Kosovo Assembly holds plenary session (dailies)
All papers report on yesterday’s plenary session of the Kosovo Assembly where the MPs elected three members of the Kosovo Judicial Council. Opposition parties, Vetevendosje and Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), objected to the appointments suggesting that there should be official information obtained first to see whether any of the members is being investigated. Zeri reports that there was a heated debate at the Assembly over the establishment of the special court with the MPs calling for transparency on the issue. They also accused the government’s technical team of undergoing negotiations in Brussels on the functioning of the court by completely bypassing the Assembly.
Hyseni: Belgrade to pursue war criminals (Zeri)
Kosovo’s Interior Minister, Skender Hyseni told the Italian news agency Agenzia Nova that Belgrade needs to pursue its war criminals, just as Pristina is doing through establishing the special court. “All crimes must be investigated, starting from the place where they were committed. I hope that Serbia will also investigate its former soldiers and paramilitary groups,” said Hyseni.
Ombudsperson accuses Constitutional Court of ruling forgery (Koha Ditore)
In a press conference yesterday, Kosovo Ombudsperson Sami Kurteshi accused the Constitutional Court of misleading the public regarding a ruling on a request presented by the institution of Ombudsperson. Kurteshi alleges that the Constitutional Court deliberated and decided on his request without having a quorum. Furthermore, Kurteshi claims that the international judge for whom the Court said served in the panel, Robert Carolan, denied having been present in the proceedings. Kosovo Ombudsperson had addressed the Constitutional Court asking it to review the legality of the Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga’s decision on extending the mandate of international judges serving with the Court.
Kosovo helps US in combating tax evasion (dailies)
Kosovo’s Finance Minister, Avdullah Hoti, and the US Ambassador to Kosovo, Tracey Ann Jacobson, on Thursday signed an agreement on Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Hoti, said that this agreement aims at combating tax evasion beyond the US. Jacobson said that Kosovo is helping the United States in the rule of law. “We managed to sign an agreement that helps America, and we are thankful for this,” said Jacobson.
EU concerned with influx of asylum seekers from the Balkans (Koha Ditore)
The European Commission (EC) on Thursday published the fifth report on the effects of visa liberalization for the countries of the Balkan region, and expressed concern about the increasing number of asylum seekers from countries which have been granted free-visa travel. The EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said that he will visit Kosovo and Serbia in early March, to address the issue of asylum seekers. Sources within the EC suggest that if the number of asylum seekers from the Balkans continues to grow, the EU might reinforce the visa regime for those countries, which would impede even more the visa liberalization process for Kosovo.
