Citing unnamed sources, the news site reports that unknown assailants throw a Molotov cocktail at the house of a Kosovo Police officer in Mitrovica North on Monday night. Zeljko Bojic, head of police operations in the north, confirmed the incident. Bojic said the police officer whose house was attacked is a Bosniak and that no human injuries were inflicted.
The news site reports that the remaining 378 members of the so-called “Civil Protection” in northern Kosovo have signed today at the Administrative Office in Mitrovica North working contracts with Kosovo’s institutions. Administrative Office chief Adriana Hodzic confirmed the news. “The representatives of respective ministries here and we are helping out with the logistics, to see if any additional documents are required for these people. I can confirm that the agreement is being implemented but I do not have further details,” Hodzic said.
The news site reports that a group of Gjakova/Djakovica residents gathered today in front of the Orthodox Church to protest against a visit by Serb pilgrims for Orthodox Christmas. Protesters said they did not want people who took part in the Kosovo conflict to return to Gjakova where many crimes were committed in 1999. “I will stay here. Gjakova is the same as Srebrenica. I will not allow Serbs to pass here because they killed my 17 year-old son,” a protester told the news site. Kosovo Police, who were present at the site the whole time, arrested one of the protesters.
The Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) today presented the end-of-year report on the work of the Assembly, where it was said that the year 2015 was a year of ineffective work of the Assembly. Out of 138 draft-laws, the Assembly managed to adopt 47, thus fulfilling only 34 percent of the legislative agenda.
Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) officials said in a press conference today that they hoped Kosovo would receive two good news in 2015: visa liberalization and UNESCO membership; none of which materialized. Ardian Gjini hailed the decision of the Constitutional Court on the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities but noted that the government is viewing the decision through a wrong discourse.
The leader of the Vetevenodsje Movement, Visar Ymeri, spoke regarding the Brussels dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. He said that the relations between Kosovo and Serbia can be normalized only if there is a reciprocal recognition of statehood.
The Principal Deputy of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hashim Thaci, hosted today a meeting with the Italian Foreign Minister, Paolo Gentiloni. Thaci informed Gentiloni with the achievements of Kosovo including contractual relations with the European Union, through the Stabilization Association Agreement as well as about the positive report on the process of visa liberalization. Thaci said that Kosovo expects recommendation for visa liberalization by the beginning of the next year.
Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said today that Kosovo fulfilled all the criteria for visa liberalization, and that the government now is meeting with all responsible institutions to see once again if any part of the recommendations of the EU has remained unfulfilled. “All the requirements are fulfilled but there are some parts of the recommendations that were not fulfilled, since the EU has given recommendations and not requirements,” Mustafa said.
Officials from the Kosovo Business Alliance complained today that Kosovo is not being treated equally by the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) when it comes to the export of Kosovo produce. They said Kosovo faces numerous barriers at the border crossings and in addition, Kosovo is still represented at CEFTA through UNMIK symbols and not its own. The Kosovo Business Alliance urged institutions to make efforts in resolving the problems that the business community is facing.
In a press conference, officials from the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce warned that if the political crisis persists in 2016, it stands to cause irreparable damage to Kosovo’s economic interests. Kosovo doesn’t have the luxury to risk implementation of the recently-signed Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Europe, said officials adding that a political consensus is necessary to overcome the crisis.