UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, October 2, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Steinmeier: Kosovo to create conditions for membership in EU and CoE (media)
Sarrazin participates in German-Kosovar Economic Forum (media)
Bislimi on meeting with Sarazn: Nothing concrete on CEFTA (media)
Tahiri: Our duty and responsibility to fight Russian propaganda (Express)
Majko: Banjska, serious attempt to create a Serbian Donbas in Kosovo (Telegrafi)

Serbian Language Media:

Djuric: Serbia confirmed regional cooperation is backbone of its foreign policy (Tanjug)
No mention of CEFTA at Berlin Process FMs meeting (DW, N1)
Mojsilovic meets outgoing KFOR Commander Ulutas (Kosovo Online)
Arsenijevic arrested again, and one Albanian (KoSSev)
Momir Stojanovic: I stand behind my words (KiM radio, Danas)
Sarrazin: Kosovo cannot wait for Germany to do its diplomatic work (Danas, Beta)
Stiplija: Early to send the European Commission questionnaire for Kosovo's EU membership (Kosovo Online, Danas)
EFJ condemns death threat to Tanjug journalists (Tanjug)
Brnabic: No need for Vucic to attend parliament session on lithium (N1)

International:

E-Government in the Balkans Still a Work in Progress: BIRN Report (Balkan Insight)
‘Like a Greek Tragedy’: Serbian Film Gives Voice to Migrant Crisis’s Nameless Victims (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Steinmeier: Kosovo to create conditions for membership in EU and CoE (media)

All media report that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani was hosted today by German President Frank Walter Steinmeier. A press release issued by Steinmeier’s office notes that “Germany is very interested in the stability of the region and supports Kosovo’s membership in the European Union and the Council of Europe. Your country needs to work on creating the necessary conditions for this”.

Sarrazin participates in German-Kosovar Economic Forum (media)

The German-Kosovo Chamber of Commerce announced that, in cooperation with the Eastern Committee of the German Economy, they will organize the Second German-Kosovar Economic Forum, which will be held on October 2 and 3.

"This forum will serve as a special platform where political and business leaders from Germany and Kosovo will discuss geopolitical challenges and new economic opportunities. The forum will be opened by the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, and the German Ambassador, Mr. Jorn Rohde. The German Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Manuel Sarrazin, and the member of the Bundestag, Peter Beyer will also be participating", reads the announcement of this Chamber.

Sarrazin said during his speech that it is not rightful to say that Germany has let Kosovo down on membership at the European Council…”We have lobbied to move the voting forward. We have told our partners to support this because it would impact the dialogue, and then they said, see where we stand? It is clear to us that we should avoid failure of the voting, but you cannot wait for Germany to do your diplomatic job.”

The news websites recall that in the last couple of weeks, Sarrazin has been vocal in calling on Kosovo to lift the ban on the import of products from Serbia. The ban has been in force for over a year now, and the Kosovo government cites “security reasons”. But Sarrazin argues that the ban is in opposition with the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) which also includes Kosovo.

Bislimi on meeting with Sarazn: Nothing concrete on CEFTA (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi met with the German emissary for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin. Asked by the media, Bislimi said they talked about football.

Bislimi was also asked about Germany’s request to Kosovo to lift the ban on goods produced in Serbia, a ban that is being considered as something that is against the principles of CEFTA, however he did not give any detail on the discussion, saying that nothing concrete was discussed.

Tahiri: Our duty and responsibility to fight Russian propaganda (Express)

Head of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) parliamentary group, Besnik Tahiri, in his address at the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, said that after the attack in Banjska last year “sponsored by our neighbor, Kosovo was faced with another attack sponsored by Russia with propaganda and fake news”.

“We all must take note that relations between propaganda and the freedom of speech in Europe, especially in the Western Balkans, are under threat. And we need to address this issue seriously. The growing propaganda in the context of the war in Ukraine was a serious issue that we discussed here and we need to continue to address it,” he said.

Majko: Banjska, serious attempt to create a Serbian Donbas in Kosovo (Telegrafi)

Former Prime Minister of Albania, Pandeli Majko, said today that the war in Ukraine has had many consequences in the Western Balkans, and that tensions have increased between ethnic groups and affected political stability.

During his address at a security conference in Pristina today, Majko said that because of the war in Ukraine, countries of the Balkans have had to review their foreign and security policies by engaging more with the European Union and NATO. He argued that “Serbia’s current policy is using the relation with Kosovo to promote national unity, but this has also incited nationalistic extremism. This extremism will turn into a threat for Serbian society too”.

Referring to the attack in Banjska in the north of Kosovo last year, Majko said that “the failed action in Banjska put Serbia in a difficult position. The event in Banjska will require a lot of engagement to prove that it was an illegal act. Banjska did not hide the claim that it was a serious attempt to create a Serbian Donbas in Kosovo”.

