• Kurti on non-certification of SL candidates: A matter of the CEC (EO)
• DiA reacts to non-certification of Serbian List candidates for Dec 28 elections (Klan)
• Terras: Productive day in Kosovo as European Parliament Rapporteur (media)
• Kapetanovic: Kosovo people still among most pro-European in the region (Telegrafi)
• KLA War Veterans to protest in Skopje on Dec 13: Join us (Telegrafi)
• Political crisis fuels calls for new funding model for public broadcaster (BIRN)
• Information integrity conference on how AI redefining elections and public trust (PI)
• Kosovo's harmonized inflation speeds up to 5.3% y/y in Nov (SeeNews)
• Free, but excluded (Kosovo 2.0)
• German Embassy: Refusing to verify the SL and its candidates negatively affects Kosovo’s international reputation (Kosovo Online)
• Von der Leyen, Costa after meeting with Vucic: We remain committed to seeing a democratic Serbia in EU (N1)

Kurti on non-certification of SL candidates: A matter of the CEC (EO)

Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti was asked to comment today on the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) not to certify Serbian List candidates and the reactions by the US Embassy and civil society organizations. “That is a matter of the US Embassy, it is a matter of the Central Election Commission, I am the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo,” Kurti said as he attended the start of construction of a football stadium in Podujeva.

DiA reacts to non-certification of Serbian List candidates for Dec 28 elections (Klan)

The Pristina-based Democracy in Action, a coalition of NGOs, expressed concern over the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) not to certify the Serbian List candidates for the December 28 parliamentary elections, despite the fact that according to the Office for the Registration and Certification of Political Parties, they passed the legal verifications by respective institutions. DiA said in a statement that the certification process is a clear procedure which should be based on legal criteria and consolidated practices of elections administration, and not on politically-motivated interpretations and decision-making. It argued that “this is another case when the CEC deviates from previous practices and from the decisions of the Elections Complaints and Appeals Panel and the Supreme Court”. “The experience so far shows that such decisions, in a matter of days, or either annulled or changed by higher complaint instances, and create unnecessary delays and undermine the trust in the election process,” it said.

Terras: Productive day in Kosovo as European Parliament Rapporteur (media)

European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Kosovo, Riho Terras, said in a post on X today, that he had a productive day in Kosovo. “From Prizren’s innovation and tech community to a strategic security briefing at NATO KFOR HQ with the German contingent. These insights are vital for stability and progress across the Western Balkans,” Terras said.

Kapetanovic: Kosovo people still among most pro-European in the region (Telegrafi)

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) presented today the 25th edition of the Balkan Barometer. RCC Secretary General, Amer Kapetanovic, said that this year’s results show “very encouraging trends” especially in terms of renewed trust in the European Union. “When we talk about Kosovo, it is mainly pro-European with a very high margin,” he said.

Kapetanovic said that the trust in the European Union was 54 percent last year, “now it is 64 percent, which marks the highest level in the last ten years”. He highlighted the role of the youth, saying that they have a strong orientation towards Europe and cooperation. “77 percent of them are clearly pro-European and they want to see concrete benefits from regional cooperation,” he said.

Read more about the Balkan Barometer at: Balkan Barometer | Welcome

KLA War Veterans to protest in Skopje on Dec 13: Join us (Telegrafi)

The organization of KLA War Veterans, in a video message, have called on people to join their protest in Skopje, North Macedonia, on December 13 in support of former KLA leaders who are standing trial in the Hague. The war veterans said on Wednesday that the protest will be quiet and peaceful. The organizers of the protest also expressed their concern with statements by North Macedonia Prime Minister that a “crisis center” will be formed for before and after the protest. Organizers said such a move only creates unnecessary tensions and is an attempt to portray the protest as dangerous. They also said that the protest was planned in full coordination, it has no party background and that there is no need for dramatization. 

Political crisis fuels calls for new funding model for public broadcaster (BIRN)

Without a functioning parliament to approve funding, some 700 employees of Kosovo’s public broadcaster were twice left without pay this year, underscoring the need for a new funding model not hostage to political whim.

Radio Television Kosovo’s first broadcast in 1999, after the war, was loaded with symbolism, marking a return to the airwaves of Albanian-language programming for the first time since the old Radio Television Pristina was shut down in 1990 by Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia and Albanian public sector employees turfed out of their jobs.

So when employees at RTK downed tools in November this year over unpaid salaries, Kosovars took notice.

Twice this year, the public broadcaster has failed to pay its roughly 700 staff, amid a funding crisis triggered by a prolonged political impasse.

Snap elections, forced by the failure of political leaders to agree on a ruling coalition following the last parliamentary election in February, will be held on December 28.

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

Information integrity conference on how AI redefining elections and public trust (PI)

At a time when lies can be fabricated in seconds and politics can be manipulated by algorithms, the question confronting democracies is no longer whether artificial intelligence will reshape politics, but how fast, how much, and at what cost.

Across two days of the DISICON 9 conference, speakers shared the message that AI brings enormous opportunities but also unprecedented risks, particularly for elections, human rights, and democratic governance. Strong safeguards, education, accountability, and international cooperation were highlighted as essential to ensuring AI strengthens democracies instead of weakening them.

