Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Enver Hoxhaj, told Austrian daily paper Der Standard that the recent statements of Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache on Kosovo still being part of Serbia do not contribute to reconciliation between peoples in the Balkans or the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Enver Hoxhaj, said in Strasbourg before the members of the European Parliament that it was unimaginable that ten years since the declaration of independence, there are still five EU countries that have not yet recognised Kosovo. “Agenda against international recognition of Kosovo is a Russian agenda and it is absurd that in 2018, the EU countries have not managed to find a common language on Kosovo. This lack of unity within the EU has reflected on Kosovo’s position in the newest EU enlargement strategy,” Hoxhaj said.

The head of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) parliamentary group Avdullah Hoti along with a group of fellow-party MPs met today the Head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Nataliya Apostolova, and discussed the current situation in Kosovo, particularly the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. Hoti expressed the disapointment of the LDK with the decision of the Kosovo Assembly chairmanship to postpone the voting on the deal while Apostolova highlighted EU priorities for the coming period.

Vetevendosje officials said in a debate on the specialist chambers and its relations with Kosovo institutions that although they consider the court to be political and aimed at “distorting” the fight for freedom led by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), the initiative for its abrogation is not right.

Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dusko Markovic, will visit Kosovo on 6 February on an invitation by his Kosovo counterpart, Ramush Haradinaj. During the visit, Markovic is also expected to meet President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, and Assembly President, Kadri Veseli. Donjeta Gashi, head of Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj’s Information Office, said the border demarcation issue will also be discussed with Markovic. “Of course the demarcation will be discussed in the visit. It is in the interest of all for the demarcation issue to be resolved as soon as possible.

Kosovo’s Minister for European Integration, Dhurata Hoxha, said at the “Go West – Western Balkan” conference taking place in Vienna that European integration remains one of the key objectives of Kosovo’s foreign policy along with consolidation of democracy, rule of law, respect of human rights and creation of a functional market economy. She said she hoped the EU institutions would continue to provide a concrete and dynamic integration perspective for the whole of Western Balkans region.

Kosovo’s Minister of European Integration, Dhurata Hoxha, said in a meeting with Bulgarian Ambassador, Nedialtcho Dantchev, that Kosovo needs to be given a timeline regarding its EU integration and also be included in all enlargement initiatives. “There is consensus on the integration aspect in our country. It is regrettable that Kosovo is the last in Balkans in the process. Any strategy dealing with Western Balkans integration would not be complete and make sense without Kosovo,” Hoxha said.

Advisor to Prime Minister of Kosovo on missing persons, Jahja Lluka, met today officials from the Kosovo’s Forensic Institute and also discussed their presence in the process for determining the fate of missing persons. Director of the institute, Arsim Gerxhaliu, and EULEX forensic anthropologist, Tarja Formisto, spoke about their joint work while Lluka expressed the support of the Kosovo institutions in determining the fate of missing persons.

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Lutfi Haziri, told RTV Dukagjini that the law on specialist chambers cannot be abrogated through initiatives brought before the Assembly as this could cause “legal chaos”.  He said Kosovo could have preceded the establishment of specialist chambers by setting up a court of its own to deal with allegations of crimes contained in the Council of Europe report but that such an initiative did not encounter support back in 2015.

Avdullah Hoti, head of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) parliamentary group, has called Kosovo’s institutional leaders to demonstrate greater political maturity and not “experiment” and “undermine” relations with countries that helped Kosovo realize the dream for freedom and independence.