Headlines - 27.03.2014

EULEX mandate impacts ten laws (Koha)
The paper reports on the front page that ten laws and three codes will have to be simultaneously amended when parliament ratifies the agreement on the new European rule of law mission in Kosovo. The amendments have already been prepared. The paper claims to have secured the list of legal acts that will be amended. These laws regulate different areas, especially those related to executive competencies currently held by EULEX. Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci told the paper that amendments would be voted on, on the same day that members of parliament will vote on the exchange of letters between Pristina and Brussels for the new EU mission.

Corruption prolongs life of EULEX (Zeri)
Citing sources in Brussels, the paper reports that the European Union has decided to continue its mission in Kosovo and the only changes would be to transfer some competencies to local institutions for certain “easier” cases and to downsize the number of staff.

“The mission will continue to operate even after June 2014, at least for two more years. Staff will be downsized, but competencies will remain more or less the same, with some minor changes. EULEX will continue to work on serious crimes and high-level corruption,” an unnamed international official told the paper. “War crimes, the north and high-level corruption are three strong reasons that impacted the decision to continue the mandate of EULEX.”

EULEX, two more years in Kosovo (Tribuna)
The European Union will continue to have a presence in Kosovo, be it under the EULEX name or some other, for at least two more years, the paper reports on the front page. Reliable sources told the paper that EULEX will not hand over all executive competencies to authorities in Kosovo.

The government of Kosovo had proposed that EULEX conclude its ongoing cases and not take on new ones, leaving the local institutions to deal with them. International authorities made it clear that crimes of a serious nature, including war crimes and cases of corruption, demonstrate the need for an extension of the EULEX mandate along with certain executive competencies.

Election reform to be discussed today at the Assembly (Epoka)
Deputies of the Assembly of Kosovo, will discuss today the draft “Law on General Elections in the Republic of Kosovo.” Representatives of political parties felt that the changes made to the current law do not represent substantial elections reform. According to them, these changes are more of a technical nature. According to the Kosovo Assembly Speaker, Jakup Krasniqi, these changes are “cosmetic.”

Joint translation of EU legislation (Epoka)
The Minister for European Integration of Kosovo, Vlora Citaku, and her Albanian counterpart, Klajda Gjosha, signed on Wednesday an agreement on the functioning of a technical commission for translating EU legislation into Albanian. Citaku and Gjosha felt that this agreement reflects the will and determination of the two countries to share experiences on the process of European integration. Çitaku stated that the last round of the negotiations on the Stabilization Association Agreement will be held in the beginning of April.

“Hacking”, condition for visa liberalization (Tribuna)
The European Commission is reported to have imposed on Kosovo an additional condition regarding the visa liberalization regime. Kosovo has been asked to have its Ministry of European Integration – rather than the Ministry of Internal Affairs – draft the hacking law.

Minister of European Integration Vlora Citaku confirmed that her ministry has been tasked with drafting the law and had already consulted all stakeholders in the process. Citaku said the draft law had been in Brussels for six months and had been sent back to Kosovo institutions in February for further changes. “The European Commission’s concerns about the division of competencies between the judiciary and police have been addressed. Every remark was taken into consideration,” said Citaku.

Kurti: Vote theft must be stopped (Lajm)
In a front-page story, the paper reports that Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti met yesterday with “Democracy in Action,” a coalition of non-governmental organizations. Kurti said the decision on election reforms, which came out from the 2011 April agreement between Pacolli, Thaci and Mustafa, was never honest and serious, but rather aimed at getting the country out of its institutional crisis and to elect the president.

Kurti also said he is against the establishment of a Tribunal for crimes allegedly committed by the former Kosovo Liberation Army and blamed Prime Minister Thaci, “who is paving the way to the establishment of the tribunal with his actions”.

Kurti also said that vote theft must be stopped in the upcoming elections, “otherwise the weak state of Kosovo will be irreversibly transformed into a failed country”.

Selimi: Government should announce its position on Tribunal (Epoka)
Vetëvendosje MP Rexhep Selimi, said in an interview for this daily that the government of Kosovo should announce its position on the establishment of a tribunal for investigating alleged KLA crimes. “I do not know what is the role of the Government yet, because it did not make any statement, even though it should have done so,” said Selimi. According to him, the creation of a tribunal which prejudges the KLA as guilty or as involved in crimes, is not justice. He said that Kosovo needs justice which would be initiated from inside. He added that he does not expect the tribunal to be created.

Tribunal for Kosovo to have two locations (Bota Sot)
Based on international sources, Publiku.net has reported that the approach to the establishment of a tribunal for Kosovo has changed completely after Russia’s intervention in Crimea. These sources allegedly said that essential changes will be made on the initial proposal. The tribunal will be under the jurisdiction of the “Republic of Kosovo” and only partially under international jurisdiction, a step that would maintain, to some extent, the precedent of non-interference of foreign jurisdiction.

Limaj: Don’t expect much from this government (Lajm)
Fatmir Limaj, leader of the “Initiative for Kosovo” political party, said no one should have high expectations from the current government. Limaj further argued that Kosovo doesn’t need ad-hoc policies, but rather clear and visionary ones.

In an interview for the Preseva Jone web site, Limaj said he regrets the indifference of Kosovo institutions towards problems faced by Albanians in the Presevo Valley.

Bahtiri and Rakic to meet today (Lajm)
Mitrovica Mayor Agim Bahtiri and Mitrovica North Mayor Goran Rakic will meet today to discuss the removal of the barricade on the bridge over the Iber River. Aleksandar Spiric, deputy head of the Mitrovica North municipal assembly, told Radio Kosova that northern Serbs are not ready to remove the barricade. “First, trust needs to be reestablished between residents from the north and the south. We think that the timing and circumstances are not right to remove the barricade. For the time being, we cannot talk about this. But we expect an agreement can be reached in the future,” Spiric added.

Thaci stopped protest against partition of Mitrovica (Zeri)
The paper reports that in mid-1999 the French Army sent Hashim Thaci to Mitrovica to stop a protest by hospital staff members of who opposed the division of the city. Staff members were calling for the removal of the barricade in order to get access to the hospital located in the northern part of Mitrovica.

A video from the protest published recently on YouTube shows thousands of Albanians confronting French troops. The crowd became quiet only after the arrival of Thaci, who was accompanied by former SHIK chief Kadri Veseli and Rrahman Rama, who now holds the rank of general in the Kosovo Security Force. Thaci told protesters that they should have faith in the international community and that such problems would have to be resolved in a civilized fashion. Thaci also promised them that everyone, not only medical staff, would be able to go to the north.

According to the paper, “the video on YouTube only confirms a statement made last year by French investigative journalist Pierre Pean, who said that Thaci was trained by the French Intelligence Service”.

Women in Black apologize to Albanians for Serbian crimes (Koha)
Women in Black, a non-governmental organization based in Belgrade, held a commemoration performance in Belgrade yesterday, to protest Serbian crimes committed against Albanian civilians during the 1999 NATO air campaign.

“Today we remember the pogrom against the Albanian population, which in addition to NATO raids was also exposed to armed terror and ethnic cleansing by the Serbian regime,” the NGO coordinator said. “We send our deepest condolences and our solidarity to the families of the victims.”