Thaci: I will be the president next year (Epoka e Re)
Kosovo’s Principal Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hashim Thaci, said in an interview for Croatian daily Vecernji List that he will become President of Kosovo in 2016 when President Atifete Jahjaga’s mandate expires. Thaci said that Kosovo’s road to becoming a member of the United Nations will be forerun by the signing of the Stabilization/Association Agreement, as the initial formal step for European Union membership. Thaci said Kosovo would apply for membership of the Council of Europe, as well as some UN agencies and NATO’s Partnership for Peace. He said that it is important for Kosovo to be recognized by as many UN member states as possible, to have a functional and advanced democracy, to have close relations with the EU and NATO, to be in peace with all of its neighbours, and that UN membership would happen naturally.
Collaku: We will meet visa liberalization criteria in June (dailies)
Kosovo’s European Integration Minister, Bekim Collaku, visited Paris on Tuesday where he met senior French officials who confirmed France’s support for Kosovo’s European agenda. “The Stabilization/Association Agreement has special importance for establishing contractual relations between Kosovo and the European Union and we are grateful to France for the support it is giving us in the process. We are moving forward in this direction and we expect the agreement to be signed this year. This will be a new and important step for reforms in Kosovo,” Collaku said. He also said that by June, Kosovo institutions will meet all visa liberalization criteria and then submit a final report to the European Commission.
Presevo Valley asks for Kosovo’s support (Epoka e Re)
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, met on Tuesday with the Albanian Deputies at the Serbian Parliament, Riza Halimi and Shaip Kamberi. During the meeting Mustafa informed the deputies about the progress that is being achieved in Kosovo. He also stressed the importance of the continuous advance of processes and the general situation of Albanian citizens in the municipalities of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac, stressing that the Kosovo government is determined to contribute to this. Halimi and Kamberi informed Mustafa about the developments in these three municipalities and expressed their concern about the situation of Albanians there. They requested the further support of Kosovo in the resolution of their problems and the development of this part.
Neither UNMIK nor Ahtisaari recognized “Christ the Saviour” church (Koha)
The paper reports on its front page that June is the final deadline to register buildings without permits in the municipalities. So far, no one has registered as a building without permit the Serb Orthodox church in the yard of Pristina University. The law provides that all buildings without permits that are not registered should be automatically demolished. The Milosevic regime had issued a permit to the church, but the discriminatory decisions of that period were declared null and void by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Even the Ahtisaari Plan does not provide protection for the church building. The paper further notes that a decision on the matter will be made through two ongoing parallel procedures – at the Basic Court in Pristina and in the Pristina municipal assembly.
Next week, decisive for the future of Brezovica ski resort (Koha)
Next week is expected to be decisive for the future of the Brezovica ski resort, in Shterpce/Strpce municipality. According to Pristina-based Kohavision, the central, local and international institutions involved in the project are expected to give the green light to the signing of the €410 million contract. This agreement was reached by stakeholders in a closed meeting in the premises of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Sources from the meeting told the TV station that the only amendment to the original project has to do with the utilization of private lands, following strong reactions from residents in Shterpce/Strpce municipality.
