• Kosovo MPs meet today to discuss €4 billion budget (Telegrafi)
• Osmani commends assembly for ratifying EU Growth Plan agreements (media)
• Kurti: Radoicic must be handed over to Kosovo; Basic Agreement must be signed (media)
• Kurti meets UNDP Administrator, “Kosovo has enjoyed fruitful collaboration with UNDP” (media)
• Congressman Self: Extremely strong, bipartisan confidence in Osmani’s leadership (media)
• Gucati: Presidents Begaj and Osmani expected to take part in February 17 protest (media)
• From Central Europe, Rubio rejects NATO exit talk, calls for stronger European role (RFE)
• Rama: We’ll send budget law to court, if Pristina budget law is not concluded (KTV)
• Kosovo leaders’ messages on the Day of the Ashkali Community (media)
• As Kosovo tries war crimes in absentia, experts urge strict safeguards (PI)

Kosovo MPs meet today to discuss €4 billion budget (Telegrafi)

Members of the Kosovo Assembly will meet again today to continue discussions on the budget for 2026. Assembly Speaker Albulena Haxhiu, after consultations with heads of parliamentary groups, decided to postpone the initial session which started on Friday so that MPs could have more time to analyze the document. Opposition MPs said on Friday that they need to read the document in detail in order to make concrete proposals.

Osmani commends assembly for ratifying EU Growth Plan agreements (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani commended members of the Assembly for ratifying the EU Growth Plan agreements, “paving the way for over €882 million in grants and loans to advance Kosovo’s bold reform agenda on its European path”. She said that the overwhelming support of MPs “reflects a clear and shared determination: Kosovo’s future is in the European Union - and we will continue advancing toward it with unity and resolve”. 

Kurti: Radoicic must be handed over to Kosovo; Basic Agreement must be signed (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, in a meeting with a bipartisan U.S. delegation consisting of consisting of Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Murphy, Thom Tillis, and Ruben Gallego, discussed Kosovo’s progress democratically and economically. “We also spoke about Kosova’s clear commitment to joining the European Union and expressed our gratitude to the United States, an indispensable ally. I emphasized that, regarding relations with Serbia, Milan Radoicic must be handed over to face justice, the Basic Agreement must be signed, and the letter from Brnabic, which in written form denies the territorial integrity of our country, must be withdrawn. These steps would ensure accountability and sustainability in the process of normalizing relations,” Kurti said.

Kurti meets UNDP Administrator, “Kosovo has enjoyed fruitful collaboration with UNDP” (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met with Alexander De Croo, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). “Kosova has enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with the UNDP, which we are keen not only to continue but also to expand. We discussed areas of cooperation and the need to access green transition funds such as Global Environment Facility (GEF) fund and Green Climate Fund (GCF),” Kurti said in a post on X.

Congressman Self: Extremely strong, bipartisan confidence in Osmani’s leadership (media)

Most news websites reported that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani received strong support from the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the United States House of Representatives, Republican Congressman Keith Self. “I want to underline the extremely strong and bipartisan confidence of the United States Congress in your leadership as President of the Republic of Kosovo,” Congressman Self wrote in his letter of support.

Underlining the crucial moment that Kosovo is going through, he gave full support for the continuity of Osmani’s, emphasizing that “your vision and unwavering commitment to democratic values provide stability, continuity, and clear strategic direction at a crucial moment for Kosovo and the region”.

Osmani’s office said in a press release that this “high-level message clearly reaffirms that under President Osmani’s leadership, Kosovo’s institutions will continue to uphold democratic norms, constitutional principles, and the rule of law, essential elements for consolidating the state and strengthening international partnerships”.

Gucati: Presidents Begaj and Osmani expected to take part in February 17 protest (media)

Leader of the KLA War Veterans, Hysni Gucati, said in an interview with Euronews Albania on Sunday that the presidents of Albania and Kosovo, Bajram Begaj and Vjosa Osmani, are expected to take part in the February 17 protest in downtown Pristina in support of former KLA leaders in the Hague. “There is nothing official yet, but based on the information I have, we expect the President of Albania Bajram Begaj, together with President Osmani, to join the protest in Pristina,” he said.

