Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, has described the agreement reached yesterday in Brussels between Pristina and Belgrade, as very important. “Today in the morning we concluded a very important agreement, which ensures the functioning of the judiciary in the entire territory of Kosovo. I thank the EU High Representative, Ms. Federica Mogherini and members of the delegation, Deputy Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, Minister of Justice Hajredin Kuci, Minister Edita Tahiri, Minister of European Integration Bekim Collaku, Mr. Blerim Shala and Mr.

The leadership of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) condemned the violent acts on Tuesday’s protest. “AAK considers that the protests are a democratic tool to express the dissatisfaction of people. The requirements directed to the government are legitimate and fair. We believe that civic protests do not intend to harm the state, but to end the humiliation and blackmail that is being done to the citizens of Kosovo.  AAK will continue to support protests until the legitimate demands and rights are fulfilled.

Kosovo’s Minister of Education, Science and Technology Arsim Bajrami attended the conference: "Best practices for children who drop out of school" organized by UNICEF and Kosovo Pedagogical Institute, within the program "On equal opportunities in education".

Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Arban Abrashi met on Thursday representatives of the World Bank (WB) in Kosovo and discussed the possibilities to increase employment. Abrashi informed the WB representatives on the plans and challenges of his ministry. It was emphasized the technical assistance that the World Bank could provide in various areas such as employment issues, pensions and social services.

Bekim Collaku, the Minister of European Integration, today met the working group on visa liberalization. Collaku briefed the relevant institutions on visa liberalization process and was informed on the remaining challenges in this process.  The working group discussed the remaining criteria in the implementation of the roadmap for visa liberalization. "The government of Kosovo has agreed with the European Commission to send a final report on the implementation of the remaining criteria.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hashim Thaci told Podgorica TV channel that Kosovo will amend its Constitution and will recognize the status of the Montenegrin national minority.  "It is our will to make constitutional changes, which means that Montenegrin minorities would have a representative in the Assembly, " said Thaci. He said that Kosovo and Montenegro have excellent cooperation, which should be affirmed and that will be a model for other countries in the region.

Austrian Ambassador to Kosovo, Johann Brieger said on Tuesday that Austria will not grant asylum to anyone from Kosovo.  Brieger said that Austria grants asylum only to those who are persecuted, who are at risk for life, while economic reasons are not reasons to get asylum in Austria. According to him, the  applications for asylum in Austria are dramatic. "Just from  01 January, we’ve had 287 requests for asylum which is a dramatic increase. In 2014 we had nearly 2000 requests, and, only in December nearly 1000 people have applied for asylum in Austria," said Brieger.

Kosovo Minister of European Integration, Bekim Collaku expects that in the following months, Kosovo will sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). Collaku in an interview for the weekly magazine "European Voice", said that Kosovo expects to sign the SAA as the first step towards the European Union membership.

Kosovo and Albania will intensify cooperation in the field of agriculture, seeing it as one of the main potentials for economic development, RTKLive reports. Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development, Memli Krasniqi, met on Friday with Albania Ambassador to Kosovo, Qemajl Minxhozi and discussed about investments to be made in Kosovo in the field of agriculture. "Agriculture is one of the key sectors for development of the country and one of the main priorities of the government,” said Krasniqi.

The American Chamber of Commerce (ACC) urges the Kosovo government to come out with an official clarification whether the General Collective Agreement is legally binding to all enterprises in Kosovo, and what course action should be taken by those companies which have not given their consent. Representatives from the ACC in Kosovo believe that this collective agreement would add further pressure on the private sector, thus slowing its growth.