UNMIK Headlines 3 January
Breaks expected in the dialogue (Koha Ditore, Tribuna)
Except the meeting between prime ministers of Kosovo and Serbia, Thaçi and Dacic, in the first months of 2014 which is expected to give a solution to the issues of justice, there will be two other meetings of working groups responsible for the implementation of the agreement. Next week it will be discussed about the inauguration of municipal structures in the north and at the end of the month the talks will go towards the issue of telecom. Meanwhile, it has been announced that the dialogue will have few breaks during this year because of elections in the EU, Serbia, and Kosovo.
The end of EULEX (Tribuna)
Tribuna newspaper reports that EU in September will deploy another mission in Kosovo and it will not be called EULEX anymore. The main headquarters of this mission will be in the office of the EU Special Representative in Kosovo and it will be much smaller than the present EU rule of law mission, EULEX.
The mission which would also focus on rule of law in Kosovo and which will have executive competencies will change in appearance from EULEX but not much in the content.
In mid-January, Deputy Prime Minister, Hajredin Kuçi, who is at the same time Justice Minister, will be leading Kosovo delegation in Brussels for different talks with EU member states representatives. At the same time, it is expected that official talks between EU and Kosovo Government will take place on the restructuring of the mission. The meetings will lead discussions that member states are going to start on 20 January for the new mission in Kosovo. This mission, whose name has not been defined yet, will have executive competencies in the north of Kosovo and in other fields related to the implementation of the Brussels agreement.
Cliff: Kosovo is not ready to deal with war crimes (Koha Ditore)
EU rule of law mission is an important asset for Kosovo even though certain politicians don’t agree with this assessment, said British Ambassador to Kosovo, Ian Cliff in an interview. If the main problem for Kosovo in the path towards European integration is rule of law, the presence of European Union mission, according to Cliff, would be an advantage if it is handled correctly. “I think that EULEX is an important asset for Kosovo although some politicians don’t agree. This mission should continue to stay in Kosovo, because Kosovo institutions are not ready yet to deal with war crimes,” said Cliff.
He stressed in the interview that new mayors will be working with laws of Kosovo and this is a clear message that himself and the colleagues from Quint countries have made to the Serb mayors, especially the ones from north Mitrovica and Zubin Potok.
Hoxhaj: We don’t need imported Islam (Zëri)
Kosovo Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj in said in an interview for the paper that different religious currents that try to bring Islam into the public discourse and impose a different way of life could present a threat to the state of Kosovo. He said Kosovo is determined to follow the path to European integrations. “I think Kosovo has no need for either exporting or importing Islam,” he stressed.
Hoxhaj added that he expects 2014 will be the year when Kosovo will get a specific date as to when visa liberalization will happen. He said visa liberalization is no longer a technical issue but rather a human rights concern.
Lushtaku to be sworn in today (Zëri)
Skenderaj Mayor, Sami Lushtaku, currently in detention on war crimes charges, will today be sworn in for another term in office. The ceremony will take place behind closed doors and under increased security measures as the decision for temporary release stipulates there is to be no contact between Lushtaku with anyone, no press at the session of the municipal assembly and no gathered crowds outside the building.