Veseli’s plan B (Zeri)
The paper in a front-page story today reports that the President of the Assembly, Kadri Veseli, already has a Plan B in case the opposition tries to block the Assembly’s work on Thursday. Citing unidentified sources within the Assembly, the paper writes that Veseli is planning to ‘give the floor’ to the opposition MPs from their seats. “If this plan doesn’t work, Veseli might try to involve the international community or to hold closed sessions. If even international assistance does not work, the last solution that is being discussed is the holding the sessions without the presence of the opposition MPs,” the source said.
Konjufca: We will not stop (Epoka e Re)
The head of the Vetevendosje Movement parliamentary group, Glauk Konjufca, in an interview with the paper said that the best solution to overcome the current situation in the Assembly is the annulment of the recent agreements reached in Brussels or the resignation of the government and early elections. Konjufca warned that the opposition will continue to block the work of the Assembly and if government doesn’t take into account the petition, then the opposition will continue with mass protests. He denied the possibility of a meeting between the leaders of the parliamentary parties, saying it is now too late to start a dialogue.
Tahiri: No Association if parallel structures are not dissolved (RTK)
Kosovo’s Minister without portfolio, Edita Tahiri, said yesterday that the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities will not be established if the parallel structures in northern Kosovo are not dissolved. According to her, these two processes will be developed in a parallel way, as it was already agreed in Brussels. “Before the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, there must be evidence that the Serbian parallel structures in Kosovo have been dissolved,” Tahiri said.
Government wants Maric out of Association/Community set up team (Koha)
The paper reports that the government is against Ljubomir Maric being at the same time Minister of Local Government and Administration as well as coordinator of the managing team tasked with setting up the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities as it considers that the holding of the two posts presents a conflict of interest. Minister without portfolio Edita Tahiri said Maric is no longer part of the managing team and that the Ministry of Local Government and Administration will soon appoint a substitute.
Elections or visa liberalization (Zeri)
The paper reports that the idea of going to early elections, as a means of overcoming the current political crisis, is unacceptable for US Ambassador Greg Delawie, and for the German Ambassador, Angelika Viets. While Delawie stated that the elections should be held in 2018, according to Viets, if Kosovo goes to early elections, then there will be no visa liberalization. Representatives of the opposition political parties said that early elections are not their goal. According to them, their goal is the annulment of the agreement on the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and the annulment of the agreement on border demarcation with Montenegro.
Kosovo on the agenda for UNESCO membership (Epoka e Re)
The 197th session of UNESCO’s Executive Board will take place in Paris today with the agenda including the recommendation for acceptance of Kosovo as a member of this organization. The request for Kosovo’s acceptance in UNESCO was submitted by Albania and is supported by 45 countries. Kosovo’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petrit Selimi, said he expects the UNESCO Executive Board to vote in favour of Kosovo’s acceptance in this organization. Selimi met with the Quint ambassadors on Tuesday in the framework of activities to support Kosovo’s membership in UNESCO.
Rama “cancels invitation” to Thaci, expects Vucic instead (Koha)
According to Belgrade daily Danas, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has revoked the invitation for the Albania-Serbia European Championship football match to Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci and wants the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to attend it instead. The paper writes that according to sources the Albanian prime minister considers that an incident-free football game is paramount.
Jahjaga: We are committed to European integration (Zeri)
Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga met yesterday the Rapporteur for Kosovo in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Agustin Conde. During the meeting, Jahjaga said she considers Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe a very important matter and in this process she said that Pristina is making all the necessary reforms. Jahjaga informed Conde about general developments in Kosovo stressing the commitment of the Kosovo institutions in the path towards European integration.
KP and EULEX arrest war crimes suspect in Prizren (Koha)
The paper reports on the front page that a joint Kosovo Police and EULEX operation resulted in the arrest of a former KLA member, Xhemshit Krasniqi, on war crimes charges. Krasniqi had been sought by authorities for years in connection to his role in war crimes committed in 1999 in the territory of Albania.
