Vetëvendosje MP Donika Kadaj-Bujupi said today that the Kosovo government would make a “provocation” if it decided to submit to the Kosovo Assembly the border-demarcation with Montenegro. Kadaj-Bujupi said the Vetëvendosje Movement will oppose the current version of the agreement and ask for a review of the document. “The border-demarcation agreement will produce new crises,” she added.
Kosovo Assembly MP Blerim Shala writes in an opinion piece that the media and political storm that accompanied the decision of the Kosovo Assembly to extend the mandate for the EU rule of law mission showed the lack of understanding of what the move really encompasses. Shala points out that it was Kosovo institutions that invited the EU to establish a mission in 2008 but notes that in the years to come, Kosovo managed to build sufficient capacities to strengthen the rule of law.
Kosovo’s European Integration Ministry officials told the news site that if the Kosovo Assembly fails to ratify the border-demarcation agreement with Montenegro, it would jeopardise the visa liberalisation process. The ratification of this agreement, according to European integration officials, is a condition for this process and it is now in the hands of the Kosovo Assembly and political parties to decide on this matter. Meanwhile, opposition parties have reiterated that they will oppose the ratification of this agreement by all means.
The head of the Privatization Agency of Kosovo (PAK), Petrit Gashi, said today in Pristina that the action for releasing usurped properties in the northern part of Mitrovica has not failed. Gashi said they are coordinating the matter with the police and prosecution. After meeting Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, Gashi said PAK would apply the same procedures for all usurped properties throughout Kosovo. “The action [in the north] has not failed. We are coordinating with the Kosovo Police and prosecution.
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo through a press release today confirmed that on Sunday it will open five centers in Kosovo for Serbia's parliamentary elections.
Kosovo expects to receive very soon the recommendation for visa liberalization as government officials in Pristina claim all criteria required by the European Union have already been met. Fisnik Rexhepi, senior advisor to Kosovo’s Minister for European Integration Bekim Collaku, told the news portal that Kosovo too is in the EU’s agenda for visa liberalization. “We have met the criteria required by EU institutions through an unprecedented rigorous roadmap. EU institutions are reviewing the Kosovo case.
All media cover today’s press conference by Kosovo’s Chief State Prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi, highlighting his statement that in the coming weeks the prosecution in cooperation with the police will launch a joint action of freeing up several usurped properties. During a presentation about the work of the State Prosecution for 2015, Lumezi said he was not satisfied with the fight against high-level corruption and added that the prosecution cannot act on generalized information.
Blerim Shala, member of Kosovo’s Parliament and coordinator of the Kosovo delegation in the Brussels talks, argues in an opinion piece that “it would be wrong to assume that we have entered a period of political stability; this stability has been lacking since the parliamentary elections held in June two years ago”.
Citing sources in the Kosovo Police, the Pristina-based news site reports that the three Kosovars arrested by German authorities on Tuesday are not suspected of having planned any terror attacks.
In the framework of the EU funded "Free Movement of Goods in Kosovo" project, the EU Office/EUSR marked World Consumer Rights Day today by organizing a round table to discuss "Consumer rights in practice". The project's objective is, among others, to reinforce the protection of Kosovo consumers. The main discussion was about the admission and handling of complaints as well as the cooperation of the relevant institutions on consumer protection.