EC urges Kosovo to ratify demarcation agreement soon (Tribuna Channel)
While Kosovo political parties still cannot find a compromise on the border-demarcation agreement with Montenegro, European Commission officials have reiterated that Kosovo must ratify the agreement in the Assembly as soon as possible. Markus Lammert, press officer for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, told Tribuna Channel on Wednesday that the European Commission is convinced that Kosovo will soon fulfil the requirements regarding visa liberalisation process. Another requirement for Kosovo was to combat organised crime and corruption, which is not being even mentioned by the local authorities, reports the news site. Despite this, the European Commission expects tangible results.
Montenegro sends note of protest to Kosovo (Kosovapress)
The news agency reports that Montenegro’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration sent a note of protest to Kosovo on Wednesday, after Vetevendosje MPs placed the flag of Albania and “Republic of Kosovo” and “Welcome” signs inside Montenegro’s territory. In the note of protest, Podgorica warned Pristina that in the future it will stop such activities “because they are challenging the border demarcation agreement signed in Vienna in 2015”.
“Assembly should create commission for verification of demarcation” (Epoka)
Kosovo Assembly MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo, Fatmir Rexhepi, appealed to the government and the opposition parties to unite on finding a solution for the issues of national interest, including demarcation of the border between Kosovo and Montenegro. He said that the Assembly should establish a commission of local and international experts to verify the process of demarcation. He told the paper that if such commission verifies that demarcation was made properly, the Assembly should ratify it. However, if mistakes are found, it should not be ratified. He valued the contribution of the opposition at the Assembly, saying that there is no proper Assembly and no good work without opposition parties.
Delawie: Political violence made Kosovo’s participation at international institutions impossible (Epoka)
Greg Delawie, the United States of America’s Ambassador to Kosovo, told Radio Free Europe on Wednesday that political violence at the Kosovo Assembly during the past months, made impossible Kosovo’s acceptance at UNESCO and full participation at the international institutions. He added that there were also serious economic consequences due to this political violence. According to Delawie, contradictions regarding the demarcation of the border with Montenegro are causing political instability. He also expressed regret for the people “who are using this matter for internal political benefits.”
“Britain was a great ally of Kosovo in EU” (Zëri)
Kosovo’s Ambassador in London, Lirim Greiçevci, during an interview with the paper said that the U.K. was one of the main allies of Kosovo. According to him, the U.K. was continuously pushing others to support Kosovo’s European future. However, despite the vote to leave the EU, Greiçevci says that the U.K. will continue to remain near Kosovo. Greiçevci also said that the visa liberalisation process for Kosovo will not be affected by Brexit, since the U.K. was not part of the decision-making on this issue because it is not a member of the Schengen area.
Prosecution does not investigate violations identified by auditor (Koha)
In the leading front-page story, the paper reports that year after year the Office of the Auditor General identifies legal misuses and violations in government ministries, municipalities, independent agencies and other public institutions. However, judicial authorities fail to prosecute those responsible for such violations. The State Prosecution said violations identified by the Auditor General are administrative violations and that the Auditor should identify the Prosecution on eventual criminal cases.