The first day focused on how digital developments are being weaponised to carry out gender-based attacks against women, discouraging their participation in public life.

Speakers highlighted coordinated online campaigns, harassment, and AI-enabled manipulation that disproportionately target women in politics, media, and civil society.

Day 2 shifted attention to one of the most urgent global questions: How can AI be governed responsibly, ethically, and in line with human rights principles?

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/OI44f

Kosovo's harmonized inflation speeds up to 5.3% y/y in Nov (SeeNews)

Kosovo's harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) increased by an annual 5.3% in November, after rising by 5.1% in October, the statistics office, ASK, said. The increase was chiefly driven by increases in the prices of services for personal transport (by 18.1%); fruits (16.1%); electricity (15.5%); flight tickets (14.6%); and maintenance and repair of personal transport vehicles, ASK said in a monthly report on Wednesday. On a monthly comparison basis, consumer prices inched up 0.4%, after adding 0.6% in October. In 2024, Kosovo’s HICP increased by 1.6%, after advancing by 4.9% a year earlier.

Free, but excluded (Kosovo 2.0)

For many former convicts in Kosovo, a sentence continues even after prison.

Sitting on terrace furniture, Gent slowly recounts September 2021, when, after serving four and a half years in prison, he was released. He was only 17 years old when he ended up in Lipjan prison, a correctional and educational center for minors, for a robbery that would change the course of his life.

In Lipjan, he participated in several courses and programs for resocialization and rehabilitation in addition to finishing his last year of high school. There were lectures, workshops and exercises that were supposed to help him see life differently and ease his integration after prison. In the last year of his sentence, he was sent to an open prison in Smrekonica. There, he could work inside the center, a space that resembles life outside prison bars. By working in the fruit and vegetable fields that supply the facility, convicts at the Smrekonica acquire skills.

After four and a half years, as he prepared for life after prison, Gent, who did not want to be identified by his real name, was confronted with a reality that was nothing like the one he had expected. The moment the prison door opened, all institutional support for integration was cut off. The certificates he had earned from resocialization courses remained just paper evidence rather than becoming an opportunity. No one gave him the chance to turn this experience into a useful set of skills or a job.

“When you’re inside, you prepare yourself for progress when you get out, but then you face rejection. You see that you’ll face issues everywhere,” he said in a low voice. “Those who start something for themselves after they get out succeed.”

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/8NFt5

German Embassy: Refusing to verify the SL and its candidates negatively affects Kosovo’s international reputation (Kosovo Online)

Reacting to the fact that the CEC did not certify the Serbian List candidates for participation in the early parliamentary elections, the German Embassy in Pristina stated in its response to Kosovo Online that the electoral process and the technical preparations for the elections must be free of political maneuvers by political actors.

In response to Kosovo Online’s request to comment on the CEC decision, the German Embassy also highlights the obstructive behavior of certain members of the Central Election Commission.

“As we stated last week, the electoral process and the technical preparations for the elections must be free of political maneuvers by political actors. The obstructive behavior of certain members of the Central Election Commission who refuse to verify the Serb List and its candidates negatively affects Kosovo’s international reputation and its path toward European integration,” the Embassy said.

Two CEC members from the ranks of Self-Determination – Sami Kurteshi and Alban Krasniqi – voted against the certification of the SL candidates, while six members abstained and three voted in favor, recalled Kosovo Online.

Von der Leyen, Costa after meeting with Vucic: We remain committed to seeing a democratic Serbia in EU (N1)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Antonio Costa said Wednesday evening in Brussels that they remain fully committed to seeing a democratic Serbia in the European Union (EU).

Von der Leyen and Costa said in a post on X that they discussed with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic the importance of accelerating reforms, in particular in the areas of rule of law and media freedom.

“We stressed that enlargement is a geostrategic imperative and the need for Serbia to further align with the EU’s foreign and security policy. We also welcomed Serbia’s steps to diversify its energy sources and routes and to reduce dependency on Russia, whose unreliability has been repeatedly demonstrated,” the EU top officials wrote.

Following a working dinner hosted by von der Leyen, the two EU leaders added that it was “good to meet together with Vucic to take stock of Serbia’s progress on its EU path.”

“Europe has consistently shown solidarity with Serbia through major investments in energy infrastructure and support to vulnerable households. As we underlined during our visits earlier this year, we remain fully committed to seeing a democratic Serbia in the EU. You can count on our support,” the EU leaders added.

After the dinner, Vucic told reporters that he was “genuinely satisfied with the course, manner and tone of the talks, especially regarding the energy situation.”

“It was a pleasant conversation, we had a substantive discussion. We have known each other for a long time and understand each other very well, even when we disagree. We talked in great detail about where, how much and in what way we can import oil derivatives, from Bulgaria and Romania, where to build new gas and oil pipelines, we went into the smallest details. I’m not as worried about gas supplies as I am about oil, we looked for solutions, and I believe we will have the EU’s support on these vital issues,” Vucic told Serbian media.

He also said he presented von der Leyen and Costa with his proposal for the entire Western Balkans to join the EU together as a package. He added that they “listened to me like polite people” and “didn’t say anything on that particular issue.”