Headlines - 21.04.2016

EU: Pristina-Belgrade talks on ID cards to continue (dailies)

The Office of the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini issued a press release following the conclusion of the meeting of Pristina and Belgrade delegations in Brussels saying that the parties are expected to continue the EU-facilitated dialogue on the issue of ID cards issued by Serb illegal structures in the north of Kosovo.  The EU confirmed that the parties reached agreement on the unhindered passage of dangerous goods requiring ADR certificates and also confirmed “their clear understanding of the arrangements for official visits and that they will implement it fully.”

Tahiri: Djuric apologized (Zeri)

Kosovo’s Minister without portfolio, Edita Tahiri, said on Wednesday that director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Marko Djuric, during the meeting in Brussels has apologized for entering Kosovo territory illegally.  According to her, the measure of prohibition to visit Kosovo for Djuric was removed since he had apologized. “Because we had violations by Serbian officials, including Djuric’s illegal entry to Kosovo, then after he apologized the EU requested both countries to reconfirm our commitment to continue implementation of the agreements on normalizing relations. Likewise, the EU will come up with a concept document by which will establish standards for the political vocabulary on normalization process,” Tahiri said.

Opposition calls for annulment of agreement on illegal documents (Koha)

Opposition parties in Kosovo issued separate reactions on Wednesday calling on the Kosovo government to urgently annul an agreement reached early Wednesday morning in Brussels which obliges Kosovo’s authorities to temporarily recognize personal documents issued by Serbia’s illegal structures. The Vetevendosje Movement said it was concerned with the lack of transparency over the talks in Brussels and argued that the government led by Prime Minister Isa Mustafa lacks the legitimacy to discuss or reach agreements on Kosovo’s behalf. The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) said the agreement reached in Brussels constitutes “another letdown in the face of Serbia’s increasing demands in the Brussels talks”. “Recognizing these illegal documents constitutes a security problem too and it is a totally wrong concept for the integration of the Serb community in Kosovo’s institutions … The [Kosovo] government must urgently annul the agreement that legitimizes illegal documents issued by Serbian parallel structures in Kosovo,” the AAK said. The Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) said in its reaction that the government is ridiculing the people and humiliating the state.

Haradinaj: Coalition with NISMA will strengthen the opposition (Epoka e Re)

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj, said in an interview for the paper that the cooperation with the Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) will strengthen the role of the opposition in Kosovo and not harm it as has been suggested by certain Vetevendosje officials. “We remain open for partnership with all those who support opposition stances,” said Haradinaj adding that the AAK has substantial differences with Vetevendosje on how to run Kosovo. “If they are ready however we could renegotiate them,” he stressed.

Grabovci: Parliamentary elections, in 2018 (Zeri)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group chief, Adem Grabovci, told the paper that there will be no parliamentary elections in Kosovo prior to 2018. “Parliamentary elections cannot be held whenever someone asks for elections.  I believe that even if we had elections now, opposition would want another set of elections immediately after,” Grabovci said. He also has urged opposition parties to return to Parliament and in this form to fulfill the obligations they have received from the citizens.

No visa liberalization for Kosovo yet (Koha)

Visa liberalization remains one of the main topics in Kosovo, however, the latter is not mentioned a lot during visa liberalization discussions in Brussels these days, the paper reports on its front page. Asked about visa liberalization for Kosovo, EU officials in Brussels told the paper that they are “still waiting” and they did not want to comment on statements by Kosovo government officials that “Kosovo has met all the visa liberalization criteria”. EU officials acknowledge that the “visa liberalization process for Kosovo is in its final stage” and “the government has done a good job in meeting the criteria”, but they did not confirm if Kosovo has really met all the required criteria.

Mustafa: We expect recommendation for visa liberalization (RTK)

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, through a Facebook post on Wednesday said Kosovo has met all the criteria related to the visa liberalization process. According to him, now it is up to the EU to set the date of the recommendation for visa liberalization for Kosovo.  “Now, we expect the EU institutions to take the decision to recommend visa liberalization for our country. We are working together with the EU institutions, therefore we believe that liberalization will happen soon,” Mustafa said.

Collaku: Kosovo fulfilled all remaining criteria for visa liberalization (Zeri)

Kosovo’s European Integration Minister, Bekim Collaku, told the paper that the European Commission fact-finding mission now has concluded that Kosovo has fulfilled also the eight remaining criteria in the process of visa liberalization. According to him, in the technical aspect, Kosovo is now ready for visa liberalization. Collaku said EU officials recommended preparing citizens for the management of post-visa liberalization process. “In this field, the EU member states require to strictly monitor the process and prevent the misuse of freedom of movement without visas,” Collaku said.

Government approves draft law against terror funding (Bota Sot)

The Government of Kosovo in its meeting yesterday approved a draft law against money laundering and terror funding. Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said such a piece of legislation is very important for Kosovo in combating crime, corruption and funding of terrorism.

The return of Serbs, a sign of normality (Koha)

“The return of Serbs in the urban areas of Prizren and their reintegration is a sign of normality,” British Ambassador to Kosovo, Ruairi O’Connell, said during a visit to Serb returnees in the old part of the city of Prizren on Wednesday. The paper notes that Serbs are returning to their properties in Prizren as part of projects supported by the British government. “When we talk about the process of returns, it is important not only for people to return to their homes but to also have access to normal lives. This is why we need to take the returns process to the end,” O’Connell was quoted as saying. He also said the British government was the main donor for urban returns in Prizren allocating €1.5 million in support of the return of 38 Serb families.