Headlines - 12.02.2013 Thaçi pledges to disband parallel structures (Zëri) Prime Minister of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi in a meeting with European Parliament rapporteur for Kosovo Ulrike Lunacek reiterated that existence of Serb parallel structures installed in the north of Kosovo is coming to an end and that they will be disbanded very soon. “Parallel structures will be disbanded, those that were not involved in any crimes will be able to apply for employment with local institutions in the north on the basis of individual recruitment,” Thaçi is quoted as saying. He urged Lunacek and the EU to help in implementation of agreements reached in Brussels with Serbia. Lunacek on her part thanked Thaçi for constructiveness shown in the dialogue with Serbia and the work done so far on implementing European agenda. Thaçi briefs Jahjaga on the new round of dialogue with Serbia (dailies) President of the Republic of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, met on Monday with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, who briefed her about the next round of the dialogue that will be held in Brussels on 19 February. Thaçi was accompanied by the political coordinator in the dialogue for normalization of the relations between Kosovo and Serbia, Blerim Shala. Thaçi informed Jahjaga on the issues that will be discussed, agreements intended to be reached, as well as for the delegation of experts from Kosovo that will be participating. They also discussed the celebrations for the occasion of the fifth jubilee of Kosovo’s independence, the process of election reform and endorsement of significant laws at the Assembly in order to fulfill the EU criteria. With this rhythm, Kosovo is far from lifting of visas (dailies) Koha Ditore reports that even though it mentions some modest progress, mainly in the approval of laws, the first report of European Commission for the progress of Kosovo in fulfilling of criteria for visa liberalization finds many deficiencies, especially in the implementation aspect. Most objections have to do with organized crime and corruption. European diplomats say that with this rhythm Kosovo will need a long time, maybe a few years, before it can be granted visa liberalization regime. Express under the headline, Eternally with visas, writes that the Kosovars will not have visa regime lifted this year. In fact, even the next year looks gloomy. European integrations experts are mentioning the year 2015 as a possibility when Kosovo could enter the while list of Schengen. This however has been rejected by the officials of Ministry of Integrations. “New” strategy against corruption approved by the Assembly (Koha Ditore) Koha Ditore reports that the strategy against corruption has been approved with the votes of MPs from the ruling coalition while the Assembly Speaker, Jakup Krasniqi, criticized the work of the Anti-Corruption Agency, for which he said it does not fight corruption at all. “If one deputy thinks that corruption will be fought by the Agency, in fact you should know that it will never be fought. The Agency is more about publicizing the problem than solving it”, said Krasniqi. Isa Mustafa will not be candidate for Pristina (Koha Ditore) The paper reports that the current Pristina Mayor Isa Mustafa will not be candidate for another mandate as he is going to be the LDK’s candidate for prime minister of Kosovo while the candidate for Pristina mayor is yet to be decided. Kusari-Lila expects green light for start of SAA negotiations (Koha Ditore) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry Mimoza Kusari-Lila met in Pristina the deputy director of the European Commission directorate for enlargement Joost Korte and expressed full commitment with regards to the start of negotiations for Stabilisation and Association Agreement. She said she hoped a quicker positive reply from the EC. Haradinaj meets British Minister for Europe, Lidington (dailies) AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj met British Minister for Europe David Lidington and expressed his appreciation for the assistance United Kingdom is providing to Kosovo. Haradinaj noted that five years since declaration of independence, Kosovo continues to require further consolidation and development in all fields. He said that AAK will remain committed in strengthening the rule of law and, at the same time, will contribute to issues of national interest. Orthodox church in Vushtrri preventing road construction (Zëri) The project for construction of one of the main roads in Vushtrri cannot be fully implemented because of an obstacle from the Orthodox Church in the town whose compound borders the planned route. Spokesperson of the Vushtrri Municipality Bahri Bivolaku said there was a verbal agreement reached with the church but is has not been signed and implemented yet.