Headlines - 14.06.2013 Kosovo-Serbia agreement to be ratified without implementation plan (Koha) The implementation plan will not be part of the draft law for the ratification of the Kosovo-Serbia agreement on normalization of relations. The Kosovo Parliament is expected to ratify the agreement next Thursday. Next Monday, the parliamentary committee on legislation is expected to give the green light to the draft law. A source told the paper that along with the draft, the committee will provide an additional amendment that removes from the annexes the plan for the implementation of the agreement. Sources told the paper that members of parliament will not vote on the implementation plan on Thursday. The source said this happens because not all parliamentary parties that supported the Kosovo – Serbia dialogue gave previous guarantees they will support the draft law in parliament. Meanwhile, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuçi said “the removal of the plan does not touch the essence, because the agreement is the core of the issue and everything derives from it”. Date for Serbia in January, “maybe” SAA for Kosovo (Koha Ditore) Germany agrees for January 2014 to be the date for Serbia’s start of EU membership under the condition that by then European Commission would report satisfactory progress in the implementation of Kosovo-Serbia agreement of 19 April. EU hopes that the meeting of 20 June between prime ministers Thaçi and Dacic will bring another “big success” which will be used to increase pressure on Germany to agree on giving the date to Serbia. As for Kosovo, the paper’s reporting that the obstacle in the start of negotiations for Stabilization and Association Agreement has suddenly become Great Britain has been confirmed in Washington. However, the British opposition is not aimed at preventing Kosovo but is rather related to internal issues in UK. This is the reason why PM Hashim Thaçi stopped in London last week on his way to the US. Few circles in the EU who are strongly engaged in giving Serbia an unconditioned and immediate date for the start of negotiations are now beginning to say that “if Serbia does not move, Kosovo won’t be moving either”, and in this case it can happen that the decision for the start of negotiations for SAA with Kosovo is not taken at all. “Kosovo is aware that its path is already conditioned with that of Serbia. This connection has been made and Kosovo cannot pretend to be disappointed,” said an EU diplomat. Zarif: Changes after the agreement can be felt (Tribuna/Kosova Sot) UNMIK chief Farid Zarif said in New York that changes can be felt in Kosovo after the signing of the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina. Zarif made these comments after meeting Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic. The Serbian Ministry for Foreign Affairs issued a press release saying that Zarif briefed Mrkic about the security situation in Kosovo and that Mrkic said UNMIK was a factor of stability. UN Security Council, session on Kosovo (Tribuna) The United Nations Security Council will discuss on Friday the Secretary General’s quarterly report on developments in Kosovo. SG Ban Ki-moon in his report welcomes the first agreement for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia signed by the two prime ministers in Brussels on April 19. A delegation from Kosovo, led by Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, will attend the session. The UN chief, similar to many senior European officials, hailed the agreement as a historic achievement and praised political leaders for their patience, political visions and proper leadership. Rulings of parallel courts to be legitimized (Zëri) According to the paper, all decisions that the courts in the north have reached over the past years may become valid and applicable during the implementation of agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. While in Brussels, the Kosovo delegation received an offer from the international community to accept all rulings of courts in the north from the end of the war onwards. Sources said that international community is now waiting to see how the Kosovar side will react to the proposal. Legal expert Korab Sejdiu said accepting the rulings of the courts in the north would be anti-constitutional and not legal as the judiciary there has been working under a different legal basis than that of Kosovo. Agreement with OSCE on local elections (Zëri) Delegation of Kosovo and OSCE reached agreement in Brussels aimed at facilitating local elections in the four northern municipalities of Kosovo. Deputy Prime Minister and head of Kosovo team Edita Tahiri confirmed an agreement was reached. “Representatives of CEC and OSCE had several meetings during the day amd the issues discussed were related to defining the facilitation role of the OSCE during local elections in Kosovo”, said Tahiri. She said the OSCE’s role in the process will be in accordance to the agreement for normalization of relations and will be limited only to the four municipalities.  Jahjaga: Kosovo committed to European vision (dailies) At the summit of Central European countries, President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga thanked her Slovakian counterpart for invitation and said cooperation is crucial for the future of the region. “Our future is in the EU and the Republic of Kosovo is committed to this vision. We will remain factor of peace and stability and promoters of good neighbourly relations”, said Jahjaga. Zëri writes that Jahjaga is not being treated as other heads of states in the summit and the office of Slovakian President Ivan Gasparovic in the agenda of the summit did not describe Jahjaga as being a representative from Kosovo but simply “Mrs. Atifete Jahjaga from Kosovo”. The Dodik effect in Kosovo (Tribuna) The paper reports on the front page that Belgrade is trying to organize Kosovo Serbs in a single political party that would come out strongly in elections and become the second party in any ruling coalition. Sources told the paper that Belgrade wants to organize Kosovo Serbs according to the model already used in Bosnia and Herzegovina and which led to the rise of Milorad Dodik there. Sources also said that ruling parties in Belgrade – SNS and SPS – have agreed on candidates they will have in nine municipalities that are expected to be part of the association of Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo. Experts close to these developments said, “the list is expected to get up to 25 seats in Kosovo’s Parliament”.