Kosovo government

A Kosovo government official has said that "15 most influential countries of Europe and the world are lobbying for Kosovo's membership in UNESCO." unacceptable

Petrit Selimi, who serves as deputy to Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci, told the Pristina-based Albanian language newspaper Zeri that UNESCO membership would bring Kosovo "great political and cultural benefits."

The Kosovo government announced on Thursday that it is ready to call another vote on the controversial special court after it failed to gain approval in parliament last month because of opposition from many MPs.

The agreement was suspended on Friday with officials in Kosovo and Serbia citing differing interpretations of the document which was signed a month ago but not made public.

Pristina officials believe that Serbia is now obliged to grant entry to vehicles from Kosovo with licence plates labelled with 'RKS' (Republic of Kosovo).

The Serb-run Civil Defense in northern Kosovo and Metohija has never been a parallel structure, the Srpska (Serb) List has stated.

The Kosovo government has not succeeded in sending draft constitutional amendments to the assembly, that would have made it possible to form a Kosovo army.

The coalition partner in the government, the Serb (Srpska) List, "was against this, setting a few conditions," Tanjug is reporting on Monday:

The Kosovo government is pushing for significant tax reform, aimed at stimulating investment, as well as lowering VAT on basic consumer goods, aimed at the helping the poor.

MPs in the assembly are due to vote on the changes on Thursday.

Kosovo's ethnic Serbian Minister of Local Government, Ljubomir Maric, on Tuesday said if no agreement is reached on the planned Association of Serbian Municipalities in the next round of EU-led talks, Kosovo Serb representatives will cease to participate in government.

German leader Angela Merkel lent broad support to Kosovo's EU aspirations while urging it to continue talks with Serbia during the Kosovo Prime Minister's one-day visit to Berlin on Tuesday.

Chancellor Angela Merkel recalled that Germany had been one of the first states to recognise Kosovo's independence in 2008.

The Kosovo parliament passed a resolution on Thursday asking for the return of wartime Kosovo Liberation Army commander turned political party leader Haradinaj, who was detained at Slovenia's Brnik Airport on a warrant issued by Serbia and Montenegro in 2004.

Mustafa is due to meet Merkel in Berlin at the end of this month - the first official meeting at this level between the two.