Headlines - 29.06.2017

• Vetevendosje insists starting negotiations for new government (Koha)
• Krasniqi: No dilemma, PAN will form new government (Zeri)
• Count and Result Centre concludes count of conditional ballots (Koha)
• NATO chief: No Kosovo Army without consent of minorities (Zeri)
• “Hot” summer with the Special Court (Zeri)
• Pejovic: Demarcation, an internal political issue of Kosovo (Zeri)
• Hoxhaj reacts to Vulin’s nomination (media)
• Serbs celebrate St. Vitus day in Gazimestan and Gracanica (media)
• UNDP, USAID publish report on prevention of violent extremism (media)

Vetevendosje insists starting negotiations for new government (Koha)

The Vetevendosje Movement is insisting to start consultations with the coalition led by the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) to create a majority in Parliament, the paper reports on its front page. LDK meanwhile is still not accepting a meeting with Vetevendosje saying that they are waiting for the PAN coalition to fail in their attempt to form a new government. As winners of the 11 June parliamentary elections, the PAN coalition has the right to nominate the Assembly President and one attempt to form a new government. Vetevendosje senior official Albulena Haxhiu told the paper on Wednesday: “we are waiting for the meeting [with LDK] to happen after the certification of election results, even though we believe that this meeting should have been held soon after the elections because we knew approximately what were the results of coalitions … First party leaders must meet and then groups or teams will be formed to approximate the government program”.

Krasniqi: No dilemma, PAN will form new government (Zeri)

Memli Krasniqi, deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), said in an interview to the paper that there is no dilemma that the PAN coalition will form a new government. “Kosovo will soon have its new government after the certification of election results and the forming of the Assembly. We don’t expect any delays in this respect … The new government will be supported by MPs that are ready to join our vision and the people’s will for a strong leadership that gets the job done and makes important decisions for the country,” he said. Asked if the PAN coalition will give the post of Assembly President to the Serbian List, Krasniqi said: “it is very clear that the post of Assembly President belongs to the winning coalition, namely to the Democratic Party of Kosovo”.

Count and Result Centre concludes count of conditional ballots (Koha)

The Count and Result Centre has finished counting the conditional ballots and the Central Election Commission is expected to announce the final election results on Thursday. Following the announcement, the political parties have a 24-hour deadline to submit eventual complaints. Citing unnamed sources, the paper reports that the count of conditional ballots has resulted in some changes for MP candidates from the PAN coalition. From a total of 39 seats that this coalition has won, PDK will have 23, AAK will have 10 and Nisma 6. The Vetevendosje Movement has won another seat in Parliament and it now has a total of 32. The LDK-AKR-Alternative coalition have 29 seats. As per votes for leaders, Vetevendosje’s Albin Kurti is ranked first with 136,625 votes, PDK’s Kadri Veseli has 125,866, LDK’s Avdullah Hoti 112,882 votes.

NATO chief: No Kosovo Army without consent of minorities (Zeri)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that without meeting certain conditions and without the consent of minority communities, the Kosovo Security Force cannot transform into the Kosovo Army. Stoltenberg told Belgrade-based Blic daily that the transformation process needs to be made through a parliamentary process and in line with the Constitution of Kosovo.

“Hot” summer with the Special Court (Zeri)

The paper quotes Ekaterina Trendafilova, chairperson of the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo, as saying that when the Regulation of Procedures and Evidence enters into force in a week, there will be no more legal obstacles to file the first indictments. According to the paper, the special court is expected to cause a political “earthquake” in Kosovo’s political landscape.

Pejovic: Demarcation, an internal political issue of Kosovo (Zeri)

Montenegro’s Minister for European Integration, Aleksandar Andrija Pejovic, told the paper that Montenegro has no problems with the border demarcation agreement with Kosovo. Asked to comment on Ramush Haradinaj’s statement that the agreement will not be adopted in its current version, Pejovic said: “I know but I cannot comment on this issue because this is an internal political issue of Kosovo … I can say that relations between the two countries are good. We have signed a series of agreements and we have started cooperation in practice”.

Hoxhaj reacts to Vulin’s nomination (media)

Several online media report that Kosovo’s outgoing Foreign Minister, Enver Hoxhaj, has reacted to Serbia’s decision to nominate Aleksandar Vulin as new Minister of Defense. Hoxhaj posted on his Twitter account: “the nomination of Aleksandar Vulin, a well-known paramilitary hardliner as new defence minister signals Serbia’s further militarization. Such controversial figures risk deepening further regional distrust and derailing the normalisation of relations.”

Serbs celebrate St. Vitus day in Gazimestan and Gracanica (media)

Most print and electronic media report that hundreds of Serbs celebrated the Saint Vitus Day on Wednesday in Gracanica and Gazimestan with chants “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia” and holding slogans against the state of Kosovo. Koha Ditore quotes Serb religious leaders and Marko Djuric, head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo, as saying that Kosovo is part of Serbia and that they will never give it up.

UNDP, USAID publish report on prevention of violent extremism (media)

All media cover the report published on Wednesday by UNDP and USAID on the prevention of violent extremism in Kosovo. In its coverage of the report, Koha Ditore notes that a key factor that contributes to violent extremism in Kosovo is the dissatisfaction of the people with the government, legislative and the judiciary. Another contributing factor were humanitarian organizations from the Middle East, printed material with radical content and extreme interpretation of certain religious topics, the internet and social networks. Epoka e Re reports that due to anti-terror activities by the Kosovo Police and the judiciary, the number of Kosovo citizens who joined ISIS and other extremist groups has dropped significantly since 2015.