Jahjaga: Special Court, an obligation that must be fulfilled (RTK)

Kosovo’s President, Atifete Jahjaga, told RTK that Kosovo institutions are obliged to establish the special court which will address war crimes allegations. “The Assembly of Kosovo should establish the special court. And if the Assembly fails to do so, the alternative would be harmful for Kosovo,” Jahjaga said. “I hope that this does not happen. The alternative, for such a court to be established by the United Nations Security Council, is very dangerous for the people of Kosovo,” she added. Asked about the end of her mandate and how she will be remembered, Jahjaga said: “I believe that I represented an institution which is not corrupt and which is open to the citizens”. President Jahjaga, whose mandate expires in 2016, said she does not know what future she will have in politics, but said that she would be committed to working for the good of all people of Kosovo and to improve Kosovo’s image.

European Commission to adopt SAA with Kosovo today (Koha)

The paper reports that the European Commission will adopt the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Kosovo today With this approval, the European Commission will complete its part of the work on the SAA with Kosovo, and then it will be passed to the Council where the decision to authorize the signing of the agreement must be taken with the consensus of all the member states. The paper writes that European officials do not expect any obstacles to signing the SAA because they say its text is clear that in no way does this Agreement imply recognition of Kosovo’s independence.

Jacobson sees no progress in fight against corruption (Gazeta Blic)

In a conference organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Pristina, the US Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson said that the main challenge Kosovo is facing is the long-term economic development and while the situation could be improved through investments, corruption remains a major obstacle to doing business in Kosovo. “It is true that all countries face corruption but Kosovo is on the 111^th place out of 177 countries included in the corruption perception index of the Transparency International and this is no progress,” said Jacobson.

Civil Protection members left outside reintegration can cause riots (Koha)

The failure to include all members of the so-called Civil Protection in the reintegration process could result in riots and protests, according to a report prepared by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policies entitled “The future of the ‘Civil Protection’ in the northern part of Kosovo” and monitored by the Kosovo Centre for Security Studies. The report was published in Pristina on Wednesday. Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, said that the agreement between Pristina and Belgrade for the full dissolution of the Civil Protection will not be implemented by September 1as was initially planned.