UNMIK Headlines 19 January
Fund for the north unites Kosovo and Serbia (Koha Ditore)
Prime Minister of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi and Serbia’s Ivica Dacic have agreed to join Kosovo money with those of Serbia into a single fund for the north. The fund will initially be around 16 million euro and will be managed by EU officials while both the government of Serbia and of Kosovo will be informed on its management.
At the same time, representatives of the Kosovo Serbs will be entitled to present requests for investment priorities for the north. The paper says the creation of the fund will also mark the beginning of cooperation between Serbs in the north and the Government of Kosovo.
Sources said that the two prime ministers also agreed on a plan, during their last meeting in Brussels, on how to replace Serbia’s security structures in the north with local Serb structures that would cooperate with Kosovo institutions.
Furthermore, there was a lengthy discussion during the meeting, sources added, on what territory the fund should include with PM Thaçi insisting Vushtrri, Skenderaj and south Mitrovica should also benefit from inclusion into the fund.
Fund for the north, sealing of autonomy (Zëri)
The paper writes that if what the Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic is claiming that the taxes collected at the customs points in the north will go to a special fund used only for needs of the Serb population in the north is true, then the recent agreement reached in Brussels has legalized granting of autonomy to the north of Kosovo.
Opposition representatives believe that the creation of a special fund for the north exceeds competencies of the Kosovo authorities and legalise what they refer to as an extraterritoriality.
KIPRED: Agreement goes beyond Resolution 1244 (Koha Ditore)
Kosovo institute for policy research considers that the agreement enabling a part of customs fees to end in a fund dedicated to a certain part of Kosovo presents violation of the Constitution of Kosovo and the UN SC Resolution 1244. “Even with Resolution 1244 Kosovo is a single customs zone and the resolution also doesn’t permit different treatment of a part of Kosovo territory. So not only are we going beyond the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo but also Resolution 1244 according to which neither should the north enjoy different treatment nor should there be Serbia’s parallel security structures,” said Shpend Kursani from the institute.
Rompuy: Serbia to normalize relations with Kosovo (Zëri)
President of European Council Herman Van Rompuy after meeting Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic hailed the progress of the Serbian Government in the dialogue with Kosovo. “I believe Prime Minister Dacic will do everything in his power to get Serbia closer to the European Union and to normalize relations with Kosovo which is crucial for getting the date for talks,” he said.
Northerners resist (Express)
Representatives of Kosovo northern municipalities are expected to convene on Monday in Zvecan to discuss the recent Kosovo-Serbia agreement on customs. The meeting will be attended by illegal mayors of the northern municipalities as well as other politicians from the north. Meanwhile, Slavica Ristic from Zubin Potok said that Serbs will refuse to pay taxes to the state of Kosovo.
Serbia to boycott meeting because of Kosovo (Zëri)
The paper reports that Serbia’s officials have refused to take part in an international meeting of agriculture ministers set to take place in Berlin because of Kosovo. “Since Germany will treat the Kosovar delegation as of ‘the Republic of Kosovo’, we will not take part in the gathering,” said secretary of Serbia’s agriculture ministry, Danilo Golubovic.
EULEX afraid of Limaj’s lawyer (Epoka e Re)
The paper quotes a source from EULEX as saying that a prosecutor from the EU mission has filed a request with the Kosovo Chamber of Lawyers asking for a ban on Fatmir Limaj’s lawyer, Kharim Khan. The EULEX prosecutor alleges that Khan doesn’t possess the necessary license to practice law in Kosovo while Limaj’s other defence lawyer, Tomë Gashi, dismissed allegations saying that Khan has been registered as a lawyer with his office two years ago.