Kosovo Assembly MP and columnist for Lajmi news website, Blerim Shala, claims that Kosovo’s political class is not concerned with what will become of society once the Stabilization and Association Agreement starts to be implemented and visa liberalization is granted, or what will happen when the special court becomes operational, and how Kosovo will  face the security challenges and fight corruption and organised crime. Instead, the main preoccupation is when the next opposition protest will take place and its aftermath.

Kosovo’s Minister for European integration, Bekim Collaku, said today that Kosovo has fulfilled six of the remaining eight criteria for visa liberalization. According to Collaku, the unmet criteria are the ratification of the agreement on border-demarcation with Montenegro and premises for the office of the Ombudsperson.

Blerim Shala, member of the Kosovo Assembly and coordinator of Kosovo’s delegation in talks with Belgrade, writes in his opinion piece that in parliamentarian democracies there are no alternatives to political dialogue. Shala recalls that in light of major problems in the political landscape in Kosovo, both the government and the opposition have called on one another to reflect.

President of the Kosovo Assembly Kadri Veseli said today that the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Hashim Thaci will be elected president of Kosovo and that “this process is not becoming complicated.” Referring to President Atifete Jahjaga’s remarks that Kosovo doesn’t need international intervention to resolve the political situation, Veseli said Kosovo needs international support, particularly that of the US. Veseli did not say when the next Assembly session will take place but that they will step up talks with the opposition before announcing the date.

Chairman of the Kosovo Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee Enver Hoxhaj said Kosovo aims to apply for EU candidate status within a three-year period. Hoxhaj, former Foreign Minister, made the comment in a press conference following a meeting with a group of Austrian officials. Hoxhaj said Austria is Kosovo’s partner in the visa liberalization process and stressed the importance of this support in pursuing Kosovo’s European integration journey.

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) MP Vjosa Osmani called on her party colleagues to prevent the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci from becoming the new Kosovo president. She said the only way to achieve this is by the LDK MPs not participating in the Assembly session when Thaci is expected to be voted for president. She explained that it is required for at least ten LDK MPs, plus the opposition ones, to boycott the session leaving it without a quorum and unable to vote on the motion.

Citing well-informed sources, the news site reports that Quint countries, namely the United States of America, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Italy, have decided to undertake firm and joint measures against individuals that are believed to be undermining processes of European integration, most notably the implementation of the agreement on the formation of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities.

Glauk Konjufca, head of the Vetevendosje parliamentary group, told reporters that he set off a teargas canister at the Kosovo Assembly session today. “I set off the teargas with several other MPs. This is a collective action by the opposition; others have done this before me and others will do it after me. We decided to set off the teargas and who would set it off. The opposition is determined to prevent the implementation of these agreements because they are damaging for Kosovo.

The leader of the Islamic Community of Kosovo, Naim Ternava, said today in Pristina that fostering inter-religious and inter-human tolerance is one of the priorities of the institution he leads. At a meeting with the Austrian Ambassador in Kosovo, Gernot Pfandler, Ternava said that extremism, violence and terrorism have nothing in common with Islam. “It is our responsibility to provide a proper explanation of Islam, far from narrow-minded and extreme interpretations that use religion for other interests,” Ternava said.

Blerim Shala, member of the Kosovo Assembly and the political coordinator of the Kosovo team in talks with Serbia, writes in his opinion piece that the key message from the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, during his visit to Kosovo on Wednesday, was that Kosovo needs to implement all obligations as a democratic, European and Western country. Shala notes that during his two-hour stay at Pristina Airport on Wednesday, Kerry made it clear what Kosovo needs to do in the next two-three years. “There cannot be violence and democracy at the same time.