Serbian Language Media

Djuric: Serbia confirmed regional cooperation is backbone of its foreign policy (Tanjug)

At Tuesday's ministerial meeting of the Berlin Process, which marked a decade of the initiative, Serbia reconfirmed that regional cooperation is the backbone of its foreign policy, Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said. He added that discussions at the Berlin forum had been by no means easy for Serbia as there had been many open as well as thinly veiled or covert attacks on its political positions, the Serbian MFA said in a statement.

He said Serbia's European partners and Germany, the host country, as well as officials from countries in the region and Austria, Greece, Slovenia, France, Italy and Poland had been able to see first-hand that Serbia viewed relations in the region in a normal and reasonable manner.

"Unlike others, we did not throw any political barbs, but tried to portray the situation as it really is. In bilateral discussions I had with fellow ministers, I also pointed out the very difficult position of our people in Kosovo and Metohija, caused by uncoordinated and unilateral moves by (Albin) Kurti regime, which has threatened some of the basic functionalities the survival of the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija depends on", Djuric said.

He especially thanked the host of the conference, German FM Annalena Baerbock, for her ministry's demonstration of readiness to invest in the many dimensions of the process of regional cooperation as well as for her own readiness to hear out the arguments of the Serbian side in a bilateral meeting.

No mention of CEFTA at Berlin Process FMs meeting (DW, N1)

Foreign Ministers meeting prior to the Berlin Process summit later this month issued a joint statement that made no mention of CEFTA which is seen as a crucial issue for the Western Balkans, Deutsche Welle reported on Wednesday.

Kosovo is part of CEFTA but is represented by UNMIK. The main problem with the agreement at present is Kosovo ban on goods imports from Serbia which runs counter to CEFTA. Pristina has been resisting pressure to lift the ban. Deutsche Welle said that the main obstacle is Pristina’s ban on goods imports from Serbia. It said that the German Foreign Minister discussed the issue with her Serbian counterpart Marko Djuric and Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani. It added that Kosovo Foreign Minister Donika Gervala-Schwarz told reporters ahead of the conference that CEFTA will not be discussed.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbok told the opening ceremony that this was a working conference prior to the 10th anniversary of the Berlin Process, adding that the coming summit later this month should be a turning point in terms of European integration and economic cooperation in the region. DW said that the crucial issue is an agreement to implement the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), adding that Baerbok said there is still work to be done.

Mojsilovic meets outgoing KFOR Commander Ulutas (Kosovo Online)

Serbian Army Chief of Staff, General Milan Mojsilovic received in a farewell visit outgoing KFOR Commander Major General Ozkan Ulutas who is completing his one-year tenure next week, Kosovo Online portal reported.

As the Serbian Army said in a statement the two interlocutors discussed current security situation in Kosovo, and scope of Serbian Army and KFOR cooperation during the mandate of General Ulutas.

Speaking of the security situation in Kosovo, General Mojsilovic pointed out that it remains unstable and sensitive, because of, as he said, the dominant contribution by unilateral and provocative acts of Pristina institutions, which as its ultimate goal have the change into ethnic structure in the north of Kosovo.

General Mojsilovic also thanked General Ulutas for good and professional cooperation and his professional engagement as KFOR Commandeer, wishing him success in his future endeavors.

New KFOR Commander will be Italian Major General Enrico Barduani, who will take over the post on October 11, 2024.

Arsenijevic arrested again, and one Albanian (KoSSev)

Leader of Serbian Democracy, Aleksandar Arsenijevic was arrested again in Mitrovica North, around 14.00 hrs today. In addition to him, one Albanian was also arrested, KoSSev portal reported.

Kosovo police said Arsenijevic was arrested for blowing the whistle, respectively for, as they said, “obstructing public peace and order”. Kosovo deputy police commander for the region North, Veton Elshani told KoSSev portal that Arsenijevic was blowing the whistle near the newly opened Albanian-owned Missini pastry shot, at Mitrovica North promenade, where people were sitting.

“He was making noise, so those people started complaining”, Elshani claimed. One person of Albanian ethnicity who complained, also approached Arsenijevic, Elshani added, and the physical conflict almost ensued. He was also taken to the police station.

“They are both in the police station now, and will give statements”, Elshani said.

Momir Stojanovic: I stand behind my words (KiM radio, Danas)

The President of the Serbian National Council (SNV), Momir Stojanovic believes that there are only two more segments left to ''round off Kosovo's independence'', reported KiM radio, citing Danas daily.

Momir Stojanovic said about the Eparchy Raska- Prizren reaction, which denies that Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) was under pressure to sign the basic contract with Pristina:

"I stand behind my statement. I didn't even expect that the Diocese would confirm it. There are only two more segments left to round off Kosovo's independence - the status of the SOC and the relocation of the University of Pristina to Krusevac".

Stojanovic also stated that "both of these institutions" will be under attack "in order to complete the process of creating an independent Kosovo by signing the fundamental contract with the SOC and relocating the University."

