KDI: Parliament to be the focus of discussion on Kosovo- Serbia

The Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) estimates that the Kosovo Assembly should be the focus of discussion for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

According to KDI officials, MPs should make their contribution to building a strategy for this process.

No House session so far has been discussed for dialogue, but dialogue has been the subject several times of several tables organised by political parties.

One has been held during the day, where Kosovo Assembly will have the key monitoring and decision-making role in the process at the invitation to political parties from Kosovo Speaker Kadri Veselini is said to have the key role in the process. Despite this sentence, which gives the main role to the Parliament in this process, opposition political parties have not participated.

Life Krasniqi from KDI, which is project manager for monitoring Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, has said that since the beginning of this phase of the Parliament dialogue has had to have the key role.

The democratic states are this way, through co-ordination between institutions, the presidency, the Government and the Assembly building their foreign policies. Kosovo must learn from these practices and must base this so important process on the practice that the Parliament is its own focus and has co-ordination. Therefore, it is normal for the Parliament to make both oversight and red lines, the governing platform, and we go with this process by respecting the mandate and responsibility of all institutions and not having a bypass of institutions' responsibilities. This came primarily from the discussion the institutions have with each other, but also representatives of institutions, in this case MPs respecting and fulfilling their commitments they have”, she said.

As for the Speaker of the Parliament's invitation for opposition parties to discuss dialogue, Krasniqi says that despite these discussions, such discussions according to her should be held in the Kosovo Assembly.

That is also to avoid further situations such as ratification of the border agreement with Montenegro.

She said how KDI has made continued requirements for the process of dialogue to be discussed in an extraordinary session.

“We assess that these discussions should take place within the session, within the Kosovo Assembly, and we appreciate what kind of initiative is undertaken either by civil society or even by partners or even by political parties like today's initiative is positive to contribute this discussion and consensus construction. We have, in fact, called on opposition parties that even at the moment the PSD party had taken the initiative for signing an extraordinary session for those in the opposition, or in the position, we have called on them to sign and set up an extraordinary session. So, we appreciate that there must be a consensus within political parties and it should be that parties in both positions and in opposition take their responsibilities, take their obligations and as deputy to fulfill the obligations they have to represent the interests of the citizen «and, above all, the citizens of Kosovo”, Krasniqi said.

Krasniqi says that for dialogue with the Serbian state, political parties must reach a consensus, as the process is of all Kosovo institutions and all have responsibilities.

Reaching this consensus according to it is important in order for Kosovo to wrap up dialogue with Serbia as soon as possible.

Kosovo must close the dialogue with Serbia as soon as possible, obtaining mutual recognition, permanently removing Serbia's influence from Kosovo, eliminating all parallel structures, making the extension of Kosovo's internal sovereignty across the territory and becoming full-fledged members of the UN. As well as solve the issue with the 5 non-EU states. These are what Kosovo must achieve in this process. We have known that we are going towards this process, we see that the political scene is very fragmented, but that means there is an emergency in what political parties should sit down and discuss the question of dialogue, reach a consensus. Since this is a process of all Kosovo institutions and each has its own obligation and has responsibilities. Therefore, Kosovo's Assembly must first articulate its position and parties which are in position or in opposition should as soon as they discuss it”, she said.

Their stances the political parties should voice in the country according to Life Krasniqi from KDI, which says that so far neither does the Kosovo Assembly have an official stance on Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

Kosovo's “Assembly has not yet articulated its official position towards Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, we have seen statements different from parties in position or opposition about this process, but there is still no formal articulation of the Kosovo Assembly about the final phase of dialogue. As a discussion has not yet taken place under the Assembly hearings. Therefore, it is important that as soon as this issue is discussed in the Assembly, where parties in both positions and in opposition can articulate their positions and thus build, build political consensus as broad and build both the platform of the state of Kosovo, whether it be the position of Kosovo, expectations, red lines, and all in turn”, she said.

Otherwise, at today's Kosovo Assembly session as the agenda point is the discussion for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.