OSCE empowers institutions to combat high-level corruption
(KOHA.net)
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo, in cooperation with German Government, tomorrow will launch second project on empowering capacity of Kosovo institutions in combating high-level corruption, on 10th July 2017, in Prishtinë/Pristina.
Six Kosovo police officers, two special prosecutors, and two investigators of the Kosovo Anticorruption Agency will comprise the core team of experts who will take part in the project activities, including roundtable discussions, seminars, advanced training on financial crime investigations, a study visit to the Italian Police in Rome, as well as a conference on combating corruption, which will take place in Prishtinë/Pristina.
The project activities have been structured so that they can provide participants in-depth knowledge about required approach with the amended Code of Criminal Procedure and other legal acts in regard to behaviour of police and prosecutors in identifying and prosecuting criminal offences in the area of high-level corruption, and best practices in combating it.
Besides the core team members, the project activities will be attended by experts, representatives of Financial Intelligence Unit, Tax Administration, Police Inspectorate, Procurement Review Body, Public Procurement Regulatory Committee, Kosovo Customs, and Privatisation Agency of Kosovo.
PAN to propose Veseli as candidate for Assembly Speaker
(Klan Kosova & RTK1)
PDK vice chairman Rexhep Hoti confirmed that the PDK-AAK-Nisma (PAN) coalition has decided to propose Kadri Veseli as candidate for the Kosovo Assembly Speaker.
Talking to RTK1, Hoti expressed his optimism that Veseli will get sufficient votes to become Assembly Speaker.
Asked by RTK1 if PAN has also discussed with minority political parties, Hoti answered that it is a constitutional obligation that non-majority communities be part of any government in Kosovo, according to an unprecedented standard.
“Non-majority communities have developed a culture not to get involved in dilemmas of the majority, but they have protected their own positions, and rightly so. Non-majority communities are part of institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, and they will continue being in this standard, which first of all is in the service of their interests. Republic of Kosovo provides them such a commodity, which still does not exist anywhere else in Europe or in the world, in terms of their rights and freedoms to take part in government and in all other areas,” Mr Hoti concluded.
According to the Kosovo Constitution, the Assembly Speaker shall be proposed by the biggest caucus, and elected by a majority of votes of all MPs.
Lekaj: PAN will form government
(Klan Kosova)
The AAK vice chairman Pal Lekaj is convinced that the government of Kosovo will be constituted by PAN coalition. Referring to the opponents, namely VV and LAA coalition who believe that PAN does not have sufficient votes to constitute government, Lekaj said that people have been desperately writing and speaking as if they are talking about another country, not Kosovo.
According to Lekaj, Kosovo has no time to waste, so PAN will work in catching wasted time and in moving forward processes of the country.
Lekaj believes that government will be constituted in optimal time, and that legal timelines will be respected.
Pacolli: AKR will not join PAN
(Klan Kosova)
The AKR leader Behgjet Pacolli ruled out any possibility of his party joining PAN coalition for constituting government. Pacolli told Blic newspaper that he will remain faithful to the coalition with LDK.
“That is not possible. We only operate in the framework of the LDK-AKR-Alternativa coalition,” Pacolli said.
Procedures for constituting institutions start on Monday
(RTK1)
Certification of June 11 early election results cleared the way to constituting new institutions, Assembly and Government. On Monday the Central Election Commission (CEC) will complete the last procedure, by sending both institutions the note on results’ certification.
First, the Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, within 30 days from certification of results shall call constitutive session of the Kosovo Assembly. Simultaneously, The Assembly’s Secretary shall also do its job, by calling individually all elected MPs to identify them.
In addition, the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA) will check background of MPs, before they take oath in the Assembly. RTK sources within KIA explained that data of each of 120 new MPs will be verified, a procedure which had also taken place in earlier occasions.
In order for the constitutive session to happen, for pure technical reasons, the old Kosovo Assembly Presidency shall be convened. The session shall be chaired by the oldest and the youngest elected MP.
If the Kosovo Assembly Speaker is elected in this session, then the way for constituting government is opened. Within 15 days the President shall ask for Ramush Haradinaj, Prime Minister designate of the PDK-AAK-Nisma winning coalition, to constitute new government. In case the proposed government composition fails to get the majority of necessary votes, within 10 days President of the Republic of Kosovo shall give mandate to the next candidate, complying with the same procedure.
Always referring to the Constitution, in case government fails to be constituted in the second time, President calls elections that shall be held no later than 40 days from the day they are called.
