European Union foreign ministers on Tuesday called the Kosovo government to immediately revoke the 100 percent tariffs imposed on goods from Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina, adding that Belgrade and Pristina have to implement all agreements reached in the EU-facilitated dialogue.
France must focus on the Western Balkans which have become “a diplomatic dead end”, French European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau said, the Belgrade-based Beta news agency reported.
She told the French daily newspaper La Croix that the European Union has not engaged itself sufficiently in reinforcing the peace in the reigon.
“Things can either go in a good direction or in a bad one” but there can be no status quo, she said.
Employees of the Basic Court in Mitrovica, located in the north, have returned to their work, which they interrupted on Tuesday as a sign of solidarity with citizens protesting the introduction of 100 percent taxes on the goods from central Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, KoSSev portal reports.
It was also reported that staff members have returned to their duties, and it is expected all hearings to be held as per schedule.
Employees of the Court in Mitrovica North have decided to suspend their work in solidarity with citizens who are protesting in four municipalities in northern Kosovo.
In a letter sent to the President of the Cour, it is said that in the past week, the decision of Kosovo government has introduced a political embargo that jeopardized not only human and civil rights, but also questioned the physical existence of Serbian people throughout Kosovo.
The President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci participated today at the ceremony of marking “The week for the rights of the victims of crime.” During his speech, Thaci requested from prosecutors and judges to take seriously their responsibilities.
Radio Free Europe reports that after more than two years since being signed, the justice agreement between Pristina and Belgrade is finally beginning to be implemented in the north of Kosovo. This is hoped will end the activity of parallel courts in the northern municipalities which until now worked based on Serbia’s legislation.
Basic Court in Ferizaj / Uroševac sentenced six workers of the Public Company "National Park Šar Planina", which functioned in the system of the Republic of Serbia, with the conditional sentence of imprisonment and ordered them to pay EUR 150,000 for the offense of devastation of forest.
Non implementation of the Brussels agreement on the judiciary is a major problem for the Serb community in Kosovo. This was said during a public discussion organized by the Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC) in North Mitrovica.
Judge Jelena Krivokapić said that she and her colleagues do not have any information about the date of the beginning of functioning of an integrated justice. She also said that nobody tells them anything, that they do not know the reasons for it and that they work with reduced capacity.
The Brussels agreement on the judiciary was supposed to start on January 10, but this is still pending. The Parliamentary Commission on Legislation organized a public debate to inform the public about the reasons for non-implementation of this Agreement.
The Commission invited the Minister for dialogue Edita Tahiri and Minister of Justice Dhurata Hoxha to inform MPs and the public about the reasons for the delay of the integration of the Serbian judiciary into Kosovo's system.
Daily Večernje Novosti reported that agreement on justice, agreed by Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels in 2013, which should begin with the realization on January 10, was postponed until January 17, but it is uncertain whether it will happen even then.
This delay of implementation of the agreement was confirmed at a meeting of Serbs employed in the judiciary in Kosovo with representatives of the Serbian Ministry of Justice.