Headlines - 09.08.2013 Kosovo gets telephone code, Serbia gets GSM operator (Koha Ditore) Citing sources in Brussels, the paper reports on the front page that Serbia has accepted the agreement on telecommunications and Kosovo will have its telephone code (+383). Kosovo will apply for the telephone code through Austria or Sweden. Sources said Kosovo too made concessions for the agreement. “The agreement on telecom between Kosovo and Serbia has been reached. Kosovo will have the code +383, but will apply through Austria or Sweden. Meanwhile, the Serbian Telecom will provide services in areas inhabited by Serbs. Calls to Serbia from Kosovo will be considered as local calls,” the source said. Sources also said that the agreement on the third Serb GSM operator was reached last year and now only tariffs that this operator will apply for Serbs are left to be determined. “Prices of the third operator are expected to be cheaper than those currently offered by Vala and IPKO,” the source added. Thaçi calls the Serbs in the north to participate in elections (dailies) Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi has called on all citizens, especially in those living in the northern part of the country, to take part in November 3 local elections. “I am once again calling on all citizens of Kosovo, especially those in northern Mitrovica, Serb citizens, to join the project for order and democracy, for political pluralism, for free competition of different visions, for a new Kosovo, for a European Kosovo. Their participation in elections is a new possibility; it is a joint guarantee that we are going to build Kosovo together,” Thaçi said. Hoxhaj: UNMIK – obstacle for Kosovo’s membership in the UN (dailies) Several dailies report that in an interview for Deutsche Welle, Kosovo’s Foreign Affairs Minister Enver Hoxhaj said Kosovo should initiate a new debate about the role of UNMIK. “I am confident that the role UNMIK had in Kosovo from June 1999 to December 2007 can be qualified as one of the most successful missions of the United Nations in the world, because UNMIK was an umbrella organization within which conditions were created for the state of Kosovo. After the declaration of independence, there have been important developments that make me think that UNMIK should end its mission in Kosovo. First, we had the implementation of the Ahtisaari Plan and the departure of the ICO last year. Second, 100 states have recognized the Republic of Kosovo. Third, Kosovo has joined important financial institutions. Four, we had dialogue with Serbia an agreement through which Serbia recognizes Kosovo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Five, we will soon start negotiations with the EU on the Stabilization/Association Agreement. Therefore, all these developments make me think that UNMIK should end its mission in Kosovo, which is completely unnecessary and UNMIK should only assist Kosovo in joining the UN, because our ultimate aspiration as a state is to join the UN. Once Kosovo joins the UN, UNMIK can turn into an UN office for Kosovo, as has been the case in several countries. I think it is high time for UN Security Council member states and other UN members to contribute to the conclusion of UNMIK’s mandate,” Hoxhaj said. Hoxhaj also said that consecutive affairs by Kosovo’s diplomatic staff in different countries are not scandals. Asked by Deutsche Welle about the undignified behavior and many violations by Kosovo’s diplomatic staff, Hoxhaj said there is no doubt that diplomacy is the image of a country and that as foreign minister he has taken measures in accordance with the law, as was the case with the diplomat in Zagreb, Urtak Hamiti, who has been called back to Pristina. Gallucci: EULEX should make room for UN (Kosova Sot) Former UN official in northern Kosovo, Gerard Gallucci, writes in an opinion piece that Western powers want to leave Kosovo as soon as possible, the U.S. wants to withdraw, and in the end everything will be left to the European Union. “Although it still plays an important role in convincing Kosovo Albanians to act properly, namely to accept compromise solutions with Serbia, the U.S. nonetheless wants to leave Kosovo”. Gallucci writes that if EULEX leaves Kosovo, it should give its mandate back to the United Nations. “No one can force EULEX to remain in Kosovo if the EU and Pristina decide that the time has come for its departure. However, this would mean sending the issue back to the UN because an international presence would be required for a peaceful implementation of the Belgrade-Pristina agreement,” he added. Serbia invests in Trepça and Gazivoda (Zëri) It seems that the Government of Serbia will not give up easily on the northern part of Kosovo, despite astronomical rights that the Serb minority will receive as a result of the Brussels agreement. While talks on telecom and energy have entered the final stage in Brussels, Serbia through its illegal structures is planning to invest in the Trepça mining complex and in Gazivoda Lake. According to Serb officials in northern Kosovo, Serbia plans to build a new foundry in Zvecan municipality and a hydropower plant to meet the needs of residents of northern Kosovo and the Trepça mining complex. Hungary takes over air space of Kosovo (Tribuna) The paper reports that the Republic of Kosovo will not be able to control its air space at least for another five years. Kosovo’s air space, which is one of the elements of the sovereignty of a state, will be controlled by Hungary in the next five years based on an agreement with KFOR.