Headlines - 01.11.2016

• President Thaci promulgates law on Trepca mining complex (media)
• Serbian List will ignore Constitutional Court’s decision on Trepca Law (Lajmi)
• Veseli: We could go to elections with a political agreement (Epoka e Re)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Do not travel through Serbia (media)
• EU: Mitrovica South and North boundary, according to Kosovo laws (Koha)
• € 1.5 million for potential accused by special court (Zeri)
• Kosovo approves agreement with US on combating terrorism (Kosova Sot)
• Suhareka Municipal Assembly against Serb returns in Mushtisht (media)
• Bahtiri: Mitrovica will be united in January (media)

President Thaci promulgates law on Trepca mining complex (media)

All media report that Kosovo President Hashim Thaci promulgated on Monday the law on Trepca after the Constitutional Court announced its decision on the mining complex. “I have signed the Law on Trepca after the decision of the Constitutional Court,” Thaci wrote on his Facebook account. “Kosovo is a source of numerous mineral mines and, Trepca as a national wealth, has strategic importance. The new law enables the restructuring of Trepca and is in favour of improving the social welfare of the people of that area and throughout Kosovo. We are forever grateful to the mineworkers, because through their work and sacrifice they helped keep this giant of our economy alive.”

Serbian List will ignore Constitutional Court’s decision on Trepca Law (Lajmi)

The leader of the Serbian List, Slavko Simic, said on Monday that Kosovo’s Constitutional Court, by rejecting the request of the members of this party to review the constitutionality of the Trepca Law, has proved that it made a political decision, not based on legality. “If the Constitutional Court has rejected our request which proves the violation of many guidelines, we will also reject the implementation of that decision,” Simic said.

Veseli: We could go to elections with a political agreement (Epoka e Re)

The President of the Assembly of Kosovo and leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Kadri Veseli, said in the second part of the interview to the paper, that Kosovo has met all the requirements for visa liberalisation. According to him, the border demarcation with Montenegro was an unnecessary criteria requested by the European Union. Veseli also called for national consensus on border demarcation, saying that Kosovo and its people will pay a high price if the process is delayed. Veseli said that the PDK to reformat the government and that they are waiting for Prime Minister Isa Mustafa. Commenting on the request of opposition parties for early elections, Veseli said that “if this is in the interest of Kosovo, then no one can stop political parties to hold them, with a political agreement”.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Do not travel through Serbia (media)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo expressed on Monday deep concern for the arrest of another citizen of Kosovo, Hilmi Kelmendi, based on  so-called war crimes. A press release issued by the Ministry stresses that the arrest is unacceptable and it jeopardizes the achieved processes during the dialogue for normalization of the relations between Kosovo and Serbia. “The Ministry will continue to follow this recent and absurd created situation by raising this matter with the most senior levels and with our international friends, the U.S., the EU, as well as all friendly countries”. The ministry also appealed to all Kosovo citizens who for any reason choose Serbia as a transit country during the next months, to avoid this maximally. The Ministry will request from the other countries of the region and the EU, as it did in the past, not to consider Serbia’s arrest warrants for Kosovo citizens.

EU: Mitrovica South and North boundary, according to Kosovo laws (Koha)

European Union officials in Pristina said on Monday that the boundary between Mitrovica South and Mitrovica North must be delineated in accordance with Kosovo’s laws. The paper notes that according to the law on administrative boundaries, “the boundary between Mitrovica North and Mitrovica South will be the delineated line that goes through the cadastral zone of Suhodoll”. Leaders of Mitrovica North however have opposed this saying that the issue needs to be readdressed in the Brussels dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. The paper also recalls that the EU Head of Office in Pristina, Nataliya Apostolova, met municipal representatives in Mitrovica last week to discuss the issue. Mitrovica North Mayor Goran Rakic said: “the administrative line between Mitrovica North and Mitrovica South is not concluded yet. We have discussed this on several opportunities with [Mitrovica South] Mayor Bahtiri, and representatives of the EU and foreign embassies were also present. We did not find a compromise solution and I think that the issue needs to be readdressed in Brussels,” Rakic. Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, said the issue is clearly defined by the law on the municipal administrative boundaries and that there will be no changes in this respect. She also said that the issue was and will never be discussed in Brussels.

€ 1.5 million for potential accused by special court (Zeri)

The Kosovo government on Monday adopted and submitted to the Assembly the draft law on budget for the year 2017, which is foreseen to be around €2 billion. The draft law was approved with the additional proposal made by Kosovo’s Minister of Education, Arsim Bajrami, to allocate € 1.5 million for the fund for the protection of those who will be potentially accused by the special court for war crimes.

Kosovo approves agreement with US on combating terrorism (Kosova Sot)

The Kosovo government adopted on Monday an initiative to sign an agreement with the United States for exchanging information for the verification of terrorism. Kosovo’s Interior Minister, Skender Hyseni, said this agreement was proposed by the United States. “With this agreement, there will be exchange of information and timely access to accurate information in both directions. Kosovo is among the few countries that will have such an agreement and this will help us in gathering information on potential terrorists that might threaten or endanger Kosovo,” Hyseni said.

Suhareka Municipal Assembly against Serb returns in Mushtisht (media)

Members of the Suhareka Municipal Assembly adopted a declaration on Monday against the return of Serbs in the village of Mushtisht.  “Because the wounds are still fresh, Serbia must first return the missing persons, then Serbs should apologise to the people of Kosovo, perpetrators must be brought to justice, and then we can work on creating a climate for the return of Serbs,” said Alush Shala from the Democratic Party of Kosovo who initiated the statement. The paper recalls that an attempt for the temporary return of Serbs in August was met with opposition by residents of the Mushtisht village.

Bahtiri: Mitrovica will be united in January (media)

Several news websites report that in an interview for RTV Dukagjini, Mitrovica South Mayor Agim Bahtiri said that Mitrovica will be united on January 22. Bahtiri also said that “the European Union’s project for the unification of the city is going according to plan”.