Headlines - 16.12.2015

No visa liberalization without results in fight of crime and corruption (Koha)

The paper reports on the front page that in the meeting of the European Council, the EU member states reconfirmed support for further enlargement adding, however, that this process needs to be accompanied by the conditioning policy. In the endorsed conclusions, the Council also spoke about the importance of Kosovo meeting the necessary criteria for visa liberalization and of encouraging it to continue efforts in making progress in the process. The paper stresses that the conclusions of the European Council have been misinterpreted in Kosovo, largely due to a Facebook post by Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci. The fact of the matter, according to Koha Ditore’s Brussels correspondent Augustin Palokaj, is that the European Commission has yet to publish a report on the Kosovo’s progress on the visa liberalization process. Nevertheless, Palokaj notes that the Council has indirectly suggested that it does not expect the European Commission report to confirm that Kosovo has met all the requirements to be granted visa-free travel to Europe.

Kocijancic: Report on visa liberalization has not been published yet (Tribuna)

Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told media on Tuesday that the report on visa liberalization has not been published yet and that it will be published this month. “The European Commission will publish the report as soon as possible during this month,” Kocijancic said. She added that if the recommendation is to grant visa liberalization to Kosovo this means that 28 EU Interior Ministers gave their votes. On the other hand, the European Parliament Vice-President and Rapporteur for Kosovo, Ulrike Lunacek said she doubts Kosovo would get all the votes, “especially given that some of these countries are faced with large numbers of refugees”.

Collaku: Visa liberalization in 2016 (Gazeta Express)

Kosovo’s European Integration Minister, Bekim Collaku, told the news site on Tuesday that the report on visa liberalization will be published in a few days. He says that now is the time when the EU must show the political will and confidence that things are going in the right direction. According to him, Kosovo has done everything right and soon this process will end. “Today the EU Council published their conclusions on enlargement and the Stabilisation and Association process. The EU missed the opportunity to give a positive signal to Kosovo citizens in regards to visa liberalization, because this will happen very soon,” Collaku said. “We expect that the European Commission evaluation report which will be published in a few days, will clarify where we stand in fulfilling the technical criteria. We don’t expect any surprises here. Based on the work we have done as well as our commitment, I am confident that soon after the publication of the report the European Commission will send a recommendation for visa liberalization to member states. The visa liberalization will occur in 2016”.

Half of opposition MPs in jail (Zeri)

Driton Caushi, senior member of the Vetevendosje Movement, told the paper that opposition MPs will not stop even if the police arrest all of them. “We chose some means which we recognize are not means to be used in the Assembly, but we had very few opportunities to express our views against the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group chief Adem Grabovci meanwhile said that despite the risk of having no opposition in the Assembly, “every MP that commits a criminal offence must answer before the law”.

One month house detention for Pal Lekaj (Epoka e Re)

Pristina Court has sentenced MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Pal Lekaj, with one month of house arrest. His colleagues Glauk Konjufca, Aida Derguti, Besa Baftiu, Teuta Haxhiu and Time Kadriaj will have to report to the police twice a week during the next thirty days. The prosecution claimed that Pal Lekaj has twice committed a penal crime, by throwing teargas at the Assembly. Lekaj’s lawyer, Arianit Koci, said prosecution did not have any evidence to undertake detention measures.

Haradinaj: No coalition before elections (Gazeta Tribuna)

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj said in an interview that his party would not enter any coalition without the annulment of agreements on the Association/Community of Serb-majority and border demarcation with Montenegro and without a proper elections process. He did not, however, rule out the possibility of opposition parties running under one list in elections which he said would be best if they took place this coming spring. “We have differences in certain policies but we could be in a coalition,” said Haradinaj. Asked about President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga’s anticipated annual address to the Assembly MPs, Haradinaj said they do not welcome it. He said three women MPs from his party are in prison and Jahjaga failed to find any strength to condemn their arrest. “The lack of this courage for us is no surprise because the way she [Jahjaga] is acting, she is demonstrating her bias, her powerlessness,” he said.

Thaci accuses Brussels of encouraging extremism in Kosovo (Bota Sot)

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci has expressed disappointment with the European Union over delays in the visa liberalization process for Kosovo. In a Facebook post, Thaci said he considers these delays unjustified and a serious provocation. “These absurd and intentional delays not only encourage extremism in the country but could also increase the frustration of the citizens of Kosovo. Furthermore, this EU approach is threatening all important processes in the country including the dialogue for normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia,” wrote Thaci. However, he said that the patience of the people of Kosovo will be stronger than EU’s “incapacity.”

Djuric: Pristina has revoked entry ban for holders of Serbia IDs (Koha)

The head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo Marko Djuric told Serbian media on Tuesday that the Pristina authorities have revoked the provision banning entry to Kosovo Serbs who are in possession of Serbia-issued identification cards. “The latest information is that they have revoked that decision just as they revoked the one about provisional license plates two months ago,” said Djuric.