Tahiri: Agreements for better life of people

Kosovo Albanian dialogue team head Edita Tahiri stated upon her return from Brussels that important agreements were reached during the fifth round of talks. According to her, they will primarily affect the improvement of people's lives. Tahiri: Agreements for better life of people "The agreement of the freedom of movement means that the Kosovo citizens will be able to freely travel to Serbia with valid documents on their person," Tahiri told the press conference at the Pristina airport on Sunday. Referring to Serbian institutions in the province as "parallel structures", she continued: "The implementation of the agreement will begin on November 1, 2011. The law will be carried out on the entire territory of Kosovo, there will be no parallel structures, whereas the citizens will move freely. There will no longer be any offices that illegally issue documents, and by then all of the old license plates will cease to be valid." Pointing out that Kosovo "entered the talks as a state", Tahiri said that "Kosovo citizens will be able to travel to Serbia only with IDs", and that such agreements exist between "Bosnia and Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia, Serbia and Bosnia, etc." "I can say that, since yesterday, we are much closer to the EU, as the agreements on the freedom of movement, recognition of university degrees and return of civil registries, point to the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and I believe this is Serbia's first step towards recognizing Kosovo's independence," Tahiri said. "This means that, anything that applies to the Kosovo citizens traveling to Serbia or through Serbia will apply to the Serbian citizens traveling to Kosovo or through Kosovo," Tahiri said, adding that this was "an interim solution, the adoption of which fulfills one of the crucial criteria for visa liberalization". When it comes to the agreement on the return of civil registries, she said that "all certified copies were envisaged to be returned". She stated that the agreement on the recognition of university degrees was very important, particularly for the ethnic Albanians living in Presevo and Bujanovac, "who have had problems with validating their degrees, continuing their studies or getting a job". Tahiri said she believed the agreement would also resolve "some of the contradictions" regarding the University in the Serb-dominated northern Kosovska Mitrovica. Edita Tahiri (file)

Tahiri: Agreements for better life of people

"The agreement of the freedom of movement means that the Kosovo citizens will be able to freely travel to Serbia with valid documents on their person," Tahiri told the press conference at the Priština airport on Sunday.

Referring to Serbian institutions in the province as "parallel structures", she continued:

"The implementation of the agreement will begin on November 1, 2011. The law will be carried out on the entire territory of Kosovo, there will be no parallel structures, whereas the citizens will move freely. There will no longer be any offices that illegally issue documents, and by then all of the old license plates will cease to be valid."

Pointing out that Kosovo "entered the talks as a state", Tahiri said that "Kosovo citizens will be able to travel to Serbia only with IDs", and that such agreements exist between "Bosnia and Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia, Serbia and Bosnia, etc."

"I can say that, since yesterday, we are much closer to the EU, as the agreements on the freedom of movement, recognition of university degrees and return of civil registries, point to the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and I believe this is Serbia's first step towards recognizing Kosovo's independence," Tahiri said.

"This means that, anything that applies to the Kosovo citizens traveling to Serbia or through Serbia will apply to the Serbian citizens traveling to Kosovo or through Kosovo," Tahiri said, adding that this was "an interim solution, the adoption of which fulfills one of the crucial criteria for visa liberalization".

When it comes to the agreement on the return of civil registries, she said that "all certified copies were envisaged to be returned".

She stated that the agreement on the recognition of university degrees was very important, particularly for the ethnic Albanians living in Preševo and Bujanovac, "who have had problems with validating their degrees, continuing their studies or getting a job".

Tahiri said she believed the agreement would also resolve "some of the contradictions" regarding the University in the Serb-dominated northern Kosovska Mitrovica.