Summary of the Week 34

In expectations, in condemnation, and in interpretation, there is a lack of balance in everything. It doesn’t help when everyone has their own standards by which they measure the situation. In such circumstances, as always, we end up with a reality that suits no one.

Measures of encouragement or measures against the system. Designed and proposed in Belgrade, they are being weighed in Pristina, Brussels, and Washington.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti states, "There is no doubt that this legal initiative undertaken by Serbia is a hostile act."

The situation of Serbs in Kosovo has been carefully assessed, says Belgrade. And the package of measures is calibrated accordingly.

“Our intention is to strengthen the Serbian community,” explains Serbia’s Prime Minister Miloš Vucevic. He adds, “Not just the Serbian community, but Serbs are clearly the most endangered.”

The community is strengthened through institutions, provided it is clear to everyone which institution represents them. The municipalities in northern Kosovo confuse even those sitting in them.

“Sometimes democracy means we play with numbers,” attempted Skender Sadiku, Deputy Chair of the North Mitrovica Assembly, to explain the reasons for the session's interruption to Kosovo Online.

Some numbers are clear, regardless of who measures them. A line of trucks, for example, can be easily counted. As can the time drivers and goods spend in it.

"Since Kosovo customs have halted operations, there are cases where not a single truck crosses for up to two days," describes Aleksandar Radovanovic from the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, referring to the new circumstances at the Merdare crossing.

Sometimes it’s hard to quantify specific figures. It's even harder to assess the beauty and cultural heritage of a region. At first glance, without measuring, you can see it exists in Prizren, but opinions differ on who it belongs to.

“We cannot talk about Kosovo’s cultural heritage. Unless we declare modern buildings in Prizren as masterpieces of world heritage and register them with UNESCO,” explains historian Aleksandar Gudzic.

This past week also brought Brussels' assessments. The measurements were taken long ago, and after corrections and redrawing, we received the progress report. Everyone gets measured by European standards.