Headlines - 11.12.2015

President Jahjaga: I will deliver my speech at the Assembly (RTK)

Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga told RTK on Thursday that she will deliver her end-of-year speech at the Assembly despite the fact that opposition parties announced that they will block the session. “The end-of-year speech at the Assembly is my constitutional obligation and I will fulfill my duties,” Jahjaga said. Commenting on the current situation in the Assembly she said that “this is becoming unacceptable.” According to her, the government and opposition should sit down and talk “because they have enough opportunities to do so”. “Political dialogue and joint meetings are the only solution,” Jahjaga said. The President is expected to address the MPs on 17 December.

Montenegro open to reviewing border demarcation agreement (Kosova Sot)

The Government of Montenegro has issued a press release regarding the border demarcation agreement with Kosovo saying that the disagreements in Pristina in relation to the border demarcation are Kosovo’s internal matter. “We maintain that the Agreement officially confirms the administrative borders in accordance with the SFR Yugoslavia 1974 Constitution. If there are doubts that this has not been done and that there has been a mistake, we are willing to consider this as we wish no disagreement with our neighbours, taking into account the state and national interests of Montenegro,” the statement reads. It adds that this was also the message that Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic has conveyed to his Kosovo counterpart Isa Mustafa as well as to other Kosovo officials.

AAK hails Montenegro’s view on border demarcation with Kosovo (Telegrafi)

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj has welcomed the statement of the Montenegro Government that it is willing to review the border demarcation agreement with Kosovo. “[Montenegro] simply understood the problem and as a normal country stated it is willing to eliminate the mistakes made in the process which Isa Mustafa and Hashim Thaci are still not willing to do,” said Haradinaj. He stressed that Kosovo is also interesting in having good relations with Montenegro and that the responsibility for the current form of the border agreement falls on the Kosovo’s government commission and Kosovo leadership.

Corruption delays visa liberalization (Zeri)

The paper reports on the front page that within a few days, the EU is expected to publish the evaluation report on visa liberalization for Kosovo. The opposition and analysts say this assessment will be negative due to corruption and organized crime, while the European Integration Minister, Bekim Collaku, says he is optimistic. He said that Kosovo has met the criteria for visa liberalization and will get the legislative recommendation from the European Commission to join the Schengen area. However, Driton Caushi, senior member of Vetevendosje Movement, said there are nine criteria that the government failed to fulfill. According to him, among the remarks which are expected to be made in this report, it will be mentioned the poor functioning of courts, prosecution, police, and the lack of investigations and convictions for corruption and organized crime.

Kosovo will not have a say in the mandate of the special court (Koha)

In the leading front-page story, the paper reveals details of the draft agreement between Kosovo and the Netherlands on the headquarters of the special court that will address war crimes allegations. The paper notes that Kosovo has renounced the right to conclude the mandate of the special court and the length of this judicial mechanism will be decided by the Council of the European Union. The paper claims to have secured the 28-page draft agreement which notes that the headquarters of the special court will be in the Netherlands. The draft agreement addresses the functioning of the court, the immunity of judges, prosecutors, administrative staff, contracted experts, the treatment of testimonies and witnesses, and the defendants and potential indictees and their families. The mandate of the court is addressed at the end of the agreement – Article 54. The agreement, according to the paper, is provisional and the tenure of the special court will be extended on a yearly basis until the end of its mandate.

Thaci hosted by Hungarian Prime Minister (Epoka e Re)

On the second day of his visit to Hungary, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hashim Thaci, met with the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Thaci said 2015 has been a European year for Kosovo with signing of the Stabilization Association Agreement and fulfillment of the conditions for visa liberalization. He expressed his appreciation for the continuous support of Hungary for Kosovo and stressed that the agreement for economic cooperation signed on Wednesday with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, will contribute to the increase the cooperation. Thaci also met with the Hungarian Assembly President, Laszlo Kover.

Rama: NATO enlargement to continue with Kosovo (Epoka e Re)

The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, requested from NATO on Thursday during the joint press conference with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg to establish relations with Kosovo as soon as possible. “There should not be gray zones left in this region and all potentials of the evil that we are jointly facing, should be eliminated,” Rama said.

Kosovars’ oath of loyalty to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that the prosecution has sufficient evidence against five Kosovars who are suspected of supporting the terrorist group ISIS. The paper reports that the five men did not manage to swear the oath of loyalty to the leader of this terrorist organization, Abu Bakr al – Baghdadi as they were captured by Kosovo Police just before making their oath at Badovc Lake in July this year. Several days ago, the special prosecutor Drita Hajdari filed terrorism charges against the five suspects. The paper claims to have a copy of the indictment that will be reviewed by the Basic Court in Pristina in January next year.