New Assembly Adjust expected to be approved at next session

The marathon wait for a new Kosovo Assembly regulation is coming to an end. After 12 years, MPs from the legislature will have new labour regulations. Next Tuesday of next week, the next plenary session will be considered in principle the new Parliament regulation. The same is expected to include sanctioning standards for the people who are absent without reason in hearings and commissions.

The chairman of the Committee for Legislation, simultaneously deputy of the Vetevendosje Movement, Adnan Rrustemi, says of KosovoPress, that through the new regulations of the Parliament, a new mechanism will be established -- the conference of the heads of parliamentary groups -- which, together with the Speaker of the Parliament -- will determine the legislature's agenda.

Therefore, according to him, the role of the Parliament's headship will also fade.

He adds that MPs who do not participate in the hearings will be fined financially by leaving the courses off basic salaries.

The creation of a new body mechanism such as the conference of the heads of parliamentary groups, which together with the Speaker of the Parliament, will have the key role in the internal functioning of the Assembly, the determination of the agenda, the determination of the assembly's body and so on. In that sense little is the importance of the Parliament's Headship, while parliamentary groups are being empowered. But always making sure there's no blockage of the Parliament's work. The MP's responsibilities have also been established to participate in hearings and commissions. If they fail to participate without presuming, they will be financially punished by getting fired from their basic salaries. This is done not to punish MPs, but to ensure that even the Assembly, committee hearings and meetings will not fail due to the lack of MPs in the sense of quorum”, he says.

The majority MP says the new Assembly regulation has found compliance with all parliamentary groups in the Assembly.

According to him, the new Parliament regulation strengthens the opposition's role.

The new Kosovo Parliament's “rules favour the opposition as it increases parliamentary surveillance opportunities and the opposition role. But the Parliament's regulation should be treated as a permanent act of the Parliament despite positions of position-opposition. But in current, it increases the opposition's role, is given additional mechanisms both in parliamentary supervision of the government, but also in activities within the”, he adds.

Supporting the adoption of the new Assembly regulation has also been granted by the Democratic Party of Kosovo.

MP Hajdar Beqa over the phone for Kosova Prees has indicated they support the adoption of the Parliament's regulation.

On the other hand, framework work monitors welcome the adoption of the legislature's regulation.

Yll Zeka, from the Kosovo Institute for Justice, tells Kosovo Press that, along with the regulation of the Parliament dynamics, the new regulation should also carry sanctions against undisciplined MPs.

“The necessity for adopting a new regulation is high. It is good to have a consensus of political parties that we have not had in many legislatures. Several legislatures have passed and failed to approve a new regulation that would reflect this parliamentary life that is under way... we are witnesses that many hearings are not held because of the non-participation of MPs and many laws and initiatives, and the initiative is prolonged for months because of unattainable quorum, whether in plenary sessions or in the government's working troops. We believe that a system of discipline of MPs should contain this regulation to find forms, whether through financial discipline or other forms to impose on MPs to abide by the law, the constitution and the citizens' trust to carry out the jobs that have been chosen in the Assembly”, Zeka says.

The Kosovo Assembly currently works through the regulation adopted in 2010. Its change has also been attempted in past legislatures. Meanwhile, the Office for Media and the Parliament has indicated that among the agenda points at next week's session is the review of the Assembly's new regulation.