UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, December 2, 2025

CEC: Dec 7, deadline for parties to submit candidates’ list for elections (media)
PDK representative calls for urgent allocation of budget for CEC (media)
Son of late Kosovo President Rugova, part of the LDK list for MPs (media)
Kadrijaj: AAK will reach double-digit result in the elections (media)
Krasniqi: Abdixhiku and his gang manipulated the diaspora votes (TeVe1)
Former KLA leaders will vote on December 28 (AP)
Rama: Ministry of Finance has still not allocated the funds (media)
Kurti: Number of new registered businesses has increased every year (media)
Leaders’ messages on birth anniversary of late Kosovo President Rugova (media)
National Health Institute: Six deaths from HIV/AIDS in Kosovo in 2025 (Kallxo)
Joseph: Kosovo as a model for peace in Ukraine (Euronews Albania)
Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini arrested (media)
Djuric: Kosovo, NIS to be discussed in Washington (Tanjug, media)
Kosovo Alliance: Without a political struggle, there is no survival of the Serbs in Kosovo (KiM radio)
‘Hope dies last’: Bosnian wartime sexual violence survivor fighting for justice (BIRN)
As Serbia’s students continue fighting, EU keeps drowning in its own irrelevance (BIRN)
NGO Aktiv response to the decision of the Press Council of Kosovo (social media)

CEC: Dec 7, deadline for parties to submit candidates’ list for elections (media)

Kosovo’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said today that by December 7 political parties must submit their candidates’ list for the December 28 parliamentary elections. Several news websites note that 23 political parties have applied for the election process. The Vetevendosje Movement will run in the elections with a coalition including Guxo, Alternativa and the Albanian Democratic Christian Party of Kosovo. The other parliamentary parties – PDK, LDK and the AAK – have decided to run in the election on their own.

PDK representative calls for urgent allocation of budget for CEC (media)

Representative of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) at the Central Election Commission (CEC), Ilir Gashi, called on the caretaker government today to urgently allocate the budget requested by the CEC for the December 28 parliamentary elections. “The allocation of the budget for election operations is an essential precondition to start preparations for the election process. The CEC Secretariat cannot initiate any procurement or contracting process until the budget is secured. I call on the caretaker government to urgently allocate the budget requested by the CEC! Any attempt to partialize the budget will be considered an interference and violation of the election process. Therefore, the budget must be allocated without wasting any time, every cent, as has been requested,” Gashi said in a Facebook post.

The Albanian Post notes that the CEC had submitted on November 26 a request for the €11.5 million budget for the early parliamentary elections.

Son of late Kosovo President Rugova, part of the LDK list for MPs (media)

The son of late Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, Uke Rugova, will be part of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) list for MPs in the December 28 parliamentary elections. The news was announced in a Facebook post by LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku, after a visit to the Rugova family today. Abdixhiku also said that “at a time when our state is faced with new challenges, the message of [late President] Rugova remains the same: peaceful force, democratic commitment and unwavering orientation towards the western world”.

Kadrijaj: AAK will reach double-digit result in the elections (media)

Senior member of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Time Kadrijaj said today that this party is consolidated and ready for the December 28 parliamentary elections. “You have seen the results we had in the local elections. I feel sorry for those claiming that AAK will not cross the election threshold because they will be disappointed. The AAK will be the surprise of these elections and we will reach a double-digit result,” she said.

Krasniqi: Abdixhiku and his gang manipulated the diaspora votes (TeVe1)

Representative of the Vetevendosje Movement in the Central Election Commission, Alban Krasniqi, reacted to a statement by LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku who said that the Vetevendosje Movement was trying to manipulate the diaspora votes. Krasniqi claimed that it was the LDK that manipulated the diaspora votes in the February parliamentary elections, and that even some LDK officials said this. “You have seen the messages that LDK members sent to Abdixhiku calling it organized crime, and it was I who denounced Abdixhiku and his criminalized gang for manipulating the process of the diaspora vote,” Krasniqi said.

