Headlines - 07.02.2013 Jahjaga, Nikolic agree to continue dialogue (dailies) The first meeting between Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic took place yesterday in Brussels under the facilitation of EU High Representative for Security and Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton. According to Zëri, the north was the main topic of the meeting, which Ashton confirmed in a statement. “We are now tackling the issue of northern Kosovo and the coming weeks will be critical. Both President Nikolic and President Jahjaga have assured me of their continued support and commitment to the dialogue and their respective European agendas,” said Ashton. Jahjaga interviewed with RTK after the meeting and said it was constructive and they agreed to have other meetings in the future. She dismissed the north having been discussed in the meeting. “There is no issue of the north,” said Jahjaga and stressed that the north will never be discussed with the Serb side. According to Koha Ditore, meeting organizers made every effort to ensure that the public does not get a glimpse of the meeting, except for a picture released by the office of the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. Even the possibility of the two presidents being close to one another when addressing the media after the meeting was avoided; Jahjaga and Nikolic separately spoke with members of the press. The meeting seems to have followed the same format as that of Prime Ministers Thaçi and Dacic, but, this was more symbolic than content-focused; the meeting ended before its scheduled time. Similar to the PMs’ meeting, the presidents agreed to look towards a better future for their citizens and committed to resolve all issues through dialogue. Kacin: Meeting leads to normalization (Epoka e Re) The European Parliament’s rapporteur for Serbia, Jelko Kacin, welcomed the meeting between Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic. Kacin said it represents a step toward the normalization of relations between the two. “I believe high-level political dialogue between the prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo has been strengthened and a powerful impetus has been provided. Serbia and Kosovo have entered regional, economic and political cooperation, not because the EU requests this, but because it is in the interest of all citizens and the economy, especially for the Serb community in Kosovo,” Kacin said. Serbia to stop illegal activity in Kosovo (dailies) The Kosovo delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri, is staying in Brussels to take part in the technical dialogue with Serbia. Tahiri had a separate meeting with EU officials, discussing issues relating to telecom and energy. Tahiri asked the EU to step up its efforts to help reach an agreement on these two issues, which have been negotiated for two years now. “Deputy Prime Minister Tahiri noted on this occasion that the issue of energy in all countries should be based on the Athens Energy Community Treaty where Kosovo is a signatory party,” a press release issued by Tahiri’s office says. On the need for Kosovo to have its own international telephone code, Tahiri stressed that Kosovo is legally entitled to codes 383 or 384 since the International Telecommunication Union allocated eight codes for eight federal units of now former Yugoslavia.  Government prepares to reformat (Koha Ditore) The executive of Kosovo will soon undergo a reformatting process. According to sources on Wednesday, an assessment of members of the governing cabinet is currently in process; next week will determine which member of the executive will go home. The possibility of reformatting was confirmed by two ministers and an adviser of PM Hashim Thaçi.   Mustafa: I aim for PM post (dailies) Several dailies report that in an interview for Radio Free Europe, leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Isa Mustafa said his aim is to obtain the post of Kosovo Prime Minister. “The fact that I am LDK leader and a representative of the biggest opposition party demonstrates that it is my obligation to aim for the post of prime minister,” Mustafa said. “Whether I like this or not, it is my party’s obligation; my goal is for LDK to win the next elections. Therefore, LDK and I aim at to take over the government and run it in the next mandate.”  Haradinaj regrets not becoming PM (Zëri) Leader of Alliance for Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj expressed regret that his offer to take over the post of prime minister was turned down. “At the same time, we continue to work in our functions hoping that this possibility will be given by the citizens of the country when elections take place,” said Haradinaj. Would you recognize us? (Express) Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi personally requested that President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi recognize the independence of Kosovo during a meeting in Cairo. Thaçi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Enver Hoxhaj are participating at the 12^th session of the Summit of Islamic Organization Conference in Egypt.