The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, said at the press conference after today’s meeting of the government, that the government has approved the decision for establishment of the commission for Trepca draft law.
He said that the commission for Trepca will continuously report to the government about its work and according to him this is the first step towards the fulfillment of promises for the long term solution to Trepca’s statute.
The Trepca miners today announced that they if Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa doesn’t take any action regarding Trepca, they would continue their strike which they suspended in late January this year. "The strike that was suspended in January might as well continue again. We demand solving Trepca’s status and approving the law on Trepca,” said Trepca’s director, Qazim Jashari.
Trepca miners have entered a strike protesting over working conditions and the mine's management. Mine's director Qazim Jashari confirmed that the workers have begun the strike today. The miners have not presented their demands yet but according to Jashari the law on Trepca is among one of the reasons for strike.
“The delegation of the Chinese company “CITIC- Heavy Industries CO. Ltd”, the mayor of South Mitrovica, Agim Bahtiri and President of alliance of Albanian companies in the world, Elmi Berisha, met yesterday with the leadership of the Trepca Complex. They discussed the possibilities of investment in the mines,” was stated from the Municipality South Mitrovica.
Part of the Trepca mine controlled by the northern Kosovo Serbs will earn this year more than 24 million through export of lead-zinc concentrate, which is excavated in mines Belo Brdo and Crnac.
From the sale of lead concentrate, which will be exported to the company Meneko International Limited in London, Serbs in northern Kosovo will earn 18 million and 650,000 euros. Management of Trepca in Zvecan expects additional 5.5 million euro from the export of zinc concentrate to a well-known company from Beloslava in Poland.
The majority owner of Trepča Complex is not Serbia, but the Serbian shareholders who have about 70 per cent of the capital of this former giant enterprise. These are Yugobanka, Beobanka, Beogradska banka, Goša, Ikaterm, Jedinstvo, Progres, Genex, Zorka, 14 Octobar,...
Deputy Head of the EULEX Joelle Vachter said that she believes that the implementation of the Brussels agreement on judiciary will contribute to improving the lives of citizens in the north.
When will start implementation of the agreement and what kind of role in this process will have EULEX?
We expect further steps regarding the implementation of this agreement. We are ready to implement the agreement at any time.
Which obstacles do you expect in the implementation?
Kosovo Deputy Foreign Minister Petrit Selimi in a talk show “Slobodno Srpski” said that Trepca Complex will not be the topic of the Brussels talks. "According to the Ahtisaari plan everything in Kosovo belongs to Kosovo. Kosovo ownership can only be discussed by the people who live in Kosovo, not Belgrade. With Belgrade we can talk about the debt - what Kosovo owes to Belgrade and vice versa," Selimi said.
The number of Kosovars seeking asylum in the EU has drastically increased. It poses a challenge to recipient countries in the region, including Germany, and is on the agenda at Kosovo-Serbia talks in Brussels. Seven years after declaration of independence from Serbia, Kosovo is seeing a dramatic rise in the number of its citizens leaving to escape unemployment and poverty.
Former Director of Trepca Complex Novak Bjelic said that Belgrade must not accept talks about Trepca with Pristina authorities, because, as he said, “it is a done deal”. "Trepca is a stock company, not a property of the state," said Bjelić adding that if the UNSC Resolution 1244 continues to be respected, Trepca cannot belong to Kosovo.