Headlines - 15.07.2015

Thaci: Special court, after we secure the necessary votes (dailies)

Kosovo’s Principal Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Hashim Thaci, said on Tuesday that the Kosovo government will not submit the constitutional amendments for the establishment of the special court without making sure that it would receive the necessary votes. Thaci made these comments after meeting with Greece’s Foreign Minister, Nikolaos Kotzias, with whom he talked about cooperation between Kosovo and Greece. Thaci also said that Kosovo expects to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union soon and to receive positive feedback on the visa liberalization process.

Opposition rejects return of special court amendments to Assembly (Epoka)

In a front-page story, the paper quotes Besnik Berisha, legal advisor to Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, as saying that the Kosovo government is coordinating activities to resubmit to the Assembly the constitutional amendments for the establishment of the special court. The opposition parties, however, do not agree with the idea. Fatmir Limaj (NISMA), Albulena Haxhiu (Vetevendosje) and Donika Kadaj-Bujupi (AAK) said on Tuesday that resubmitting the constitutional amendments to the Assembly “will kill democracy in Kosovo”. They also said that the government should respect the decision of the MPs who said no to the special court on 26 June.

Mustafa: EU to take a decision on visa liberalization for Kosovo (dailies)

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, received on Tuesday the European Union Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, Tibor Navracscis. Mustafa informed Navracscis about the government’s priorities related to economic development and said that Kosovo needs to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU as soon as possible. Mustafa also said that the EU should take a decision on visa liberalization for Kosovo, in order the people of Kosovo to move freely in the EU member states.

Package agreement held “hostage” by the Association/Community (dailies)

The paper reports that the agreement between Pristina and Belgrade on the removal of the barricade over the Ibar River was not yet signed because it is to be part of a package of agreements. Agim Bahtiri, Mayor of Mitrovica, told Radio Free Europe that if agreement is reached on all the topics, then the barricade would be removed in early October. The topics for which a package agreement must be reached are the issue of the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, energy, the telephone code and free movement. Meanwhile, the Kosovo Minister for Local Administration, Ljubomir Maric, said that Serbs are hoping that the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia would meet as soon as possible and find a solution for the Association/Community acceptable for the Serbs.

Kotzias: Kosovo can open an office in Athens or Thessaloniki (Koha)

During his visit to Kosovo on Tuesday, the Greek Foreign Minister Nikolaos Kotzias said his country would take into account two criteria when considering recognizing Kosovo’s statehood. “One of the criteria is the need of the whole region and the second is our national European interest. In the future, we will have to see how we can apply both criteria,” Kotzias said. “We are supporting Kosovo’s membership of international organizations, such as INTERPOL and UNESCO. We are among the first countries that called for political relations between the European Union and Kosovo. Whenever the need arises, we can provide our expertise and capacities to Kosovo when it comes to cooperation with the EU and NATO”. The Greek Foreign Minister also said that a decision has been made to open a Kosovo office in either Athens or Thessaloniki.

Civil Protection refuses to abandon Ibar Bridge observation point (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that the Civil Protection, a paramilitary formation in northern Kosovo, is refusing to abandon a strategic observation point on the Ibar Bridge which it has been manning for several years now. The paper recalls that an agreement reached between Pristina and Belgrade early this year foresaw that the Civil Protection would have to hand over the checkpoint to the Kosovo Police in April. Kosovo’s authorities meanwhile admitted that the agreement is not being implemented in its entirety. “This point of the agreement has not been fully implemented. On 11 June 2015, three observation points along the Mitrovica-Jarinje road were removed. But the observation point near the main Ibar Bridge has yet to be handed over,” Dren Zeka, principal political advisor to Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, told the paper on Tuesday. Representatives of Albanians living in Mitrovica North said that the presence of checkpoints in that region constitutes a serious threat not only to the local residents but also to local and international law enforcement authorities. “The presence of a checkpoint installed by a structure of a foreign country causes panic and fear among the people,” a Mitrovica North municipal councilor told the paper.

Kosovo government to adopt anti-radicalism strategy (Kosova Sot)

Government of Kosovo is expected to adopt in August a strategy to prevent religious radicalism, said advisor to Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, Edon Myftari. He said most of the institutions working on the strategy have already provided their remarks and the document will be ready for implementation next month.

Residents expect release of disputed property in Decan (Bota Sot)

Following the decision of the Special Chamber of the Kosovo Supreme Court that the disputed property in Decan/Decani should belong to the Municipality and not the Serb Orthodox Church, the Albanian local residents appeal for the Decan/Decani holiday camp, currently used by Italian KFOR, to be handed over to the municipality. This, claim the residents, would enable the camp to again be used by citizens.