New government in Kosovo faces multiple challenges
Following Sunday’s parliamentary election, a coalition government will now have to be formed as Kosovo looks to normalise ties with Serbia while foreign funding remains in question.
Following Sunday’s parliamentary election, a coalition government will now have to be formed as Kosovo looks to normalise ties with Serbia while foreign funding remains in question.
A new coalition government may seek to rebuild bridges with western partners, at a perilous geopolitical momentSeventeen years after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, its future remains shadowed and compromised by relations with Belgrade. More …
Allies have viewed nationalistic turn under PM Albin Kurti as a threat to western Balkansโ stability
Kosovo’s electoral commission announced that Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s ruling party was on track to win 41% of the vote, leaving it ahead but without a majority government, which could lead to coalition talks.
Also in this newsletter: ruling party to lose outright majority in Kosovo elections
Kosovans headed to the polls against a backdrop of a stagnant economy and renewed ethnic tensions but the Central Election Commission says turnout was low.
PM Albin Kurti claims โvictoryโ and vows to form government but analysts warn of prolonged crisis and instabilityThe governing party of the prime minister, Albin Kurti, is on track to secure the most seats in Kosovoโs parliament but will lack the numbe…
His ruling party fell short of a majority and will need to find a coalition partner if it hopes to continue in power.
In Kosovo’s parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s ruling party led with the most seats but faced uncertainty in forming a majority. The election highlighted Kurti’s anti-Serbian agenda against the opposition’s economic promises. Withou…
After Sunday’s polls, Kosovoโs stalled normalisation talks with neighbouring Serbia could see a revival but not become any easier. Exit polls showed incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurtiโs Vetรซvendosje party in first place, with 38.2% of Sundayโs vote, …
And ethnic tensions between Kosovar Albanians and Serbs remain tense from the 1998-1999 war between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian separatists.
Polls opened in Kosovo on Sunday after a combative election campaign in which opposition candidates clashed with Prime Minister Albin Kurti over the economy, corruption and relations with the country’s old foe and neighbour Serbia. “As ever, with Koso…
Voters began casting ballots in Kosovo elections Sunday in a contest that pits combative incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s quest to stamp out Serbian influence against a fractured opposition’s vow to boost the economy. Condemned by the EU and the…
Kosovars cast their votes Sunday in a parliamentary election considered a key test for Prime Minister Albin Kurti as talks on normalising ties with rival Serbia remain stalled and foreign funding for one of Europe’s poorest countries in question.
Fears of partition that arose during Trumpโs first administration have re-emerged as PM Albin Kurti navigates tense relations with both US and EUKosovo goes to the polls on Sunday in an election that could mark a crossroads in the young countryโs hist…
Kosovars are voting Sunday in parliamentary elections that could determine who will lead the Kosovo side in negotiations with Serbia, which stalled last year. Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s party campaigned on a tough line with Serbia while the oppositi…
The vote is seen as a key test for incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurti and this is the first time since independence in 2008 that Kosovo’s parliament has completed a full four-year mandate.
The vote will determine who will lead the Kosovo side in stalled normalisation talks with Serbia, facilitated by the EU to move both states closer to joining the bloc.
Former British ambassador in Washington will help lead a summit this fall tackling illegal migration.
EU assembles 100-strong observer mission for Kosovo elections scheduled for February
Serbian President Aleksandar Vuฤiฤ accused Albanian PM Albin Kurti of attempting to “remove the Serbian List as the only political opponent”.
The post Kosovo bans ethnic-Serb party from election, drawing Western criticism appeared first on Euractiv.
“It’s clear that CFSP alignment is becoming more important,” a senior EU official said.
The post EU leaders to pledge closer ties with Western Balkans counterparts appeared first on Euractiv.
Of the 6,065 cases of people who have gone missing following the 1998-99 war, 1,607 remain unresolved, according to the European Union’s diplomatic service.
The post Kosovo, Serbia reach agreement implementing search for war missing appeared first on E…
Speculation swirled for weeks as Grenell was seemingly snubbed for the role of secretary of State.
