Week when it is expected to end demarcation

About two and a half years after the signing of the Agreement for the signing of the border line between Kosovo and Montenegro, the Kosovo Assembly is expected this week to ratify this agreement.

At least so has Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Behgjet Pacolli, although the ruling coalition partner, the Serbian List, has not yet confirmed that she has changed her stance, which she had reiterated last week, saying that the demarcation issue with Montenegro does not present any interest in this subject.

But, Deputy Prime Minister Pacolli, who is leader of the New Kosovo Alliance, this party within the ruling coalition with the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, the Social Democrat Initiative and the Serbian List, has been firm in his statement that ratification of the Agreement for Demarkation will be ratifieded this week.

We're tired of statements by politicians tomorrow. I've told you, in the second week of March, since the weather. The second week of March will be the week it will pass, the agreement for demarcation with Montenegro will be approved, Pacolli has said.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Pacolli has not clarified whether any reconciliation with the ruling coalition partner, the Serbian List, has been reached for ratification.

Deputy Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj has said that in recent days, regarding the creation of conditions for ratification of the agreement for demarcation with Montenegro has been worked intensively with all coalition ruling partners, as well as with the opposition party, the Democratic League of Kosovo. He has expressed the opinion that during these days conditions could be created for holding the extraordinary session for ratification of this agreement.

We are thinking that it will be a crucial week, the week we are in, and it is a matter of days when this process is completed. All partners, who are in Government, political parties representing Albanians in Kosovo, but political parties representing different, Serb and non-Serb communities will also vote on this agreement. But when that happens, this is the issue that we will have to coordinate”, Hoxhaj stressed.

However, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo Parliamentary Group chief Ahmet Isufi has said there is still no definition regarding reaching a consensus that would secure two-thirds of the vote in the Assembly for ratification of the agreement.

There is nothing concrete once. We'll see in the future. We're in consultation with all of the”, Isufi said.

On the other hand, Avdullah Hoti, head of the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic League of Kosovo, this opposition party in the Kosovo Assembly, has said the Assembly should be meeting as soon as it can vote on the demarcation agreement, in order to conclude the issue, as it has called, important for Kosovo citizens. But, according to him, the appointment of the extraordinary session for ratification of this agreement is already the question of the ruling parties and reaching their consensus.

This is a matter of full power. Our votes as a parliamentary group are secure. It belongs to them to secure their 61 votes”, Hoti said.

Otherwise, the other opposition party, the Vetevendosje Movement, as the biggest opposition political subject, has not changed its stance against ratification of the current demarcation agreement with Montenegro.

Days earlier, representatives of the ruling parties had declared that it is “public secret that is missing even two or three votes” to achieve the necessary number of 80 votes for ratification of the Agreement.

The agreement for demarcation between Kosovo and Montenegro, signed in August 2015 in Vienna, has already been ratified by Montenegro's Parliament. Without ratification of this agreement, Kosovo will fail to meet one of the last two conditions to obtain visa liberalisation from the European Union. / REL