Albanian Language Media:

• Orav: Kosovo needs stable govt, continuous dialogue with Serbia (EO)
• PD and AKR will consider LDK’s offer for a preelection coalition (Telegrafi)
• Two-hour strike at RTK, no news editions over unpaid salaries (RTK)
• Kelmendi’s dismissal from KPC: US Embassy calls for respect of laws (RFE)
• Bislimi meets German Minister of State of Europe (media)
• UN report: One woman or girl is killed by a partner or family member almost every 10 minutes (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Human remains discovered in Pec and Prizren, families await identification (KoSSev)
• Miftaraj: The EC report did not show the harsh reality in which Kosovo found itself (Kosovo Online)
• Doyle: Protests against the Specialized Chambers will not affect their work (Kosovo Online)
• Lucic: With the US administration always about the company’s operations in Kosovo as well (Kosovo Online, TV Prva)

International:

• Kosovo's trade gap expands 7.5% y/y in Oct (SeeNews)
• In smalltown Serbia, a Kosovo war protest inspired a journalist to act (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media 

Orav: Kosovo needs stable govt, continuous dialogue with Serbia (EO)

EU Ambassador to Kosovo, Aivo Orav, said today that Kosovo urgently needs a stable government and highlighted the importance of the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. He made these remarks during the Summit for Peace and Democracy in Kosovo on the topic: “New world disorder: disinformation, mistrust and dismantling of democratic reforms”.

“Kosovo’s path [toward the European Union] is of special importance. The European Union has been clear: progress depends not only on domestic reforms, but also on the advancement of the EU-facilitate dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. This requires solving bilateral disagreements, strengthening democratic institutions, protecting the freedom of the media, ensuring the rule of law and preserving Kosovo’s multiethnic character. These are not obstacles set by the European Union, they are the foundations of a sustainable and prosperous future. Kosovo has made considerable progress. But in order to move forward, we need a government as soon as possible. We need a partner. The European Union must remain engaged, sustainable and supportive. And we are. Our engagement in the region has grown deeper, it has not weakened. The European Union remains committed to supporting Kosovo on this path,” he said.

Kosovapress quotes Orav as saying that Kosovo remains sensitive to manipulation and interference with Serbian-Russian disinformation on political and security matters.

PD and AKR will consider LDK’s offer for a preelection coalition (Telegrafi)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku, who is also the party’s candidate for Prime Minister of Kosovo in the upcoming December 28 national elections, in a statement on Monday called on the Justice Party, NISMA and the New Kosovo Alliance to have a joint pre-election list. Justice Party leader Ferid Agani told the news website today that he appreciates the invitation and that their decision will be made with “full institutional responsibility and maximal care, having in mind the long-term stability and interests of Kosovo”. The New Kosovo Alliance too said they will consider the LDK’s offer. “We will consider the offer of the LDK’s candidate for Prime Minister and in the next couple of days we will announce our decision,” a party member said.

Two-hour strike at RTK, no news editions over unpaid salaries (RTK)

Workers of the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) have continued their two-hour strike today as a result of unpaid salaries. The news editions at 11:00 and 13:00 were not broadcast during the strike. It has now been 25 days since 700 workers have not received their salaries, while union representatives said they will continue their protests until the financial situation is resolved. The 

Kelmendi’s dismissal from KPC: US Embassy calls for respect of laws (RFE)

The United States Embassy in Kosovo has called on all parties in Kosovo to respect the laws and follow the required legal procedures, when asked to comment on the latest developments at the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council which culminated with the dismissal of acting State Chief Prosecutor Besim Kelmendi.

The news website recalls that on November 20, KPC member Jehona Grantolli proposed Kelmendi’s dismissal after reports in a local media outlet in Kosovo that Kelmendi had allegedly cooperated in 1999 with a Serbian judge in the case of the Recak massacre, which the Serbian judge said was a fabricated event. Kelmendi denied having cooperated in the case and said that the decision to dismiss him was illegal because it was made in the lack of quorum and that he would continue to work in the institution. Several KPC members were in line with his position, with one of them saying that any decision made in the absence of a quorum “is inexistent” and that the proposal to dismiss Kelmendi was based “on an energy for an institutional coup”.

The KPC has 13 members and five of them voted in favor of Kelmendi’s dismissal. The regulation provides that six members are required for a quorum.

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani recently said that she is analyzing the process from a legal standpoint and that it is cooperation with the QUINT countries about developments at the KPC, which she referred to “as exceptionally serious”. 

Bislimi meets German Minister of State of Europe (media)

Several news websites report that Kosovo’s caretaker Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, met with the German Minister of State, Gunther Krichbaum, and informed him of Kosovo's economic and democratic progress. “He highlighted economic growth, the reduction of unemployment, increased production and the rule of law and the fight against corruption. On the European integration process, the Deputy Prime Minister highlighted the importance of getting the questionnaire and the candidate status which opens the way for cooperation and closer approximation with the European Union and advancing the European perspective. He also said that EU integration remains a strategic orientation and key aspiration for Kosovo, and that popular support for EU membership remains the highest in the region. Alongside advancement on the path toward the EU, the Deputy Prime Minister also highlighted the importance of concluding the process of membership in the Council of Europe,” a government press release notes.

UN report: One woman or girl is killed by a partner or family member almost every 10 minutes (media)

Klan Kosova and Top Channel cover the 2025 femicide brief from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which notes that 50,000 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or family members in 2024 – one every 10 minutes.

83,000 women and girls were killed intentionally last year. 60 per cent – or 50,000 women and girls – were killed at the hands of intimate partners or family members. This means one woman or girl is killed by a partner or family member almost every 10 minutes. In contrast, just 11 per cent of male homicides were perpetrated by intimate partners or family members during the same year.

“The home remains a dangerous and sometimes lethal place for too many women and girls around the world. The 2025 femicide brief provides a stark reminder of the need for better prevention strategies and criminal justice responses to femicide, ones that account for the conditions that propagate this extreme form of violence,” said John Brandolino, acting Executive Director of UNODC.

“Femicides don’t happen in isolation. They often sit on a continuum of violence that can start with controlling behaviour, threats, and harassment, including online,” said Sarah Hendriks, Director of UN Women’s Policy Division. “The United Nation’s 16 Days campaign this year underscores that digital violence often doesn’t stay online. It can escalate offline and, in the worst cases, contribute to lethal harm, including femicide. Every woman and girl has the right to be safe in every part of her life, and that requires systems that intervene early. To prevent these killings, we need the implementation of laws that recognize how violence manifests across women and girls’ lives, both online and offline, and hold perpetrators to account well before it turns deadly.”

Women and girls are subjected to this extreme form of violence in every region worldwide, notes the 2025 femicide report. It is estimated that the highest rate of femicide by an intimate-partner/family member was in Africa (3 per 100,000 female population), followed by the Americas (1.5), Oceania (1.4), Asia (0.7) and Europe (0.5).

Serbian Language Media 

Human remains discovered in Pec and Prizren, families await identification (KoSSev) 

Human remains believed to belong to victims of the Kosovo war or individuals still listed as missing have been uncovered in Pec and Prizren, the Kosovo Commission on Missing Persons announced on Monday.

According to the Commission, the remains were found and exhumed during planned field activities at two separate locations. Forensic examinations and DNA analyses are now underway to determine the identities of the individuals.

“In these locations, one in Pec and one in Prizren, remains were discovered and exhumed that may potentially belong to war victims and persons who are still listed as missing. The process of verification and pathological examination will continue in accordance with legal and professional procedures,” the Commission stated.

Families will be notified once identification is confirmed, authorities added.

Over 1,500 people still missing

The issue of missing persons remains one of the most sensitive and unresolved legacies of the conflict in Kosovo, continuing to strain relations between Serbs and Albanians.

The latest European Commission report highlights that 1,590 individuals are still listed as missing. Between April 2024 and the same period in 2025, the identities and fates of 26 missing persons were clarified.

According to the report, Kosovo’s police and the Institute for War Crimes have strengthened their capacities, while civil society remains actively engaged in initiatives focused on truth-seeking, reconciliation, and remembrance.

However, families and experts argue that political will remains the key obstacle.

“Political will is the main barrier. Expectations were high after the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia in December 2024, but meetings were halted. The European Union has not done enough to prioritize this issue,” Bekim Blakaj, Executive Director of the Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo, told KoSSev earlier.

One year after agreement, limited progress

Although the Belgrade–Pristina dialogue produced a joint Declaration on Missing Persons and a commission was formed to implement it, progress has been slow. Nearly a year has passed since its establishment.

In recent months, several exhumations have taken place at different locations across Kosovo, raising hopes that more families may finally receive answers.

Decades of uncertainty

The fate of missing persons from the Kosovo conflict has remained unresolved for more than two decades. Between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2000, an estimated 10,093 civilians of various ethnic backgrounds were killed or disappeared.

At the end of the conflict in 1999, between 4,400 and 4,500 people were believed to be missing, with around 6,065 cases officially recorded. More than 4,000 cases have since been resolved through international mechanisms, including the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Miftaraj: The EC report did not show the harsh reality in which Kosovo found itself (Kosovo Online)

The executive director of the Kosovo Legal Institute (IKD), Ehat Miftaraj, said that the European Commission's report spared the institutions for law enforcement in Kosovo, because, according to him, it did not show the harsh reality in which Kosovo is, reported Kosovo Online, citing Demokracia. 

Miftaraj said that the Ministry of Justice neglected two documents in terms of their adoption and implementation, one of which is the Rule of Law Strategy, in which, as he said, the international community invested hundreds of thousands of euros.

"In 2025, there was no work plan for the implementation of this strategy, the Ministry of Justice almost abandoned this strategy, there was no political will, and when there is no work plan, then other agencies also have problems with the implementation of this strategy," emphasized Miftaraj.

He said that the Prime Minister's Office failed to develop a Strategy for the fight against corruption.

"The government that came to power by promoting and promising to fight and prevent corruption failed for four years in full management, and even now, in 2025, it was not able to approve this strategy for months. On the contrary, there was debate, there was criticism, there were tensions at the working group meetings, but also sharp reactions from our international partners to the way in which they tried to approve this strategy," expressed Miftaraj.

According to him, the report of the European Commission does not pay due attention to the political influence exerted by the legislative and executive authorities in relation to judges and prosecutors.

"There were comments, there were political statements that violated not only the integrity and independence of the judicial and prosecutorial system - but were also directed against individual judges and prosecutors. This means that they could also violate the physical security of judges and prosecutors," he said.

Doyle: Protests against the Specialized Chambers will not affect their work (Kosovo Online)

The spokesperson for the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo in The Hague, Michael Doyle, told Kosovo Online that the protests in Pristina, The Hague and Strasbourg will not affect their work because judges are fully focused on ensuring fair, independent and impartial trials regardless of political developments.

Doyle said the judges have signed an oath to remain independent and impartial, and that there is a Code of Judicial Ethics to ensure that.

"The court is not subject to outside influence. The judges of the trial chambers are fully focused on ensuring fair, independent and impartial trials regardless of political developments," said Doyle.

When asked whether the decision to postpone all hearings until the end of the year affects the duration of the trial in the case against Thaci and others, Doyle said no.

"No, it will not affect the duration of the trial. The judges have set deadlines for the rest of the trial. The evidence is expected to conclude in December. The trial panel has set a deadline of January 19, 2026, for the prosecution and defense to file their final written court briefs, and for the victims' attorneys to file a victim impact statement. Closing arguments are scheduled for February 9-13, 2026," Doyle said.

He added that after the closing arguments, the judges close the case and enter into confidential deliberations, and that they have 90 days to render a verdict.

"In cases where the circumstances of the case require additional time, an additional 60-day extension is possible. After a verdict, the proceedings really depend on the verdict itself, so it's hard to say. If guilty of any of the charges, then an order for damages could be issued. Under the law, both the defense and the prosecution have the right to appeal any verdict to a special panel of appeals judges," Doyle added.

Lucic: With the US administration always about the company’s operations in Kosovo as well (Kosovo Online, TV Prva)

The CEO of Telekom Srbija, Vladimir Lucic, stated today that during his stay in the United States he discussed the company’s operations in Kosovo in meetings with representatives of the new US administration.

“In those conversations at the State Department, the US Department of Commerce, and Congress, I always mention our sensitive issue, our operations in Kosovo and Metohija. That was the topic this time as well. I presented our problem of not receiving the third license,” Lucic explained for TV Prva.

He said among other things that whenever he is in the US, he will raise the issue of Kosovo in meetings until Telekom knows that its company in Kosovo operates under the same conditions as the others, until the employees are safe, and until the possibility of receiving a third license is granted so that the company can operate across the entire territory.

International

Kosovo's trade gap expands 7.5% y/y in Oct (SeeNews)

Kosovo's trade deficit expanded to 530 million euro ($610 million) in October, from 493 million euro in October 2024, the statistical office, ASK, said.

Exports increased 5.1% to 91.8 million euro, while imports added 7.2% to 621.8 million euro, ASK said in a monthly statement on Monday.

Kosovo's main exports were base metals, accounting for 21% of the total, followed by rubber, plastics and related products with 12.5%, and the diverse manufactured goods group, with 10.8%.

Germany was Kosovo’s top import partner, accounting for 15.7% of total imports. Albania was its main export destination with a 15.3% share.

In 2024, Kosovo's trade deficit increased by 7.4%, reaching 5.4 billion euro.

In smalltown Serbia, a Kosovo war protest inspired a journalist to act (BIRN)

In the first of BIRN’s series about women’s wartime activism, Snezana Jakovljevic recalls how attending an anti-war protest in her hometown Krusevac after Serbian soldiers staged a mutiny was the turning point in her political awakening.

Snezana Jakovljevic was at home in the central Serbian city of Krusevac in May 1999 when she heard that people were protesting against local men being mobilised and sent to fight in Kosovo.

“So I went there. I didn't have any relatives or anyone who was close to me [being mobilised] but was just a citizen who was against the mobilisation, against war, against the [NATO] bombing, against everything that was happening in Serbia.

“Then I saw mostly women who were mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives of the men who were being mobilised and sent to Kosovo. And then I joined them and started to go to the protest each day,” she tells BIRN.

This proved to be a turning point in her life. Today, Jakovljevic is director of the Krusevac-based women’s rights NGO Pescanik (Hourglass), which was established in 2000 and works to empower women and advocate for gender equality.

Coming from a working-class family in the city of Krusevac, she Jakovljevic studied journalism at university and then joined a local radio station.

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