Serbia Update –Sanctions Against Kosovo & more – 6th June 2023

Dobar dan from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Serbia Update from the 6th of June A quick summary of what's going down in Serbia.

On Tuesday the 30th, Jeffrey Hovenier, the US ambassador to Pristina, announced that Washington will impose sanctions on Kosovo after the violent clashes that ensued a day prior. He said in a press conference that the first sanction is Kosovo’s exclusion from the US-led Defender Europe twenty-twenty-three military exercise. The US will also stop assisting Kosovo in gaining recognition from states that have not recognized its independence.

Last week, tensions in the north of Kosovo rose as ethnic Serbs tried to prevent the ethnic Albanian mayors from entering the municipal building. Recall that the mayors won with a very low turnout because Serbs boycotted the elections. The event resulted in clashes with the police. Kosovo police guarded the mayors and sprayed tear gas on Serbian protesters.

Hovenier concluded that the current unrest has set back efforts of normalizing relations between Serbia and Kosovo.

In response to the tensions, dozens of ethnic Albanians gathered in the city of Mitrovica on Thursday the 1st. Around a hundred Albanians stood on the main bridge over the Ibar river that separates the Albanian and Serb-populated parts of Mitrovica. With the Albanian flag unfurled, they demonstrated against Serbia, chanting slogans in favor of the Kosovo Liberation Army, or the UCK. Some of the protestors said that they went to express their anger over the recent tensions. The fact that the problem between Kosovo and Serbia could be solved with talks, instead of violence remains open to question. Kosovo police and NATO's Peacekeeping Force in Kosovo KFOR, guarded the bridge to ensure the safety of the protestors.

In a turn of events, Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani and its PM Albin Kurti confirmed that they are open for new mayoral elections in four Serb-dominated municipalities. After talking with three US senators, he said that the full implementation of the Brussels agreement is the only way toward de-escalation. Kurti also called Serbian protesters in the north “a mob” and “a fascist militia” and added that their retreat is an important step toward peace in Kosovo.

On the same day, Osmani met with Vucic with the help of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell in order to discuss the de-escalation process. After their meeting, Borrell concluded that they established three points that Kosovo must fulfill. He said that Kosovo must organize new local elections, ensure that Kosovo Serbs participate in them and to establish the Association of Serbian Majority Municipalities as soon as possible. Borrell added that failure to fulfill these obligations would have serious consequences for the US-Kosovo relations.

However, not all is mended, as PM Kurti suggested that, ahead of the new elections in the north of Kosovo, its police should either arrest the protesters or deport them to Serbia. While speaking to the media outlet NBC news, he suggested that Kosovo must have the rule of law and that the protesters, which he called violent extremists, must be held accountable before the law. Kurti announced that he will discuss the current issues with the US envoy Gabriel Escobar and the EU special envoy Miroslav Lajcak. He also rejected Belgrade’s accusations of police violence against protesters, claiming that there was no evidence. Additionally, he called Serbs bandits and accused them of trying to destabilize Kosovo.

On Tuesday the 30th, following the violence in Kosovo’s north, China expressed its support for Serbia’s efforts to defend and preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Mao Ning, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, called out Kosovo, saying that China opposes Kosovo’s unilateral actions. He also blamed Kosovo for failing to respect Serbian political rights, which he said ultimately led to the recent violence. Mao Ning added that Kosovo should grant Serbs control over municipalities in which the Serbian majority resides.

In other news,

The fifth Serbia Against Violence protest took place on Saturday the 3rd, exactly one month after the mass shooting in the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school. Hundreds of people gathered in front of Serbia’s Assembly in Belgrade, protesting against the regime of Aleksandar Vucic and the violence broadcasted in the media. The protesters also brought flowers to honor the victims of the mass shooting.

The Serbia Against Violence series of protests began as a campaign to lower the violence shown in the media, tighten the gun laws and to bring light to the lack of free media in Serbia. The organizers of these anti-government protests are the opposition parties who also aim to remove Vucic from power. The protests began after the mass shooting tragedy which left more than ten people dead.

Speaking of the tragedy,

Due to the shock and sadness it brought upon the nation, the government announced that the school year in all elementary and high schools will end on the 6th of June instead of on the 20th. The executive said in a press release that the Serbian educational system needs to provide support to all students, which at this time they emphasized is needed more than ever. The schools, however, will continue to be open until the 20th of June and all the students who wish to attend will be able to. The government also said that they will fund the renovation of the Vladislav Ribnikar school in which the shooting took place. The school will have a memorial room in honor of the slain children and the school guard.

In some news on economy,

Due to the negative effects of inflation in Serbia, the statistical data has shown a real decline in retail sales since the beginning of the year. The statistics saw the biggest decline of sales in the food industry, which fell by five percent compared to the same period last year, and the smallest in the motor and fuel industry, with a decline of around three percent. The president of the National Consumer Organization of Serbia said that the main reason for the decline, particularly in the food industry, is the unrealistic prices of basic food products. He explained that retailers have been increasing the prices of everyday food products in order to compensate for all their costs. One economist added that the Serbian authorities caused the decline in Serbian economy and the high inflation with a series of wrong moves, which ultimately led to people being frugal and buying significantly fewer products than before.

On that note about declines,

The minister of Mining and Energy announced that Serbia will soon implement the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan which will aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by thirty four percent by the end of the decade. By adopting the plan, Serbia will declare its targets for renewables, energy efficiency and emission cuts before the end of the year. The minister added that a realistic goal of Serbia is to cut final energy consumption by an average 0.7 percent per year. Serbia also aims to increase its renewable electricity production capacity from the current 550 to 1,650 MegaWatts within a couple of years.

Speaking of the environment,

The Serbian government has adopted changes to the Law on Energy which foresee the establishment of a Republic Commission for Energy Networks, an independent body for the control of transmission system operators for electricity and natural gas. This body will appoint and dismiss those who will represent Serbia in the shareholder’s assemblies of transmission system operators. The government said that these changes will harmonize the national law with the EU’s regulations in the energy sector, which is specifically important for Serbia’s eventual accession into the EU.

Last week, PM Ana Brnabic announced that the construction of the Bio Four technology park in Belgrade has officially started. The overall budget is around 590 million dollars, with two hundred million already secured. The Bio Four campus is set to bring together the research centers of companies in biomedicine, biotechnology, bioinformatics and biodiversity, university faculties and scientific institutes. The estimated time for the park’s completion is two years.

Now onto some health updates,

About 930 COVID-19 cases were confirmed and two people have died this week. Compared to last week, the number of confirmed cases has decreased by almost a hundred.

Aaaand that's it for this week. You know every week we work hard to pick what the most important stuff is in Serbia. What's talked about the most, what's big but flies under the radar. All the main stuff. Are we getting the mix right? Not a specific thing we have missed? What types of information do you want more or less of? Let us know at serbia@rorshok.com

Do daljnjeg, zbogom!