Superheroes deliver festive gifts to young Kosovo cancer patients at Pristina hospital
He and his allies mounted an aggressive effort for the top diplomat role.
Kosovo has warned about such impending attacks in recent months.
A detonation on a critical aqueduct comes after a series of smaller incidents in the tense Serb-majority north of the country.
Pristina labels incident โterrorist actโ by neighbouring country, activating armed forces to prevent more attacksKosovoโs interior minister, Xhelal Sveรงla, said on Saturday that police had arrested eight people after an explosion hit a canal that sends…
Kosovo on Saturday worked to restore water and power supplies following an explosion at a canal critical to its energy infrastructure, which Pristina denounced as a “terrorist act” by Serbia. While Belgrade denied involvement and pointed fingers at Ko…
In a sign of ethnic tensions between the two Balkan countries, Prime Minister Albin Kurti blamed Serbian criminal gangs without providing proof.
The UK government says that almost 100,000 migrants from third countries transited through the Western Balkans last year, making it “a key route used by those who end up in the EU or UK illegally”.
The Growth Plan for the Western Balkans and new economic and trade ties can help strengthen relations between Belgrade and Prishtina.
NATO diplomats based in Budapest wanted to chat with Hungary about its ambiguous policy toward the Atlantic alliance, but were ignored.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen kicked off a four-day trip to the Western Balkans, where she will meet with the leaders of Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, and Montenegro to discuss their progress tow…
Relations between the country’s former president and current PM have deteriorated.
EU enlargement “is the best response to those who seek to fracture Europe’s security and unity,” Kosovo’s prime minister added.
US Navy Admiral Stuart B. Munsch, commander of the Allied Joint Force Command Naples – which oversees NATO’s peacekeeping in force in Kosovo – said the alliance remained concerned about the risk of repeated violence in north Kosovo.
The development comes amid long-stagnated EU-backed talks between Kosovo and Serbia.
Three Serbs plead not guilty in trial over gunfight incursion in Kosovo
The Serbian leader has proved adept at balancing the West versus China and Russia.
The deal, which was originally signed in 2021, only became a treaty earlier this year when it was approved by Kosovo’s parliament.
As momentum around Kosovoโs bid to join the Council of Europe stagnates, stakeholders have refused to comment on reports suggesting the process is being hampered by France and Italy, two previously staunch supporters of their accession.
Also in this newsletter: Tusk uses immigration audit to hit back at former rightwing government
Prime Minister Albin Kurti says Pristina intends to exercise full sovereignty over its own affairs
Serbian President Vuฤiฤ says he has โno relationshipโ to Kosovo leaders as EU-led talks fail to produce results.
Youth brain drain is becoming a worrisome problem for the Western Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia.
The days when Viktor Orbรกn could block negotiations on a whim should be over โ and the western Balkans should finally benefit Russiaโs invasion of Ukraine has revived EU expansion as an imperative. For years, โenlargementโ has been a low priority โ Cro…
Northern Kosovo, with a predominantly ethnic Serb population, has long been a flashpoint of tensions between Pristina and Belgrade and the border blockade comes on the same day an EU envoy said both sides should work to normalise relations if they hope…
Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo have been escalating for months, exacerbated by a new rule introduced earlier this year that designates the euro as the sole legal currency in Kosovo, effectively banning the use of the Serbian dinar.
Serbia gets pulled โ and pulls itself โ sharply between East and West. Where it ends up will help decide which Great Power emerges triumphant.
Kosovo was a Serbian province until NATO’s 78-day bombing campaign in 1999 ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, pushing Serbian forces out.
“I wouldn’t have gotten a passing grade,” Albin Kurti admits.
The closure comes amid rising tensions in Kosovo-Serbia relations, despite the 13-year-long normalisation of talks facilitated by the European Union which have failed to make progress.
Risk of raising tensions after parallel institutions serving Serb minority are declared illegal and shuttered by ethnic Albanian-led governmentKosovo authorities on Friday closed five parallel institutions working with the ethnic Serb minority, a move …
French president says Serbians “should not fear” a loss of national identity if they join the bloc.
