• Kosovo Assembly ratifies demarcation deal with Montenegro (media)
• European Commission hails ratification of border deal with Montenegro (media)
• Veseli: Visa-free travel around mid-December (T7)
• Kosovo Deputy FM tweets after messages of support from EU (media)
• Lack of progress in dialogue does not impact Thaci-Vucic meeting (Koha)
• Vucic: West is determined on Kosovo’s independence (media)
• Collaku: No legal room to dispute President’s lead role in dialogue (Epoka)

Kosovo Assembly ratifies demarcation deal with Montenegro (media)

All media report that the Kosovo Assembly ratified on Wednesday the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. The deal was adopted with 80 votes in favor after Vetevendosje MPs made several attempts to stop the session by activating teargas canisters. 13 Vetevendosje MPs were banned from the session by the Assembly’s Presidency and escorted out of the building by police. After the vote on the demarcation deal passed, Assembly President Kadri Veseli congratulated the MPs. “Congratulations on the first day of spring. Today, the long political winter for Kosovo citizens ends. Today, the spring of free movement starts for our citizens,” he said. The border demarcation with Montenegro is one of the key remaining criteria for Kosovo to get visa liberalization.

European Commission hails ratification of border deal with Montenegro (media)

All media report that after the Kosovo Assembly ratified the border deal with Montenegro, High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos and Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn have issued this statement: “The ratification today of the Border Demarcation Agreement with Montenegro, by the Assembly of Kosovo, represents a real achievement, a welcome and concrete progress, very much in the spirit of good neighbourly relations as well as the new Commission Strategy for the Western Balkans. The ratification is also the fulfilment of one of the key criteria for Kosovo’s visa liberalisation. As President Juncker said during his recent visit to Kosovo, it is a crucial step towards visa liberalisation which will first and foremost benefit the people. In 2016, the European Commission proposed to the Council and the European Parliament to lift the visa requirements for Kosovo citizens on the understanding that Kosovo would ratify the Border Demarcation Agreement with Montenegro and strengthen its track record in the fight against organised crime and corruption. The assessment of the track record on the fight against organised crime and corruption continues also in the light of the latest information provided by the Kosovo authorities. The European Union expects all sides in Kosovo to continue the hard work and successful efforts to achieve visa-free travel for the people of Kosovo and in the interest of the region”. Pristina-based Koha Ditore quotes different sources in the EU in Brussels as saying that Kosovo authorities must now focus on the final criteria: the fight against organized crime and corruption.

Veseli: Visa-free travel around mid-December (T7)

Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli gave his first interview to Pristina-based T7 TV station after the Assembly ratified the border demarcation deal with Montenegro. Veseli, who is also leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), said he was optimistic that the European Union will grant visa liberalization to Kosovo this year. “I am confident in our partnership with the European Union,” he said. “By the end of this year, around mid-December, we think that the issue of visa-free travel for Kosovars will be solved”.

Kosovo Deputy FM tweets after messages of support from EU (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Enver Hoxhaj, tweeted after receiving messages of support from senior EU officials after the Kosovo Assembly ratified the border demarcation deal with Montenegro on Wednesday. “Thanks for the warm congratulations over the phone Commissioner @Avramopoulos on passing the Border Demarcation Agreement. An important process came to an end as we look forward to visa free travel,” Hoxhaj wrote in a tweet. In another tweet, Hoxhaj thanked EU High Representative Federica Mogherini for her support. “Thanks for cont. support on enabling visa free travel @FedericaMog. This is the highest expectation of #Kosovo citizens,” Hoxhaj wrote.

Lack of progress in dialogue does not impact Thaci-Vucic meeting (Koha)

The paper reports that the meeting of the Kosovo and Serbia delegations in Brussels has ended unsuccessfully. EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic confirmed this and also said that progress in dialogue is needed for both countries to move forward in their European integration prospects. According to the EU, the key topics of discussion at the meetings were the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, energy, the Ibar River Bridge and border management.

Vucic: West is determined on Kosovo’s independence (media)

Several media report that during his visit to the U.S., Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he was disappointed by the lack of support among Western countries which according to him do not even want to question Kosovo’s independence. Vucic told RTS that the West considers the Kosovo issue to be closed. “I am not satisfied. I expected greater understanding not only for Serbs in Kosovo but for Serbia too,” Vucic said in New York. “It seems that they are determined to respect and safeguard Kosovo’s independence and this is very difficult for us”. Vucic also said that he told United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Serbia is ready for a compromise on Kosovo but that it would not sacrifice its own interests.

Collaku: No legal room to dispute President’s lead role in dialogue (Epoka)

Bekim Collaku, advisor to Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, told the paper on Wednesday that Thaci and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic will next discuss political issues related to modalities for reaching a final agreement for normalization and reconciliation between Kosovo and Serbia. “I am no mathematician to calculate the likelihood of such an agreement. This is not how negotiations work. However, I am absolutely confident that dialogue and the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is the only way forward for both countries,” he said. Asked to comment on the opposition’s insistence that President Thaci should not have the leading role in dialogue with Serbia, Collaku said the President’s legitimacy to lead the process is based on the Constitution and his election by the Assembly. He said in this respect there is no legal room to dispute the President’s lead role in dialogue.