• CEC: Announcement of final results depends on ECAP (RTK)
• Vetevendosje leader Kurti meets Albanian PM Rama in Tirana (KP/Koha)
• Thaci: Peace in region depends on peace between Kosovo and Serbia (media)
• Kurti: Agreements with Serbia need to be reviewed (EO/Koha)
• Osmani: LDK, VV will not discuss land swap with Serbia (VOA/Klan)
• Serbian List: Joining Kosovo government not a priority (Zeri)
• German Ambassador Heldt’s interview to Gazeta Express

 Kosovo Media Highlights

CEC: Announcement of final results depends on ECAP (RTK)

Officials at the Counting and Results Centre are in the process of recounting ballots from another four polling stations under the instructions of the Central Election Commission, said Valmir Elezi, spokesperson for the CEC.

Elezi said that the conditional votes and those of persons with special needs have already been counted and added that the announcement of the final results will depend on the Election Complaint and Appeals Panel.

“The CEC is waiting for the decisions in this institution and, as in the past, it will act accordingly. Whether this will have an impact on the timeframe of announcement of final results is something that does not depend on the CEC but on the decision-making of another institution,” Elezi said.

Vetevendosje leader Kurti meets Albanian PM Rama in Tirana (KP/Koha)

Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti met Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Tirana on the sidelines of the South East Europe Peace Summit.

Kurti said Tirana is against land swap theory between Kosovo and Serbia. “Republic of Albania does not support territorial exchange,” Kurti declared.

“We talked about issues we have in common, issues in our two countries. We want Kosovo and Albania to coordinate in the aspect of foreign policy as well as economy because the synergy effect has not been adequately utilised. I believe the opportunities we have as a government and the needs are much greater than the reality they enjoy… we did not have irregular relations, we are different people, different politicians, [but] we need to cooperate so that the differences and disagreements we have do not threaten our cooperation,” Kurti said of his meeting with Rama.

On the prospect of a Western Balkans Mini-Schengen, Kurti did not rule it out but said it would have to carefully be reviewed and see what it contains. “I expect to see a text because it seems to me to be more of an idea than a project. So we have to see the project on paper,” he said.

Kurti said Vetevendosje is in talks with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) to harmonise programmes of the future government of Kosovo. “We have the working teams that are harmonising programmes in certain fields, and the teams are also talking about division of functions, ministries.”

Albanian PM Rama on his part said in a Facebook post that the meeting with Kurti lasted several hours and focused on topics related to cooperation and good coordination between the two governments.

Thaci: Peace in region depends on peace between Kosovo and Serbia (media)

President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci said at the South East Europe Peace Summit underway in Tirana that the regional stability depends on the peace between Kosovo and Serbia whose only outcome will be mutual recognition.

According to a statement issued by his office, Thaci said it was beyond anyone’s expectation that twenty years since the end of the Kosovo conflict, there is still no political agreement with Serbia on mutual recognition. “Great opportunities have been missed for achieving this Agreement, but we have always been ready to stretch the hand for the Agreement,” Thaci said.

He also spoke about the European integration and, as he said, Brussels’ reservations towards Western Balkans countries. “We in Kosovo are paying a high price of the delay of visa liberalisation” which Thaci said was unfair.

He expressed belief that the Kosovo political spectrum has the will to, as soon as possible, continue talks with Serbia under strong encouragement from the U.S. and the EU for reaching a comprehensive agreement.

“We have no time to lose. The time and international circumstances which can be foreseen, are not an ally to us. There is no alternative to dialogue. It also speeds up the process for membership into the Euro-Atlantic family,” Thaci said.

Kurti: Agreements with Serbia need to be reviewed (EO/Koha)

Albin Kurti, leader of Vetevendosje and projected winner of parliamentary elections, told Ekonomia Online that all 33 agreements reached between Kosovo and Serbia in the course of the EU-facilitated dialogue need to be reviewed.

“First we need to determine what has been implemented, what has not and what is the level of the agreements’ impact on the lives of citizens, draw necessary lessons on how to safely move forwards,” Kurti said.

