Kosovo Assembly

The head of the Social Democratic Union, SDU, has accused the Belgrade-backed party representing Kosovo Serbs, Srpska Lista, SL, of trying to ensure the election of sympathetic MPs among Kosovo's non-Serb minorities communities.

Duda Balje made the accusation during a debate hosted in Pristina by BIRN Kosovo's Jeta Xharra on Wednesday.

The Constitutional Court ruled on Monday that Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti's government is illegitimate because it was voted in by a majority in the Kosovo Assembly that included a vote cast by MP Etem Arifi, who was given a prison sentence for corruption.

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti, in coordination with acting Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, on Thursday dismissed the chief of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, KIA, Kreshnik Gashi, allegedly for trying to obtain confidential documents from the President's office.

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti has repeatedly stated that consultations will be held with the country's political parties to discuss choosing the next president after Hashim Thaci's resignation, but his office told BIRN that the government has not yet set a date for talks.

A former chief judge for the EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, Malcolm Simmons, has asked to tell the Kosovo Assembly about the alleged wrongdoings he said he witnessed in his time in office, the head of Kosovo Parliamentary Commission on Legislation, Shkemb Manaj, told BIRN on Wednesday.

The proposed Draft Law on Protection of the Kosovo Liberation Army's Values failed to pass on Thursday after only 35 MPs out of a total of 120 lawmakers in the Kosovo Assembly voted in favour.

"A total of 36 deputies participated [in the vote], 35 votes in favour, one against and no abstentions," said Kosovo Assembly speaker Vjosa Osmani.

Lajcak told reporters in Pristina that he knew the dates of the meetings for the resumption of the dialogue in Brussels, but that he could not announce them for now, Pristina media reported.
"I have dates, but I can't share them with you for now, because I have to coordinate with partners and we don't have time to lose", Lajcak said.

After more than 20 years spent in Kosovo's political arena, President Hashim Thaci on Thursday announced that he will no longer be involved in politics once his mandate ends in April next year.

Kosovo's parliament will vote on Wednesday morning on whether to endorse a new government led by Avdullah Hoti, the deputy head of the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, only four months after the same chamber voted in a government led by Albin Kurti.

He said that there were no talks or agreements with Belgrade.
"I dream about Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac becoming a part of Kosovo's territorial integrity without any compromise," Thaci told TV Klan Kosova last night.