Kosovo Assembly’s committee on foreign affairs, diaspora and strategic investment has scheduled a meeting tomorrow and agree on the date for reviewing the draft law on ratification of border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. Once the committee concludes the review of the bill, it goes up for vote at the Assembly.

During a visit to Albania, President of Montenegro, Filip Vujanovic, said border demarcation with Kosovo is a closed topic. “Agreement has been ratified in Montenegro and enjoys the majority support in Kosovo. This is an internal matter for Kosovo. It should be taken into account that Brussels has put this issue as a condition to Kosovo. The sooner this is resolved the better but Kosovo has to solve it the proper way,” Vujanovic is reported to have said at a joint press conference with his Albanian counterpart, Ilir Meta.

Members of the Kosovo Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee said it should be the forum where the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro is discussed and not the European Integration Committee. Foreign Affairs Committee Chairperson, Vjosa Osmani, said the issue needs to be clarified as it could lead to procedural problems. Visar Ymeri, also part of the same committee, said it was strange why the border demarcation report was set to go through the European Integration Committee.

Bilall Sherifi from the Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) said the party continues to oppose the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro and has not changed the position despite entering a coalition government with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

The Kosovo government's new commission on the border deal with Montengro has attacked the agreement, saying it endorsed a border that did not follow Kosovo's previous border, when it was a province of Yugoslavia.

Kosovo's government on Monday backed a report by a new commission tasked with re- assessing the controversial border deal with Montenegro – which has called the deal damaging to Kosovo's national interests.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/kosovo-in-a-fresh-attempt-to-vote-the-montenegro-border-deal-12-04-2017

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, said the report of the commission on border demarcation with Montenegro is “credible” and prepared by professionals. In a Facebook post, Haradinaj said the report confirms the view that Kosovo loses territory to Montenegro through the current border demarcation agreement.

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Kadri Veseli, said in a Facebook post that his party MPs will vote in favour of the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. Hailing the decision of the government to submit the agreement to the Assembly, Veseli wrote that the PDK’s position on the issue is clear. “The agreement needs to be approved and our vote is in favour,” Veseli said adding: “Isolation of our citizens needs to end. We expect visa liberalisation from the European Union.”

The President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci welcomed the decision of the government to proceed the agreement on the border demarcation with Montenegro for ratification by the Assembly.

“I want to believe on the political and state will of the representatives elected by citizens, but at the same time I invite all Kosovo Assembly MPs, regardless their political affiliation, to be united on ratification of this inter-state agreement.

Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo Enver Hoxhaj, said during the meeting of the government today that he has listened to the new Commission for demarcation of the border with Montenegro, which according to him made assessments but did not bring any concrete facts. He said the government is interested to move the issue forward by sending it to the Assembly. “The mandate given to you by the Prime Minister was to find the truth. I heard assessments and not any material evidence or any concrete fact. You are the fifth commission that deals with this matter.

Head of the Commission for demarcation and maintenance of the state border, Shpejtim Bulliqi, said today that that their commission unanimously concluded that the borderline as presented on the 26 August 2015 agreement reached between Kosovo and Montenegro in Vienna, is not in accordance with the administrative border line of the former socialist province of Kosovo.