Mustafa: EU imposed double standards on Kosovo (Zeri)
Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, said on Sunday that delays in the visa liberalization process could result in additional problems for Kosovo and could even impact the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. Mustafa warned that if Kosovo citizens are not allowed to move freely in the EU, then neither he nor his cabinet would travel to the EU. “With this approach by the EU, we will face difficulties even in the process of dialogue. What can I tell my citizens if I am going to Brussels for dialogue while they remain isolated? If Kosovars do not deserve to move freely, then also I as Prime Minister don’t deserve it,” Mustafa said. He added that in the first two weeks of January there will be concrete results by the technical groups working on the fulfillment of unmet criteria for visa liberalization. According to him, the government is fully committed to fulfill all the criteria for visa liberalization. He also said that the EU has put double standards for Kosovo with regards to visas.
Opposition doesn’t want dialogue, only elections (Zeri)
The paper reports on its front page that opposition parties are against dialogue with the government as a possible solution for overcoming the current crisis. The opposition insists that “the government has lost its legitimacy since it violated the Constitution of Kosovo Constitution by signing the agreement on the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities”. On the other hand, the ruling coalition does not want early elections. Bajram Gecaj, Deputy Minister for Local Government and adviser to the Prime Minister, said that there is still room for dialogue and that elections are not an option.
Derguti: Mustafa and Thaci counting last days in power (Kosova Sot)
Vetevendosje MP Aida Derguti in a press conference condemned the arrest of the movement’s activists and called on the police not to carry out orders from the Government. Derguti said Vetevendosje activists are being detained for protesting against agreements which resulted in being anti-constitutional. She said that the current government led by Isa Mustafa and Hashim Thaci is counting its last days and that the end of it will begin on 9 January when the opposition parties have called an all-out protest.
German KFOR fears fresh tensions in Kosovo (Kosova Sot)
According to the German daily paper Tagesspiegel the country’s peacekeeping troops deployed to Kosovo as part of KFOR will not be leaving any time soon. “In Kosovo, the gradual exit cannot be implemented as originally planned due to fresh tensions,” the paper wrote.
Mustafa’s advisor Tomic denies having been part of MUP (Telegrafi)
Following reports in the Kosovo media that the advisor to Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, Ivan Tomic, was a member of Serbia’s Ministry of Interior (MUP), Tomic sent a statement to the press denying allegations. He said he was never a member of MUP and that such allegations are part of a smear campaign. Tomic also demanded an apology from the news website that first ran the story.
Kosovo powerless in the face of Serbia’s parallel structures (Koha)
The paper reports on its front page that Serbia is increasing the presence of its parallel structures in Kosovo despite the fact that the Brussels agreement between Pristina and Belgrade foresees the dissolution of such structures. According to the paper, Kosovo and Serbia Prime Ministers, Isa Mustafa and Aleksandar Vucic, will discuss the matter at their next meeting in Brussels early next year. Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, said the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities would not be established until the full dissolution of illegal structures operating in Kosovo. Political analysts in Pristina meanwhile argue that Belgrade has skillfully used the process of dialogue in Brussels to influence the political behavior of the Serb community in Kosovo and to transform the presence of Serbian structures without giving up on Kosovo.