After wartime trauma, Europeโs youngest country has developed an outsize musical clout that packed this yearโs Sunny Hill festival in Pristina. What fuels its pop success?The fields above the Kosovan village of Bรซrnicรซ e Poshtme offer a spectacular vie…
Hundreds gathered around the bridge on Wednesday, following pressure from the Government of Kosovo to open the bridge that divides the Serb-dominated north and Albanian south of the city.
Hundreds gathered around the bridge on Wednesday, following pressure from the Government of Kosovo to open the bridge that divides the Serb-dominated north and Albanian south of the city.
Brussels has warned both Belgrade and Pristina that refusal to compromise jeopardises Serbia and Kosovoโs chances of joining the European Union.
The arrest comes as Kosovo faces an epidemic of counterfeit euro coins.
The incident was โunprecedented,โ Vjosa Osmani’s spokesperson said.
The incident was โunprecedented,โ Vjosa Osmani’s spokesperson said.
Dua Lipa and her dad’s Sunny Hill Festival saw artists like Stormzy, Burna Boy, Bebe Rexha as headliners.
Dua Lipa and her dad’s Sunny Hill Festival saw artists like Stormzy, Burna Boy, Bebe Rexha as headliners.
Aleksandar Petroviฤโs 1965 interlinked stories focus on the changes wrought in one young Yugoslavian by the brutality of the war and its aftermathSerbian film-maker Aleksandar Petroviฤ was a member of the former Yugoslaviaโs insurgent Black Wave cinema…
A former Kosovo rebel commander was found guilty of war crimes on Tuesday (16 July) and sentenced to 18 years behind bars for abuses and murder in 1999 during Pristina’s independence struggle.
European Commission to also attend signature in Belgrade on Friday
Taking the necessary steps to fully operationalize deterrence by denial is critical โ especially before a possible change in Americaโs relationship with NATO.
Formerly sedate attempts at electricity market integration in South-Eastern Europe have been given a new dynamism amid a concrete EU perspective โ and a looming punitive CO2 duty.
Youth groups from Serbia and Kosovo who organise the Mirรซdita Dobar Dan cultural event accuse Serbiaโs interior ministry of failing to protect them from intimidationOrganisers of a festival designed to promote cultural exchange between Kosovo and Serbi…
The festival ban comes a day after the EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell said no progress had been made during talks in Brussels towards implementing an EU-backed agreement towards normalising ties between Belgrade and Pristina.
Antje Kunst*
* Antje Kunst is an
international lawyer and barrister of Pavocat Chambers, admitted to the Bar of
England and Wales, and the Bar of Berlin, advising and representing individuals
in a wide range of matters related to …
A European Union bid to breathe new life into stalled negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo fell through Wednesday (26 June), with Serbia’s president and the Kosovo prime minister failing to meet as planned.
An Albanian player leads fans in chants against North Macedonia. Rival supporters unite to chant “Kill the Serbs”. A journalist from Kosovo receives death threats for an eagle gesture.
‘Kill the Serb!’ ‘F**k Macedonia!’ Violent chants and regional rivalries tarnish Europe’s summer football tournament.
Punish Croatia and Albania or we’re leaving, Serbian football chief told UEFA.
Kosovar police said they had closed six branches of a Serbian bank in the country’s troubled north on Monday (20 May), nearly four months after Pristina banned transactions in Serbian dinars.
China and Serbia agreed to follow a “shared future” as President Xi Jinping visited the Balkan country as part of his bid to forge stronger relations with allies at the edge of the EU.
The Serbian parliament approved a coalition government which newly elected Prime Minister Miloลก Vuฤeviฤ described as a “government of continuity” that will lead the Balkan country through geopolitical challenges and tensions with Kosovo.
