The Haradinaj government is nearing its first 100 days. After 100 days there is usually an assessment, and the opposition, media and civil society start criticizing … How do you assess the first three months? Are you satisfied with what has been done, have you come across unexpected challenges or problems?

Yes, we have prepared a report for the first 100 days. Next week, sometime around the middle of the week, I will submit this report to the President, the Assembly President, members of parliament, citizens, the media. This has not been an easy time or an easy period: in fact it was quite difficult because we still face major challenges as a country and the government needs to have implementing capacities. The implementation is not at a satisfactory level, however, I believe that in the last couple of days we have managed to bring this governance to its functions. There are many topics and most of them are very difficult.

You served as Prime Minister for around 100 days in 2005, and then you resigned amid charges from The Hague tribunal. You have often said that you would return to where you left off. Those 100 days were assessed as very successful by your “opponents”. Unlike then, the opposition now is fierce; one can tell there is lack of constructiveness in parliament, the opposition does not vote, not even against, on an important bill such as the one for the budget. Why has Kosovo politics reached this point, what is the reason behind this fierce antagonism?

We are nearing 10 years after independence and no one has the patience anymore to wait for successes and I feel that pressure because success is wanted immediately. To be honest, these 100 days have been successful and we have put in the work. With the exception of the large number of deputy ministers which deserves criticism but which is not damaging for the people if these officials do their job because there is a lot to be done, we can say that this has been a period of hard work, because we have really worked hard. The opposition finds it difficult to confront a government like this one, they have a hard time understanding what is going on because I believe that in the past the dynamics were not like this, the decision-making process was not like the current one and this makes it difficult for them to follow the work of the government.

One of your promises as PAN’s candidate for Prime Minister was that you would resolve the demarcation issue in three months and that Kosovars would be able to travel without visas. The government has already sent the (old) demarcation agreement to the Assembly, but the AAK says it will not vote in favor. Why did you send it to Parliament then? To pave way to negotiations for a new agreement? Can you promise Kosovars, or can you give an approximate time when they will be able to travel freely?

Kosovo has suffered several losses if I can call them that, both internally before I took up this position, but also regionally, globally and nationally. These are losses from the past. It was not an easy fight to recover from these losses, to bring back a stable situation and to bring Kosovo back at the internal, regional and international plan. This mainly depends from the form of governance and the core of our work. The main condition is the fight against corruption. What I have done these days is I have strengthened the rule of law mechanisms, provided budget support for this, more staff and increased capacities, so that Kosovo can go back to being a state of law. Demarcation is a criteria that was added, it is not standard criteria, and it requires us to move forward. I have done this, I have moved forward with demarcation, because the topic has been slept on in the past. Demarcation was not addressed for over two and a half years, now it is in the final stage and it will soon be concluded. The government has send the old agreement to the Assembly together with the report of the new state commission. Now the matter is in the hands of the MPs, and it would be good if they decide as soon as possible and not leave the matter pending indefinitely.

Can we say that the agreement was sent to the Assembly to pave way to negotiations for a new agreement? 

I am now hearing different opinions from respected people. We are all searching for a solution but we cannot go out of the core of the matter. And the core of the matter says that mistakes were made in the past. The new report says that mistakes were made in the past, so the MPs must have their say and this is what I have done.

Can you promise Kosovars, or give them an approximate date when they will travel freely?

I am in a sort of row with the European Union. Kosovo was in a minus in the past in these relations. But I think that now we are back on the table seriously with the EU. I think that if I mention any date I could irritate others, but we are working hard for this to happen soon, I don’t believe it will take long, but it is not an easy process. There are five EU member states that don’t recognize us. And you know that there are difficulties in this regard; the EU itself is quite heterogeneous. But we are working hard. A good news for liberalization is that people have not migrated from Kosovo. There is internal consolidation, democracy is functioning, in the Assembly too, even though there is no dynamics, nonetheless it is a functioning dynamics. So I don’t believe we are far away.

The agreement on the “Kosova e Re” will be signed on Wednesday. Will the agreement and the financial cost be made public? How would you respond to criticism (for example from KOSID) that Kosovo is entering contractual obligations for investment returns with a private operator? Can you guarantee that the electricity fees will not go up?

It is our obligation to make the agreement public. I will tell you two-three elements: this is a foreign investment, Kosovo will not invest a single cent; this is the first investment of its kind in Kosovo. It is around €1.3 billion, a foreign investment and the latest technology. The maximal coefficient for clean air is 42. This is the most advanced technology. This is going to change the situation in Kosovo completely, even in terms of investors. The moment when the company is listed on the London stock exchange and it announces this contract, this is going to change Kosovo’s image among the most credible and serious investors in the world. This is a good sign for Kosovo. The return on equity quote for one part of the investment is not 20. Mr. Visar Ymeri did not have the latest information in the Assembly that day; it is 18.5 percent. Increase of electricity is unavoidable; it is related to the market price not only in Kosovo but in the word. However, the contract does not affect the price increase. When we produce with old capacities as is the case today and when we are unable to meet our demands, we buy electricity of over €100 per megawatt while the new contract stipulates a price of around €70 per megawatt. So it is not as it is being claimed.  The energy regulatory office has foreseen an increase without taking into the account the investment. They did not know that the contract would be reached. In fact, I only finished a job which has been lingering in Kosovo drawers for 15 years. We agreed to a 18.5 percent return on equity as opposed to the previous 24 percent. And I gave Kosovo a completely new situation and I am not the only one taking pride in this but a whole generation. Thankfully we have coal because this would not have been possible without it. It is very important we have received such an investment because investment in coal is now scarce.

When will the Association of Serb municipalities be formed?

Kosovo has adopted its priorities, meaning we are focused in the rule of law. We very much need a rule of law country and have made this a priority. We also have sensitive issues like the healthcare and education. So, we have not managed to dedicate sufficient energy to healthcare as other issues took up most of our time and energy. We are working a great deal for the producers to give them space and free them of duties, taxes… The forming of the Association of Serb municipalities is an obligation deriving from the agreement. Kosovo was always ready to form such an association as it stands in its constitutional basis. However, you are aware of the Constitutional Court’s decision which has overturned the association and it now depends on what the Constitution of the country stipulates.

There were ideas that the establishment of the association is being conditioned with the Serbs’ vote for the Kosovo army. What is the position of the Serbian List towards the KSF transformation? Have you discussed this important issue when you reached a coalition?

Neither the community of association nor the army were part of the coalition topics. We have not interlinked these issues. We only [discussed] taking on coalition responsibilities. What I am doing carefully is to assure Kosovo Serbs, especially those in the north, that they are in Kosovo and that Kosovo is their country and that they should not expect Belgrade taking care of them but they should take care of themselves in Kosovo and for Kosovo; because this is their country.  I don’t know what will be their vote on the army. We don’t have a definite answer but we are truly and intensively working for Kosovo to be home to all and the army to be for everyone not just the Albanians. You know there are around 200 members from [non-majority] communities, including Serbs. You know there are no inter-ethnic incidents or any bad news involving the KSF in a decade; and there is highest praise from the international mechanisms like NATO and KFOR on KSF. We expect the KSF to take on a constitutional mandate from the parliament and we expect to become NATO member. So we view the formation of the army not as an army only for Kosovo but also as criteria for NATO membership.

There have been announcements, including from President Thaci, that the army could be established through a law, if constitutional changes are not possible. Why did this stall, was is because it lacked international support?

I think the internationals are very interested in a Kosovo army. They want it as much harmonized as possible, internally and beyond. As I said before, we are not talking only about creating an army but also about gaining a condition for speeding up the NATO membership process.

You will soon be going to Brussels again. Can you reveal your agenda to us? What are Kosovo’s relations with Brussels? Is Kosovo being treated as a country by the EU?

I had many difficulties in encountering EU institutions because I demanded Kosovo have a position it is entitled to: to be a party to issues, a party with EU towards integration. We only have the SAA. We request a candidate status for next year and the opening of chapters. This request also speeds up the liberalisation process. I believe we are not in a suitable position currently. There is a great deal of work to be done to have Kosovo’s agenda confirmed. Many thinks are linked to the dialogue, which we agree is important. But we want a timeframe to be set to Kosovo to be given the opportunity of opening EU integration chapters as is the case with Serbia. Serbia is more advanced in the chapter negotiations but we should also be able to begin opening them.

You have allocated a fund of €290,000 for families of persons involved in the Kumanovo case. Did you discuss this issue during the visit of your counterpart, Zoran Zaev?

I welcomed the visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Zaev, to Kosovo. It was the first visit of a prime minister in the history of the two countries and I am very happy with this and the discussions we had.

You have issues a 10-day deadline for residents of Hade and Shipitulle. Was your “ultimatum” effective?

This was the last deadline. We went through several stages; we undertook all those actions to ensure the relocation of residents is done based on respectful, dignified parametres and be considerate as they are dealing with people of our country. However, Kosovo cannot be kept continuously hostage by certain individuals or elements. This is the final deadlines and after this, the legal basis will halve the payment for residents. As in any other case, law will be applied in this event.