Thaçi: Implementation plan is clear (Tribuna)

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi said on Monday that the implementation plan for the Kosovo-Serbia agreement is clear, detailed and that it will be respected in its entirety.

“Everything is clear in our document for the implementation plan. It is important that Serbia has finally accepted it and it has made it official. Everything concerning the timelines is clear, the plan and the implementing actors have been made public. Today and yesterday I had meetings with KFOR and EULEX and we will start with freedom of movement, the system of police and then continue with the justice system,” he added.

Thaçi also said local elections, including Serb majority municipalities, will be prepared for autumn. He also said it was an encouraging fact that Serbia adopted the decision to implement the agreement after it was adopted by the Government of Kosovo.

Ashton: Dialogue does not preempt positions on status (Koha Ditore)

EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Catherine Ashton, has welcomed the decisions of the governments of Kosovo and Serbia adopting the implementation plan. Ashton also ensured Serbia that this does not question its position rejecting the status of Kosovo. She also praised the leadership and commitment of prime ministers, Thaçi and Dacic.

The part of Ashton’s statement which notes that “the positions of both sides for the status of Kosovo are not preempted” is said to be a result of Serbia’s request that its acceptance of the agreement and its implementation should not be seen as a change in its position vis-à-vis Kosovo’s status.

Krasniqi: With Serbia, even when we had a deal, we didn’t (Koha Ditore)

Even though the representatives of the Assembly of Kosovo feel bypassed for not seen the implementation plan of the Agreement yet, they continue to remain skeptical when its implementation by the Serbian side is concerned. Despite this, they claim that the only institution that approves international agreements between states, is Parliament.

“I have continuously said that with Serbia, even when we agreed, we never did. I have nothing else to add,” said the Speaker of Kosovo Assembly, Jakup Krasniqi.

Deputy Speaker from Vetëvendosje movement, Glauk Konjufca requested for all decisions of Thaçi Government related to the negotiations process, to be discussed at the Assembly of Kosovo, and added that amnesty of illegal structures in the north as anti-constitutional.

Northerners threaten to declare own parliament (Tribuna)

The illegal representatives of northern Kosovo Serbs are planning to declare in the next couple of days the parliament of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and put Pristina in fait accompli. International sources told the paper that these representatives fear they will be left out of the team that will prepare the creation of the association of Serb majority municipalities.

Sources said Belgrade is planning to draft a constitutional law that would define this body as the parliament of the autonomous association of Serb municipalities in Kosovo. Such actions, added the same sources, risk creating a practical division of Kosovo, as the association could call on the legitimacy deriving from the Parliament of Serbia and completely ignore the legitimacy provided by Kosovo’s legislation.  

Krasniqi: EULEX is not neutral (Koha Ditore)

Kosovo Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi said on Monday that by arresting former KLA combatants, EULEX is proving that it is not a neutral mission. “I think that with these actions, EULEX is proving it is not neutral. It’s like EULEX wants to say that Albanians caused and were responsible for the war in Kosovo,” Krasniqi said.

He added that EULEX actions are portraying the Albanian nation as the aggressor. “The whole world knows who committed war crimes in Kosovo and if we look at the number of people held responsible for war crimes, this figure is bigger in Kosovo than in Serbia,” Krasniqi said.

Primitivism does not serve regional cooperation (Epoka e Re)

Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga did not receive an official invitation from the organizer of the Ohrid Summit. The Office of the President said Kosovo’s participation at the summit was blocked as a result of rejections from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Jahjaga said the absence of Kosovo state representatives at the summit is in contradiction with the principle of building good neighborly relations which is a requirement for European integration.

Kosovo Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi said such rejecting methods contain primitive elements and do not contribute to regional development and cooperation.

Topalli cancels participation in Ohrid summit (Lajm/Bota Sot)

According to the papers, Albanian Assembly Speaker Jozefina Topalli has cancelled her participation at the upcoming conference of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) as a sign of protest against the organizers’ failure to invite President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga to the event.

Although Macedonian authorities announced that Topalli will miss out on the conference due to obligations ahead of parliamentary elections in Albania, unofficially it is claimed that she called off her participation because Kosovo representatives were not invited to the summit.

Office for the Valley (Epoka e Re)

The Kosovo Parliament on Friday will discuss the rights of the Albanian community in Presevo Valley. LDK MP Lutfi Haziri, who initiated the parliamentary discussion, said Kosovo and its institutions should show more interest in the situation of Albanians in Presevo Valley and their political, civil, cultural and educational rights. Haziri said Albanians in Presevo Valley should have equal rights with Serbs in Kosovo.