Kosovo and Serbia reach a package of Agreements in Brussels (Most monitored broadcasters, Klan Kosova)

Kosovo and Serbia have reached a package of agreements on Tuesday in Brussels during the EU-facilitated dialogue. The agreements signed by the Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa and the Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic are: Agreement on telecom, energy, Agreement on the removal of the so called ‘Peace Park’ in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica and the Agreement on establishing the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities.

Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said following the ten-hour meeting in Brussels, that they achieved to preserve the statehood of Kosovo.

“Today we have reached important agreements. We have reached the agreement on basic principles on establishment of the Association of Serb majority municipalities. Also we reached  the accord on implementation of the agreement on energy, agreement for the telephony code and  the agreement for opening the Ibër Bridge, respectively reconstruction and opening of this bridge’, said Mustafa in Brussels.

“We consider that all Agreements are in compliance with the Constitution and the Laws of Kosovo. The Association would enable assistance to Serb majority municipalities but it will not have any executive power”, PM Mustafa emphasized.

Moreover, Kosovo Deputy PM, Hashim Thaçi, during a live interview with Klan Kosova said that Serbia was reluctant to sign the agreements, sponsored by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Frederica Mogherini.

According to Thaçi, Serbia was finally forced to accept the agreements, following many hesitations and refusals because Serbia requested an executive character for the Association but this was opposed by the delegation of Kosovo and the international community. Thaçi stressed that today Serbia received documents, which literally refer to Kosovo as the Republic of Kosovo.

But the version of Kosovo leaders is ruled down by the Serbian side.  Serbian PM Vucic emphasized that they achieved to keep Kosovo under Serbia’s jurisdiction. However, he did not mention any concrete competencies for the Association.

“We have good news for the Serbs in Kosovo. With this agreement, we open our path to quickly join Europe. Tonight, we are establishing the Association of Serb Municipalities. The Association will have broader competencies, including a president, vice-president, assembly, council, coat of arms and flag. As for the energy, we have not agreed to whom the property in the north belong, while ElektroSerbia will have two companies operating. As for the telecom, there will be many advantages for the Serbs. Calls to and from Kosovo will not be considered as calls from a country but rather from a geographical territory, hence it will include a footnote”, Vucic said following the meeting.

Vucic added that the difficult period will be now while drafting the statue of the Association.

Both PMs will have additional meetings during the two coming days because they are attending the Western Balkans Summit in Vienna.

While, the Director of the Serbian Office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, said that Serbia won 5:0 against Kosovo in Brussels.

Djuric told to B92, that the Association will have its president, assembly, direct institutional links with Serbia and broader power in many other aspects.  He added that the agreement on energy will be quite favorable for the Serbian side.

Thaçi: This association will be an NGO

(Klan Kosova)

Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hashim Thaçi, in a live interview for Klan Kosova announced that four agreements were reached, namely the Agreement for establishing the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities, telecommunication, energy and the Agreement on opening the Mitrovicë/Mitrovica Bridge.

Thaçi stressed that all the agreements are in full compliance with the Constitution of Kosovo, laws of Kosovo and in compliance with the European standards.

“This Association will be simply an NGO, with a voluntary and a non-mandatory character and will be based  on the will of the municipalities to cooperate between them for the joint interests, similarly as the Association of Kosovo Municipalities that we have”, Thaçi said. 

Regarding the removal of the barricade over Ibër River, Thaçi said that the Agreement will start to be implemented immediately, adding that the technical issues are being discussed by the professional working-groups.

Mogherini: Solutions such as those found today bring concrete benefits to the people

(Most monitored broadcasters, KTV)

High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Frederica Mogherini, through a press release announced the deals that Kosovo and Serbia reached, saying that “Serbia and Kosovo marked a turning point”.

“The Prime Ministers of Serbia and Kosovo marked a turning point in taking forward the Dialogue agenda. They agreed on the general principles and the main elements of the Association of Serb majority municipalities, which paves the way for its establishment”, reads a press release issued by Mogherini’s office.

Mogherini also highlighted the other agreements that Serbia and Kosovo reached, namely the agreement on energy, agreement on telecom and the agreement on the Freedom of Movement in Ibër Bridge.

“Today’s outcome represents landmark achievements in the normalization process. Solutions such as those found today bring concrete benefits to the people and at the same time enable the two sides to advance on their European path”, reads the press release.

Additionally, Mogherini says that the EU will actively support the full implementation of the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, adding that the dialogue will continue in the coming months.

President Jahajaga welcomes the signature of the four agreements

(RTK1&KTV)

The President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, welcomed the signature of the four agreements between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels.

Preident Jahjaha said that she had a telephone call with the Prime Minister Mustafa in Brussels and emphasized that the agreements enhance the sovereignty of Kosovo and its territorial integrity and also the aspiration of Kosovo to be an inclusive, stable and prosperous country. Jahjaga said that the agreements contribute to the integration of the Serb community in the institutional and social life of Kosovo in full compliance with Kosovo Constitution and laws.

Ymeri: Agreement, the last step towards the ‘Bosnization’ of Kosovo 

(Most monitored broadcasters, KTV)

Following the reports that Kosovo and Serbia signed four agreements in Brussels, Vetëvendosje chairperson, Visar Ymeri, reacted as saying that the agreements is the last step towards the  ‘Bosnization’ of Kosovo.

“Same methods again,  from the same Government as the previous one, namely: harmful and dangerous concessions to Serbia, lies and non-transparency about the agreements, shameful misuse of public money towards expanding their private property, misuse of the state apparatus for silencing the criticism and protests and consecration of Leader’s property”, wrote Ymeri in personal Facebook account.

Moreover, Ymeri said that Zajednica (The Association) was not an NGO in the Agreement of April 2013 and it is not now with all these details of its competencies. 

Serbs from the north celebrate the Agreement on the Association

(KTV)

Serbs in the north of Kosovo celebrated with firecrackers and car parades the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, which opens the way for the establishment of the Association of Serb Municipalities.

Mitrovica/Mitrovicë north mayor, Goran Rakic, said to Tanjug that the agreements enable to Serbs to stay in Kosovo.  He expressed his hope that Prishtinë/Pristina would not present any obstacles regarding the implementation of the agreement.

Similar, Gracanica/Graçanicë mayor, Vladeta Kostic said that the Association will be a factor of peace in Kosovo.

Police stops Vetëvendosje activists from reaching PM Mustafa’s birthplace

(Most monitored broadcasters, KTV)

Several Vetëvendosje activists, continuing their symbolic actions against the Government, headed today to the birthplace of Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, in Prapashticë village.

However, they were stopped half-way by Kosovo Police. Vehicles, in which the activists were traveling, were stopped by the Kosovo Police, but thereafter the activists started walking towards Prapashticë village with the aim to place a banner stating “Sell your property, not Kosovo” at the premises of PM Mustafa’s house.

As they arrived near the house of PM Mustafa in Prapashticë village, the situation became tense. Kosovo Police used pepper-spray to disperse the crowd and arrested three Vetëvendosje activists.

Following the action of the police, Vetëvendosje representatives held a press conference, in which they considered as unreasonable the intervention of the police.

On the later news editions, TV channels reported that the government of Kosovo, though a press release, condemned the attempt of Vetëvendosje activist to violate the private property of PM Mustafa family relatives.