Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, met today in Pristina the EU director for Western Europe, Western Balkans and Turkey, Angelina Eichhorst. During the meeting Mustafa mentioned the continual progress being achieved in Kosovo, and special commitment of the government of Kosovo to advance European integration processes.

The three leaders of the opposition parties – Vetevendosje Movement, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Initiative for Kosovo (Nisma) - have decided to respond positively to the invitation of the President Atifete Jahjaga for  a political dialogue in an attempt to resolve the current political crisis. Visar Ymeri, Ramush Haradinaj and Fatmir Limaj will go together in these meetings.

The Vetevendosje Movement MP, Rexhep Selimi, said yesterday that the right to referendum is being denied to the Kosovo people by not drafting the law on referendum. According to him, the current crisis would be resolved by a referendum, because people would have their say on what they want. He said he doesn’t expect any initiative by the government to draft the law on referendum, because according to him, “the government fears the voice of the citizens.”

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) through a press release today noted that it is nonsense to insist to hold the Assembly session by all means. The AAK stresses that this insistence itself is a challenge, political immaturity and lack of national leadership.  "Kosovo’s leadership cannot behave as if everything is normal.  The current situation requires reflection and political responsibility,” reads the press release.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo, in co-operation with Kosovo Police and Terre des Hommes, hosted a conference today in Pristina on children’s rights, with a special focus on child beggars. The participants discussed the institutional co-operation on tackling the issue of child beggars and the protocol on police co-operation for preventing, restricting and combating trafficking in persons, primarily children.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo today launched a campaign to inform the public about their legal rights and available mechanisms to exercise these rights. The purpose of the three-month campaign, which includes television spots and radio spots, posters and flyers, is to raise awareness of the public about basic legal rights such as the right to counsel, the right to free legal assistance, the right to legal representation, the right to use the language, and the right of access information.

Kosovo’s Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP) will award today grants from the Self-Employment Program. In this case, 43 unemployed men and women will benefit 3000-6000 euros to establish new businesses. Following a competitive process, 43 business plans submitted will receive financial assistance and continuous mentoring in order to establish new businesses. The project is financed and implemented by the UNDP, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Kosovo’s President, Atifete Jahjaga, within the activities on the occasion of the UN General Assembly meeting, met in New York with King Abdullah II of Jordan. President Jahjaga and King Abdullah discussed the continuation of cooperation between the two countries, especially in the process of international recognition of Kosovo and in the fields of economy and security. Jahjaga urged King Adbullah to support Kosovo’s bid for membership in UNESCO.

The head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, Adem Grabovci, told TV Dukagjini that the leader of the PDK, Hashim Thaci, would be the next President of Kosovo.  Grabovci said he was conviced that the PDK – LDK agreement for Kosovo’s President would be fully respected.  In regards to the protests announced by opposition parties against the agreements reached with Serbia, Grabovci said that the opposition is trying to take the government illegally and will protest for their own interests.

Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Petrit Selimi, told Radio Free Europe that Kosovo’s eventual membership in UNESCO would bring many benefits, but responsibilities as well. Selimi said that Kosovo with a very young population, needs assistance and reforms in the education sector, and UNESCO is the one dealing with the issue of reforms, standardization and exchange of educational programs.