• Osmani: Continuation of measures against Kosovo, unfair and unreasonable (Koha)

• Orav meets Terras, “EU engagement with Kosovo remains strong” (Koha)

• Kurti: From January 1, minimum wage will be €425 (Indeksonline)

• Sulyok: Stability of Western Balkans as precondition for stability of Europe (Express)

• Hamza: Kosovo has only one way forward, the Euro-Atlantic path (EO)

• Haradinaj meets Prattipati, discuss elections and formation of institutions (Klan)

• Hamza says Guerot forwarded his letter on sanctions to Macron’s office (Nacionale)

• Three people indicted over attack on Iber Lepenci water canal last year (RFE)

• Zubin Potok mayor removes Kosovo flag and President’s picture from office (Klan)

• Voting from afar (Kosovo 2.0)

• Ahmeti briefs senior US official on “Serbia’s destabilizing actions” (RTK/TeVe1)

• Hill on testimony: I felt it was unjust Thaci was being held there (Euronews Albania)

• Kosovo doctors reflect on challenges of wartime medical care (PI)

• Media in Serbian in Kosovo: Between pressures and survival (musineinstitute.org, Alternativna)

• Interethnic fair in Gracanica: Diversities connecting women (Radio KIM, Media Centar)

Osmani: Continuation of measures against Kosovo unfair and unreasonable (Koha)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said today that the continuation of the EU measures against Kosovo remains unexplainable, unfair and unreasonable. She made these remarks during a meeting with the European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Kosovo, Riho Terras. “President Osmani said that regardless of constructive cooperation, the continuation of the EU measures against Kosovo remains unexplainable, unfair and unreasonable. In this context, President Osmani asked for Mr. Terras’s support to remove the measures as soon as possible, recalling that they damage the people and undermine the trust in the integration process, while Kosovo has met every condition set by the European partners,” a statement issued by Osmani’s office notes.

Osmani said that removing the measures against Kosovo would send a powerful message for the people and an encouraging message for the continuation of reforms.

Osmani also said that Kosovo’s membership bid for the EU should be processed as soon as possible and that there should be a merit-based membership. 

Orav meets Terras, “EU engagement with Kosovo remains strong” (Koha)

EU Ambassador to Kosovo, Aivo Orav, said he met this morning in Pristina with the European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Kosovo, Riho Terras. “EU’s engagement with Kosovo, both locally and from Brussels, remains strong as ever, with new opportunities within reach, including the Growth Plan,” Terras said in a post on X.

Kurti: From January 1, minimum wage will be €425 (Indeksonline)

Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Facebook post today that starting from next month the minimum wage will be €425 gross from €350 as it is today. “On July 1, the implementation of the second phase will begin when the minimum wage will be €500, as we have foreseen with the decision we made in the government. Around €150,000 workers in the private sector will benefit from this increase. We found the minimum wage at €130/170, unchanged for over a decade, and within one mandate we are increasing it for the third time,” Kurti said.

Sulyok: Stability of Western Balkans as precondition for stability of Europe (Express)

Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok, who visited Kosovo on Monday and met with his Kosovo counterpart Vjosa Osmani, said that Hungary “views the stability of the Western Balkans as a precondition for the stability of Europe and Hungary as well”. “Madam President thanked for Hungary’s significant contribution to stability in the Western Balkans through its involvement in the KFOR mission,” Sulyok said in a post on X today.

Hamza: Kosovo has only one way forward, the Euro-Atlantic path (EO)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Bedri Hamza, after meeting today with German Ambassador to Kosovo Rainer Rudolph, said that Kosovo has only one way forward, the Euro-Atlantic path. “I welcomed the new German Ambassador Rainer Rudolph to Kosovo and I informed him about preparations for the upcoming elections and my readiness to form the new institutions as soon as possible. During our meeting, I reiterated that we expect our international partners to support us on the international arena, by lifting the EU sanctions, support for membership in the Council of Europe and getting candidate status from the European Union,” Hamza said.

Haradinaj meets Prattipati, discuss elections and formation of institutions (Klan)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj said in a Facebook post today that he hosted the US Embassy Charges d’Affaires Anu Prattipati. “We discussed political developments, the December 28 elections and the urgency of forming the institutions that derive from them as soon as possible, as a precondition to restore normality in the country and the Euro-Atlantic integration perspective,” Haradinaj said.

