European Commission approved today the text of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the European Union and Kosovo. The issue will now go to the European Council and once it gets the approval of all 28 member states, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, will sign the agreement on behalf of the EU. Sources said the agreement doesn’t require signing by all member states and this avoids possible problems that could arise from the fact that five EU countries have not recognised independence of Kosovo.

Czech President Milos Zeman says that he personally does not recognize Kosovo as independent and therefore is not sending an ambassador to Pristina.

When a reporter for the Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti noted his "well-known position that Kosovo is ruled by a mafia regime financed by drug trafficking," Zeman stated that he "said it many times publicly that Hashim Thaci is a war criminal".

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Hajredin Kuci, today participated in the closing conference of the Project Against Economic Crime in Kosovo - PECK, where it was launched an evaluation report on compliance with international standards in the field of combating money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.

The Kosovo Assembly Speaker, Kadri Veseli, on Tuesday traveled to Strasbourg to participate in the seventh inter-parliamentary meeting, European Parliament – Kosovo. The meeting will be co-chaired by Veseli and head of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, Tonino Picula.

European Union has welcomed the decision of the Kosovo Serb representatives to return to the Kosovo Assembly and the Government as an important step forward. “It confirms our strong belief that it is only through cooperation, inclusion and dialogue that the elected leaders can bring better future for all communities in Kosovo. We are committed to continue supporting such positive steps,” a press release issued by the EU states.

Augustin Palokaj, the paper’s Brussels correspondent, writes that as the European Commission prepares to approve the text of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Kosovo, there are many issues that needs to be explained so that neither Kosovo nor the EU spend too much energy on exaggerating the agreement’s benefits. While Kosovo will be able to benefit quite a lot from the agreement, particularly in the area of foreign investment, the SAA, in its legal form, will not be the same for Kosovo as was for other countries in the region which already signed it, writes Palokaj.

MP of the Self-determination movement in the Kosovo Assembly, Ilir Deda said that the EU was not capable to deal with the Western Balkans, although it should be the priority.

Ilir Deda said to Tanjug that the situation in Kosovo was as in all other parts of the Western Balkans, with great economic and social problems and with a lack of real European perspective.

Former EU Special Envoy for Kosovo, Wolfgang Petrisch said in an interview for RTK that at the end of the entire created situation on whether the Principal Deputy of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci should go to Belgrade or not, Serbia was the loser.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will visit Brussels on Tuesday, the government's media relations office said in a release.

Vucic will attend a meeting of prime ministers of the Western Balkan countries organized by EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, which will focus on developing infrastructure network in the context of EU enlargement.

Kosovo’s Minister without portfolio, Edita Tahiri, does not agree with the criticism of the opposition parties and civil society that the European Union (EU) is “spoiling” Serbia. Tahiri told Zeri that the EU has put the Chapter 35 for Serbia, which demands the normalization of relations with Kosovo, and requires the withdrawal of parallel structures in the north. "The EU is warning Serbia for its negligence regarding the implementation of agreements with Kosovo.