Headlines - 13.01.2016

PDK nominates Kadri Veseli for its leader (Koha/Gazeta Blic)

The chairmanship of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), the biggest political party in Kosovo, held a very long meeting on Tuesday resulting in a range of decisions for the political situation and on developments during the next days and months. Pristina-based TV station KTV learned from its sources that the most important decision pertains to the successor of party leader Hashim Thaci. According to KTV, Kadri Veseli was unanimously pre-nominated to be the new leader of the party, after Thaci becomes President of Kosovo. There were also discussions on who would take Thaci’s position at the Foreign Ministry in order to balance power with the Democratic League of Kosovo. After the meeting of the wider leadership of this party, the most senior leaders continued with further consultations. Gazeta Blic on the other hand quotes sources from this meeting as saying that the Serbian List is conditioning its voting for Hashim Thaci to become President with the establishment of the Association/Community for Serb-majority municipalities. The source added that if the Serbian List is not convinced, then Thaci might not present his candidature and a consensual President will be nominated.

Thaci: Power is gained through votes, not ISIS calls (RTK)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Hashim Thaci, told RTK on Tuesday that political parties in Kosovo should resort to dialogue. “It is time for political dialogue. Riots and burning of institutions should not be justified under any circumstances,” he said. Thaci argued that there is no reason for early elections. “I believe President Jahjaga has made concrete steps to establish an international commission on border demarcation, which will include local experts. It would be good to have experts from the opposition as well. We must learn to respect the constitutional and legal mandates, to respect the vote of the citizens and to understand that power is gained through votes, not through ISIS calls or ISIS flags. I believe this undermines our state,” Thaci said.

Tahiri: Border demarcation with Serbia, part of this year’s dialogue (Epoka)

Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, told Pristina-based news site Kallxo that the date of meetings between the Kosovo and Serbian delegations in Brussels has yet to be determined. Tahiri said a high ranking EU delegation, led by Angelina Eichhorst, representative of EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini, will visit Belgrade this week. “The issue that we want to discuss during this period is demarcation of the border between the two states,” Tahiri said. She added that the other issues that are expected to be raised during 2016 are dismantling of all Serbia’s parallel structures in Kosovo and the formation of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. “Prior to drafting the statute for the Association, the working groups will start to work on the dissolution of Serbia’s parallel structures,” Tahiri said.

“Kosovo has met all criteria for visa liberalization” (Zeri)

Kosovo’s European Integration Minister, Bekim Collaku, told the paper on Tuesday that by the end of this week the Kosovo government will present a report on actions taken to complete the remaining visa liberalization recommendations. Collaku said the report will include actions taken in the area of justice and the fight against corruption and organized crime. “These actions include strengthening the capacities of the Serious Crimes Department of the Basic Court of Pristina and increasing the number of judges. Also, a special prosecutor was appointed as the coordinator for the investigation of high-level corruption cases,” Collaku said. “We have encouraging results for all the recommendations and I believe the European Commission will soon recommend visa liberalization for Kosovo.”

Haradinaj: This government has to go (Epoka)

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, told Botapress on Tuesday that the situation in Kosovo is not good due to the government’s wrong decisions, especially on the Association and demarcation. According to him these agreements are dangerous for Kosovo and in contradiction with the Constitution of Kosovo. “We have given as an option to Mustafa’s government to leave, in order to return the sovereignty of the country, Kosovo’s borders, and economic development and also in order to stop corruption, and for Kosovo to have its own army. So, to have a normal state,” Haradinaj said.

Father Sava: Association/Community should not be an NGO (Koha)

The paper quotes Father Sava Janjic from the Decani Monastery as saying that the Association/Community of the Serb-majority municipalities is crucial for the future of Serbs in Kosovo. Janjic wrote on his Twitter account that the Association/Community was not thought to be a non-governmental organization, “because Serbs need real self-governance in their regions”.

Thaci, Abrashi employed the son of Prime Minister’s advisor (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that, the son of Vlora Dumoshi, advisor and Chief of Staff of Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, was employed in December by the Ministry of Labour and was immediately transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Officials at the Ministry of Labour told the paper that Dumoshi’s son was employed based on his own merit and that no one in the interview panel was aware that he is Dumoshi’s son. Unnamed sources told the paper that Dumoshi’s son will soon be transferred to the Kosovo Embassy in Washington.