Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, reported at the Kosovo government meeting today on the visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. Mustafa said Kosovo will continue to have the support of the U.S. but that it needs to fulfil its obligations. “We received clear messages that Kosovo is an ally of the U.S., but that this also depends on Kosovo meeting its obligations,” Mustafa said. He also said that the U.S. wants Kosovo to establish the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities.

The paper’s front-page editorial today notes that the outgoing head of EULEX, Gabriele Meucci, yesterday confirmed that several politicians in Kosovo are above the law and they do whatever they want. “As Mr. Meucci says, the fight against corruption and organized crime is being hampered by influential politicians, who think they can do whatever they want. In fact, they continue to do whatever they want, without ever facing the law for violations, abuses and their continuous scandals. Consequently, the state has become dysfunctional.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, said today that the fight against corruption and ratification of the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro, are two conditions that Kosovo needs to meet in order to get visa liberalization. “I want to thank the Assembly because we have stepped up certain processes to meet the criteria. The European Commission made a historic decision. There are two more conditions that we need to meet. We must ratify the border agreement with Montenegro.

The paper’s front-page editorial argues that “surprising actions by EULEX do not bring much hope that the judiciary will punish the large-scale crime that took place in post-war Kosovo”. “There are numerous cases when media spectacles by the European mission were followed by disappointing developments and the key suspects were acquitted due to lack of evidence. As a result, influential politicians, incriminated high-ranking officials, heads of the judiciary or the prosecution, were not touched by the force of law.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci welcomed today's police operation against corruption and organized crime in Kosovo. “I welcome and strongly support the action of the national and international rule of law authorities. The fight against corruption and organized crime is the key to building a democratic state, the key to our future in Europe. I expect from all those involved in judicial cases to fully cooperate with the police and prosecution,” Thaci wrote on his Facebook page.

President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci said today at a meeting with the head of the Kosovo anti-corruption agency Hasan Preteni that Kosovo has made progress in the fight against corruption and that this is why it expects good news from Brussels on visa liberalization. “Perception of corruption and the reality of it in Kosovo are two different worlds. The country’s institutions are gaining power and trust to face challenges,” said Thaci adding that more effort is needed to fight corruption.

All media cover today’s press conference by Kosovo’s Chief State Prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi, highlighting his statement that in the coming weeks the prosecution in cooperation with the police will launch a joint action of freeing up several usurped properties. During a presentation about the work of the State Prosecution for 2015, Lumezi said he was not satisfied with the fight against high-level corruption and added that the prosecution cannot act on generalized information.

The paper’s front-page editorial today while referring to Kosovo President Hashim Thaci’s statement’s that people with criminal records have no place in Kosovo institutions and election lists, stresses that such promises are not serious because “political leaders making such statements undertake no actions to support them.” With the laws in force in Kosovo, the paper notes, even though someone may be under investigation for corruption, does not constitute any obstacle for them to be part of election lists, or even become MPs, minister and ambassadors.

The paper’s front-page editorial today stresses that democracy and rule of law have lost their meaning in Kosovo at a time when everyone is thinking about how to get away. “There cannot be democracy or rule of law with the current government and current politicians. It is the duty of all the citizens to stand up for their rights. Only through protests and new alternatives, Kosovo citizens must separate from the degrading politics that has blocked the future.”

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Hajredin Kuci, said during a round-table today on the fight against corruption that whenever there are cases of corruption they should be addressed by the relevant authorities. But, according to him, they must be addressed accurately to not jeopardize the good work that is being done. “Social environment, citizens and civil society are key to fighting corruption. But, the most important thing is strong political will to do so,” Kuci said.  He also mentioned the media as a key factor in the fight against corruption.