Former KLA leaders will vote on December 28 (AP)

Spokesperson for the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in the Hague, Angela Griep, told the news website that all measures will be taken to ensure that the former KLA leaders, standing trial in the Hague, can vote for the December 28 parliamentary elections. “As in previous elections, in coordination with the Central Election Commission, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers will take all measures within its competencies so that all inmates at the detention facilities, who want to vote can exercise their civic right as citizens of Kosovo in the elections,” she said.

Rama: Ministry of Finance has still not allocated the funds (media)

Several news websites report that Pristina Mayor Perparim Rama said today that the municipal assembly adopted the transfer of its own funds from 2024 to 2025 during a meeting held on November 27, but that the Ministry of Finance has not yet allocated the funds to Pristina’s budget.

Most news websites report that meanwhile, urban transporters in Pristina are continuing their strike today due to unpaid debts by the municipality. Their protest has been going on for a week now. Ekonomia Online quotes a representative of the Urban Traffic in Pristina as saying that they may undertake radical steps and even block the streets of the capital with their buses if funds are not allocated to their accounts.

Kurti: Number of new registered businesses has increased every year (media)

Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti shared today a Facebook post by caretaker Finance Minister Hekuran Murati about the increased number of registered businesses in Kosovo. Kurti wrote in his post that “during this mandate, the number of new registered businesses has increased every year and has been higher than in any other year before our governance. An increasing number of businesses in a growing economy”.

Leaders’ messages on birth anniversary of late Kosovo President Rugova (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, on the anniversary of the birth of former Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, said that Rugova was the voice of reason and determination and a guide towards freedom and independence. “With his wisdom, political culture and vision, President Rugova raised the issue of Kosovo at the highest points of world diplomacy. He remains a permanent inspiration, a symbol of resistance and the great dream of a free, independent and democratic Kosovo. The President’s legacy is a testament for peace, a sovereign state and integrated in the Euro-Atlantic family,” Osmani said in a Facebook post.

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj said in a Facebook post that Rugova and he were “associates in the first years after freedom, precisely at a time when there were challenges and topics of national importance. Together we managed to remove divisions within the country. On his birthday, I remember his ideas, positions and support at a time when I was facing international justice”.

Albania’s Foreign Minister Elisa Spiropali said that Rugova was a politician unlike any other, and that Rugova and Kosovo are inseparable in the eyes of the civilized world. “In Kosovo’s painful path toward freedom and independence, Ibrahim Rugova led with unwavering wisdom and national conscience … He will be remembered forever,” she said.

National Health Institute: Six deaths from HIV/AIDS in Kosovo in 2025 (Kallxo)

31 new cases with HIV/AIDS were recorded in 2025 in Kosovo and six people died from the virus during this time. These data were announced during a roundtable organized by the Ministry of Health and the Kosovo National Institute for Public Health on Monday to mark World AIDS Day. “We can see an increase in the number of cases with HIV/AIDS from 2022. In 2022, there were 21 cases, in 2023 20 cases, in 2024 there were 34 cases, and in 2025 there were 31 cases and six deaths,” a representative of the Department of Epidemiology at the National Health Institute said. The institute also notes that the epidemiological situation in Kosovo is still considered to be at a low level.

Joseph: Kosovo as a model for peace in Ukraine (Euronews Albania)

Edward P. Joseph, lecturer at Johns Hopkins University in the United States and an expert in conflict management, proposes a strategic approach to achieving peace in Ukraine, based on the Kosovo model. He has also developed this idea in an analysis published in the academic journal SAIS Review of International Affairs.

Joseph explains that applying the principles of Resolution 1244 in Donbas—international administration, the deployment of peacekeeping forces, and postponing the issue of sovereignty for a later stage—could provide Ukraine with security guarantees without requiring it to accept the Russian annexation of the region.

Joseph also acknowledges the efforts of the Trump administration, emphasizing that it has prioritized achieving peace in Ukraine and has introduced new dynamics into the negotiation process.

