According to the budget proposal, UNMIK will receive this year three and a half million U.S. dollars less, while America and Great Britain advocate for downsizing of the mission’s staff. According to our sources the aim is to downsize 20 positions, while the area of human rights, support to the communities, and implementation of UNMIK’s role in Kosovo’s north will be strengthened to some extent.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern over the slow pace of implementation of agreements in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue over the past year.

Destiny of Ljubomir Knezevic, journalist of Pristina-based daily ‘Jedinstvo’ and associate correspondent of ‘Politika’ who went missing on this day seventeen years ago in Kosovo, is unknown yet.

War crimes remain an object of investigation even 17 years after the liberation of Kosovo. War crimes cases were previously under the UNMIK competencies and were later transferred as part of EULEX executive powers. But the EU rule of law mission since 2008 has not managed to solve 213 cases of this nature and is currently addressing 40 of them.

Prosecution of War Crimes in Serbia has exchanged so far 351, evidence and information in war crimes cases with countries in the region and relevant institutions.

As of January 2016 the Prosecution exchanged 173 with Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina 57, Montenegro 14 and EULEX / UNMIK 107.

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.

The Kosovo government has sent a plan for the transfer of all powers of the EU mission, EULEX, to local authorities.

This has been reported by the Albanian-language daily Koha Ditore, quoted by Tanjug.

The paper published a document in which Pristina calls on the EU to by mid-June transfer all cases initiated or investigated by EULEX to the local judiciary.

UNMIK, essentially violates the CEFTA agreement, because it has signed it and is responsible for its implementation. Why UNMIK does not respect its signature, this is something that should be answered, said the Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Aleksandar Vulin.

An information center for women’s health is being opened in the Municipality of Strpce. This center, according to a press release issued by NGO Action for Mothers and Children, will bring women from different ethnicity together to share their experiences of being a mother. The center also will offer group and individual advice to women on nutrition during pregnancy, stages of pregnancy, physical and psychological preparation for childbirth, newborn care and breastfeeding.

With regards to the recent information that former defender of Thaci, and first UNMIK chief Bernard Kouchner, may be a witness against  the current Kosovo President before the Special Court for KLA crimes, Hashim Thaci said in The Hague that he supports the work of the court, adding that it is an opportunity for Kosovo, not a punishment. Bernard Kouchner, head of UNMIK from July 1999 to 2001 shook his head in disagreement when previously asked about organ trafficking from the Yellow House by a VoA correspondent.