Hamza says Guerot forwarded his letter on sanctions to Macron’s office (Nacionale)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Bedri Hamza said that French Ambassador to Kosovo Olivier Guerot has forwarded Hamza’s letter about lifting of EU sanctions to the office of French President Manuel Macron. “An excellent meeting with the French Ambassador, Olivier Guerot. The ambassador informed me that he has forwarded my letter about the lifting of all EU sanctions to the office of President Macron. The people of Kosovo deserve support, regardless of who is in government. We also talked about the need to restore normality and stability in the country. As future Prime Minister, my focus will be to return to topics of economic and diplomatic cooperation with our allies,” Hamza said in a Facebook post.

Three people indicted over attack on Iber Lepenci water canal last year (RFE)

The Special Prosecution of Kosovo has filed an indictment against three individuals – J.V., D.V. and I.D. – following an investigation carried out in cooperation with the Kosovo Police and European partners into the attack on the Iber Lepenci water canal. The defendants are charged with “endangering the constitutional order by destroying or damaging public installations”, “commission of a terrorist offence”, “unauthorised possession of weapons” and “espionage”.

The indictment notes that on November 29, 2024, in the village of Varage in the municipality of Zubin Potok, at the Iber Lepenci water canal, J.V. and D.V., together with other as yet unidentified individuals, placed around 20 kilos of explosives inside the canal. The explosive material was detonated via a bag tied with a rope to a concrete pillar, causing severe damage to the canal structure, interruption of the drinking water supply and risk to electricity production.

Through these actions, the Prosecution considers that the two defendants committed the criminal offence of endangering the constitutional order in connection with the commission of a terrorist offence.

J.V., D.V. and I.D. are also charged with unauthorised possession of weapons. In addition, J.V. is separately accused of espionage and according to the indictment he acted as a recruit of the Serbian Military Intelligence Service, with the rank of colonel, collecting classified information and documents with the aim of using them in unlawful activities on the territory of Kosovo.

Zubin Potok mayor removes Kosovo flag and President’s picture from office (Klan)

The newly-elected mayor of the municipality of Zubin Potok, Milos Perovic, has removed the Kosovo flag and the picture of Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani from his office. The news website notes that this can be seen in a photograph published by the Serbian List on Instagram. Former Zubin Potok mayor Izmir Zeqiri recently told Klan Kosova that the failure to respect Kosovo’s symbols is a legal violation.

Voting from afar (Kosovo 2.0)

The vote of the diaspora expresses a desire for involvement that extends beyond electoral participation.

Shortly after 9 a.m. on February 9th, the day of Kosovo’s parliamentary elections, Serafina Ferizaj joined a growing queue outside the Kosovo consulate in Munich, Germany. She could have mailed in her vote — it would have been easier, faster — but she didn’t go to the consulate for convenience. “I wanted to experience it the classic way,” she says.

Ferizaj wanted to vote the way people in Kosovo were voting that day, waiting in line outside a school that had been turned into a polling station.

One thing was different, though. In Kosovo, like most other places, the queues outside polling stations are usually calm, maybe intolerably so. But in Munich, in front of the consulate, the atmosphere was lively. Different generations of immigrants had gathered: former Gastarbeiter or elderly guest workers, former political refugees, more recent economic immigrants, and their grandchildren, like Ferizaj. All bound by a common nostalgia for a place that had shaped their identity, even though they now lived outside its borders.

At the age of 31, Ferizaj was voting for the first time in Kosovo’s elections. Until 2024, Germany did not allow dual citizenship, so Ferizaj had to give up her Kosovar citizenship to take on her German one. The day this changed was the first time she felt in complete harmony with all versions of herself — raised in Germany, rooted in Kosovo, not fully belonging to either, but somehow still belonging to both.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/0xwBG

Ahmeti briefs senior US official on “Serbia’s destabilizing actions” (RTK/TeVe1)

Kosovo caretaker Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kreshnik Ahmeti, met with Deputy Director for South and Central Europe at the US State Department, Lyn Debevoise, and informed about “Serbia’s continuous destabilizing actions” and the position of Albanians in Presevo Valley. Ahmeti and Debevoise reconfirmed that Kosovo and the United States share the same priorities in strengthening regional stability, promoting democratic values and furthering mutual understanding based on sustainable friendship and strategic partnership.