He said these efforts will get underway in the first month of him leading the future government. “This is our goal, to know in the first month in the prime minister’s office and the joint government on how to act properly by not neglecting lessons from the past, be they positive or negative.”

Osmani: LDK, VV will not discuss land swap with Serbia (VOA/Klan)

Vjosa Osmani, candidate for prime minister from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), told VOA that a possible coalition agreement with the Vetevendosje Movement will be a partnership between equals and that both parties are against partition of Kosovo or territorial exchange with Serbia.

“Vetevendosje and us have come out against the dangerous idea of partition or exchange of territories for two years now, an old Russian-Serb idea which unfortunately found allies recently in Kosovo too,” Osmani said. “We will in no way allow for such ideas that undermine Kosovo borders be part of the dialogue,” she added.

Serbian List: Joining Kosovo government not a priority (Zeri)

The paper quotes a press release issued by the Serbian List following its deputy Dalibor Jevtic’s meeting with the U.S. Senator Ron Johnson in Washington that “it is not a priority for the Serbian List joining the new government of Kosovo, especially under the conditions and atmosphere in which it is not acceptable for the Serb people in Kosovo.”

Jevtic is quoted as saying in the meeting that in case the Constitution of Kosovo is violated with regards to the forming of the new government, the responsibility will fall with those that initiated such an action. Jevtic also said that the representatives of the Serbian List will not be part of the problem but of the solution and that they will be engaged in creating better conditions for Serbs and other communities in Kosovo.

German Ambassador Heldt’s interview to Gazeta Express

German Ambassador to Kosovo Christian Heldt spoke to Gazeta Express about the latest parliamentary elections, what are the expectations from the future government of Kosovo as well as the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. He said Germany does not want to rush anyone into a hasty agreement and that it wants to see the settlement resolve all outstanding issues between the parties.

Heldt congratulated Kosovo for overall successful elections held on 6 October although the EU Observation Mission did identify what he said were isolated shortcomings. “Congratulations to Kosovo, the Central Election commission and first and foremost to the people of this country for the comparatively high turnout and the smooth process on election day. This is democracy.”

On the prospects of Vetevendosje and the Democratic League of Kosovo reaching coalition agreement, Heldt said that everyone is waiting for the final results of elections to be announced but also noted that “coalition negotiations are never easy, especially when the aim is to base cooperation on programmes and policy, and not on personal interest. This requires compromises. It is therefore natural that also this process might take some time.”

He said the new government of Kosovo should enable Kosovo to flourish: “We all know the priorities for Kosovar society, which we Germans share: Rule of law and equal access to impartial justice for every citizen, the replacement of nepotism by merit-based hiring, especially in the public sector; quality education including vocational training to open more job perspectives, the fight against corruption. And I could go on and on. In the field of foreign policy we as inventors of the Berlin process are of course interested in boosting regional cooperation further. For that, the last major hurdle in the region has to be finally overcome in a lasting solution: the relations between Kosovo and Serbia.”

Heldt said the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia needs to be comprehensive, sustainable and legally binding and solve all open issues and also contribute to regional stability. “Reaching such an agreement will take time, we want this to be done solidly to solve all issues once and for all Therefore we do not rush anyone to conclude this key agreement. But we believe that it is high time to restart the negotiation process. It is my firm belief that this is first and foremost in the interest of Kosovo: A genuine normalization would finally allow to focus on the real challenges for this region as a whole.”

Asked on whether he hoped the new government of Kosovo would lift the tax on Serbian imports, Heldt said that both sides, i.e. Pristina and Belgrade, have put up obstacles to a constructive dialogue. “We will of course continue calling parties to get back to serious and constructive negotiations as all of Europe and indeed all international actors are genuinely interested in getting this never-ending story resolved. This can only be done in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Both sides can work on that. For Kosovo, this means in concrete terms stepping down from the 100% tariffs. They hurt regional cooperation we Germans are particularly keen about, they hurt trade, but they also hurt Kosovar economy and consumers. A lot has been invested in regional cooperation to advance the whole of the Western Balkans, but first and foremost Kosovo,” he added.