Foreign ministry fails to respond to ambassadorial appointment process, criticised by opposition, civil society

The MPJD has no answer as to how far the process has reached with the selection of young diplomats, while opposition deputies and civil society are praising that with delays in appointing new ambassadors Kosovo could damage reports with friendly countries.

In May of this year, Foreign Minister Donika Grovalla made a decision on the dismissal of 12 appointed political ambassadors whose return said it would take place on August 30th, which, according to her, follows sending new diplomats.

“The ambassadors have been fired or discharged from office, but their return to Kosovo is August 30th, so the return of the current ambassador and the sending of the new ambassador will include the phase of the task's surrender and will include the phase of handover from one to another... After August 30th is the new ambassador there”, he has declared Gervala.

A week before the deadline put forward by Minister Grovall, the institution it heads has given no answer as to whether the appointment of new ambassadors will be reached by 30 August or how far they have gone with the selection of those who will represent Kosovo in friendly countries.

But what is known is that no proposal has gone to the Foreign Affairs Commission so far, until it is determined that the MPJD proposals will be approved in government and then go to interview and verify in the Kosovo Assembly.

The MP, who is a member of this commission, Ariana Musliu-Sashi from the ranks of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, says they have yet to accept any proposals for ambassador.

“On the Commission for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora has yet to come up with a proposal for the ambassador. Now when the whole world is facing the new wave of pandemic and with numerous problems, the minister sees the most important to fall down on the beach and not deal with his country, which in more than 80% of the states on August 31st will be left without ambassadors”, Musliu-Ski says in a response to Kosova Prees.

MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Time Kadriy, who is part of the Foreign Affairs Commission, estimates that the government is neglecting the issue of appointment of ambassadors, which, according to her, could harm the state in the international arena.

We on the commission don't have any names yet, and as you already know, the Parliament is already on summer break and we're not going back until the third week of the Minister's Parliament is just on break and this issue is too neglected. If they didn't have names for accreditation, they shouldn't have fired these ambassadors who had deadlines to still remain ambassadors until they found new ambassadors and not all these places now were left vacant without ambassadors... We've had concerns that some major centres have been without ambassadors, and now those countries have been added another 13 countries, and this in the international arena Kosovo epa fields as not serious because the ambassador is conveying the country's policies with accredited countries, and this is undermining subjectivity in the international arena. ”, says Kadrijaj.

The Kosovo Assembly is currently on leave, and work is expected to begin in the third week of September.

From the Group for Jury and Political Studies say the August 30th deadline remains only the deadline proposed by Minister Gervala and is not provided by law.

However, in terms of bilateral relations with friendly states, Kosovo could be damaged by such actions, says Lilica Agusholli.

And we can't say by law that we're late, because of the bilateral relations with the states in which we have ambassadors who aren't there, or just duty advisers, we can say we can do little damage to relationships but legally there is no timeline that forces the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to do so. The only reason is to damage bilateral relations among states that Kosovo has established diplomatic relations. It is good to have this ambassadorial deployment done in these states”, she says.

The procedures for the appointment of new ambassadors envision that the foreign minister submits to the government proposals, which then forwarded to the Kosovo Assembly, the Foreign Affairs Commission conducted interviewing and preparing reports for each one of them, which he sends to the presidency.

The appointment of ambassadors is by decree of the country's president. /Kp/