“The most important and most interesting aspect of using the Kosovo model in Donbas—meaning in Ukraine—to achieve a ceasefire is that Russian President [Vladimir] Putin supports it. This is the starting point, but not the only one. For more than two decades, Putin has insisted that Resolution 1244 must be respected. Putin has also repeatedly stated that Kosovo and Ukraine are the same thing. The idea of using a model is entirely appropriate. The U.S. administration is taking elements from the plan for Gaza. But I believe the Kosovo model is far more relevant than that of Gaza. Even Putin himself knows the Kosovo model very well,” Joseph stated.

Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini arrested (media)

Citing reports in international media, several media outlets in Kosovo are reporting that Federica Mogherini, former EU foreign policy chief, has been arrested as part of a fraud investigation into the financing of a Bruges academy for young diplomats. Media also note that Mogherini was a former EU representative in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/QJG6m

Djuric: Kosovo, NIS to be discussed in Washington (Tanjug, media)

Serbian FM Marko Djuric, who is on a visit to Washington, said he would have nine meetings at which he would discuss Serbia-US bilateral relations, the position of Serbs in Kosovo and the situation regarding Serbia's Russian-majority owned oil company NIS, which is under US sanctions, reported Tanjug yesterday.

"Serbia will keep informing the public of that situation in a clear, public and transparent manner," Djuric told reporters.

"I would like to reiterate once again that people in Serbia really have no reason for concern over supplies at petrol stations, etc. Serbia has been preparing for the energy crisis in a responsible manner," he said, adding that, without a doubt, a Serbian delegation would do all it could to make the most of discussions on the issue.

He said Belgrade was in intensive talks with Washington also about the situation in Kosovo and noted that US President Donald Trump's administration had suspended a strategic agreement with Pristina largely due to the position of Serbs in the province.

He said the cooperation with the US was extremely important for developments in the Balkans and that Serbia approached it very responsibly and with much enthusiasm.

"We believe our interests could match on many different topics and issues, and we will be working in that direction here," he said.

Kosovo Alliance: Without a political struggle, there is no survival of the Serbs in Kosovo (KiM radio)

The Kosovo Alliance is one of the three Serbian political parties participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections. This party says that the Serbian community must use the opportunity to improve its position through active political action, reported KiM radio.

"Without a political struggle, the Serbian community in Kosovo and Metohija has no life," the announcement stated, recalling that decades of attempts to integrate the Serbs into the political system have passed without significant results. As they pointed out, the goal was not to find the guilty.

"The political struggle advocated by the Kosovo Alliance will not be based on differences and conflicts burdened by the circumstances of the past, but also on blind obedience. Our political struggle must respect the real circumstances that are valid at this moment. Our political wishes must be aligned with reality," the statement added among other things.

As Serbia’s students continue fighting, EU keeps drowning in its own irrelevance (BIRN)

Opinion by Alejandro Esteso Perez

The students’ refusal to frame their struggle in explicitly pro-EU terms is not mere indifference – it is the expression of a generational break.

More than a year after the 2024 Novi Sad disaster that killed 16 people, Serbia’s student-led protestors are gearing up for their second winter on the streets as they demonstrate against the government of Aleksandar Vucic. While Serbia’s civil society displays one of the most persistent movements for accountability and political change seen in recent years, the EU has all but vanished from the collective imagination of those on the streets demanding dignity and reform.

Brussels’ silence – disguised as prudence – has not only undermined its credibility as a transformative actor, but has also eroded the symbolic power it once held as a horizon of democratic aspiration in the Western Balkans.

On the one hand, recent developments on the enlargement front have compelled the European Commission and the European Parliament to take a position.

The unveiling in early November of the European Commission’s 2025 Enlargement Package and country reports paints a bleak picture over Serbia’s democratic health, but also over the EU’s intentions towards Belgrade. Many have pointed towards the harsher tone in this year’s European Commission feedback – especially in the fields of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and government transparency. However, it remains to be seen whether real repercussions will be felt on the ground. As previous iterations of the country reports have come to show, no serious political follow-up is expected vis-à-vis Serbia’s political elites, whose relations with the EU are primarily driven by the member states’ vested interests.