Headlines - 30.05.2016

Thaçi: EU to mediate dialogue with Bosnia and Herzegovina (Zeri)

Kosovo’s President, Hashim Thaçi, said during the Brdo-Brioni leaders’ summit on Sunday that Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina should initiate a dialogue to improve mutual relations. “Today, Kosovo citizens travel easier and more freely to Serbia than to Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Thaçi said. He urged the European Union to mediate a dialogue between Pristina and Sarajevo. Thaçi also said that reconciliation, trust, cooperation and integration are the future of the Western Balkans. The Brdo-Brioni summit aims to strengthen regional cooperation and promote political dialogue in the Balkan region and the EU.

Opposition won’t participate in drafting Association/Community’s statute (Zeri)

The paper reports that opposition parties are categorically against the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, and said they will oppose it in any way. Vetëvendosje spokesperson Frashër Krasniqi, while commenting on President Hashim Thaçi’s statements for the formation of a commission to draft the statute of the Association/Community, said there is no meaning to establish any committee since there is no need at all for any Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) also said they will not be part of “any process that damages the integrity and sovereignty of Kosovo”.

Bahtiri: Ibar Bridge to open in June, people should not protest (Bota Sot)

The mayor of Mitrovica South, Agim Bahtiri, said on Sunday that the bridge over the Ibër/Ibar River will be open in June and called on people not to protest against it. Commenting on the announcement of a newly-established civic initiative in Mitrovica that they will protest against opening of this bridge, Bahtiri said such protests are harmful for the implementation of the Brussels agreements. “I call on all citizens not to participate in this protest because this undermines the process of revitalization and opening of the bridge over the Ibër/Ibar River. Protests, which unfortunately have often escalated in Mitrovica, cannot bring anything good. Only through dialogue and implementation of agreements, we can have free movement,” Bahtiri said.  He said he has no information who are the organisers of the protest, but said that these people may be affected by certain circles to create instability in Mitrovica.

Pajaziti highlights importance of population census in the north (Epoka e Re)

In an interview for the paper, the chairman of the Kosovo Assembly’s commission on public administration, governance and media, Zenun Pajaziti, highlighted the importance of the population and household census taking place in the northern municipalities of Kosovo. He said the process needs to be carried out this year as crucial for further planning of municipalities’ development. Pajaziti said his proposal last week at the Assembly to amend the current law on census in order to enable the census taking place in the north was misinterpreted by certain MPs and the media and presented as if it promotes partition of Kosovo. “The law is like any other but with a different mandate, covering a different period. Our institutions, the Agency of Statistics, will carry out this process,” said Pajaziti.

UNMIK’s budget affected but not its mandate (media)

Several media have picked up a story originally published by Gazeta Tribuna on UNMIK. The news site reported that the UN mission in Kosovo is expected to have USD 3.5 million less in this year’s budget that will reflect on 20 staff members less but the final decision will be taken next month at the meeting of the United Nations 5th Committee in June. UNMIK spokesperson Jan Malekzade is quoted as saying: “The new budget cycle provides the opportunity to better calibrate and focus the work of UNMIK. As you know UNMIK had undergone significant decreases in 2008 and will continue to operate on a similar level of staff and budget”. Asked about the mission’s mandate, Malekzade said: “as to your request about the position of the United Nations, we want to inform you that the Security Council decides on UNMIK and has not foreseen any changes to its mandate”.

Head of border demarcation commission Meha to report to MPs (Kosova Sot)

The head of Kosovo government’s commission for border demarcation with Montenegro, Murat Meha, will speak to the members of the Kosovo Assembly’s commission for European integration on Tuesday. The deputy chairman of the Assembly’s commission, Xhavit Haliti, requested last week for Meha to report on the demarcation process before it was put to the MPs for vote.

Slim chances of Kosovo becoming Interpol member (Kosovapress)

Although Kosovo officials are lobbying for Kosovo to become member of the largest international police organisation, Interpol, rule of law experts claim the chances of this happening are slim. Burim Ramadani, security expert, claims that Kosovo should not only lobby more intensively with the US and EU countries but should also reach an agreement with UNMIK for invalidating the current memorandum according to which UNMIK handles all Interpol-related cases on Kosovo’s behalf.

Germany, Austria don’t trust Kosovo documents (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is waiting for a confirmation to become the 110th member of the Apostille Convention. Apostille is a standardized certificate which when placed on a document by the competent authority of a state makes it valid for other countries that are signatories of the convention. However, even some countries that have recognized Kosovo’s independence have expressed opposition and have distanced themselves from bilateral implications deriving from the convention. Germany, Austria and Poland have excluded themselves from the mutual obligations if Kosovo is accepted, saying that documents issued by Kosovo’s authorities are not safe.

“Limak” is expected to become part of the Brezovica project (Koha)

In one of its front-page stories, the paper reports that by Tuesday the French consortium “MDP Consulting – Compagnie des Alpes” needs to secure €163 million for the first phase of investments in the Brezovica resort. Citing unnamed sources, the paper says that the French consortium can even sign agreements with other powerful companies in order to avoid failure. According to these sources, the consortium is already holding negotiations with the Turkish company “Limak”. “Limak is expected to join the consortium,” the source said, adding that USAID representatives travelled to Turkey recently in an attempt to finalize the agreement.