Thaci: I was elected President in line with the Constitution (Klan Kosova)

Kosovo’s President-elect, Hashim Thaci told Klan Kosova on Friday that he was elected President in line with the Constitution. Thaci criticized the actions of opposition MPs at the Assembly during his election. “The Assembly worked in line with the Constitution. No one can impede the work of the Kosovo Assembly. The election was in accordance with the procedures,” he said. Thaci said his priorities as President will be internal political dialogue and the normal functioning of institutions. “I will also focus on economic development and on building a multiethnic Kosovo ... I will always be in the service of all political parties and I will respect the will of the people of Kosovo. I will focus on my unifying role ... The people of Kosovo want dialogue and not violence,” Thaci added.

Delawie: Attack on the Assembly is attack on Kosovo’s democracy (media)

Several media cover the statement by the U.S. Ambassador in Pristina, Greg Delawie, at the reception for Thomas Melia, the new USAID Assistant Administrator in Kosovo. Said Delawie: “My concern for the Assembly stems from one simple fact.  In its short history as an independent country, Kosovo has had exactly one national election whose results were interpreted both here and abroad as free and fair; those were the Assembly elections in 2014.  Is this a big deal?  Yes it’s a very big deal.  There are plenty of countries in the world that have been independent for decades that can’t say they have had even one fair election. Kosovo’s 2014 election was a watershed event; it produced an Assembly that is legitimate by any reasonable definition because it was created by the voters in a fair election.  And those 120 people that you elected to that Assembly have both the right and the obligation to complete the job you hired them to do. A sovereign, democratically-elected government—no matter the political party or coalition-- has the right and the responsibility to govern within the framework of its own laws and Constitution.  And when it does so, its actions are legitimate, since they stem from the will of the people as expressed during free and fair elections.  One can agree or disagree with the outcome, dance in the streets or yell that you want to “throw the bums out,” but neither reaction changes the democratic legitimacy of the Assembly. In Kosovo’s system of democratic government, most power comes from the Assembly; it appoints the governing coalition; it appoints the president; it chooses Constitutional Court judges; and of course it passes laws.  The Assembly is the practical expression of Kosovo’s democracy.  Therefore, an attack on the Assembly is effectively an attack on Kosovo’s democracy. Will I promise to support every action the Assembly takes?  No, I will not; I am sure I will disagree with some future decision the Assembly makes.  I certainly disagree with my own Congress often enough.  But I have thrown my lot in with the Assembly nevertheless, because it embodies Kosovo’s democracy, and therefore its future. And those of us in the international community, but far more importantly, the people of Kosovo, should not be prepared to let that democracy evaporate without a fight.  Because if there is anything worse than a democratic parliament that produces decisions you don’t like, it’s an anti-democratic one. Following last Friday’s activity in the Assembly, it seems to me there has come a break, or maybe even a vacuum.  People seem to be wondering what will happen next.  I encourage everyone here to try to fill that vacuum with a new commitment to refocus on what Kosovo’s people really need, especially regarding economics and rule of law, rather than politics.  Try to reach across the aisle to your opponents.  Propose new ways of working with each other.  Try to get out of confrontation mode, and into problem-solving mode. Governments and societies rarely get a chance to reset the narrative.  I think you have that chance now, and I hope you will seize it.  Because Kosovo’s challenges will not be solved until people like you begin to take active steps to solve them.”

Visa liberalization for Kosovo, not a priority for EU (Zeri)

The paper reports that according to representatives of Kosovo’s institutions, visa liberalization for Kosovo is not a priority for the European Union. EU Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, was supposed to visit Kosovo in February to get upclose information for the fulfilment of visa criteria requirements by Kosovo institutions, but the visit did not take place. Meanwhile, Kosovo’s Minister for European Integration, Bekim Collaku, told the paper that the visa liberalization process is in its final phase. Collaku also said he is confident there will be a positive assessment for the fulfilment of visa liberalization criteria.