EU Commissioner Hahn visits Kosovo today (Epoka e Re)
The European Union Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn will visit Kosovo today. He will meet with President Atifete Jahjaga, the Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Assembly President, Kadri Veseli, to discuss implementation of the Stabilization Association Agreement (SAA). After the meetings with Kosovo leaders, Hahn will address the Assembly of Kosovo.
Opposition with special messages on today’s Assembly session (Kosova Sot)
The leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, Visar Ymeri, confirmed yesterday that in the solemn session of the Kosovo Assembly today where EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn is expected to address the MPs, the opposition will have a performance that will be as a message to the government of Kosovo. “In these sessions we take the opportunity to present our complaints, which are messages for the speakers but also for the public opinion,” Ymeri said.
Hahn: Careful with the rhetoric, words can become like swords (Koha)
The paper runs as the lead story an interview with Johannes Hahn, the European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations. Hahn said the Stabilization/Association Agreement, which Kosovo recently signed with the European Union, should be treated seriously by all as a great opportunity for much closer cooperation with the EU in many areas and that it is objective is a greater European perspective. “I understand the differences in positions, but there should be a common understanding that the future of Kosovo lies in the European perspective. And it should be in the interest of the people, including the politicians, to have a European perspective and to implement the Stabilization/Association Agreement,” he said. Hahn, who will visit Kosovo today, said he will give a speech in the Kosovo Assembly “and this will be a good opportunity to convey some important messages”. He will also meet representatives of Serb political parties and visit a Serb monastery, “because it is important to include the church in our joint efforts”. Asked about visa liberalization, Hahn said Kosovo has achieved progress in meeting the criteria for a positive report. “There are a few requirements left, which according to our experts, will not be difficult to implement in the coming days. Therefore, I am very optimistic that we will have a positive report … If there is a positive report; this could lead to our request to give visa liberalization for Kosovo. A positive report would be a recommendation and then the decision rests with the member states”.
Conde: Throwing teargas at the Assembly, unacceptable (Epoka e Re)
Agustin Conde, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Rapporteur for Kosovo, presented in Paris the Introductory Memorandum of the report on the situation in Kosovo, which is in the process of being drafted. At the meeting of the Committee for Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Conde assessed that opposition’s throwing of the tear gas at the Assembly of Kosovo is unacceptable. He started the presentation of the report with description of the economic situation in Kosovo. He mentioned decrease of economic growth, nepotism and corruption as problems that Kosovo authorities should face with determination. He also mentioned the discussions between Pristina and Belgrade, reached agreements and rejection of these agreements by the opposition parties. Representatives from Kosovo’s and Serbia’s Assemblies, were present at this meeting.
US, Germany and UK support Kosovo’s bid to join UNESCO (Kosova Sot)
The ambassadors of the United States, Germany and United Kingdom to UNESCO, made a joint statement where they express the support of their countries for Kosovo’s bid to join UNESCO. “Having a further reputable international body overseeing the protection of all cultural sites (including Serbian-Orthodox sites) in Kosovo would advance the goals of UNESCO, and bring clear benefits for all communities in Kosovo, as well as for the global community. With membership in UNESCO come solemn responsibilities. Thus we welcome the Government of Kosovo’s commitment to abide by the strict and formal international obligations membership would bring, including to protect monuments of religious and cultural importance, in particular those listed as UNESCO Heritage sites, and to preserve Serbian-Orthodox heritage,” notes the statement.
Tahiri: Dialogue has given significant results (Epoka e Re)
Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, participated at the first panel of the conference “Diplomatic training and integration in the EU” which discussed the European Union and regional cooperation. The Conference was organized by Kosovo’s Diplomatic Academy in cooperation with the Diplomatic Academies of Croatia and Montenegro. After speaking about Kosovo’s progress on EU integration, Tahiri spoke also about the progress in regional cooperation in Western Balkans. She said that the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade that is being held in Brussels with EU mediation has the support of the U.S. and it has marked significant results. She stressed that with the Brussels dialogue, Kosovo has proved to be factor of peace and stability in the region.
Brazil considers recognizing Kosovo (Kosova Sot)
Brazil Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luiz Mauro Vieira Lecker, told Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati, that the process of recognizing Kosovo is an evolving issue. In a notification issued by the Albanian Foreign Ministry it is said that Bushati also urged his Brazilian counterpart to take all the necessary steps that would enable the participation of Kosovo in international organizations.
Demarcation, 100 thousand hectares of undocumented land (Zeri)
The paper reports that Kosovo and Montenegro do not have valid cadastral documents for around 100 thousand hectares of land along the border between Kosovo and Montenegro, out of which over 12 thousand hectares of Kosovo land remained on the Montenegro side. This was confirmed by experts of these issues, who said that Kosovo government commission on border demarcation decided to entrust the Montenegrin commission to define the border-line, while not requesting documents from them to confirm that this land belongs to Montenegro.
Mustafa President, Thaci Prime Minister (Zeri)
The paper in a front-page story reports that April 2016 might find Kosovo in the reconstruction of the political scene. According to the new calculations, the paper reports that the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Hashim Thaci, is going to give the current Prime Minister Isa Mustafa the post of the president in exchange for the post of the prime minister. The direction of government and the implementation of the international obligations, including the Association/Community of Serb majority municipalities and the special court, it makes it a very difficult mission for Isa Mustafa, considering the offensive approach by the opposition towards him. Political analysts do not exclude this possibility.
“Mitrovica North must be undone in order to prevent ethnic cleansing” (Koha)
Mitrovica South Mayor Agim Bahtiri appealed on Thursday for concrete measures to stop what he called the ethnic cleansing of Albanians in the north, the paper reports on page three. Bahtiri suggested two options to prevent the expulsion of Albanians from the north: to undo the municipality of Mitrovica North or for the Bosniak Mahalla and Kroi i Vitakut, which are located in the north, to be under the administration of the Mitrovica South municipality. Tahiri gave this statement to the paper one day after the Serbian Government and Mitrovica North municipality handed over the keys of 100 new apartments for Serbs in the Bosniak Mahalla. Said Bahtiri: “My reaction will be very harsh. Serbs were given 100 apartments and Albanians were not given any. Albanians living in the north do not enjoy a single basic right under the municipal government led by [Goran] Rakic. Djuric [head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo] plans to implement the ethnic cleansing of Albanians living in the north”. Bahtiri also said that “it should be clear to Rakic that he cannot play with Albanians living in the north. We will initiate procedures for Albanians to return to the north without his permission. We will no longer ask for his permission. We will start rebuilding the houses [of Albanians].”