From Central Europe, Rubio rejects NATO exit talk, calls for stronger European role (RFE)

Just one day after addressing the Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio used a brief stop in the Slovak capital to dispel fears of a US retreat from NATO, telling reporters that Washington remains firmly committed to the alliance.

Standing alongside Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on February 15, Rubio dismissed concerns triggered by recent US troop adjustments in Europe.

“We're not leaving NATO. We're not leaving.... We may move a couple thousand troops from one country to another, but this has always been the case,” Rubio said, playing down speculation that redeployments signal a broader shift.

The number of US troops in Europe typically fluctuates between 80,000 and 100,000, depending on operations, training exercises, and rotational deployments. In fall 2025, the US announced that soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, the majority of whom were deployed in Romania, would redeploy without being replaced.

Rubio also criticized what he described as alarmist interpretations of Washington’s call for higher European defense spending. “Every time we say this, people go crazy. They think that means you're going to abandon NATO, you're going to abandon your allies,” Rubio said, adding: “The point we're making is that the stronger our allies are, the stronger we are collectively.”

Instead of abandonment, Rubio framed his urging of European allies to spend more on defense as a recognition that NATO is more durable when its European members are more militarily capable.

“We are not threatened or feel that it's hostile to see NATO grow in its own capabilities, not independent of the United States, [but] in conjunction with the United States,” he said.

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Rama: We’ll send budget law to court, if Pristina budget law is not concluded (KTV)

Pristina Mayor Perparim Rama said that the exclusion of Pristina’s budget from the draft law on budget allocations constitutes a violation of the constitutional order. He told a press conference Sunday that the exclusion of Pristina’s budget was done without any justification, and that it is administrative negligence and a direct violation of the constitutional order.

Rama said that the budget of the municipality of Pristina is the only financial document that gives the capital the authority to exercise its constitutional competencies. “Any arbitrary intervention or exclusion is a flagrant violation of local autonomy and of public finance laws. The consequences are not theoretical. They are real and immediate: public services for citizens are blocked, capital projects are halted, and the institutional functioning of the Capital is paralyzed,” he argued.

Rama also said that if the law on the budget for 2026 is adopted in the Assembly by ignored the budget for Pristina, “then we will send this law to the Constitutional Court, demanding responsibility from every authority of the central level that aims to sabotage the capital by misusing their duties and legal authorizations”.

Kosovo leaders’ messages on the Day of the Ashkali Community (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a message on the Day of the Ashkali Community in Kosovo that this community has a special place with its tradition, language, culture and legacy. “On this day, we reaffirm our commitment for a Kosovo where every community feels equal and respected. Kosovo’s strength is in its diversity, the complexion of traditions, mutual respect and a shared future with dignity for all,” she said.

Assembly Speaker Albulena Haxhiu said after meeting with political representatives and activists from the Ashkali community that “diversity and unity are not only our strength as a society but the strength of the Republic”. They discussed challenges faced by the community and ways how to overcome them.

As Kosovo tries war crimes in absentia, experts urge strict safeguards (PI)

Kosovo’s courts are increasingly trying war crimes suspects in absentia, delivering recognition to victims. Legal experts, however, have called for the proceedings to be in strict compliance with European fair trial standards.

When Gentrit Shala sat in the courtroom in Prishtina last July, he was not expecting relief. He was waiting for acknowledgement.

Gentrit’s father, Hafir Shala, a doctor, disappeared after being arrested by Serbian police on April 10, 1998. The conviction in absentia of a former Serbian security officer offered recognition of the crime, but not closure.

“Trials in absentia are a minimal and symbolic form of justice, necessary in the absence of other alternatives,” Shala said, after closely following the court proceedings.

On July 17, 2025, the Basic Court in Prishtina sentenced former Serbian State Security member Slavisa Filic, in absentia, to 15 years in prison for his role in the disappearance of Dr. Shala, who has not been seen since the day of his arrest.

While Shala considers the ruling important for the official acknowledgment and historical documentation of crimes, he notes that “it cannot replace proper justice.” 

Two additional suspects in his father’s case remain unidentified, highlighting what Shala sees as “the structural limits of such proceedings.”

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