Parties against Thaci's idea to avoid Parliament on Agreement with Serbia

President Thaci has asked the Constitutional Court if the agreement between Kosovo and the European Union for the new EULEX mandate should be approved by 2/3 of the Parliament, or can the president do so through exchange of letters?

The Office for Media at the Constitutional Court of Kosovo has confirmed to Radio Free Europe that Thaci's “request has been recorded and prosecuted by the court”.

Contacted by Radio Free Europe, the President's Office has declined to comment on Thaci's initiative.

For opposition parties these actions of the president are another tendency for the process of dialogue and possible agreements with Serbia to make Thaci himself without going to the Assembly. According to them, the EULEX case could also serve other agreements like the one with Serbia.

MP Fraser Krasniqi from the PSD said it is a new tendency of Thaci to take a role that does not belong to him and strengthen his political role.

He even says that the president by his actions is sending the country towards some kind of presidential authoritarianism.

We think that this tendency of Thaci's disproportionateness is unacceptable to flee the Parliament and avoid decision-making from the Parliament. The constitution of Kosovo very clearly stipulates that international agreements dealing with territorial integrity with important issues for the Republic of Kosovo should be adopted in the Assembly with two-thirds [2/3]”, Krasniqi said.

President Thaci, Krasniqi says, knows she does not have the support of opposition or other MPs outside the opposition and is trying to sign an agreement without its ratification from the Assembly.

Ahmet Isufi, chief of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo Parliamentary Group, this ruling party, told Radio Free Europe, that the president's request to the Constitutional Court is normal and, he said, no one can be involved in that court's affairs.

He stresses that respecting the Constitution and laws in force is the duty of every institution.

“In the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, all obligations and rights that should normally be respected are sanctioned. Therefore, international agreements are ratified in the Republic of Kosovo's Assembly, and until there is this Constitution they are binding”, Isufi said.

Political analyst Imer Mushkolaj, speaking of Radio Free Europe, says President Thaci is at all costs trying to make the Kosovo border change agreement ʹ Serbia can legitimise for Kosovo citizens.

This move by the president, according to Mushkolaj, is taking place as he does not have the support to negotiate in Kosovo political dialogue Serbia.

The president did not have to ask for interpretation because past experiences have shown that international agreements have been approved by 2/3 in the Kosovo Assembly, but there is also an attempt to bypass all other institutions and whatever agreement arrives and that bears his seal as good for Kosovo and its citizens”, Mushkolaj said.

After President Thaci's request has been prosecuted at the Constitutional Court, President Arta Rama has asked Kosovo Parliament deputies to give their opinion on the letter and the request the president has submitted to the court.

Otherwise, in Article 18 of the Kosovo Constitution, the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo is said to have two-thirds votes (2/3) of all MPs ratify international agreements on these issues, such as territory, peace, alliances, political and military issues, fundamental rights and freedoms, Kosovo membership in international organisations and others.