Headlines - 05.07.2018

• Haradinaj: We should all be involved in the dialogue with Serbia (Epoka)
• Hoxhaj: Mutual recognition at end of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (dailies)
• KDI presents poll’s findings on dialogue, party preferences (dailies)
• Balkan Research Policy Group roundtable on dialogue, fails (media)
• Northerners keep ‘hostage’ MoU for opening main Mitrovica bridge (Koha)
• Haradinaj: Limaj and Thaci dine together, behavior in public is for votes (Kosova)
• Apostolova: Education system to start from scratch (Koha Ditore)

Kosovo Media Highlights

Haradinaj: We should all be involved in the dialogue with Serbia (Epoka)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj took to Facebook to request involvement of all political parties in the final phase of the dialogue with Serbia. He said that the government is facing issues that have not been resolved for so many years. “Today, we have Trepca with a statute, we have stable energy and we are achieving energy independence. We are treating the requests of the municipalities, left aside for a long time. We should all be involved in the dialogue with Serbia at this final phase. Kosovo has fulfilled all the criteria and now, visa liberalization is a political will,” Haradinaj wrote.

Hoxhaj: Mutual recognition at end of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (dailies)

Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Enver Hoxhaj, had a meeting with EU ambassadors in Kosovo and discussed the final stage of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Hoxhaj said that reaching a final, legally-binding agreement at the end of the dialogue is as important as its full implementation. He further noted that the final agreement would have to include mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia.

KDI presents poll’s findings on dialogue, party preferences (dailies)

The Kosovo Democratic Institute presented yesterday the findings of a poll it conducted in Kosovo regarding expectations from the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue for normalisation of relations which showed that 61% of respondents hope the process will result in Serbia's recognition of Kosovo as an independent country. At the same time, 39% of the people interviewed said they don't expect Serbia's recognition to be the end-result of the dialogue. The poll also showed that 55% of people expect Kosovo to gain UN membership at the end of negotiations whereas only 21% said they believe the final agreement will include territorial exchange. With regards to the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, 61% of respondents said they were against its establishment. As to the question of who should be leading the dialogue with Belgrade, 43% said president of Kosovo should do the job, 25% said it should be the prime minister while 31% wanted an opposition leader to oversee the process. The poll also included the question of what the interviewees’ most preferred political parties are with 36% saying they favour the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), 23% opted for the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Vetevendosje follows will 21%, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) got 10% and the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA) 6.3%. Meanwhile the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Serbian List came under the five-percent threshold with each receiving 2%.

Balkan Research Policy Group roundtable on dialogue, fails (media)

The Balkan Research Policy Group organized on Wednesday a roundtable with political leaders and heads of parliamentary parties to discuss dialogue with Serbia, a platform for talks, consensus in the Assembly and the appointment of the negotiating team. The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) was represented by Enver Hoxhaj, while AAK by Blerim Kuci and Muharrem Nitaj. Vetevendosje Movement refused to participate at this meeting while the representative of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lutfi Haziri, left the meeting immediately, saying that dialogue should be discussed at the Assembly.

Northerners keep ‘hostage’ MoU for opening main Mitrovica bridge (Koha)

The paper reports on page 2 that in a report the government of Kosovo submitted to Brussels it blames the local authorities in Mitrovica North for the failure to implement agreement for revitalisation of River Iber/Ibar bridge and accuses Serbia for not allowing the Mitrovica North Mayor, Goran Rakic, to sign memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning which defines the administrative borderline between the two Mitrovica municipalities. The report also says the EU has failed to complete construction works on the bridge as a result of lack of cooperation from the northern leadership while Mayor of Mitrovica, Agim Bahtiri, was commended for his constructive position.

Haradinaj: Limaj and Thaci dine together, behavior in public is for votes (Kosova)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj said that Fatmir Limaj’s and NISMA’s Ministers absence during the reporting of the President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, was a game for votes. According to him, Limaj and Thaci are in good relations. He said that he does not know if their absence was a boycott, however he added that their justifications were just a game. Responding to the statement of the Education Minister Shyqri Bytyqi, that they refused to participate because they were informed very late, Haradinaj said that these are only games for votes of the coalition partner.

Apostolova: Education system to start from scratch (Koha Ditore)

Head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Nataliya Apostolova, said at a meeting with members of a Kosovo parliamentary committee that the system of education needs to start from scratch. “We have so far given €34 million for the field of education but they have produced no results. Education is crucial for SAA (Stabilisation and Association Agreement) and the European agenda,” Apostolova said.