The European Union on Wednesday urged political parties in Kosovo to respect the ruling of the Constitutional Court and swiftly constitute the Parliament, just hours after the latest failure of MPs to unblock the political deadlock.
The EU Office in Kosovo told Radio Free Europe that the bloc “is closely monitoring developments related to the constitution of the Parliament and the formation of the Government.”
MPs convened Wednesday morning to continue the constitutive session, after the country’s highest court published the full ruling on this matter two days ago, which obliges them to form the new Parliament within a 30-day period, expiring on September 18.
However, the constitution process failed as neither of the two candidates proposed by the winning party of the elections, Vetëvendosje – Albulena Haxhiu and Donika Gërvalla – managed to secure more than 57 votes, four short of the required minimum of 61 votes for election.
The EU Office emphasized that “the rapid formation of Parliament and Government is essential for Kosovo to advance important reforms across all sectors, which will improve the quality of life and living standards for Kosovo citizens.”
Meanwhile, the Italian Embassy in Pristina viewed as encouraging Vetëvendosje’s proposal of a new candidate for parliamentary speaker, after having previously only proposed Haxhiu.
In a written response to RFE, the Italian Embassy said that Gërvalla’s nomination “demonstrates a willingness to make progress, which will need to be confirmed in the coming days.”
“We hope all political actors will act responsibly to ensure the timely constitution of Parliament, in accordance with the Constitutional Court’s ruling,” the embassy added.
After the session, Vetëvendosje accused the other major parliamentary parties – PDK, LDK, and AAK – of showing that Haxhiu’s name was not the main issue, but rather that they “aim to block the formation of institutions.”
The PDK reiterated its position that it will only vote for a Vetëvendosje candidate who was not part of the previous government.
The LDK stated that Vetëvendosje was aware that Haxhiu and Gërvalla did not have sufficient votes. In the past, the LDK consistently said it would not vote for any Vetëvendosje candidate for parliamentary speaker.
Meanwhile, the AAK stated it expects that Vetëvendosje will propose names in the next session for which there is no support.
The Social Democratic Initiative (Nisma SD) said it would abstain and not vote until a political agreement is reached.
The continuation of the session was scheduled for Friday, August 22.
Kosovo held parliamentary elections in February but has been unable to establish new institutions since then.
This months-long crisis stems from the lack of a political agreement among parliamentary parties, as no single party won a majority to govern alone.
Vetëvendosje won 48 seats, followed by PDK with 24, LDK with 20, then the Serbian List – the largest Serbian party in Kosovo – with 9, and the coalition of AAK and Nisma SD with 8 seats.
An additional 11 seats are held by minority representatives.
