EP also conditions visa liberalisation with border demarcation (Koha Ditore)
European Parliament’s rapporteur for visa liberalisation for Kosovo, Tanja Fajon, said on Tuesday she was postponing the voting on her report originally scheduled for next week on the grounds that there was no progress in the ratification of the border-demarcation agreement with Montenegro. This, according to the paper, means that apart from the European Commission that has imposed the ratification of the agreement as a condition for visa liberalisation for Kosovo, the same approach has now been adopted by the European Parliament. “I sincerely hope that the Kosovo parliament will ratify this agreement as soon as possible before summer break so that I can proceed with voting in autumn and secure the full support of relevant commissions on the recommendations to lift visas”, Fajon said in a statement. She added that the government of Kosovo assured her the agreement will be ratified “at the right time” and that they understood the sensitivity of this issue in Kosovo.
Visa liberalisation postponed, demarcation remains a problem (Zëri)
Kosovo’s Minister of European Integration, Bekim Çollaku, said on Tuesday that the decision to postpone the vote on visa liberalisation for Kosovo was expected because the Kosovo Assembly didn’t ratify the border-demarcation agreement with Montenegro. Çollaku said that it is necessary to finalize all the requirements that were set by the European Union. “In terms of time, this does not represent any delay since the final decision on visas was expected to be taken in September, not in July. The EU does not discuss the criteria that have been set. To speed up the decision-making in the EU, we need to ratify the border-demarcation agreement with Montenegro,” he said. Çollaku urged all politicians not to hold back the freedom of movement of citizens, since there is no compromise in matters which are required by the EU.
Montenegro rules out review of border-demarcation agreement (Koha)
The Kosovo government has yet to send for ratification to the Assembly the border-demarcation agreement with Montenegro, the paper reports on page three. The Montenegrin government meanwhile has indirectly ruled out the eventual renegotiation of the agreement. Asked if they were willing to revisit the matter, senior government officials in Podgorica said the issue was closed the moment that the agreement was ratified by the Montenegrin Parliament. “The agreement was negotiated, signed and ratified by the Parliament of Montenegro,” Srđan Kusovac, advisor to Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović, told the paper. “This means that our job is over”.
Kosovo PM calls for development aid projects (Epoka e Re)
At the central meeting of the Summit of Leaders in Paris, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Isa Mustafa stressed the need for development aid projects that are of joint interest for the region, and added that Kosovo is determined to cooperate with countries of the region. Mustafa also hailed the results of the processes initiated in Berlin. The President of France, François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini as well as Prime Ministers of Albania, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, were present at the Summit during Mustafa’s speech. Mustafa also appealed to Serbia to fulfill its obligations and allow functionalization of modern projects in benefit of all the countries or the region, such as the energy transmission.
Wisner: I’m disappointed with the setbacks in Kosovo (Zëri)
The former representative of the president of the United States in negotiations on the status of Kosovo, Frank Wisner, in an interview with the paper said he is disappointed with the setbacks in Kosovo in many areas. According to him, it is regrettable that Kosovo is facing numerous problems, irregular migration of young people and underdevelopment of the state. In regards to the Kosovo leadership, Wisner said that they are produced by the voters of Kosovo. “You get what your culture produces,” he said. Talking about failures, Wisner said that local politicians are to be blamed. “Do not blame others for failures, do not assume that others will regulate things that you should fix yourselves,” he added.
UNMIK has issued 36 arrest warrants (Kosova Sot)
The UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has issued 36 international arrest warrants on behalf of Kosovo authorities. Jan Malekzade from UNMIK’s Public Information Office said there are currently 36 valid international arrest warrants but did not provide details as to what the charges are and during what period were the alleged crimes perpetrated.
