UNMIK Headlines 15 April
No more deadlines for Belgrade (Koha Ditore)
Diplomatic sources in Brussels said that it is possible for Baroness Catherine Ashton to visit Belgrade this week. If she manages to hear specific proposals for Serbia’s requests to accept the agreement, then she will travel to Pristina to Kosovo’s side on Serbia’s proposals.
Then on 22 April, Ashton will report to EU foreign ministers about the fate of the dialogue. At the European Commission headquarters, officials confirmed that the spring draft report for Kosovo and Serbia is finished, which will be approved on Tuesday. Now, according to the same sources, small changes can only be made that have to do with the dialogue between the “two parties”. Regarding the fulfillment of short term conditions for Kosovo and Serbia, the European Commission sees the report as mainly positive and opens the path for both parties to move forward, if the agreement is achieved for northern Kosovo.
Thaçi: Talks only through Brussels (dailies)
Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi hopes Serbia will accept the agreement as it stands because Kosovo cannot negotiate further. “Everything now depends on the engagement, commitment, and leadership of Baroness Ashton. The address to any question is in Brussels, namely Baroness Ashton,” said Thaçi. “There will be no other negotiations, no other address and no direct dialogue,” he added.
Thaçi made it clear to Serbia that there will never be direct talks between Pristina and Belgrade in response to the statement of Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic that the parties could continue dialoguing without the facilitation of the EU as “Kosovo’s problem is a problem of Belgrade and Pristina”.
Haradinaj: Too soon for direct dialogue with Serbia (Epoka e Re)
Leader of Alliance for Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj said that EU High Representative Catherine Ashton is the one who should declare the conclusion of the dialogue on the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. “It is regrettable [an agreement] did not come about,” said Haradinaj, adding that it is too soon to speak about the idea of a direct dialogue as many possibilities have been exhausted in the dialogue in Brussels.
PDK thinking about early elections (Tribuna)
The eventual failure of the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia on the north and pressure from opposition parties forced the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) to look into the possibility of early parliamentary elections this year. Senior PDK officials have reportedly discussed the idea these days and believe that in case an agreement is not reached in Brussels the country should go to early elections.
A senior PDK official told the paper that Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi’s political party would capitalize on Serbia’s eventual rejection of the agreement and would go to elections as the party that did not accept concessions on northern Kosovo.
“The failure to reach an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels this month is a powerful weapon for our party,” the same official added. “The failure of the dialogue would be used as a victory for the PDK, and we would use this momentum.”
Rama: Kosovo key strategic partner of foreign policy in region (Koha Ditore)
The Leader of the main opposition party in Albania, the Socialist Party, Edi Rama, said in Pristina that if his party wins the upcoming elections scheduled for June, Kosovo would gain the status of the main strategic ally of Albania in the region. “We will work from the first day of our governance alongside Kosovo’s authorities to sign a treaty of friendship, cooperation, good neighbours, and security because we hold this treaty as a necessary in the diplomatic front, necessary on the national front, and in the strategic front for Albanians in the region,” Rama said.
Vetëvendosje in front of Thaçi’s apartment: “Here lives a thief” (dailies)
Vetëvendosje activists on Sunday placed a placard with the inscription “Here lives a thief” in front of Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi’s apartment. This took place in the presence of police, who were at the property. Initially, police tried to stop the act, and then withdrew.