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Letter to the Reader — Why We're Asking for Your Support Contribute16 parliamentary committees approved
Photo: Driton Pacharada
The Assembly of Kosovo has approved the composition of 16 parliamentary committees.
100 deputies voted in favor, 1 was against.
Of the 16 committees, nine will be led by deputies from the Serbian List, three from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, two from the Democratic League, and one from each of the communities.
The committees are:
Budget Committee
Commission for the Rights and Interests of the Community for Return
Legislation Committee
Commission for European Integration
Committee on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora
Education Committee
Committee on Economy, Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Innovation
Committee on Environment, Food, Agriculture, Forestry, Rural Development, Infrastructure
Health Committee
Committee on Public Administration, digitalization,
Committee on Security and Defense
Human Rights Commission
Public Finance Oversight Committee
Intelligence Agency Oversight Committee
Committee on Culture, Tourism and Sports
Commission for Social Welfare, Victims of War Sexual Violence and Missing Persons
March salaries secured, Parliament approves budget extension
Photo: Driton Pacharada
With 99 votes in favor, the Kosovo Assembly has approved the budget extension for March of this year.
Due to the non-approval of the 2026 Budget, the state has been operating through the budget extension law for another two months, and now, until the approval of two readings and the enactment of the Law, the Government has requested an extension in order to avoid obstacles in the payment process.
Again, the Serbian List did not participate in the vote.
Without LDK, the Assembly approves the resolution for the Special
Photo: Driton Pacharada
The Kosovo Assembly has approved with 90 votes a resolution through which it has requested the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office in The Hague to exercise a fair trial against the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
The Democratic League of Kosovo MPs did not participate in the vote, as their request to add a point to the content was not accepted.
In presenting the content, Democratic Party of Kosovo MP Përparim Gruda said that the resolution was drafted by independent experts.
After reading the content, the head of the LDK parliamentary group, Jehona Lushaku, stated that there was only agreement that the resolution be put on the agenda and not agreement on its content.
She requested the addition of this point: “This resolution calls on all law and order institutions of the Republic of Kosovo and encourages international support to intensify efforts towards the full clarification of all unsolved cases that occurred during and after the war in Kosovo, in order to ensure justice for all victims, to uncover the truth and to strengthen the rule of law on the principles of impartiality and equality before the law.".
After this, Gruda stated that there was no change to the content and the Assembly approved the full content with 90 votes in favor.
The Vetëvendosje Movement MP, Fatos Geci, voted against.
The Serbian List was not even on the ballot.
Content of the resolution
Reaffirming the full commitment of the Assembly to respecting the constitutional order, including Amendment No. 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo on the establishment of the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office;
Recalling the purpose of this amendment and the commitment of the Republic of Kosovo to address and refute the unfounded allegations stemming from the Report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [Document 12462] of 7 January 2011, which, even after a decade of international investigations, have not constituted a basis for inclusion in the indictments filed against the leaders and fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army;
Expressing full faith in the values of the Kosovo Liberation Army, as a sublime part of our glorious history, upon which our Republic stands, and honoring the sacrifices of the men and women of Kosovo for its freedom and independence, as underlined in the preamble of the Kosovo Declaration of Independence;
Emphasizing our full commitment to protecting the values of democracy, separation of powers and independence of the judiciary, as specified in the Constitution of our Republic and in international acts and standards;
Stressing our full commitment to the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and international instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights;
Considering it necessary to reiterate the obligations that fall upon the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office, as well as upon any other institution of the Republic of Kosovo, regarding the implementation of constitutional and international standards and principles for the proper administration of justice;
Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo
REQUESTS by the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office to, in the exercise of their functions, ensure the strict implementation of the laws and the Constitution of Kosovo, which contains the best international standards, regarding a fair and impartial judicial process, while also respecting the principles of transparency, accountability and the cultivation of public confidence in justice.
REQUESTS by the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office to, in the exercise of their functions, ensure the strict implementation of constitutional and international standards regarding the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selim and others, including the obligations arising from the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.
REQUESTS by the Ombudsperson of the Specialist Chambers, whose exclusive responsibility for the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office derives from the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, to act with complete independence and impartiality in the exercise of this function, in accordance with constitutional obligations and international standard acts relating to this function.
REQUESTS the funding and supporting states of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague to respect the agreement with the Republic of Kosovo, that the court operates on the basis of the laws and Constitution of Kosovo, which has all the best international standards embedded in it. The funding and supporting states of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers must take responsibility if these rights are violated.
ENCOURAGE all democratic states to join in our call for full respect for international standards for a fair and impartial trial – standards that stem from the constitutional tradition of all democratic states and the acts and recommendations adopted by international mechanisms, including, but not limited to, the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
ENCOURAGE monitoring mechanisms for respect for fundamental rights and freedoms within international organizations, as well as international and local non-governmental organizations, for increased monitoring of the compliance of the functioning of the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office with international standards for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in judicial proceedings and reporting of identified violations.
CONFIRMS commitment and dedication to ensuring all mechanisms, including financial ones, in support of the rights of defense of leaders and fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army before the Specialist Prosecutor's Office and the Specialist Chambers.
CONFIRMS full commitment and dedication to undertaking all actions to affirm the values of the Kosovo Liberation Army's war and the history on which the Republic of Kosovo was built.
The new deputies are sworn in
Photo: Driton Pacharada
About 20 more MPs were sworn in on Thursday. Most of them were candidates replacing those who had left for government positions.
Meanwhile, two others, Uran Ismaili and Mërgim Lushtaku of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, were absent the day before. Lushtaku was also sworn in today.
In today's session, the top item on the agenda was the resolution of the Democratic Party of Kosovo for the Special Court.