Serbian Officials encourage Destabilization in Northern Kosovo

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Reportedly several officials from the Serbian Government crossed the border to Kosovo illegally. On Friday 3rd June, Serbia’s Minister for Kosovo, Goran Bogdanovic, entered the mainly Serb populated northern Kosovo territory without permission from the Kosovo Government. In the Serb controlled northern Mitrovica Bogdano- vic then officially presented a Serbian government donation of 350,000 Euro cash for Kosovo-Serb owned enterprises. Already a day before, on 2nd. June – the head of the Serbian delegation for the Dialogue with Kosovo, Broko Stefanovic paid an illegal visit to the same region. Bypassing the official border controls, Stefanovic obviously used the smuggler routes from Serbia to Kosovo. 

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Filed under: Opinion, Belgrade, Bogdanovic, Brussels, Dacic, EU, Eulex, European Union, KFOR, Korrik Sofalia, Kosovo, Leposavic, Mitrovica, NATO, Pantelic, Police, Politics, Prishtina, Serbia, Stefanovic, Tadic

Kosovo President at CEE Summit – EU Rapporteur condemned Serbia’s absence

PRISTINA, Kosovo — The past weekend’s partici- pation of Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga at the summit of central- and south-eastern European countries was widely seen as a progress in achie- ving international acceptance for the youngest European state. The clear statement of the Polish host, not to see a problem in inviting the Kosovar President – due to the formal recognition of the Republic of Kosovo by Poland and the majority of the European countries – was fueling self-confidence of the Kosovo government. 

Filed under: Opinion, EU, Europe, European Parliament, Jahjaga, Korrik Sofalia, Kosovo, Lunacek, News, Obama, Poland, Politics, Romania, Serbia, Tadic, USA, World

EU High Representative Ashton officially invites Kosovo PM Thaci to Brussels

PRISTINA, Kosovo — The European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton on Friday finished her Balkans tour in Kosovo. In Prishtina Ashton was welcomed first by Xavier de Marnhac, the Head of the EU rule-of-law mission (EULEX) in Kosovo. Later on she met Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri, the head of the Kosovar negotiation team at the EU mediated talks of Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels. Finally she gathered with Prime Minister Hashim Thaci for a working lunch in the southern Kosovar town of Prizren. As to Kosovar media, the meeting lasted one hour longer than scheduled. Diplomatically the visit was a success for the Thaci government. 

Filed under: Media Reports, Ashton, Belgrade, Brussels, EU, Kosovo, Marnhac, Mladic, News, Politics, Prishtina, Pristina, Prizren, Serbia, Tadic, Tahiri, Thaci, Trade, UN, Visa

MacShane: Will Serbia use Mladic detention to end Kosovo impasse and join EU?

LONDON / PRISTINA  — The British MP and former UK Europe Minister Denis MacShane recently posted an opinion piece, stating that "the capture of Ratko Mladic is not just an opportunity for justice, but a chance for diplomacy …". MP MacShane wonders if Belgrade can "use this achievement to face down its nationalist past and finally bring closure on the Kosovo question which blocks Serbia’s EU future?" Critically he remarks that "Like some wretched SS general hiding away after 1945, Mladic had a network of supporters … Too many Serbs have been in denial about his role, too ready to forgive"  

Filed under: Opinion, Bosnia, EU, Europe, Kosovo, MacShane, Mladic, Obama, Politics, Serbia, Tadic, USA

Coincidence? Mladic arrested in Serbia on the day of Ashton’s visit to Belgrade

BELGRADE / PRISTINA — As to international media today the President of Serbia, Boris Tadic announced the arrest of war crime suspect Ratko Mladic, who was the military leader of the Serb forces in Bosnia. Mladic will be brought to the ‘International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia" (ICTY), located in The Hague. He is accused to have committed war crimes with thousands of killings in Srebrenica and Sarajevo. In Serbia Mladic is said to have lived with false documents under the name Milorad Komadic. His sudden arrest appears to be surprising. Since long Serbia faced accusations, not to be willing to show appropriate efforts on this regard. 

Filed under: Media Reports, Opinion, Ashton, EU, Europe, ICTY, Kosovo, Mladic, Serbia, Tadic, War Crimes

Due to Kosovo: Serbia remains excluded

PRISTINA, Kosovo — On 27th. and 28th May a summit of Central and South-eastern European countries will take place in Poland’s capital city Warsaw. Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga is officially invited. The Polish government stated, it would have no reason not to invite Kosovo government representatives. Poland belongs to the 75 countries world-wide, which formally recognized the Republic of Kosovo as an independent state. Different from Serbia, which still considers Kosovo to be a Serbian province: Due to this, the Serbian President Boris Tadic and further Serbian officials decided to self-exclude Serbia from the summit.

Filed under: Media Reports, Jahjaga, Kosovo, Obama, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Sikorski, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tadic, USA