Nikki Amuka-Bird gives a powerful performance as a gritty deputy defending her remote sheriffโs office from armed invadersThereโs an old-timey charm about this, a (mostly) one-location action movie in the tradition of Rio Bravo, or its sort-of remake A…
Kosovo took another step towards becoming a member of the Council of Europe (CoE), a pan-European human rights body, on Tuesday (16 April) as its parliamentary assembly overwhelmingly passed a report recommending membership, with even representatives f…
Audiences are finding sharp resonance and emotional comfort in Patrik Laziฤโs moving and funny play Our Son, about topics still sensitive in the BalkansThe hurling of a salad bowl to the floor might not sound like the most dramatic of moments, but it s…
Europeans must scale up the efforts to provide Ukraine with all the support it needs to stand up to Russia, whether or not the US will continue to back up Kyiv, write Fabrizio Tassinari and Teona Giuashvili.
US and EU officials express concern about Pristina forcing ethnic Serb minority to use the euroThe US has accused authorities in Kosovo of โunnecessarily raising ethnic tensionsโ after the government imposed a ban on Serbiaโs currency and instructed it…
Arrest of pro-west politician Nikola Sanduloviฤ, who dared to apologise over Kosovo crimes, exposes tensions still festering in the BalkansBed-bound in the gargantuan brick and marble villa that is his home, Nikola Sanduloviฤ recounts the attack that h…
Nikola Sanduloviฤ, who apologised for crimes against ethnic Albanians, speaks for first time after release from detentionA Serbian opposition leader has been released from detention after suffering what he alleges was a terrifying ordeal in which Belgr…
A long-awaited European Union’s visa liberalisation scheme allowing Kosovo nationals to travel to Europe’s borderless zone without a visa came into force on Monday (1 January).
President Aleksandar Vuฤiฤ declared victory in a snap parliamentary election on Sunday (17 December), after pollsters projected his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) was on track to easily win.
Serbians will cast their votes on Sunday (17 December) in a snap election seen as an effort by President Aleksandar Vucic and his populist Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) to secure another four-year term, after two mass shootings earlier this year ratt…
In the Western Balkans, good things happen when the West is resolute, and the opposite is true when there is drift or apathy sets in. EU leaders would do well to bear this in mind when they meet for the EU-Western Balkans summit this week, write Michae…
Antje
Kunst*
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credit: Sharon Hahn Darlin, via Wikimedia Commons
Advocate
General (โAGโ) ฤapeta delivered her Opinion in
Joined Cases Cโ29/22 P and Cโ44/22, KS and KD, on 23 November 2023.
She proposed that individuals may bring an act…
One diplomat likens ex-PMโs trip to EU headquarters for Nato talks to a โdivorcee returning to the family homeโDavid Cameron will return to Brussels on Tuesday in an official capacity for the first time since his doomed campaign for Britain to remain i…
Sanctuary sets up heaters to take chill off rescue animals that have lost habit of entering full hibernationWorkers at a bear sanctuary in Pristina are working hard to look after a lion that wants to play in the snow and bears who were removed from the…
Councilโs commissioner for human rights says some people prosecuted in the Hague for war crimes โreturn to their communities as heroesโThe failure of the countries of the former Yugoslavia to address their violent past has had devastating consequences …
The European Commission urged both Belgrade and Pristina on Wednesday (8 November) to begin implementing their obligations under past agreements, including a revival of their stalled normalisation talks, stressing this was vital for their future EU path.
This week the Beyond the Byline podcast looks at Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s tour of the Western Balkans. The EU executive chief talked to leaders of Western Balkans countries to encourage their governments to continue their hard …
Roadmap for expansion suggests integrating countries such as Ukraine into sections of EU before negotiations are completeGermany has proposed a detailed and innovative roadmap to expand the EU that would give candidate countries such as Ukraine early b…
Aleksandar Vuฤiฤโs party won last vote less than two years ago but has been under pressure over ties with Kosovo and shootings in MayEurope live โ latest updatesSerbiaโs president, Aleksandar Vuฤiฤ, has dissolved parliament and called early parliamenta…
Jeton Nezirajโs Negotiating Peace is a frenzied comedy drawing on Bosnian and Kosovan wars When political leaders present war as the only solution, it is up to artists to remind people that finding peace is still possible. That is the starting point fo…