UNMIK Headlines 4 February
Extraordinary session for Thaci’s election (Koha Ditore)
The front page story of the paper reports that the presidential election date has not been set yet, however legal issues related to the flow of the session are being studied by the Legal Office of the Assembly and jurists of the governing coalition parties. Sources of the paper, close to the leadership of the governing parties, said the spring assembly session will open with the presidential election session. According to the source, the election is planned to commence during an extraordinary session. “It will be an extraordinary session. This is nothing new because all post-war presidents have been elected in extraordinary sessions,” said the source.
Based on the Regulation of the Assembly, the presidency can call for an extraordinary meeting, to discuss an urgent issue. These meetings can also be called by the President, Prime Minister or one or more groups that represent at least one third of the deputies (40 deputies). According to Regulation, the request has to specify the issue to be addressed and justification of its urgent nature, reports the paper.
European Parliament discusses developments in Kosovo (dailies)
The European Parliament (EP) discussed a draft resolution on Kosovo’s European integration yesterday which calls on five EU member states to recognise Kosovo and thus contribute to stability in the region and the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. The draft resolution refers to the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue and urges institutions of Kosovo to implement all agreements reached in Brussels. The document also mentions the missing persons stressing that it is deeply concerned with delays in determining their fate. The EP’s rapporteur for Kosovo Ulrike Lunacek said Kosovo has made progress in many fields but that this is not enough. “Last week we appealed for an end to violent protests and violence in the Kosovo Assembly. We also urged President Jahjaga to invite the parties to take part in a dialogue towards resolving the crisis,” Lunacek said before MEPs. The EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Johannes Hahn said that until now, Kosovo has made progress and has met the criteria set by the EU, but still insufficient to obtain visa liberalization. “Eight criteria must still be met. Kosovo is working hard to fulfill the criteria, and I hope it will reach the goal. However, more work needs to be done for visa liberalization,” Hahn said. He also urged Kosovo authorities to deal more seriously with the fight against organized crime and corruption and to increase the capacity of the judiciary and its independence. MEP’s are scheduled to vote on the draft resolution today.
Opposition urges Jahjaga to announce new elections (Zeri)
The three opposition parties – Vetevendosje Movement, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) - sent a letter to President Atifete Jahjaga urging her to announce early elections in Kosovo. Bilall Sherifi, MP from NISMA, confirmed that opposition sent the letter. "The united opposition sent a letter to President through which we call the President to take the necessary steps to announce early elections. This is because the Constitutional Court has confirmed a violation in the agreement on Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. Therefore, elections are the only solution,” Sherifi said.
“Germia Hill” two-day conference comes to an end (Koha Ditore)
The international annual “Germia Hill” conference, hosted by the Kosovo’s Foreign Ministry in Pristina, came to an end yesterday and focused on the security of South East Europe. Interior Minister Skender Hyseni said that it is true many people from Kosovo have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq but added that the government of Kosovo has managed to control the spread of extremism. “We are perhaps one of the very few countries to have identified each and every person that has gone to fight in Syria,” said Hyseni. The paper highlights the fact that President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga did not attend the conference although she was scheduled to do the closing speech yesterday. Jahjaga’s advisor, Adrian Prenkaj, told the paper that the President could not take part in the conference due to her agenda.
Collaku: Demarcation not an obstacle for visa liberalization (Epoka e Re)
Kosovo’s Minister for European Integration, Bekim Collaku, told the paper on Wednesday that Kosovo has made progress in the implementation of the recent recommendations for visa liberalization. He said the work will be positively assessed for Kosovo to attain visa liberalization as soon as possible. He added that the issue of the demarcation with Montenegro will not become an obstacle for visa liberalization. He announced that the European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos will travel to Kosovo to see the fulfillment of the eight criteria for himself.
Haradinaj: President of Kosovo to be elected by the people (Koha Ditore)
The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj said in a meeting with his supporters in Lipjan that the president of Kosovo should be elected by the people and not MPs from the ruling parties. Haradinaj called on the citizens of Lipjan to take part in the upcoming opposition protest in Pristina.
Vetevendosje against energy agreement with Serbia (Epoka e Re)
The leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, Visar Ymeri spoke on Wednesday to the workers, trade union and engineers of the energy section in Kosovo. He said that Kosovo’s agreements with Serbia are harmful. According to him, through these processes, Serbia has consolidated and formalized all its illegal interferences in Kosovo, starting from those of the police, healthcare, education, energy and telecommunication.