Police and courts, main obstacles of the agreement (Koha Ditore)

Two days after the eighth round of talks between Kosovo and Serbia which did not result in an agreement for the north and the normalization of relations between two parties, in Brussels and few other European countries there is still hope that Serbia will send a positive message that it is ready to accept the last version of a set of proposals from the dialogue process.

Although the EU does not want publicly to reveal which side accepted and which one refused the proposal of the agreement, diplomats in private conversations have admitted that it was the Serb side that refused the compromise after lengthy talks inBrussels, last Tuesday. They do not agree with pathetic statements which are heard inBelgradethat allegedly “everyone is on the side of Pristina”.

“EU is neither on the side of Pristina nor ofBelgrade, EU only facilitates the parties to achieve an agreement. However, it should be admitted that Pristina was more ready for compromises thanBelgrade. It is also not easy for Prime Minister Thaçi to agree with proposals in the table”, said a European diplomat.

Even though they do not give any details about that what the proposal refused by Belgradecontains, EU diplomats claim that the main problem is the issue of police and courts in the north of Kosovo. According to these sources, Serbiarequests competencies for police and the courts that would give them distinct ethnic character. “It is clear that the heads of police and the judges in the north will be Serbs. This is also clear to Pristina, but the entire police and judiciary system should be part of a unique architecture of Kosovo. This has been said clearly also in the conclusions of the EU Council of Ministers in December and neither side should be surprised”, said for Koha Ditore a diplomat of an EU country.

Ashton does not aim achievement of final agreement on 9 April (Koha Ditore)

Koha Ditore reports that next Tuesday will not mark the end of the dialogue between Kosovo andSerbia even ifSerbia accepts the proposed solution from Baroness Catherine Ashton on three topics: association of municipalities with Serb majority, justice and the police.

Deputy Prime Minister, Hajredin Kuçi, who is participating in this dialogue, told Koha Ditore that a later phase sill see efforts to reach agreement for normalization of relations between two countries to which will be annexed all previous agreements. However, to be able to work on the draft of this final agreement it is necessary thatSerbia says yes to the three above mentioned topics. “On the day of the dialogue we have talked only about the association of municipalities with Serb majority, the police and justice. The proposals were presented by Lady Ashton. We gave our opinion and we are ready to take positive decision about this,” said Kuçi and added, “We are now at the point of continuing or ending the dialogue.”

 Agreement on 9 April (Lajm)

Diplomatic sources told Lajm that the British Foreign Minister William Hague and the US Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon this weekend are expected to visit Belgrade and Pristina. Lajm learned that this would be a courtesy visit because the parties have given their consent for an agreement since 2 April. A confirmation of this can be the statement ofSlovakia’s Foreign Minister, Miroslav Lajcak, who said that EU has not distanced itself from the dialogue and added that he expects much more intensive activities, mostly behind the scenes.

The agreement, Bosnianization of Kosovo  (Epoka e Re)

Deputy Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, from Vetëvendosje Movement, Glauk Konjufca, assessed that Kosovo could be lead towards Bosnianization and autonomy for the north, if the agreement for creation of the association of municipalities with Serb majority, is signed in Brussels. “I think that the way for towards this is opening. It is not exactly like inBosnia, however it is a way that leads towards Bosnianization of Kosovo,” said Konjufca. “We should not accept forSerbiato be co-decision maker for a part of our territory,” he added.

Asked by this daily on what will the reaction of Vetëvendosje be in case that the agreement is signed, Konjufca said that the reaction will be civilized and democratic. “We will not agree with decisions that violate the Constitution, are against the will of the people and are in contradiction with state interests. We will work with citizens to mobilize in different ways, starting from gatherings to demonstrations, in order to prevent the implementation of the achievements in this dialogue, which are harmful,” said Konjufca.  

Vetëvendosje’s motion to dismiss Rexhepi fails (dailies)

The motion presented by Vetëvendosje Movement at the Assembly to dismiss Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi because of the numerous misuses reported in his department did not receive the necessary votes. The motion received 34 votes in favour, 51 against and 3 abstentions.

Interior Ministry goes “offline” (Zëri)

The paper reports on the front page that the Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi has ordered most of the units in his ministry be disconnected from internet connection citing security concerns. However, officials at the ministry said the “electronic blackout” is rather intended to disable flow of information to the media.

Director of the anti-corruption NGO Çohu, Avni Zogiani, said the move presents Rexhepi’s attempt to block all roads to information. “He will be trying to close every hole to cover up for the mess he has caused in the ministry”, said Zogiani.

Germans will supply Kosovo with passports (Koha Ditore)

German company “Giesecke&Devrient GmbH” will by supplying Kosovo with electronic passports in the next three years. For this service, the company will receive 6 million and 631 thousand euros. The decision became powerful by the Procurement Consulting Body, after considering the complaint of the other biding company, “Cetis” fromSlovenia. “The Consulting Panel has decided to reject the claims of company “Cetis” and to leave in power the decision of the Ministry for Internal Affairs,” said Hysni Hoxha, head of this Panel.