MPs try for the last time to constitute the Assembly today, if it doesn’t happen “Kosovo is entering unknown territory”
Express newspaper
26/07/2025 7:40
Today is the last day when Kosovo’s MPs can fulfill their constitutional obligation to constitute the Assembly. If this does not happen in their 53rd attempt, “Kosovo is entering uncharted territory.”
Express newspaper
As of 14:00 PM, the deputies will meet today in less than 48 hours for the last time within the 30-day deadline that the Constitutional Court gave them to constitute the Assembly with a judgment it issued in June. For 29 days, the deputies did not fulfill this obligation, and even today there are few signs that the session will be able to produce anything. If the Assembly is not constituted today, the deputies do not have the right to meet for two weeks, according to a temporary measure that the Constitutional Court issued before issuing a final judgment to provide clarity to an unprecedented situation that has been created in the Assembly of Kosovo.
Ambassadors from Western countries also went to the Assembly hall yesterday with optimism that Kosovar MPs would reflect on yesterday’s session, which was thought to be the last.
But, the same scenario by the chairman of the session, Avni Dehari, happened yesterday with the vote on the Committee for secret ballot, which did not find support in dozens of sessions. The only difference was the scheduling of the continuation of the constitutive session for today in less than 48 hours to test for the last time the constitution of the ninth legislature that emerged from the February 9 elections.
Western diplomats emerged from the session disappointed and warned Kosovar politicians that they were entering uncharted territory.
The EU Ambassador to Kosovo, Aivo Orav, said after the end of the session on Friday that Kosovo needs a new government that accelerates its path towards the EU.
“We came here with great hope and unfortunately nothing happened again. Kosovo needs an Assembly immediately, it needs a new government that would build a new and strong bridge between Kosovo and Brussels to accelerate the path towards the EU,” Orav declared after the session.
The most harsh and desperate for the failure of yesterday’s session was the German ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde.
He said that this political class is disappointing the people of Kosovo and that the interim measure ordered by the Constitutional Court was a red card for it.
“The political class is disappointing its people and it is very worrying. Yesterday’s court decision was, if we speak in football terms, we can say like a red card because it is suspending Parliament from making decisions,” he told reporters in the Assembly.
Also in the room with his colleagues was the British Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves, who later called on Kosovo politicians on Facebook to unite and find a solution to end the blockade, before the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s interim measure begins.
“Otherwise, Kosovo is entering uncharted territory and its citizens continue to lose meaningful political representation and the ability to make important domestic and international decisions that affect the lives of citizens.”
The French ambassador, Olivier Guerot, also called for the few remaining hours to be used.
“Together with other ambassadors, I attended today’s session of Parliament. The current deadlock is hurting Kosovo. I encourage all politicians to make full use of the few hours left before the Constitutional Court’s term ends tomorrow.”
Also present in the Assembly hall yesterday was the chargé d’affaires at the US embassy, Anu Prattipati, but she did not give a statement to the media.
Hopes for a possible unblocking of the Assembly are dependent solely on a potential agreement between the Vetëvendosje Movement and Nisma, although the positions of these two parties are very opposite.
Nisma, represented by three MPs in the Assembly, has requested the post of Speaker of Parliament for the leader of this party, Fatmir Limaj, while the Vetëvendosje Movement says that such a high position cannot belong to a party with so few MPs.
Vetëvendosje is insisting on making Nisma a partner in the government coalition, but this offer is not finding support from Nisma.
Limaj, in his statements to the media yesterday, did not express much optimism that today’s session will bring any positive developments.
He said that his party does not move towards partial solutions and does not contribute to the country going to elections.
“When the Initiative is certain that a government majority is being formed, it will make its contribution so that the country does not go to early elections.”
“Government majority, there is no partial solution. The election of the Speaker of the Assembly has become a topic, for me the election of the Speaker of the Assembly has never been a topic, the foundation of this crisis is the lack of the necessary numbers for the Government, and as long as there are not enough numbers for governance, things have remained where they are today,” he said yesterday.
Meanwhile, the leader of Vetëvendosje, Albin Kurti, as in every session, chose to remain silent and not answer journalists’ questions about his constitutional responsibility to create a majority as the first winning party and give the country institutions.
Meanwhile, leaders of other parties called for the Constitution not to be violated and for open voting to be returned to the agenda.