The US and EU are pushing forward an initiative to pass a new Security Council resolution for Kosovo which would supersede the existing one, 1244. Dušan Janjić, coordinator of the Belgrade-based Forum for Ethnic Relations, said he had first-hand information from international sources that the new document is soon expected to be put up for discussion at the Security Council. “I believe the new resolution will be formally introduced before the UN General Assembly holds its sessions in September.

The Vetëvendosje Movement MP, Donika Kadaj-Bujupi, said on Monday that the agreement on border-demarcation with Montenegro in the current format is not right and Kosovo would be losing its territory with this agreement.  According to her, Vetëvendosje will never allow this agreement to pass the Kosovo Assembly. While commenting on government’s criticism that the opposition is blocking the visa liberalisation process, Kadaj-Bujupi said that opposition will not give up territory in exchange for visa liberalisation.

Kosovo's Prosecutorial Council unanimously voted in favour of extending the mandate to 17 EULEX prosecutors as well as appointing a new one. The decision came after the Kosovo Assembly extended EULEX mandate.

As part of the Confidence Building through Cultural Protection project implemented by the UNDP and EU, Albanian and Serb youths came together and visited the Orthodox Church in Kamenica where they learnt of the investments in protection of cultural heritage. Nilgun Arif, project manager, said the project will be implemented in several municipalities and is aimed at encouraging interethnic trust through protection of cultural sites. The group also visited the Kamenica mosque, which will undergo restoration work.

Kosovo’s Minister without portfolio, engaged in the dialogue with Serbia, Edita Tahiri, said today that progress has been reached in many significant fields of the processes for establishment and consolidation of Kosovo institutions in the north. She said that preparations are being made for round up this process.

The news website reports that the United Nations received a rebuke from a human rights panel attached to its peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, which described the panel’s efforts to make the mission accountable for rights violations as “a total failure”.

President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, said that the process for establishment of Kosovo armed forces has not stalled but that there were unfortunate delays in the process. In an interview, Thaçi said it is very important that in the ongoing internal dialogue, representatives of Kosovo Serbs are not against the idea of establishing armed forces but that they insist on certain conditions being met. “I believe we will find an acceptable solution in the near future in order to have truly multiethnic and functional armed forces”, Thaçi said.

The following opinion piece by President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, originally appeared in the US-based Religion News Service agency. 

Islamist extremism has become an increasingly deadly challenge for the Western world. A particularly unfortunate response can be seen in the rising influence of far right, isolationist and nativist political forces on both sides of the Atlantic.

Vetëvendosje Movement issued a press release following the decision of the government of Kosovo to extend the mandate of the EU rule of law mission (EULEX) until 2018 saying that the move renounces justice. “EULEX’s lifespan cannot be extended as its presence serves no gain”, said Vetëvendosje. It added that EULEX was installed in Kosovo under the promise that it would fight crime and corruption and strengthen the local rule of law system. “None of these two promises came true because the real goal of EULEX was never justice in Kosovo.

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, said that Serb returnees have no permit for construction of the so-called “Sunny Valley” in the north of Kosovo. “They have no right to construct the ‘Sunny Valley'. It is impermissible and valueless for so long as the institutions have not issued a permit”, said Mustafa today in a visit to Istog/Istok.