• Law on army initiated (Koha)
• Kocijancic: It is not true that Mogherini left meeting with Haradinaj (Zeri)
• Serwer: Trump should intervene urgently to save peace in Balkans (media)
• Vucic likes idea for Serbia to recognize Kosovo and remain in joint union (Telegrafi)

Law on army initiated (Koha)

The decision-making process for the formation of the Kosovo Armed Forces is underway, the paper reports. The Ministry of the Kosovo Security Force on Friday has made available for public discussion the draft law on the Kosovo Armed Forces. The public will have three weeks to offer concrete proposals about the content of the document which is entitled “Draft law on amending and completing laws related to the Kosovo Armed Forces”. Amendments are expected to be made to 45 laws that are in force. An attached document to the draft law notes that constitutional amendments prior to the legal amendments. “Respective constitutional amendments will be made before the draft law is endorsed,” the document notes. The paper further notes that Kosovo authorities do not have international support to establish the armed forces without making the constitutional amendments that depend on the votes of Serb MPs.

Kocijancic: It is not true that Mogherini left meeting with Haradinaj (Zeri)

European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic denied on Friday media reports according to which EU High Representative Federica Mogherini walked out of the meeting of the EU –Kosovo Stabilization/Association meeting. “The High Representative was there all the time,” Kocijancic told a Serbian news website in a written reply. Serbian media had reported that Mogherini walked out of the meeting after Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj called for US involvement in the Brussels-brokered talks between Pristina and Belgrade. Kocijancic also denied reports according to which a scheduled press conference was cancelled due to the tense situation. “The press conference was cancelled because of the agenda,” Kocijancic said.

Serwer: Trump should intervene urgently to save peace in Balkans (media)

Daniel Serwer, US analyst on South-East Europe, told Voice of America on Friday that the US administration must act quickly in order to maintain peace and stability in the Balkans. According to Serwer, Russia’s interference is one of the main reasons behind potential instability in the Balkans. He said he does not foresee another war in the Western Balkans but he did not rule out an outbreak of violence because of extremists in Albania, Macedonia and Serbia. “A new initiative is needed by the United States, especially on certain important issues, including constitutional reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the status of Kosovo and the issue of the name of Macedonia,” Serwer said. He also suggested that there should be a special envoy for the Western Balkans tasked with evaluating the progress and setbacks in the implementation of the peace agreements in Bosnia and Kosovo and to provide specific recommendations for the US policy on resolving the current stalemate in South-East Europe.

Vucic likes idea for Serbia to recognize Kosovo, but to remain in joint union (Telegrafi)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is interested in the proposal of Vladan Kutlesic, a professor of law in Belgrade, for a union between the independent states of Serbia and Kosovo but which would maintain mutual ties. “My proposal is for Serbia to recognize Kosovo as an independent state, but it would remain institutionally linked to Serbia. This would be a customs union, with a joint market and a single monetary policy,” Kutlesic told Belgrade-based Blic newspaper. The paper reported that Kutlesic’s proposal has drawn the interest of Serbian President Vucic as part of the internal dialogue in Serbia on Kosovo. “I am surprised with what he said. If we would have thought this way 10, 15 or 20 years ago, maybe things would have been different,” Vucic said. Kutlesic’s proposal foresees political and territorial autonomy for Serbs in the northern part of Kosovo, while Serbs in the south would get cultural, lingual and informational autonomy. According to the proposal, the property of the Serb Orthodox Church and Serb medieval sites would get functional autonomy and would be administered by the Serbian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Sites, or by an authority in Kosovo that would be funded by Serbia. Kutlesic also suggested that Kosovo should get a seat in the United Nations and that Belgrade would sign a binding agreement whereby Serbia and Kosovo would not vote against each other in international organizations.