"It would be better for the Church to support the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija instead of Patriarch Porfirije and Bishop Teodosije persistently remaining silent about what is happening, claiming that 'the Church will not interfere in politics.' Kosovo is not politics, but a national matter. SNV repeatedly asked to speak with both, but they did not respond. The majority of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija are asking to hold a Church-People's Assembly, at which a solution would be found for their survival and remaining in the southern Serbian province. The diocese did not accept that," Momir Stojanovic, the SNV president, told Danas.

Sarrazin: Kosovo cannot wait for Germany to do its diplomatic work (Danas, Beta)

Germany's envoy for the Western Balkans, Mannuel Sarrazin, said today in Pristina that Kosovo should not wait for the German state to do diplomatic work for it, adding that he asked his partners to support Kosovo for membership in the Council of Europe.

"You can't expect Germany to do your diplomatic work, Kosovo has to do it," he said after the meeting of the second German-Kosovo economic forum in Pristina, reported Danas.

"It is wrong to say that Germany left Kosovo in the mud for membership in the Council of Europe... We lobbied for a yes vote. We told our partners to support it because it will affect the dialogue, and then they said, 'look where we are'. It is clear to us that we have to avoid the failure of the vote," said Sarrazin.

The German emissary added that there are many issues between Germany and France and that they are not only about Kosovo.

Sarrazin added that Kosovo should not regret it if it loses momentum.

"The matter of the Decani Monastery was concluded late. This is life. Do things on time so that you know that the situation is changing," he said.

Stiplija: Early to send the European Commission questionnaire for Kosovo's EU membership (Kosovo Online, Danas)

Director of the Center for Contemporary Politics and editor of the European Western Balkans portal, Nemanja Todorovic Stiplija, tells Kosovo Online that under the current circumstances, he does not see the possibility of the European Union Council granting Kosovo candidate status for EU membership.

Kosovo submitted its application for EU membership two years ago, on December 15, 2022, and representatives of the Kosovo government believe it is time for the request to be considered. However, Stiplija says that although there were earlier expectations that Kosovo might already be an EU membership candidate by now, there is no clear outlook on the next steps the EU Council will take in this case.

"This is because there are EU restrictive measures against Kosovo, and there is a stalemate in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, where Kosovo is clearly not fulfilling all the agreements from the dialogue. No one expected the dialogue process to last this long, and that a legally binding agreement would still not be reached. On the other hand, we don't know what position individual EU member states that have not recognized Kosovo will take when this decision is made. They may oppose Kosovo's membership. In any case, the next step is for the Council to provide formal or informal instructions to Kosovo to make its membership application credible," Stiplija pointed out.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yru6u9k4

EFJ condemns death threat to Tanjug journalists (Tanjug)

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) on Tuesday condemned death threats to Tanjug journalists and called for bringing the perpetrator of the threat to justice.

"The Tanjug News Agency received a death threat by email: Tanjug journalists who enter Kosovo will be shot 'in the back of the head'. Full support (to the agency). The perpetrator of the death threat must be brought to justice", the EFJ said in a post on X.

On Monday evening, Tanjug received an email signed by an individual named "Trim Bardhi" saying Tanjug journalists would get "a bullet to the back of their heads" the next time they set foot in the territory of Kosovo. In his reaction, Serbian Minister of Information and Telecommunications Dejan Ristic said on Tuesday the threat had been emailed from Albania and that it was the most serious one a Serbian media outlet had received in years.

Brnabic: No need for Vucic to attend parliament session on lithium (N1)

Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday she doesn’t think President Aleksandar Vucic needs to come to next Monday’s debate on a draft law to ban lithium mining, N1 reported.

She told TV Prva that the president doesn’t need to come to the session because the draft law is flawed. “It’s full of bad information, false news, quotes from the tabloid press … which shows the irresponsibility of the opposition”, which put forward the draft law with the support of 86 of the total of 250 MPs in the Serbian Parliament. Brnabic said she hadn’t spoken to Vucic about attending the session but added that she would.

According to her, the opposition can’t decide whether they want the president there or not. She said they can’t face him, or they would have attended Vucic’s meetings with local people in western Serbia where Rio Tinto is planning to open a lithium mine as part of its Jadar Project. “Like the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), I want to discuss the draft law as soon as possible,” Brnabic said.

International

E-Government in the Balkans Still a Work in Progress: BIRN Report (Balkan Insight)

A new BIRN report says a lack of funds and political will means that e-government services and open data provision in the Balkans remain very limited.

E-government is becoming the norm around the world, but people in the Balkans are not benefitting in full because of a lack of political will in some cases and a shortfall in institutional capacity in general, a new report on open data and digitalisation published by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network shows.

The idea of ‘electronic government’, or e-government, is to eradicate queues, reduce paperwork and provide users with quicker, more convenient access to public services, from health to taxation and schooling. In the Balkans, however, the roll-out has only been partial and faces a range of challenges, according to BIRN’s report, Open Data and Digitalisation in the Western Balkans: The State of Play.