Headlines - 20.09.2016

• Opposition’s alternatives on border demarcation agreement (Koha Ditore)
• Little hope on demarcation meeting (Zëri)
• UN General Assembly summit, good opportunity for lobbying (Epoka e Re)
• Thaçi: OSCE, crucial in organising elections in the north (Epoka e Re)
• Kurz: Kosovo among places with growing radicalism (Kosova Sot)
• Sherifi: Association might bring turmoil (Kosova Sot)
• In six months, 109 police officers under investigation (Zëri)

Opposition’s alternatives on border demarcation agreement (Koha Ditore)

Opposition parties are reported to have presented to the government of Kosovo, in the behind-closed-door meetings, two possibilities regarding the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. The first is the annulment of the agreement altogether while the second entails not approving it at the Assembly. Discussions, initiated by Naim Rashiti from the Balkans Policy Research Group think-tank, are expected to be finalized in the course of this week, but there are no signs yet that the parties are shifting their positions.  ​

Little hope on demarcation meeting (Zëri)

The paper reports in a front page story that on the initiative of the Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, the ruling coalition and opposition parties are expected to meet in the coming days once again to discuss the border demarcation deal with Montenegro. However, according to independent experts on demarcation, these talks are doomed to fail because there are no new facts to be presented. On the other hand, political analysts say that there is a possibility that a compromise might be reached between the government and opposition parties, even by sending this agreement to the International Court of Arbitration.

UN General Assembly summit, good opportunity for lobbying (Epoka e Re)

With the annual session of the UN General Assembly underway, the leaders of Kosovo should use it as an opportunity for lobbying for more recognitions and foreign investments, analysts say. Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj have already had several meetings in New York including with former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Mustafa and Hoxhaj also met leaders from Sri Lanka, Malawi and Samoa.

Thaçi: OSCE, crucial in organising elections in the north (Epoka e Re)

President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, had a farewell meeting yesterday with the head of the OSCE mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger, and said that the OSCE has played a crucial role in organising elections in the northern part of Kosovo. “We have cooperated in times of challenges, but we overcame them successfully,” said Thaçi further stressing  the OSCE’s contribution to the development and strengthening of democracy in Kosovo.

Kurz: Kosovo among places with growing radicalism (Kosova Sot)

Austria’s Foreign Minister, Sebastian Kurz, said on Monday in New York that he was concerned with  Islamic radicalization in the Western Balkans. He particularly stressed that the authorities in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo should fight  growing Islamic radicalization, “because the religious influence is spreading there, while women are paid to cover themselves in the streets.” 

Sherifi: Association might bring turmoil (Kosova Sot)

The Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) Secretary, Bilall Sherifi, said on Monday that the government of Kosovo must be careful with the issue of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, because “every action to establish this Association might bring turmoil in Kosovo”.  He also denied  recent reports that his party and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) might join the government, saying that early elections are the only way out of the current crisis. According to him, Prime Minister Isa Mustafa’s invitation to the opposition parties to discuss demarcation is considered as softening of the government’s position on demarcation.

In six months, 109 police officers under investigation (Zëri)

The paper reports that since the beginning of the year, 109 Kosovo Police officers have been investigated by the Kosovo Police Inspectorate (KPI) for committing criminal offences. As a result of these investigations, 24 of these police officers were suspended. Arbër Beka, spokesperson for the KPI, said the number of complaints against police officers is the same as the previous year. “Most of the offences that the KPI investigates are: endangering public traffic, abuse of official authority or position and minor injuries,” Beka said.