• Merkel: Kosovo, Serbia to follow Skopje and Athens’ political courage (media)
• Haradinaj: We won’t allow Serbia or anyone else to threaten Kosovo (Zeri)
• Haradinaj in Paris, seeks support for visa liberalisation (Epoka)
• Veseli is being challenged by fellow party members (Zeri)
• Kuci: If opposition gets 61 votes, we are ready to go to early elections (media)
• Pacolli: Great victory for Kosovo at World Customs Organization (media)
• Shukri Buja targeted by the special court (Zeri)
• Hodzic: Humanitarian crisis in the North, a political game (Epoka)
• Assembly to hold extraordinary session today on Presevo Valley (RTK)
• Pompeo: Others should join Kosovo in treating Hezbollah as a terror organization (Klan)

Merkel: Kosovo, Serbia to follow Skopje and Athens’ political courage (media)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that the Balkans region has a European perspective but that many conditions have yet to be fulfilled. “Many German citizens have personal relations with people from Western Balkans, many people from Western Balkans live in Germany and represent a bridge with those countries. Citizens of this region are our neighbors and their perspective are to become part of the EU, if they fulfil all the conditions,” Merkel said.

“Today, the situation in Western Balkans is calm however there are challenges that should be resolved and which are necessary to fulfill the conditions and prepare the countries for acceptance in the EU,” she said adding that the political courage of the leaders in Greece and North Macedonia opened perspective to start negotiations for acceptance in EU and NATO.

“Such a positive example should be an encouragement for the solution of other problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and between Serbia and Kosovo,” Merkel said.

Haradinaj: We won’t allow Serbia or anyone else to threaten Kosovo (Zeri)

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said on Sunday that Kosovo will not allow Serbia or any other country to threaten it. During a meeting of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Haradinaj said the decision to introduce the 100 percent import tariff on Serbian goods, the elimination of the border correction idea and the formation of the Armed Forces, have restored Kosovo’s statehood.

“With the 100 percent import tariff, we proved to the world and to ourselves that we will not allow Serbia or any other country to threaten Kosovo. We have met the visa liberalization requirements and we are waiting for Europe to make its decision,” Haradinaj was quoted as saying.

Haradinaj in Paris, seeks support for visa liberalisation (Epoka)

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has travelled to Paris, to seek support on visa liberalization for Kosovo. Haradinaj is expected to meet today with France’s Interior Minister Christophe Castaner and discuss the course of the visa liberalization process. Haradinaj expressed optimism that the European Union will liberalise visas for the people of Kosovo. “We have fulfilled all the criteria for visa liberalisation, and we expect from Europe to make the same decision as Germany which said yes to us. I will have meetings only on this matter as Kosovo is ready and it has completed its duties,” Haradinaj said.

Veseli is being challenged by fellow party members (Zeri)

The paper reports on its front page that some of the founders of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) do not agree with party leader Kadri Veseli’s decision to dismiss from party and public posts his fellow party members that have active indictments. Sami Lushtaku and Sokol Bashota are still holding their posts as mayors of Skenderaj and Klina, respectively, despite the fact that both have active indictments. Political commentators meanwhile argue that Veseli is running into the resistance of PDK officials close to former party leader and current President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci.

Kuci: If opposition gets 61 votes, we are ready to go to early elections (media)

Blerim Kuci, MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), said in an interview to Kosovapress news agency that the AAK is ready to go to early parliamentary elections if the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and Vetevendosje (VV) manage to secure 61 votes for a no-confidence motion against the Haradinaj-led government. Kuci argued that according to polls conducted by reliable organizations, the AAK has marked a tremendous increase in popular support. “This is an indicator that the Alliance is always ready to go to elections,” he added.

Pacolli: Great victory for Kosovo at World Customs Organization (media)

Several news websites report that Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli took to Twitter on Saturday to note that Serbia and Russia have failed to prevent Kosovo from exercising its rights at the World Customs Organization. “Great victory for Kosovo and its partners today at the World Customs Organization. The efforts of Serbia and Russia to obstruct Kosovo from exercising its right as a full and equal member failed. Kosovo is a full MS and played an active membership. Grateful to our delegation and friends,” Pacolli tweeted.

Shukri Buja targeted by the special court (Zeri)

Shukri Buja, former mayor of Lipjan and one of the commanders of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), told the paper on Sunday that he has been summoned by the Specialist Chambers and that he will appear before the court on July 17 in the capacity of a suspect. Buja said he will respect the court but that he is skeptical that it will serve justice. “It is apparent that the special court is a political and biased court and that it will be detrimental to Kosovo,” he told the paper.

Hodzic: Humanitarian crisis in the North, a political game (Epoka)

Kosovo’s Minister of Local Administration Adrijana Hodzic, who administered for a long time the government office in the North, admitted for EkonomiaOnline that there is lack of some food products in the north and that shelves are half empty, however she said this is all a political game. “It is not easy for the citizens. Humanitarian crisis is a po0litical game. Political decisions are the ones that are making citizens victims,” she said.

Hodzic also said that the situation in the north has become tense after Pristina’s decision to introduce a 100-percent tariff on Serbian goods. She said she hopes Pristina and Belgrade will find a common ground to overcome the current situation.

Assembly to hold extraordinary session today on Presevo Valley (RTK)

Most media report that the Kosovo Assembly will hold an extraordinary session today to discuss the current situation of Albanians living in Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvjedja. The session is scheduled to start at 11:00 and will discuss the engagement of Kosovo institutions on the rights and resolution of difficulties in these three mainly Albanian-inhabited municipalities of Serbia.

Pompeo: Others should join Kosovo in treating Hezbollah as a terror organization (Klan)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took to Twitter to show support for Kosovo’s designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

“The U.S. welcomes Kosovo’s designation of Hizballah as a terrorist organization. With Iran’s support, Hizballah continues to plot attacks in Europe and around the world. We call on others to join Kosovo and stop this terrorist group from financing its bloody operations,” Pompeo wrote.