On the 66th anniversary of the European Union, Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said he pledges to secure Kosovo’s membership of the European Union and NATO. In a Facebook post, Mustafa said Kosovo needs to prove it has the will and power to put the law above anyone else. “We need to prove our determination in combating and uprooting corruption and organized crime and to implement standards of democracy,” he said. Mustafa said the coalition government he leads is willing to take the lead in this path.

Belgrade is not interested in the decisions of the constitutional court in Pristina, or it oblige us, nor we are interested, told RTS the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Djuric. He points out that message of Serbia to all European officials is clear and that it does not accept unilateral changing of the agreement reached.

Ben Andoni writes that the decision of the European Commission to recommend liberalization of visas for Kosovo, was celebrated more by the politicians than the ordinary citizens. Just like in Albania, majority of them remain skeptical that liberalization of visas would change things much, even though, non-liberalization of visas in Kosovo was felt a bit differently, as a denied right that they used to have under another citizenship.

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday that EU governments lift visa requirements for travellers from Kosovo, allowing those with biometric passports to spend 90 days in the Schengen area without a visa.

"Kosovo has made great progress," Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told reporters, adding that he hoped governments and the European Parliament would approve the proposal quickly.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-migrants-eu-kosovo-idUKKCN0XV1A2

Kosovars will be able to move without visas within 2016. This is official already. The news was confirmed by the Minister for European Integration, Bekim Collaku, who received information from European officials.

Now only technical procedures which are expected to be fulfilled within a few weeks, remain. Be as it may, today will be a marked day. The 4^th of May is the day when Kosovo gains positive recommendation for liberalization of visas for Schengen zone. This is Collaku’s posting on Facebook:

WITHOUT VISAS – 2016

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kosovo and the EU Office in Kosovo on Wednesday have launched a project dedicated to cultural protection in five municipalities in Kosovo. The European Union has allocated over 1.5 million euros for this project. Alessandra Rocasalvo, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative acknowledged generosity of the EU and said, "This project is a joint effort of EU, Eulex, religious leaders and municipalities to preserve Kosovo heritage."

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, met the European Parliament Member, and Rapporteur for Kosovo, Urlike Lunacek, during his visit to Brussels.

Mustafa together with Kosovo’s Minister for Integration, Bekim Collaku, have begun official meetings with the EU officials. A few moments ago, PM Mustafa ended his meeting with the European Parliament MP, Urlike Lunacek. They discussed EU integration of Kosovo and the process of visa liberalization.

The project ‘Building the trust through protection of cultural monuments in Kosovo’ was presented today in Pristina. The goal of the project is reconstruction, promotion and protection of cultural heritage in Kosovo, along with promoting tolerance among communities. Cultural objects that will be promoted through the project are located in Gnjilane/Gilan, Štrpce/Shtërpcë, Uroševac/Ferizaj, Lipljan/Lipjan and Kamenica/Kamenicë municipalites.

Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, stated that majority of Serbs already possess ID of Kosovo, as result of the Brussels dialogue.
She said that the reach of the agreement on free movement in 2011 made “majority of Serbs to take the IDs of Kosovo state.”

Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, Samuel Zbogar, said that the Stabilization Association Agreement is both politically and economically important and it shows clearly the European perspective of Kosovo. Zbogar made these comments during a round table for the SAA. “We want functioning of the rule of law a functional assembly without compromise towards corruption. SAA will create conditions for investments. It will create new jobs,” Zbogar said. He added however that SAA is not only an economic agreement.