Elections in Four Municipalities in the Serb-Majority North & more –1st Aug 2023

st of August: 2023

On Wednesday the 26th, Kosovo’s PM Albin Kurti said that Kosovo is preparing to hold snap local elections in four municipalities in the Serb-majority north. After the announcement, he said that he expects the EU to lift the temporary measures it had imposed against Kosovo as soon as possible. Local Government Minister Elbert Krasniqi said that Kosovo can hold early elections only if twenty percent of the voters in a municipality sign a petition prepared for the dismissal of that municipality's mayor.

Recall that in April, Serbs in northern Kosovo boycotted mayoral elections in four municipalities. Ever since, tensions persisted and both the EU and the US called for de-escalation. After Kosovo did not comply with their demands for de-escalation, the EU and the US imposed temporary measures on Kosovo. Additionally, both the EU and the US suggested that Kosovo hold early elections if they wanted the measures to be lifted.

A day later, on Thursday the 27th, the representatives of the Serb List, a Serb minority political party in Kosovo, met with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and US Special Representative for the Western Balkans at the State Department. They talked about the political security situation of Serbs in Kosovo, the progress of the formation of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities, and the road map for de-escalation between Kosovo and Serbia.

Zoran Milivojevic, a career diplomat, said that by meeting with Serb List, the US showed their respect for their constructive attitude towards both de-escalation and the continuation of the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo. On the other hand, he acknowledged the recent measures the EU and the US imposed on Kosovo, saying that the US was not fond of Kurti’s attitude toward the Serb list and his ignoring of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities.

Speaking of Kosovo, on Friday the 28th its government suspended the license of Klan Kosova, the country’s biggest private television broadcaster, over problems with their registration certificate. The broadcaster said that they fixed those problems, as Kosovo’s government requested. However, Kosovo’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Friday that Klan Kosova violated Kosovo’s constitution since it presented Kosovo’s municipalities as Serbian cities in the registration documents.

The embassies of the US, Italy, France, Germany, and the UK as well as the EU office in Pristina released a joint statement in which they said that they are concerned about the repercussions this decision will have on media plurality in Kosovo. Klan Kosova said it will appeal the verdict in court.

On Tuesday the 25th, Serbian authorities refused to extend the residence permit of Vladimir Volokhonsky, who is one of the activists from The Russian Democratic Society, a Russian antiwar group in Serbia. The group said that Volokhonsky had had all the necessary documentation, but that the authorities deemed him as a security risk. They added that in a security assessment of Volokhonsky’s case, the police wrote down that they had encountered obstacles for the extension of his stay, without giving any further explanation.

Volokhonsky, who is an opposition politician from St. Petersburg, moved to Serbia when Russia invaded Ukraine. Since he is a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime, his return to Russia would mean imprisonment.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Serbia has called for a ban on the Leviathan movement, a neo-fascist political organization that identifies as an animal rights organization.

In twenty twenty-two, the group participated in the parliamentary elections and was on the ballot as part of the Russian minority alliance which consists of extremely conservative parties. The Prosecutor’s Office began an investigation on Leviathan’s leader Pavle Bihali last year, to determine how the party spent the money it received from the state for elections. They found out that Bihali stored all the funds in his personal account and then withdrew it without providing an explanation. Apart from corruption, the group has been accused of violence and hate speech toward minorities, especially Roma people. Bihali has, however, always denied these claims.

In other news, we already told you about the Serbia Against Violence Protest several times. Now, the thirteenth took place in Belgrade, Nis, Novi Sad, and many other cities on Saturday the 29th. In Belgrade, the protesters gathered in front of the National Assembly and walked to the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Republic. Zoran Lutovac, who is one of the organizers of the protest, said that he chose these locations to express disappointment and dissatisfaction with the work these institutions do. The demands of the protesters include the replacement of the Minister of the Interior, the director of the Security Intelligence Agency, or BIA, and members of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media Council. Some of the other demands are that television channels Pink and Happy lose their national frequencies, as well as the shutting down of tabloids that promote hatred and violate the journalistic code.

Regarding these demands, Serbian PM Ana Brnabic announced on Sunday the 30th that the government has started an operation to pass a set of new media laws. She said that she will participate in the public discussion on this topic, during which she will discuss two draft laws - one on electronic media and the other on public information and media. Brnabic pointed out that these laws are very important and expressed hope that the representatives of all media associations will join the public discussion. Brnabic also noted that the government will work together with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the UN.

On that note about laws…

The Serbian Parliament adopted amendments to the Law on the Employment of Foreigners and the Law on Foreigners, both of which enable foreigners to exercise the right to temporary residence in Serbia and to work in the country via a single procedure. These two laws aim to simplify the procedure for the employment of foreigners and to tackle the problem of labor shortage in the domestic market. The amendment of the law stated that the changes will have a positive impact on the implementation of infrastructure projects in Serbia, which will therefore have a positive impact on the economy.

Speaking of labor, PM Brnabic said on Thursday the 27th that the information and communication technology, or ICT, sector has become one of the key contributors to the development of the Serbian economy, with the export of their services reaching 1.3 billion dollars in the last five months. During the Digital Europe program presentation at the Science and Technology Park in Belgrade, Brnabic said that last year the ICT sector reached a record with exports worth 2.7 billion dollars.

The Digital Europe program, which the European Commission launched as a response to the need for economic recovery in Europe, will last until twenty twenty-seven.

Since we mentioned the economy, the State Geodetic Institute, or RGZ, reported that the pricing of apartments in the second quarter of twenty twenty-three went up by almost twelve percent compared to the same period in the previous year. The RGZ explained there are fewer purchases and sales of apartments because loans have high-interest rates. Then prices increase because there are fewer apartments to buy or sell. The Apartment Price Index showed that the prices of new apartments increased by around eight percent, while the old apartments recorded a year-on-year increase of almost thirteen percent.

In some environmental news, The National Assembly of Serbia adopted the changes to the Law on Energy. Now, the National Assembly will have to establish an independent Republic Commission for Energy Networks that would oversee transmission system operators for electricity. She pointed out that the new law increases the responsibilities of parliament over electricity production, distribution, and supply, reducing the executive’s duties. These changes in the law will bring about the independence of the state-owned company Elektromreza Serbia and Transportgas, from the transmission system operators from the main coal and electricity producer and supplier. The National Assembly is yet to choose the president and four members, which the parliamentary energy committee will propose.

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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Do daljnjeg, zbogom!