Headlines - 26.03.2014

Agreement with EULEX, very close (Epoka e Re)

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Justice, Hajredin Kuçi, stated that the agreement between the EU and Kosovo institutions on EULEX’s transition will be reached very soon. He added that they are in the final phase of discussions. “The agreement will be in the form of exchanging letters that will be ratified by the Assembly of Kosovo,” said Kuçi. He added that there will be a transition and successful transfer of competencies during this process, with a special focus on managing positions.

Thaci continues dialogue with Dacic, Vucic (Koha Ditore)

Kosovo Government officials say they expect the next meeting between the two prime ministers in Brussels on 31 March to result in an agreement on the judiciary in northern Kosovo. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will also attend the meeting.

Pristina argues that all arrangements will be in line with Kosovo laws and the Constitution, while Serbs claim the agreement will safeguard the individuality and specific features of northern Kosovo.

Bekim Collaku, political advisor to Prime Minister Thaci, said they expect the meeting to result in an agreement on one of the most important points of the Brussels Agreement. “The main topic will be to finalize modalities for the implementation of the 19 April agreement, which would then set in motion the judiciary in the northern part of the country,” Collaku said. “We expect that an agreement will be reached because any further delay is meaningless.”

Decision on EULEX, Tribunal dictates election date (Koha Ditore)

The paper reports on the front page that the Parliament will not dismiss itself before making a decision on EULEX’s new mandate and on the Tribunal, which will address war crimes allegedly committed by the former Kosovo Liberation Army. The Government meanwhile is negotiating on both issues in Brussels. In mid-April, members of Parliament are expected to vote on the EULEX mandate and the Tribunal, and also on the law for elections.

LDK MP Arben Gashi, who is involved in talks between political parties for early national elections, told the paper: “National elections should be held by 15 June, latest. The agenda (planned by the PDK and LDK) determines what the Parliament needs to do before it dismisses itself … Now we need to know what will happen with the EULEX mission, with the Tribunal, and if there is any other issue that needs to be addressed before this Parliament is abolished.”

Obama: Comparing Kosovo to Crimea makes no sense (Epoka e Re)

U.S. President Barack Obama stated on Tuesday that how Russia compared the annexation of Crimea with Kosovo’s independence is nonsense. “When I hear analogies, for example to Kosovo, when you had thousands of people who were being slaughtered by their government, it is a comparison that makes absolutely no sense,” said Obama to journalists in Hague, a day after the G7 Summit, which aims at punishing Russia on the annexation of Crimea. He believes that Ukrainians have a solution and that they are seeking to have good relations with Europe and Russia, and added that the U.S. would not accept the annexation of Crimea.

Fila: Too bad we cannot act like Putin in Crimea (Zeri)

Renowned Belgrade-based attorney, Toma Fila, has been appointed head of the legal team that will defend Oliver Ivanovic, who has been accused for war crimes against Albanians in Mitrovica during and after the conflict.

Fila told reporters in Mitrovica North yesterday that he regrets that the Serbian Government cannot act the same way Vladimir Putin has recently in the case of Crimea. He argued that The Hague scenario is being applied in the case of Ivanovic, whereby a person is first arrested, then evidence against him is sought out, which leads to launching investigations. According to Fila, judicial authorities had no reason to arrest Ivanovic, who ran for mayor of Mitrovica North in the recent municipal elections in Kosovo.

“What we can do now is keep the situation under control, make constant statements at the United Nations so that when talks in Brussels resume, we can request discussions on the case of Ivanovic and the others,” Fila said.

PM, chief of Kosovo Armed Forces (Tribuna)

On the front page, the daily reports that Prime Minister Hashim Thaci is trying to ensure that his role and his power stretches officially to institutions not yet established, namely the Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF). The initiative for establishing the KAF requires two-thirds of votes in the Assembly and is expected to affect 13 articles in the Constitution of Kosovo.

The paper claims to have secured a copy of the proposed amendments and notes that some of them have been completely reworded. Although the President of Kosovo is expected to be the supreme commander of the KAF, according to the proposal, the president will not be able to appoint or dismiss the defence chief without taking into consideration the opinion or the recommendation of the prime minister.

Prizren expected to head to new elections (Tribuna)

The Ministry of Local Government Administration provided an official reply on Prizren Mayor Ramadan Muja’s decision to suspend his post after the court ruled he was guilty for abuse of authority. “Suspending the Prizren mayor’s activities is not stipulated in the Law on Local Self-Government and, as such, produces no legal effect,” replied the Ministry.

The Ministry also said that, until a relevant court reaches a final decision, Muja is entitled to exercise all his competencies and duties as defined in the law. If Muja fails to report to work for a period of over one month without justification, he stands losing his mandate and the municipality would head to new elections.

Reserved seats, important for communities (Epoka e Re)

The Minister for Communities and Returns, Dalibor Jevtic, spoke during the meeting with U.S. Ambassador in Kosovo, Tracey Ann Jacobson, about the reserved seats for minorities at the Assembly of Kosovo. Jevtic stated that is an issue of a great importance for all minority communities. “The idea of the reserved seats initially came from the need to successfully integrate all the communities in the society, and this is a matter of trust, especially for the people in the north of Kosovo,” said Jevtic.

Mustafa: Elections to be held by 15 June (Epoka e Re)

The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Isa Mustafa, said on Tuesday that there is no set date for the elections, however he assessed that elections should be held by 15 June, latest.  He added that 25 May would be an acceptable date for his party. The LDK leader denied the possibility for elections in Kosovo to take place prior to the definition of the EULEX mandate. “We are for the extension of EULEX’s mandate, because we consider that there is still a need and space for them to be in Kosovo,” said Mustafa.

NATO spokesperson does not withdraw (Lajm)

NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu will not withdraw her tweet that featured an image used in 1999 by Kosovo Albanians, which called on NATO to intervene against the Serb army. The image depicts the “Nike” symbol, with red letters, a red background and the slogan “Just Do It” replaced with “NATO Just Do It.”

The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the tweet “presents a lack of respect for Serb victims when NATO conducted air strikes”. Lungescu said that her tweet “in no way showed a lack of respect for victims of the 1999 conflict.”

Moschopoulos: We are good neighbours with Kosovo (Epoka e Re)

Head of the Greek Liaison Office in Kosovo, Dimitris Moschopoulos, stated that Greece has not recognised Kosovo yet, however, Moschopoulos said this should not be seen as their position towards the Kosovo Albanians. He said that Greece supports Kosovo in its path towards EU membership, specifically on the Stabilisation Association Agreement, as well as on the liberalisation of visas.