Headlines - 17.11.2015

King Abdullah of Jordan to visit Kosovo today (dailies)

On the invitation of Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga, Jordan's King Abdullah Al Hussein arrives in Kosovo today for an official visit. He will be greeted by the National Guard, and after this he will meet with Jahjaga with whom he will have a press conference afterwards. King Abdullah will also meet with Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa. 

Opposition: Today’s Assembly session to be called off (Kosova Sot)

Heads of opposition parties parliamentary groups said in a joint press conference yesterday that the Assembly session scheduled for today should be called off. Donika Kadaj-Bujupi from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) called on the Government of Kosovo to withdraw signatures from the agreement on the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and the border demarcation with Montenegro while Glauk Konjufca from Vetevendosje said the opposition is determined to continue blocking Assembly sessions.

Vetevendosje to protest today in front of Assembly building (Infokusi)

The news site reports that the Vetevendosje Movement will protest today in front of the Assembly building at 09:00 when the the Assembly session is expected to start.  The news site published an email sent by Vetevendosje officials, informing all its branches about the protest, through which it aims to mobilize protesters also from the other opposition parties. 

Delawie: Real provocation is violence in Assembly (Epoka e Re)

The U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie has responded to the statements of the opposition parties in Kosovo that calling the new Assembly session is a provocation. “The use of violence to disrupt the Assembly, whose members were elected by the majority of the people of Kosovo, is the real provocation,” wrote Delawie on his Twitter account. Opposition parties held on Monday a joint press conference to announce that they would not allow holding of the Assembly session. 

Veseli suggests calling Assembly session to discuss border demarcation (Koha)

Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli has suggested calling a special session to discuss the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. The ruling coalition parties, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), supported the initiative but opposition parties said they will continue to block the work of the Assembly until the signatures from the disputed agreements are withdrawn.

After attacks in Paris, Kosovo increases security measures (Epoka e Re)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, assembled Kosovo’s Security Council on Monday. They informed after the meeting that the competent institutions have increased security measures at public places, public institutions, cultural and religious buildings as well at ethnically mixed areas. Mustafa stated that Kosovo should be prepared to face terrorism challenges in all aspects. 

EU to respect Constitutional Court’s decision (Koha Ditore)

In a front-page interview for the paper, the head of the European Union Office in Kosovo Samuel Zbogar said the EU has recognised the fact that no steps will be undertaken to establish the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities pending the decision of the Constitutional Court which, according to him, the EU will respect. At the same time, Zbogar said that that agreements with Serbia have been signed by both sides and “each of them has to implement them” and while the EU had no involvement in the agreement on border demarcation with Montenegro, “this agreement is a standard required in the process of visa liberalization.” Asked about the recent developments in the Kosovo Assembly, Zbogar stressed that the images there have not helped Kosovo in the international arena. Furthermore, the situation is delaying the work of the Assembly and for two months now, the legislators have been unable to take important decisions. He voiced his doubts that the opposition’s blockade is purely against the agreements with Serbia and Montenegro because if this had been the case, the decision of the President Atifete Jahjaga to send the agreement on the Association/Community to the Constitutional Court would have enabled the opposition parties to join the dialogue and discuss these issues. “It is a political game which could have different reasons. It could be an attempt to come to early elections; to show that the Government is not successful; an attempt to join the Government or an effort to postpone certain processes such as the creation of the special court; revenge against the prime minister or all of these.”

Speaking about the latest European Commission Progress Report, Zbogar said Kosovo has made certain progress and although it has passed important laws, their implementation remains a challenge. “This also brings us to the lack of political will to achieve more progress in this field,” he said. As per visa liberalization, the EU official said there are still some aspects of the roadmap that need to be fulfilled but that the Government of Kosovo has pledged to finalize them by November which he said he believed is doable. “If these are implemented, we have to hope for a positive report from the European Commission… by mid-December,” Zbogar noted.

Hoxha: Progress Report, a hypocrisy towards Kosovo (Zeri)

A senior member of Vetevendosje Movement, Ylli Hoxha, told a press conference yesterday that the only praise coming from the European Commission’s Progress Report for Kosovo was regarding the establishment of special court and Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. According to him, the criteria which assess countries that aspire to join the EU were put in the second place. "The special court is being established with the key argument that Kosovo institutions are unable to produce justice for its citizens. Praising a country for establishing the special court due to failure of the judiciary is hypocrisy,” Hoxha said. He added that while the EU commends Kosovo for signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), candidature reports for EU membership are being discussed with Serbia.