Headlines - 25.01.2013

Agreement, not treaty (Koha Ditore)

The paper quotes sources as saying that the proposed date for the meeting of Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic is 6 February but that Brussels is still waiting for confirmation from the two sides. Sources added that Jahjaga and Nikolic are expected to come out in public support for the dialogue between the prime ministers and express readiness for normalizing Kosovo-Serbia relations.

Jahjaga and Nikolic are also expected to continue their talks which will ultimately lead to what will become the final arrangement between Kosovo and Serbia but this will not be referred to as a treaty but rather an agreement. “It will not be called a treaty because of Serbia’s refusal but it will nevertheless be a final agreement for normalizing relations and it will not be much different,” said for the paper an unnamed European official in Pristina.

Fuele: Kosovo and Serbia cannot block each other (Zëri)

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fuele said he is pleased with the progress reached thus far in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia saying that the results of the process are already “tangible”.

In a press conference in Strasbourg, Fuele refused to comment on the statement of German ambassador to Serbia who said that the issue of Kosovo’s UN membership should be addressed during the dialogue in Brussels but he did say that the criteria for Serbia are clear if the country wishes to get closer to the EU. One of these criteria, he added, is normalization of relations with Kosovo. Fuele also said that it is more than obvious that Kosovo and Serbia will not be able to block one another on the road to European integration.

Assembly, unanimous over the level of corruption (Koha Ditore)

Kosovo Assembly has postponed the next session that was scheduled to put to vote the strategy and action plan against corruption covering the 2013-2017 period. The rescheduling of the session is said to have been done so as to be able to incorporate the remarks and proposals made by MPs in the last session though both the ruling parties and the opposition agreed that the highest level of corruption is with the highest state institutions but is also spread in other areas as well.

Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi said corruption cannot be fought only with documents if not accompanied with concrete actions. “We have the laws, the Constitution, penal codes and if these three most relevant institutions do not have the will to fight corruption, of course no matter how beautiful a strategy may be, it cannot fight this phenomenon,” said Krasniqi.

“Working dinner” saves ruling coalition (Koha Ditore)

Kosovo Prime Minister and PDK leader Hashim Thaçi met last night his coalition partner, AKR leader Behgjet Pacolli, to discuss the recent developments following KSF Minister Agim Çeku joining PDK. Thaçi and Pacolli are reported to have agreed to continue their coalition.

Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuçi who was present in the meeting said that the two leaders agreed to continue joint efforts for overcoming challenges and ruled out the possibility of the two discussing the AKR’s demand for another ministry now that Çeku is no longer part of its election coalition. “There was nothing concrete on this,” said Kuçi.

The “working dinner” was also attended by former head of SHIK and now PDK official, Kadri Veseli while Pacolli was accompanied by Trade Minister Mimoza Kusari-Lila and Minister for Diaspora, Ibrahim Makolli.

Haradinaj hails fund for the north (Epoka e Re)

“The establishment of the fund for the north is a positive development that will have an impact on the development of the northern part of Kosovo,” AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj said after meeting Gracanica mayor Bojan Stojanovic. “Through dialogue for normalizing relations with Serbia, we are also working on improving the lives of Serbs in Kosovo. It is true that in the last ten years, our investments in the north did not go as we planned. We welcome the establishment of this fund and we hope it will have an impact on the development of the north. It is important for meetings between Kosovo and Serbia officials to continue,” Haradinaj said. He also welcomed reports about an upcoming meeting between Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic. The paper notes that during his meeting with Stojanovic, Haradinaj spoke in fluent Serbian.

Serwer: Those who desecrate cemeteries are not patriots (Express)

American analyst Daniel Serwer stated that Albanians in Kosovo should respect Serb cemeteries and they should not touch them and appealed to authorities in Pristina to arrest and punish those who attack Serbs in Kosovo and destroy their properties. In his blog Peacefare.net, in a text entitled “How would a patriot act,” Serwer said that those who lack patriotism stand behind the attacks of Serbs. “Somebody in Kosovo thinks that the real answer is in violence against Serbs and their property. This is not only stupidity, but also counterproductive, because somebody will use this as a proof that Albanians are not civilized and do not belong to Europe,” wrote Serwer.

Serbs turn back EULEX escort in Rudare (Koha Ditore)

Thursday was the day when Kosovo police and customs officers would not use any more a helicopter but they would travel by vehicles to the border points G31 in Bërnjak of Zubin Potok and G1 in Jarinjë, Leposavic. This was précised in the agreement reached between the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi and that of Serbia, Ivica Dacic. However the agreement was not respected on Thursday at about 14:00 hours, when EULEX escort which was carrying three Kosovo police officers and two customs officers to the border point G1 was turned back by Serbs in village of Rudare. Representatives of Serbs in the north stated that they would not implement the agreements reached in Brussels, no matter who signed them.

Government postpones PTK privatization for March (Koha)

The Kosovo Government’s Committee on Privatization decided on Thursday to postpone the deadline for receiving bids for the privatization of the Post and Telecom of Kosovo (PTK) to 14 March. The paper notes that the government has thus violated the promise it made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) saying that it would announce a winning bidder in January.

The government committee said the main reason for postponing the deadline is directly linked to a request coming from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Financial Corporation. Both investment institutions, according to Economic Development Minister Besim Beqaj, called for an extended deadline in order to receive as clear biddings as possible.