Hahn: The whole Balkans in the EU (dailies)
The European Union Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, said on Wednesday that Brussels wants to see the entire Balkans join the European Union. “Despite statements by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, that there will be no enlargement during this term, I promise you that the EC and other EU institutions wish to see the entire Balkans within this community,” Hahn said. He added that the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Kosovo, which is expected to take place next month, has brought Kosovo its first contractual agreement with the EU. Hahn also urged Kosovo institutions to undertake urgent economic reforms. Hahn made these comments during the “Regional Cooperation Day” meeting in Brussels.
Thaci: 2015, a European year for Kosovo (Zeri)
Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Hashim Thaci, on Wednesday attended the “Regional Cooperation Day” meeting in Brussels. During his speech, Thaci said that regional cooperation in the Balkans will also serve to improve the relations with the European Union and the rest of the world. “The countries of the Western Balkans now are headed to the future where the key issues will be cooperation and joining NATO and the EU,” Thaci said. He added: “We see 2015 as a European year for Kosovo. We expect by the end of this year to receive recommendations for visa liberalization.”
Germany and Netherlands call for establishment of special court (dailies)
Several dailies report that representatives of powerful EU countries are urging the Kosovo Assembly to vote in favour of the establishment of the special court. Mathias Kiesler, a senior official with the German Embassy in Pristina, told Zeri that MPs should know that if they fail to establish the special court, the issue would be sent to the United Nations Security Council. “A confrontation with the past would be in the interest of Kosovo and its people,” he said. The Dutch Ambassador to Kosovo, Robert Bosch, said on Wednesday that Kosovo must establish the special court. He added that special court would have to be entirely composed of international judges and prosecutors and would be located in the Netherlands.
Tahiri: Belgrade is blocking telephone code for Kosovo (Zeri)
Based on the agreement reached with Belgrade in Brussels two years ago, Kosovo should have had its telephone code 383, since January this year. In September 2013, former Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and his Serbian counterpart, Ivica Dacic, reached the agreement for another European Union state to apply for Kosovo’s telephone code. It was also decided that Austria should apply on behalf of Kosovo. However, the paper reports that Serbia is blocking the process. Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, told the paper on Wednesday that the technical groups of Pristina and Belgrade will meet on 8 and 9 May in Brussels, with a significant focus on this issue. “The Serbian side has blocked this agreement as with many others and it is not allowing Austria to apply at the International Telecommunication Union for Kosovo to have its own telephone code 383,” Tahiri said.
