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EU: It is essential for Kosovo to quickly form a new government

EU: It is essential for Kosovo to quickly form a new government

The European Union has said it is essential for Kosovo to form a new government as soon as possible, as the country has stalled in efforts to form new institutions more than two months after parliamentary elections.

"The rapid formation of the Government is essential for Kosovo to advance important reforms in all sectors, which will improve the quality and living conditions of the people of Kosovo ," the EU Office in Pristina said in a written response to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Friday.

She said the EU is closely following developments regarding the constitution of the Assembly and the formation of the Government, and hopes that this process will be completed soon. Kosovo failed to constitute the new Assembly twice this week, due to procedural disputes between the political parties that secured seats in the parliamentary elections on February 9. It is not clear whether the disputes between the parliamentary parties will be resolved before the session, which was interrupted on Thursday, is resumed on Saturday, April 19.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) insist that the members of the Government, who have been elected as deputies, resign, otherwise they will not vote on the report on the verification of the mandates of the deputies, a step that must be taken to continue the constitution of the Assembly and the formation of the new Government. However, the leader of the LVV and the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, emphasizes that such a formal act is unnecessary, because the executive has been in office, or resigned, since March 23.

On Thursday, the ambassadors of Great Britain and Germany in Pristina called on political parties to cooperate in overcoming obstacles to the formation of new Kosovo institutions. PDK, LDK and AAK accused LVV of trying to "buy time for political bargaining" by interrupting the sessions, since according to them, Albin Kurti's party does not have the votes to elect the speaker of parliament or the government.

Vetëvendosje won the February 9 elections, with about 42 percent of the vote, or 48 seats out of the 120 seats in the Kosovo Assembly. But it needed at least 61 seats to form a new government. After LVV, PDK won the most votes, with 24 seats, followed by LDK with 20. AAK and Nisma won eight seats, three of which went to the latter.

Nisma leader Fatmir Limaj was the only one who left open the possibility of cooperation with Kurti from other Albanian parties. Kurti also met last week with the leaders of 10 non-Serb minority parties in an attempt to secure the necessary votes to form a new government, but it is not yet clear whether he has the support of all of them. The EU office said the bloc is ready to work closely with the next government, once it is formed, and to continue supporting Kosovo on its path towards European integration./ REL

 

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