Hovenier: Kosovo officials at all levels to enable citizens to exercise democratic rights

US Ambassador to Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, emphasized today that Kosovo officials at all levels should enable the implementation of the Administrative Instruction, thus allowing citizens to exercise their democratic rights.

Hovenier, in a statement to journalists in South Mitrovica regarding the mayors in northern Kosovo, reminded that the Administrative Instruction was the result of EU and US requests for Kosovo to establish a system that would allow citizens to exercise their democratic rights.

"We consider this an important step for de-escalation in the north. The US has clearly stated that mayors had been elected legally, but no one should be satisfied with elections in which less than four percent of voters participated. It is clear that these mayors do not fully represent all the voters they should serve. The Government has responded to our request and established the possibility of dismissal. It is important that all officials in Kosovo, at all levels, do everything to enable the full implementation of the Instruction and thus allow citizens to exercise their democratic right", he underscored.

At the same time, he said that this was something new, and therefore, misunderstandings, and even wrong steps, were inevitable.

He emphasized that US expectations were clear, namely that citizens had the democratic right if they wished to follow the Instruction, initiate the process, and raise it regarding the dismissal of elected officials.

He emphasized that there were clear rules and requirements for this that must be met.

He stressed that he expected central authorities and officials at all levels to do everything possible to be as flexible and functional as possible in accordance with the law, to ensure that citizens could exercise their democratic right.

He said that the United States was very concerned that not everyone was showing the necessary flexibility and understanding.

Hovenier: Kosovo to form the CSM, confused by the criticism

The US Ambassador reminded that Kosovo had taken the obligation to form the CSM and that the EU and the US had the stance that it should be established.

"Last night, the EU reiterated in its conclusions that the Kosovo Government should start forming the CSM", he emphasized.

He stressed that the US stance was that the CSM should be in line with the Constitution of Kosovo, as well as the decision of the Constitutional Court, and that it should not be a third level of authority, with executive powers, because they did not want "a new Republika Srpska".

"We won't accept anything that would negatively impact the functioning of Kosovo", he added.

He highlighted that the US welcomed "constructive feedback" regarding the proposed draft Statute for the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities but expressed confusion about the amount of comments and criticism.

"We cannot be stuck in the details and lose momentum. It is crucial to move forward with the Community", Hovenier emphasized.

He said that the draft of the CSM, handed to the Kosovo Prime Minister by Miroslav Lajcak, reflected the views of the governments of Germany, France, Italy, and the US.

"This draft reflects the views of our governments on how best to deal with this issue", he explained.

Hovenier said he believed that Lajcak had told the Kosovo Government and others that he was open to feedback but also believed that Lajcak and his team, with the support of the US and others, had worked to ensure that the draft was good.

He pointed out that there might be room for improvement but that one should not get stuck in the details.

He called on the Government of Kosovo to start the first steps towards the formation of the CSM as soon as possible and submit the draft of the statute to the Constitutional Court.

"The focus of Kosovo should be on how it can move forward by adopting this draft and submitting it to the Constitutional Court if there are questions about its constitutionality. There is only one body competent to decide whether the draft is in line with the Constitution of Kosovo, and that is the Constitutional Court. The US believes that it is time to move forward now, and quickly", Hovenier emphasized, adding that it should be kept in mind that the draft came from all friends of Kosovo, both in Europe and the US.

Hovenier on the agreement between KEDS and Elektrosever: We expect to start charging for electricity in the north

Hovenier, when asked about the agreement between KEDS and Elektrosever, expressed the belief that the majority of residents in northern Kosovo understood and accepted that they should pay for the electricity they use.

He reminded that this agreement was one of the steps toward the implementation of the Roadmap, which had been agreed upon as early as last June.

He pointed out that the Roadmap defined clear steps with deadlines, expressing disappointment that they had not been adhered to.

However, he emphasizes that he is "delighted" that this important step has now been fulfilled.

Regarding KEDS and Elektrosever, he added that they needed to inform electricity consumers how exactly the agreement would be implemented, within what timeframe, and under what circumstances.

"It's complicated. There are still a large number of technical issues that need to be resolved, including the installation of meters that will allow energy companies to determine the exact amount of electricity consumed. We believe it is appropriate for electricity consumers to pay for the electricity consumed. We also believe that this will be a very significant change", he added.

Hovenier: The US expects those responsible for Banjska to be brought to justice

Regarding Banjska, he reminded that the US had condemned that event and that it should not have happened for a policeman to be killed.

He said that the US believed that all those responsible for this criminal attack should be brought to justice and that this stance had been conveyed to the authorities in Serbia.

He pointed out that he could not say how Serbia would respond to Interpol's request.

He reminded that Interpol's request related to the arrest of the requested person was based on a legal process, but that did not mean extradition, as extradition agreements were needed.

"Our expectation is that those responsible be brought to justice, and we have clearly conveyed that to the Serbian authorities. The US is interested in what happened in Banjska and has made its analysis based on the information received, primarily from the Kosovo authorities, but not relying solely on that. This analysis has not yet been completed", he explained.