the final case for a solution based on the proposal made by the EU special envoy for the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak.

Speaking about the last meeting in Brussels on April 25 between the chief negotiator of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, and that of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, Stano said "after both sides clarified their positions, the EU facilitator presented a compromise proposal for arrangements for an interim solution. The EU calls on both parties to accept this proposal and remains ready to host the final meeting, if the parties engage in a constructive manner regarding the EU's proposal," Stano told RFE.

Guerot: Concrete steps on Association if Kosovo wants to join CoE (media)

French Ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guerot said that if Kosovo wants to win the vote in the Council of Europe, it needs to take a concrete step regarding the association of municipalities with a Serb majority. Among other things, Guerot said that this step can be taken if Kosovo sends the draft statute of the association in the Constitutional Court. "The President showed the unwavering support of France to Kosovo from the first days, from 1999 onwards, and then an unwavering support for the European integration and the European institutions of Kosovo, where the Council of Europe is one of them", said the French ambassador.

Guerot said that France’s discussions to equip Serbia with “Rafale” fighter planes, aim reduction of Serbia’s dependence on military equipment from Russia. “It is a potential agreement, to my knowledge it is not an official agreement. We have been discussing defense with Serbia for years, we have sold similar planes to Croatia as well. However, the issue of these discussions with Serbia is to reduce their dependence on military equipment from Russia, that is, to align them with Europe,” he said.

“I believe that with the equipment come many contacts and there is a kind of leverage, as I said, to anchor Serbia by reducing its dependence on Russia. We also have security threats in France, just like you here,” he said.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: Belgrade faces diplomatic battles (N1, Tanjug, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters in Belgrade on Monday that Belgrade faces diplomatic battles over the Srebrenica resolution in the UN General Assembly and the vote on Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe (CoE), N1 reported.

Vucic told his first news conference upon returning from New York that a comprehensive campaign of lies and flexible interpretations of Pristina’s activities preceded the recommendation on Kosovo CoE membership. “Its chances of membership are still great”, he said, adding that Serbia was doing everything in its power to prevent that from happening.

According to Vucic, the true reason for Pristina’s efforts to become a CoE member were lawsuits against Serbia. He recalled that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said membership in CoE means free access to the European Court of Human Rights allowing Kosovo residents to sue Serbia for crimes committed during the conflict.

Vucic also said that conditions for Kosovo’s membership changed after what he said was “a strange visit to Athens” after which CoE rapporteur Dora Bakoyannis stopped mentioning the previous conditions. He said that, after that, rapporteur Bakoyannis and the proposers of a report in favor of Kosovo's CoE membership had stopped mentioning putting an end to land expropriations, to setting up police and military bases in the north of Kosovo and to usurpations of Serb-owned private property, and noted that no one was mentioning the Community of Serb Municipalities any more.

Speaking about the Srebrenica resolution, Vucic said that Washington allowed what he termed a brutal violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement by supporting the resolution. He said the initiative to put the resolution up for adoption by the UN General Assembly violated the regulations on the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency where decisions are taken by that body’s three members. He said that if one of the three opposes a decision, the other two have to invest effort to reach a consensus which was not the case this time.

“Serbia never hid the fact that it condemned the crimes committed against Bosniaks in Srebrenica and that it wants good relations with them”, he said, adding that the reasons for the resolution are war reparations, a review of lawsuits and fresh lawsuits in the Hague.

Vucic speaks with Prince Albert II of Monaco (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Monday he had spoken by phone with Prince Albert II of Monaco about challenges facing Serbia in the regional and international arenas as well as about strengthening bilateral cooperation, Tanjug news agency reported.

"The relations between our two countries are based on great mutual respect and their foundation lies in the importance we attach to tradition, a freedom-loving spirit and multilateralism. In that sense, I asked for Monaco's support and thanked Prince Albert for his understanding of the positions of Serbia, which is fighting for its country and its people, for law and justice", Vucic wrote in a post on his official Instagram account.

Previously, Vucic met with South American and African ambassadors to Belgrade and German MP Patricia Lips (CDU/CSU).

Stano: Lajcak did not fail (N1, FoNet)

European Commission spokesman Peter Stano denied claims that Miroslav Lajcak had failed in his efforts to mediate negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina, N1 reports.

He said that Lajcak did a good job, adding the lesson learned from the talks to date was that no one can force two sides to negotiate if they don’t want to. Stano said that the two sides refused compromise solutions. Stano also said importance attached to the negotiations by the EU is reflected in the fact that the High Representative appointed a special representative for the job.

According to Stano, Lajcak managed to get an agreement which Belgrade and Pristina did not sign. He noted this was not about signatures because the agreement is legally binding and has become an integral part of the negotiating framework for both Serbia and Kosovo.

Dacic: Serbia to get new government over the holidays (N1, BETA)

A new Serbian government will be formed over the International Workers’ Day holidays due to a number of factors, Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) leader Ivica Dacic said.

Dacic told Pink TV that the government will be formed on International Workers’ Day, adding that “it is not his place” to speak of which seats his party will get. “It is up to the prime minister designate to talk about that. There is no more room for postponement because the legal deadlines are such that the cabinet must be formed before Easter”, Dacic, who is the incumbent foreign minister, said.

Serbian prime minister designate is Milos Vucevic, the leader of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and outgoing minister of defense.

Serbian List says Radomirovic is “informant of Kosovo police, betrays Serbs who are then arrested and persecuted” (Kosovo Online)

The Serbian List has accused Radojica Radomirovic, Kosovo deputy minister of communities and returns of being an informant of Kosovo police, alleging that he betrays Serbs to Albanian inspectors who then arrest and persecute them, Kosovo Online portal reported.

According to their statement, despite all evidence of his involvement in criminal acts against reputable residents of Leposavic municipality, Radomirovic remains free because “he informs on reputable Serbs to Albanian inspectors who then persecute and arrest them, also harassing their children and families”.

The statement added that this conclusion is evident from the latest video published on social networks, where Radomirovic allegedly can be heard collaborating with Albanian inspectors and helping them locate Serbs in Leposavic municipality for, as emphasized, "petty gain and small privileges".