Government No Decision About Handling Demarket to Parliament

The border demarcation agreement with Montenegro was signed in August 2015 in Vienna. At the time, partner parties in Government were the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Democratic League of Kosovo.

Now, these two political parties -- one in Government and the other in opposition -- maintain different positions regarding whether this agreement should be annulled or ratified.

Elmi Recica, deputy of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, told Radio Free Europe that ratification of the Demarkation remains the main condition for visa liberalisation. According to him, the new Commission for Marking the Border Line, appointed by Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, is expected to come up with proposals. From that proposal, according to him, decisions will be made on how to act.

“Opinion is reportedly named a new Commission [for Demarkation]. I believe that very soon the commission will come with his proposal. We like [ The PDK] still has no stance, yet we do not know what that option will be, but we know that this process must soon be completed in terms of demarcation between Kosovo and Montenegro”, Recica said.

He has added that at the moment new positions for Demarketing arise, the Headship and Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party of Kosovo will be consulted to come up with a final stance.

The “will certainly be our influence there as far as the Government's decision is concerned because a possible changed option or whatever comes. Then we will gather as party leaders and as the Parliamentary Group have our clear position”, Recica said.

The party of incumbent Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, the Vetevendosje Movement and Initiative for Kosovo, the 2015 agreement on demarcation between Kosovo and Montenegro have consistently rejected it.

These political parties at the time had estimated that with the eventual ratification of this agreement, Kosovo would lose over 8 thousand hectares of land.

The agreement was signed by former Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, chairman of the Democratic League of Kosovo and Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci, then head of the Democratic Party, currently Kosovo President.

MP from the ranks of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Armend Zemaj, told Radio Free Europe that according to legal procedures if the agreement reached long ago between Kosovo and Montenegro is unacceptable, it can only be cancelled in Government and does not need to go to the Assembly.

That agreement could cancel the Government and seek accounts from the preliminary commission according to legal rating, that is, for eventual errors made for loss or loss of territory. Thus, the Assembly does not have any evolution in this case if the new Commission is established and if it is depreciated by the government itself as its signatory”, Zemaj said.

Kosovo Assembly MPs, Zemaj said, are not officially informed of any new Commission that would work for the demarcation of the border with Montenegro.

Now it's a new decision that we've heard a commission will be dismissed to form a new commission, and that means that the deal has fallen. The Assembly is out of this decision-making, it has nothing to do with such a decision-making”, Zemaj said.

Otherwise, Pristina and Podgorica signed the border demarcation agreement in August 2015, in the international presence. Montenegro has ratified this agreement, but not Kosovo. This agreement later turned into a condition by the European Union for the visa liberalisation process for Kosovo citizens.

Newly elected Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has dismissed the state commission for marking the border line and has appointed former President Speed Bulqi to his helm.

Haradinaj and Bulqi are known as the two most vocal objectors of the current version of the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro.