• Osmani to attend EU-Western Balkans Summit in Brussels on Wednesday (Express)
• EU: Kosovo asked to form Association, reforms, progress in dialogue (RFE)
• Kosovo’s 2025 ends as it began, at the ballot box (BIRN)
• Vetevendosje’s Haxhiu: We will be more present in the media now (Ekonomia Online)
• Kosovo cannot turn its back on its allies, Haradinaj says (AP)
• Police arrest six people, five of them minors, for damaging graves in Obiliq (Express)
• €4 mil for semi-Olympic swimming pool for Mediterranean Games (EuronewsAlbania)
• Kosovo becomes 154th member of International Golf Federation (Telegrafi/Koha)
• Research: Life of LGBTQI+ in Kosovo north not at a satisfactory level (Kallxo)
• Vreme writes on passivisation of Albanian addresses in Presevo Valley (Nacionale)
• WSJ: Kushner pulls out of Belgrade project (N1)
• Vucic: Investment worth at least 750 mln euros lost due to General Staff campaign (Tanjug)

Osmani to attend EU-Western Balkans Summit in Brussels on Wednesday (Express)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani will attend the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Brussels on Wednesday. “Following an invitation from EU institutions, President Osmani will represent Kosovo at the EU-Western Balkans Summit,” a media advisor to Osmani said.

The EU said in a press release that the meeting, which will be chaired by EU Council President Antonio Costa, will serve as an opportunity to demonstrate and reconfirm the strength of the EU-Western Balkans strategic relationship and the benefits it brings to citizens.

EU: Kosovo asked to form Association, reforms, progress in dialogue (RFE)

The EU General Affairs Council will adopt today conclusions on the enlargement process, and in the part about Kosovo it will call on it to accelerate the path of reforms. Other requirements include the implementation of agreements reached with Serbia in the process for normalization of relations, including the need to establish the Association of Serb-majority municipalities.

The draft conclusions, which the news website claims to have secured, mention that the need for reforms is most noticed in strengthening the public administration and the rule of law, including consolidating the judiciary, the fight against corruption, the protection of basic freedoms, especially the freedom of speech, a sector in which there has not been any progress. It notes that there has been progress in the fight against organized crime.

Kosovo is commended for organizing the February general elections and the ensuing local elections later this year, and the participation of all communities in the process. The draft conclusions note that given the smooth handover of power in the four Serb-majority municipalities in the north, the Council repeats and expects the removal of all remaining measures against Kosovo.

In the draft conclusions, the Council expresses full support for the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, and notes that both parties could lose great opportunities in the absence of progress in the normalization process. “Progress in their respective European paths depends on efforts to fully implement all obligations from the Agreement for Normalization in 2023 and all other agreements, without delay or preconditions,” it notes.

Kosovo’s 2025 ends as it began, at the ballot box (BIRN)

Something for the curiosity books: voters in Kosovo have been called to parliamentary polls twice within the calendar year after politicians failed to form a government after the first, in February, forcing a second, in December.

Kosovo began and ended the year with parliamentary elections, first on February 9, then on December 28. The inconclusive first election led to months of impasse over how to constitute parliament, before a speaker was finally elected in late August. Even then, the winning Vetevendosje party failed to find the allies it needed to form a majority, forcing new elections.

In April, Kosovo’s energy regulator, the ERO, hiked the price of electricity by 16 per cent despite protests. Simultaneously, the regulator announced the transition to an open energy market for companies with more than 50 employees or annual turnover of over 10 million euros. Businesses cried foul, saying the lack of a properly competitive energy market would result in financial losses. The market liberalisation was temporarily halted by the Commercial Court in June, pending a final decision.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/5wFYV

Haxhiu: We will be more present in the media now (Ekonomia Online)

Member of the presidency of the Vetevendosje Movement, Albulena Haxhiu, in an interview with the news website, commented on the party’s decision to appear more in the media. She said that after repeated requests from the people to have a greater presence in the media, the party’s presidency decided that VV representatives should return to TV programs and public debates. “We now have a new decision by the presidency, and we discussed this at length. Because the people of Kosovo have repeatedly told us that they need our presence in the media, because they are watching the programs and they are not seeing the position of the Vetevendosje Movement and of course it is important for them to hear it and see it. We believe that now it is appropriate to be in the media. During my mandate as Minister of Justice I had very good cooperation with the media. We have addressed 98 percent of requests for access to documents and questions for the ministry,” she said.

Haxhiu said that the absence from the media was not a boycott but rather a temporary decision by the party which has now been overcome. 

Kosovo cannot turn its back on its allies, Haradinaj says (AP)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj highlighted the importance of Kosovo’s relations with international partners, specifically mentioning Germany, the United States of America and the European Union. “From Berlin to Washington, from Europe to the United States, Kosovo had friendships. At the time of capital decisions for the state, Kosovo was not alone. It had friendships built on trust, coordination and mutual respect,” he said.

Haradinaj said that Kosovo cannot turn its back on its allies and that the support of allies was and remains crucial for security, army, energy and the international standing of Kosovo. 

Police arrest six people, five of them minors, for damaging graves in Obiliq (Express)

Kosovo Police said in their 24-hour report that six people were arrested on Monday night in Obiliq under the suspicion of damaging graves. Police said that the incident happened on Saturday in Plemetin. “The work of police investigators resulted in the identification and arrest of six suspected (five of them minors) for which there is reasonable doubt that they were involved in the case,” the police said.

€4 mil for semi-Olympic swimming pool for Mediterranean Games (Euronews Albania)

Kosovo continues its momentum with major sports projects, as a semi-Olympic swimming pool worth €4 million is being built in Podujeva. The project aims to serve both athletes participating in the 2030 Mediterranean Games and the local community. Construction work, which began during the summer, is progressing rapidly and has been described as an example of dynamism in sports infrastructure development. Caretaker Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Hajrulla Ceku, emphasized that the €4 million project has advanced much faster than initially planned and represents an important step in the modernization of sports. He added that such sports facilities play a crucial role in preparing athletes for the Mediterranean Games, which will be held in Pristina in 2030. The importance of the semi-Olympic swimming pool in Podujeva was also highlighted by the caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Kosovo becomes 154th member of International Golf Federation (Telegrafi/Koha)

Most news websites report that Kosovo has been admitted as the 154th member of the International Golf Federation (IGF). The Kosovo Golf Federation announces the news in a Facebook post today, thanking the Albanian diaspora, the Ministry for Culture, Youth and Sports, and international partners. “Kosovo today is a place that represents golf on the international arena. This is the beginning of a new chapter: participation in world competitions, the possibility of joining Olympic cycles, strengthening the local infrastructure, developing new talents and promoting Kosovo as a serious sports destination,” the Kosovo Golf Federation said.

Research: Life of LGBTQI+ in Kosovo north not at a satisfactory level (Kallxo)

Findings of research by the Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC) about the acceptance and quality of life of the LGBTQI+ community in the north of Kosovo show that from 360 respondents that filled a questionnaire, 63 percent of them believe that LGBTQI+ persons should enjoy the same rights as other people. The findings show that 72 percent of the respondents said they would have nothing against a relative revealing their belonging to this community but also that 35 percent of respondents said that they would not want their child to be gay, lesbian or trans-gender in the future. 38 percent of respondents said that society is very closed and violent toward these persons, and 26 percent believe that pride parades are an unnecessary provocation, while 18 percent think that such topics should be not promoted publicly.

The research notes that the life of the LGBTQI+ in the north of Kosovo is not at a satisfactory level because of a low level of tolerance toward visibility in the community. “In general, the findings show that the north of Kosovo needs a more inclusive and systematic approach: working with the whole population to reduce stigma, by doing additional and more in-depth research that would include those community members that remain completely invisible, and also by creating new support and protective structures. Without these key steps, LGBTQI+ persons will remain marginalized and forced to live in an environment where their identities are neither safe nor acknowledged,” the research said.

Vreme writes on passivisation of Albanian addresses in Presevo Valley (Nacionale)

Nacionale and Gazeta 10 covers an article by Serbian independent newspaper Vreme which notes that some of the problems faced by the Albanian community in Serbia include the passivisation of addresses, the non-respect of legal provisions for language and education, unequal representation in public institutions and hate speech.

Jeton Ismaili, editor of Fol Online news website, said in an interview with Vreme that he knows people in Bujanovac who live there and have Serbian nationality, but that they are nonetheless being removed from the civil registry. “The problem is that police check three times if someone resides at a certain address and if they don’t find them there, they are removed from the registry. And a person can, for example, be abroad for a month. The Serbian community is not faced with this problem. I know Serbs who live in Belgrade or in Nis and who are not removed from the registry. So, this is about a selective approach vis-à-vis members of the Albanian community,” he argued.

WSJ: Kushner pulls out of Belgrade project (N1)

The Wall Street Journal said that Jared Kushner decided to pull out of the project to build a hotel in central Belgrade in place of a historic landmark following the indictment of a cabinet minister.

The Trump hotel project was intended to be built at the site of the General Staff complex designed by architect Nikola Dobrovic after WWII. The complex of buildings with red stone facades was home to the Yugoslav National Army’s general staff for decades and was protected as a heritage site until recently when that protection was removed by a lex specialis following alleged document tampering. Minister Nikola Selakovic and others were indicted on Monday. A number of protests were staged against plans to demolish the complex which was bombed during the 1999 NATO air strikes.

“Because meaningful projects should unite rather than divide, and out of respect for the people of Serbia and the City of Belgrade, we are withdrawing our application and stepping aside at this time”, WSJ quoted a spokesman for Kushner’s Affinity Partners company as saying.

Vucic: Investment worth at least 750 mln euros lost due to General Staff campaign (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday Serbia had lost an investment worth at least 750 mln euros after US entrepreneur Jared Kushner had given up on plans to build a hotel in Belgrade in the wake of the "General Staff building campaign".

"Serbia has missed a great opportunity", Vucic told reporters after hosting a reception for Serb children from Vukovar, Croatia.

He said the campaign had begun as a "campaign in support of a blockaders furore against people who are responsible and who do their job seriously".