• Government’s two approaches on footnote, for EU it remains in power (Koha)
• Haxhiu: Constitutional Court slammed reforms in judiciary (Telegrafi)
• Haliti: Due to violations of Constitution, two Presidents resigned (media)
• Daka: Elections in the north can happen; legitimacy under question (Koha)
• Two years of Kurti’s government: How is it going? (Kosovo 2.0)
• “Non-majority communities, crucial role in Kosovo integration path” (media)
• Begaj: Albania will not accept a Republika Srpska in Kosovo (Zeri)
• Witness claims Kosovo’s ‘Commander Wolf’ tortured his father (BIRN)

Government’s two approaches on footnote, for EU it remains in power (Koha)

Koha Ditore reports on its front page this morning that the use of (Kosovo) footnote remains in force for the European Union despite the refusal of some Kosovo representatives to represent Kosovo with a footnote. Two days after the Ohrid agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, Kosovo’s Minister of Finance Hekuran Murati refused to take part in the Donors’ Conference for the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. But before him, in a similar conference for the earthquake in Albania, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi took part with the footnote. The paper recalls that even Prime Minister Albin Kurti did not reject presentations with the footnote. While the government did not offer any explanations to the paper, EU representatives said that the footnote remains in force.

“The donors' conference was organized by the EU and the EU's internal guidelines that regulate the naming of Kosovo were implemented according to standard practice. These guidelines remain in force until modified, which requires internal consultation within the EU institutions. These guidelines were not a topic in the negotiations that led to the Ohrid Agreement,” the European Commission said. “However, the EU is ready to start the process to evaluate these internal guidelines, but it is a responsibility of the parties to first fulfill their commitments and provide the justification for this evaluation.”

Haxhiu: Constitutional Court slammed reforms in judiciary (Telegrafi)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, reacted on Monday after the Constitutional Court ruled that the draft law on the Prosecutorial Council of Kosovo was invalid. Haxhiu argued that the court’s ruling slammed the reforms process in the judiciary. In an interview with TV Dukagjini, Haxhiu said that the problem with the ruling of the Constitutional Court is that on the one hand it confirms what she called corporatization of the Prosecutorial Council and on the other hand it says that their mandate cannot be suspended.

According to Haxhiu, the current composition of the Prosecutorial Council is not right. “As assessed by the Venice Commission too, we considered that the composition of 10 prosecutors in a body that is responsible to manage the prosecutorial system, and those people have close ties with one another, you can also see that even when they were appointed there were powerful reactions from our partners … the way that deals were made when the members were elected and also the fact that the rule of law strategy took around four years to be drafted, this all suggested that their number should be reduced. Being that the members of the Prosecutorial Council don’t have constitutional mandates, and are appointed according to the law, we believed that changes should be made to the law,” she said.

Haliti: Due to violations of Constitution, two Presidents resigned (media)

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Xhavit Haliti, said in an interview with Ekonomia Online that in the past when violations of the Constitution were evidenced, two former Presidents of Kosovo, Fatmir Sejdiu and Behgjet Pacolli, had resigned.

Commenting on the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the draft law on the Prosecutorial Council of Kosovo, Haliti said that if violations of the constitution were confirmed, the truth needs to result in consequences. “In terms of violations of the Constitution, I am talking about the past now, there were consequences after every violation when confirmed by the court. Two presidents resigned when the Constitution was violated. I think the MPs must look into the issue of the Prosecutorial Council … I have seen the court’s ruling and I cannot talk about it, but if it was confirmed that the Constitution was violated, then the truth must result in consequences,” he argued.

Daka: Elections in the north can happen; legitimacy under question (Koha)

Former chair of Kosovo’s Central Election Commission (CEC), Valdete Daka, said in an interview with KTV on Monday that from a legal standpoint the extraordinary local elections in the northern municipalities can take place as long as there are candidates. But she said that the decision of the Serbian List (SL) not to take part in the elections can put the recognition and legitimacy of the process under question. “The elections can be held as long as there are candidates, but a question remains how acceptable and legitimate the elections will be without candidates of a current majority who live in that part of Kosovo,” Daka said.

Two years of Kurti’s government: How is it going? (Kosovo 2.0)

It’s now been two years since Vetëvendosje (VV), in coalition with Lista Guxo, formed a government after winning just over 50% of the vote in the elections of February 14, 2021.

With equality and justice at the center of the governing program, the newly elected Prime Minister Albin Kurti promised to undo “20 years of misgovernance” and that start “the new path toward progress, reducing inequalities and increasing opportunities for all.”

The electoral victory — the largest since the declaration of Kosovo’s independence — and the pledges for radical change created big expectations among voters. With a parliamentary majority and a “referendum” victory, as Kurti called it, VV, once a vocal opposition party, had the opportunity to “meet the will of the citizens” in government.

However, the popularity of the government and the prime minister seems to have declined in the last two years. According to the UNDP Public Pulse poll, conducted in November 2022, the level of satisfaction with the government’s executive branch was 41%, compared to 47.2% in April 2022.

The level of satisfaction with the prime minister’s work in November 2022 was 44.9%, a decline from 52.6% in April.

On the two year anniversary of the Kurti government, K2.0 examines the government’s second year in power and the progress of their program between March 2022 and March 2023, covering everything from the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, the economy, the judiciary and more.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3lNmdFy

“Non-majority communities, crucial role in Kosovo integration path” (media)

EU Head of Office in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, met on Monday with representatives of non-majority communities from the Kosovo Assembly and the Government to discuss their role and support for the implementation of the agreement on normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia. Szynuog wrote on Facebook after the meeting: “Representatives of non-majority communities are an important part of Kosovo’s political fabric and play a crucial representative role in Kosovo’s democracy. Their contribution to achieving progress on Kosovo's EU integration path is indispensable.”

Begaj: Albania will not accept a Republika Srpska in Kosovo (Zeri)

Albanian President Bajram Begaj said on Monday that Albania will not accept a Republika Srpska in Kosovo and that the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia must move toward the normalisation of their relations.

“Under no circumstance will we accept a Republika Srpska in Kosovo. And as far as I know, this would not be supported by the United States of America, who are our partner,” Begaj said after meeting his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen.

Witness claims Kosovo’s ‘Commander Wolf’ tortured his father (BIRN)

The first witness in the war crimes trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army member Pjeter Shala, known by the nom de guerre ‘Commander Wolf’, testified on Monday that his father was tortured by Shala personally at a KLA detention site at the Kukes Metal Factory in Albania in 1999.

“My father was held for some time in Kukes Metal Factory, where Pjeter Shala, personally, used physical violence, electrocution, blows with axes and massive beating against my father and other detainees,” the protected witness told the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

He testified that his father was taken by men in KLA uniforms to the Kukes Metal Factory and held for around two weeks.

He said that his father, an ethnic Albanian, had worked as police officer in the Yugoslav police for 35 years and was a supporter of Kosovo’s first President Ibrahim Rugova’s peaceful movement, which became the Democratic League of Kosovo political party.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3ZgK7Ha