Hill on testimony: I felt it was unjust Thaci was being held there (Euronews Albania)

Christopher Hill, a former US diplomat in the Balkans who participated in negotiations on the Kosovo issue, in an interview with Euronews Albania, talked about his decision to testify in the trial against former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci in the Hague. He said his decision to testify was not made under any political or professional pressure but rather as a moral responsibility and that during his stay in Kosovo and visits to villages he saw no evidence that Thaci had ordered or committed crimes. “He did not ask for my support. I spoke to some people because I thought it was a moral responsibility and I really believe it was. I was there, in different places in Kosovo, I did not stay only in Pristina, I went to the villages where war crimes had been committed. They were without a doubt war crimes, there were crimes perpetrated by Serbs against the Albanians, but there were other crimes too. But at the time I don’t know of any crime for which I could say that it was caused by Mr. Thaci. And he is being held there for five years,” he said.

Kosovo doctors reflect on challenges of wartime medical care (PI)

Doctors who served in the parallel healthcare system in Kosovo during the 1990s recount the extraordinary challenges they faced when building the medical system, treating thousands under fire, and risking their lives to reach the wounded.

At BIRN’s Reporting House Museum in Prishtina, healthcare professionals who worked before and during the Kosovo 1998-99 war gathered for a panel titled “Medicine in ‘Impossible’ Circumstances: Challenges, Experiences, and Sacrifices.” The discussion shed light on the realities faced by ethnic Albanian doctors who worked under political repression, in improvised wartime conditions, and under constant personal threat.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Serbian authorities expelled thousands of ethnic Albanian healthcare workers from public institutions, forcing them to create a parallel network of clinics, humanitarian centres, and improvised hospitals—a system held together by volunteerism, private donations, and personal risk.

Many physicians with private practices donated medicine and equipment to keep the system alive.

A parallel health system under pressure

As the fighting escalated, Albanian doctors established mobile teams and field hospitals across regions affected by the fighting. Despite constant surveillance and shortages of basic supplies, they continued treating civilians and wounded fighters.

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

Media in Serbian in Kosovo: Between pressures and survival (musineinstitute.org, Alternativna)

The sustainable future of Serbian-language media in Kosovo depends on long-term and stable funding, but also on the support of institutions and the public.

By Ana Marija Ivkovic for the Musine Kokalar Institute for Public Policy

Media freedom in Kosovo is guaranteed by the Constitution and laws. However, beneath the legal surface lies a whole series of problems that reveal the real state of media freedom. Serbian-language media, which are mostly financed by international donors, are in a particularly difficult position.

"Media freedom is threatened by politicized regulatory bodies, lawsuits that silence journalists, insufficient access to public information and serious risks to the safety of journalists," Reporters Without Borders assessed in the report on media freedom in Kosovo for 2025. This year, Kosovo was ranked 99th out of a total of 180 countries.

This, however, does not reflect the situation in Serbian-language media in Kosovo. Especially not in those financed by international funds. These media are the bastions of media freedom, but they are also under a wide threat of disappearing.

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

Interethnic fair in Gracanica: Diversities connecting women (Radio KIM, Media Centar)

Women from different Kosovo communities in Kosovo together, in one place, showcased their cultures, food and artistry in an inter-ethnic fair organized in Gracanica as per initiative of Women Business Association Avenija. Held under the motto “Hands that create, hearts that connect” the fair gathered women from across Kosovo including Serbs, Albanians, Bosniaks, Roma and Gorani. The visitors could see on display traditional clothing, purses, dresses, decorations, taste traditional food and homemade domestic products.

Hajrija Ademi from Prizren in particular emphasised the importance of preserving tradition. She creates brides’ traditional dresses, explaining the joy she felt every time she was coming to the Avenija’s workshops or activities. Shukrije Gori Markovic from Pristina said Balkans traditions, cultures and customs are very much alike. Women participants also noted the significance of such fairs, as in addition to socializing, it contributes to better promotion of their products and better sales.

The aim of the fair is to promote economic empowerment of women, intercultural cooperation and sustainable models of local development. Gordana Djoric, chairwoman of Avenija said events such this one contribute to reconciliation and building co-existence among communities in Kosovo.

The inter-ethnic fair represents a closing event encapsulating months-long joint work of women from different communities. The same fair will be organized in Prizren, as part of the project Understanding Richness of Diversity, supported by UNMIK.