Thaçi: Association is not a Republic (dailies)

In an interview for Radio Free Europe, Prime Minister of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi said ahead of another meeting with Prime Minister of Serbia Ivica Dacic that the association of Serb municipalities will have to be in full accordance to the Kosovo Constitution and Agreement of 19 April. “Any other interpretation for a different functioning will be unacceptable and unenforceable”, said Thaçi. He added that the association will be a consultative mechanism and its competencies will be neither bigger nor smaller than the competencies of the other association of municipalities in Kosovo. “It will be a consultative mechanism, optional and will not have executive or legislative character”, he stressed.

“Success of elections of 3 November and 1 December will definitely uproot Serbia’s influence in Kosovo. There will absolutely be no Serb republic, no autonomy and no attempts for territorial division of Kosovo”, said Thaçi further.

Dialogue for redefinition of association (Tribuna)

Prime Ministers, Hashim Thaçi and Ivica Dacic will discuss during their meeting in Brussels on Thursday, the power of the association of Serb municipalities. While Serbia calls the association a union and considers it a Serb government in Kosovo, Pristina considers it to be a NGO of municipalities with Serb majority. The Prime Minister of Kosovo, insists that competencies of the association will not be the ones of a special political entity or those of a republic, but the same as the current competencies of the municipalities in Kosovo. Dacic on the other hand pretends competencies in the fields of police and judiciary and requests establishment of the basic court in northern Mitrovica.

Blomeyer: Association should not create a Republika Srpska (Koha Ditore)

For Germany, Association of Serb Municipalities should not create an entity of the kind of Republika Srpska like in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was explicitly rejected by German Ambassador in Kosovo, Peter Blomeyer, in an interview for the newspaper. According to him, the new mayors from the Serb list must comply with Brussels agreement and behave in accordance with the Kosovo rule of law. If someone from them will not do this, according to Blomeyer, it remains to be seen what it needs to be done. “Association of Serb Municipalities should be an association with municipal tasks. It should not be a third level of power and it should not be created a Serb entity of the kind of Republika Srpska like in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is rejected explicitly,” said German Ambassador Blomeyer.

Association to bring about a “Republika Srpska” (Zëri)

Kosovo political analysts warn that the north is slipping into a new “Republika Srpska” before the very eyes of Kosovo leadership despite claims that such a thing will not be allowed to happen.

Azem Vllasi said Kosovo authorities are behaving as if nothing is happening in the north and if they continue with this approach, “municipalities with Serb majority, which already elected their new mayors who are actually candidates of Serbia, will constitute municipal leadership and immediately after the community of these municipalities”. He said that the agreement in Brussels only served to legitimize illegal structures in the north.

Two rounds of dialogue to ensure start of negotiations for Serbia (Koha Ditore)

Koha Ditore reports that as they have agreed in their last meeting, immediately after the end of the first round of local elections in Kosovo, today Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia with the facilitation of EU Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Catherine Ashton, will be meeting in another round of the dialogue. In the EU the next meeting of Prime Minster Thaçi and his Serb counterpart, Ivica Dacic, and as their next meeting in the coming week, is considered especially important, while after these meetings , Baroness Ashton will draft a report for member states before they decide for the formal start of negotiations of membership of Serbia.

Kosovo and Serbia working groups on security meet in Brussels (Koha Ditore)

Government of Kosovo did not wish to say whether an agreement was reached with the Serbian side on integration of Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) members into the Kosovo Police although the ninth meeting on the issue took place yesterday in Brussels.

“There was discussion in the meetings regarding modalities and timelines of integration process of individuals from the northern part of the country into the Kosovo Police”, said a statement issued by the Kosovo’s Interior Ministry. It went on to say that the process is being implemented in accordance to the KP legal framework and that it will be accelerated in the coming weeks.

Kosovo delegation was led by KP General Director Shpend Maxhuni and senior advisor to Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi, Fisnik Rexhepi. None of the officials were available for comment, the paper notes.

Italians to replace French (Tribuna)

Italy’s Foreign Minister, Emma Bonino, stated that the Government in Rome is ready to consider sending additional troops in Kosovo. Her statement was a response to the question of journalists if Italy could send additional troops to KFOR, since France has decided to withdraw the last 300 soldiers from Kosovo, giving opportunity to the military operations in Africa, reported RFI. Bonino stated that Rome has not received any specific request from NATO, however, it is ready to consider the issue.

Kosovo authorities to fight corruption within themselves (Koha Ditore)

Koha Ditore reports that over 100 amendments have been presented in the draft report for Kosovo, which has been drafted from reporteur of the Austrian Green party, Ulrike Lunacek, and which is going to be discussed on Thursday in a session of the Commission for Foreign Policy of European Parliament. Also in this draft resolution European Parliament encourages 5 EU countries that still did not recognized Kosovo to do so. The European Parliament remains only European Union institution that treats Kosovo as state. This EU institution calls on Kosovo authorities to fight corruption and organized crime.

The text of the draft report does not change much from previous reports and clearly expresses a big political support for Kosovo, much more than from European Commission or the Council, it also supports the advancing in the visa liberalization process and in the process of Stabilization Association Agreement SAA. It requests fast implementation of the parts of the agreement with Serbia to give to Kosovo international telephone prefix. Furthermore, it calls also for the integration of Kosovo in many regional and international initiatives, but it criticizes Kosovo for the lack of results in the fight against organized crime and corruption, where, it calls on Kosovo authorities, that among others to fight organized crime and corruption also” in their own lines”.

New elections in Skenderaj in the hands of EULEX judge (dailies)

Early elections in Skenderaj are depending in one person, Dariusz Sielicki, the head of judicial body in Drenica case, who has the authority to decide about the possible release of Sami Lushtaku from detention before 20 December. If he is not released by then, Skenderaj is expected to head to early elections. This is foreseen with the law for local governance, in which it specifies that the head of municipality should give its oath before municipal assembly within one month from the data of certification of results. The certification of results in Skenderaj has been done on 20 November. The first initial session is expected to be held on Friday. In the same day defense will be requesting the release of Lushtaku   and others from the detention, where they are being held for war crimes. The defense said that they will make this request because the Appeal Court has refused complaints against the continuation of detention for seven detainees, including Sylejman Selimi.