“Brexit doesn’t threaten visa liberalisation” (Zëri)
The paper reports on its front page that Great Britain’s exit from the European Union, and also the announcement of some other states that they could follow suit, will not affect the visa liberalisation process for Kosovo. According to government officials and integration experts, visa-free travel will be possible as soon as Kosovo fulfils the criteria set by the European Commission. Kosovo’s Deputy Minister of European Integration, Ramadan Ilazi told daily Bota Sot that Kosovo has lost a strong advocate within the EU. However, according to him, visa liberalisation for Kosovo will happen during this year.
Ruling coalition lacks votes for demarcation agreement (Koha)
The paper reports on its front page that the Kosovo government is seeking consensus for ratifying the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. Although government officials did not say when they will submit the agreement for ratification to the Assembly, the paper learns that this could be postponed until September because the ruling coalition lacks the two third majority of MP’s votes required for ratifying international agreements. An unnamed source told the paper that the government is hesitating to send the agreement to the Assembly, “because the PDK did not guarantee that their MPs will support the current version of the agreement. The parties are expected to intensify their meetings in the next couple of days in an attempt to find a solution”. PDK representatives meanwhile said they were surprised by the delays. “The whole process has stalled and we are all confused,” Xhavit Haliti, senior PDK member and Vice President of the Kosovo Assembly, told the paper. “One side says we are losing 10,000 hectares, whereas the other side says we’re not losing a single millimetre. At the same time, the residents of that region have expressed their concerns and these need to be addressed and verified”.
Thaçi: Spain will soon recognize Kosovo (Koha/Kosova Sot)
Kosovo’s President, Hashim Thaçi, during an interview with Spanish News Agency EFE, expressed his confidence that Spain will soon recognize the independence of Kosovo. Thaçi did not want to draw parallels between Kosovo’s secession from Serbia and separatist movements in Spain. “Spain is not Serbia and Catalonia is not Kosovo,” Thaçi said. He also talked about terrorism, stating that Kosovo has zero tolerance for criminal and terrorist groups. “Kosovo, like many other countries, is not immune to terrorism. We have taken all the legal measures to prevent radicalization,” Thaçi said.
Krasniqi: Dialogue with Serbia must be stopped (Epoka e Re)
The paper runs as it leading front-page story an interview with Jakup Krasniqi, former Kosovo Assembly President and chairman of the NISMA National Council, highlighting his remarks that the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue in Brussels must be stopped. Krasniqi further argued that “this dialogue is a monument of shame and that those who led the process must resign because they made Serbia a shareholder in Kosovo’s sovereignty”.
“With protests, against colonization” (Zëri)
The paper reports that Albanian residents of Mitrovica South and the northern municipalities do not exclude protests as means of opposing the construction of the so-called Sunny Valley in Zveçan/Zvečan. According to them, protests are the only means to block the colonization of Kosovo. The residents also say they are surprised that Albanian political parties have taken no serious action to prevent the construction of this project. “The Ibër/Ibar River Bridge is zero compared to this colonizing project of Serbia,” one of the residents was quoted as saying.
Lazar monument erected in Mitrovica North (Kosovapress)
The news agency reports that a monument of Serbian medieval ruler Lazar was erected last night in Mitrovica North and that it will be unveiled on Tuesday on the occasion of Vidovdan (St. Vitus Day), a Serbian national and religious holiday. Kosovo’s institutions have not commented on the matter yet.
