Headlines - 30.01.2014

Leaders agree: Election reform must end in February (dailies)

Leaders of leading political parties agreed to conclude election reform in February and pave way for holding parliamentary elections in the first half of the year. Officials from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said that in the latest meetings about election reform, there was no objection from other parties to organise elections in June. However, sources from other parties denied to Koha Ditore existence of a consensus on the timing of elections. An unnamed official told the paper that if nothing unexpected happens in the meantime and all goes well with the reform, elections could take place in September.

Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi took to Facebook yesterday to announce that he met leaders of main political parties and jointly concluded that election reform is on the right track and should be concluded as soon as possible.

At the same time, Tribuna reports that there is general understanding within the Kosovo leadership and international community that in the absence of meaningful reform, elections should take place between March and June of this year. In addition, organising elections in Kosovo at the same time as those in Serbia is seen as being helpful to the quick constitution of new governments in the two countries and would make the dialogue able to resume early summer.

Thaçi expects implementation of “the big agreement” (Tribuna)

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci briefed his cabinet on Wednesday on the latest development in dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. He said in the latest meeting, he and Dacic discussed the functioning of the judiciary in northern Kosovo in accordance with Kosovo laws and the municipal revote in northern Mitrovica. Thaci told his ministers that by February 12^th he expects an agreement for the implementation of what he called “the big agreement” from last year. “In our next meeting, on February 12^th, I believe we will agree on the full implementation of agreements, so that we can immediately start work on the ground in consolidating Kosovo institutions in the northern part of the country,” Thaci said. 

Serbia reactivates illegal structures in the north (Tribuna)

Belgrade authorities have appointed the newly-elected mayor of Zveçan, Vucina Jankovic, member of Municipal Administrative Council which is an illegal structure controlled by Serbia. The move, says the paper, comes even before new institutions of Kosovo got fully operational in the north. It adds that Belgrade is using new mayors of the northern municipalities to work at the same time for its parallel structures.

Sources said for the paper that Kosovo delegation has raised this issue in Brussels but that the Serb side “used a very strong argument and there was nothing we could do but remain silent on the issue at this stage”. The argument provided by the Serb side is that the appointment is provisional and once the North Mitrovica mayor is elected, the council will be disbanded.

Candidates for mayor in northern Mitrovica announced (dailies)

Koha Ditore reports that only two candidates are expected to compete in the extraordinary elections for the mayor of northern Mitrovica, on 23 February. Only Musa Miftari from the Democratic League of Kosovo and Goran Rakic from citizens’ list Srpska, presented their candidature until later hours of Wednesday. Officials of the Central Election Commission, said that they would be waiting until midnight, when the deadline to present candidatures was. Competition between two candidates would avoid runoff for the mayor of municipality.

Epoka e Re reports that Florent Azemi from the Democratic Party of Kosovo also presented his candidature. This daily quotes head of CEC Valdete Daka as saying that there will not be an additional deadline for application.

Jahjaga: Serbia’s European path to be conditioned with Kosovo (dailies)

Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga met on Wednesday with Samantha Power, representative of the U.S. mission to the United Nations, and discussed developments in South-East Europe, processes in Kosovo and the region and the need for continued U.S. engagement in Kosovo. Jahjaga said Kosovo has entered an important phase, especially after the start of dialogue with Belgrade. Jahjaga said Serbia’s European path should be conditioned with the full normalization of relations with Kosovo.

Jahjaga also said that Kosovo aspires for full membership in the United Nations and other international institutions, including the European Union and NATO. 

Vllasi: Parties to have clear positions on reserved seats (Koha)

Political analyst Azem Vllasi said on Wednesday that debates about reserved seats for minority communities in Kosovo Parliament have created confusion among the people of Kosovo. In an interview for Telegrafi, Vllasi said the lack of clarity on the issue is a result of opposite positions by Albanian political parties that are part of the government. “This issue should be discussed in parliament. On the one hand, we have the position of minority communities which unanimously support extended mandates for reserved seats, while Albanian political parties are not clear on this issue, because they have differing positions. In my opinion, the last thing we need at this point is a clash between communities about reserved seats in parliament,” Vllasi added. 

Ratel: Fair judicial process is implemented in all cases and always (Koha)

Jonathan Ratel, head of the Special Prosecution of Kosovo, highlighted on Wednesday the reasons for the arrest of Kosovo Serb political representative Oliver Ivanovic, insisting that “a fair judicial process is implemented in all cases and always”. Through a communiqué issued by EULEX, Ratel explained procedures followed by the prosecution and rejected claims that Ivanovic’s arrest was politically motivated. “The rule of law is the basic framework of rules and rights that enable a free, fair and democratic society. Rule of law is a system where no one, including governments or politicians, is above the law, and everyone is equal before the law. Rule of law implies that laws protect basic rights and that everyone is entitled to justice,” Ratel said.

Government initiates change of Trepça’s ownership (Koha Ditore)

Government of Kosovo has initiated legal changes to transfer the ownership of the Trepça mining complex from the Privatisation Agency of Kosovo to the Kosovo Assembly. The decision was not preceded by any debate while the proposal came from the Minister of Economic Development, Fadil Ismajli, who argued that Kosovo Assembly needs to take over Trepça from the competency of PAK and authorize the Government to register it as a public enterprise under the ownership of the Republic of Kosovo.

Smaka: Montenegrins and Croats to be part of parliament (Epoka e Re)

Constitutional expert Riza Smaka positively evaluated Prime Minister Hashim Thaci’s proposal for the Montenegrin and Croat communities to be part of the Constitution of Kosovo. Smaka said this would be a politically correct solution and that now is the right time for the two communities to be included in the structure of Kosovo’s Parliament. Smaka also said that opposition from the LDK and the Vetevendosje Movement to the proposal is unprincipled.

Situation in the north, subject of discussion (Epoka e Re)

KFOR Commander, General Salvatore Farina, met on Wednesday at KFOR Headquarters in Pristina, the Commander of Serbian Army, General Ljubisa Dikovic. According a press release issued by KFOR, the Generals discussed at this meeting the situation in Balkans, with a special stress on the north of Kosovo and about the importance of cooperation in order to improve the security situation in the region. “COMKFOR stressed the improvement of the security situation as a result of the Brussels Agreement on 19 April between Pristina and Belgrade and confirmed continuous of the NATO mission to contribute for a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement, creating in this way the required conditions for progress,” says the press release.