• Serbia terminates investigations against former Kosovo police officer (RFE)
• EU on Kosovo-Serbia high-level meeting: As soon as the situation allows (media)
• Kurti: Kosovo now is safer, more democratic and more financially stable (media) 
• Kosovo avoids Chinese creditors, as neighbors take billions from China (AP)
• The route along Banjska that is used for smuggling (Kallxo)
• Hundreds take part in Santa run through Pristina (AP)
• Albanians protest in Skopje over Thaci trial (BIRN)
• Rama: Close cooperation with US one of main pillars of development (Indeksonline)
• Shala: Arrests by Serbia are a political message (Ekonomia Online)
• Vucic: I am preparing for first official visit to China (Tanjug)
• Return to the Institutions: Zubin Potok (KoSSev)

Serbia terminates investigations against former Kosovo police officer (RFE)

The High Public Prosecution in Subotica, Serbia, has terminated investigations against Abnor Spahiu, a former member of Kosovo Police special units, who was initially arrested under the suspicion of committing “aggravated murder” in the village of Banjska in the north of Kosovo. The prosecutor’s office confirmed to Radio Free Europe that the order to terminate investigations on November 21 due to lack of evidence. Spahiu was arrested by Serbian authorities on June 7 at the border between Hungary and Serbia, while he was travelling from Austria to Kosovo. He was kept in detention in Serbia for over five months. 

EU on Kosovo-Serbia high-level meeting: As soon as the situation allows (media)

The European Union plans to call a high-level meeting in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia as soon as the political situation allows. “With regards to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, the EU High Representative Kallas will call a high-level meeting in the Dialogue as soon as the situation allows,” the EU said in a written response to Front Online today.

Kurti: Kosovo now is safer, more democratic and more financially stable (media) 

Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti told a conference in Pristina today that Kosovo now is safer, more democratic and more financially stable today, Ekonomia Online reports. “We are at the end of the year during which Kosovo has been confirmed as one of the best success stories in the region. A safer, more democratic and more financially stable country. International indicators speak of less organized crime and way less corruption, more rule of law and a democracy that grows stronger every year. Our public debt is the lowest in Europe, around 16 percent of the GDP and this has helped the government of Kosovo to have sovereign policies. Economic growth over 4 percent. A generally well capitalized banking sector. These are not only numbers for reports, but guarantees for you, investors and participants, that Kosovo is a serious address for long-term investments,” Kurti said at the annual conference organized by the Ministry of Trade and the Kosovo Investment and Enterprise Support Agency (KIESA).

Kurti also said that “this stability and democracy are not a political luxury but the foundation upon which economic development takes place”. “When citizens feel safer at night, when courts are more independent, when the administration is more professional, then investors from Switzerland, Germany and our diaspora see Kosovo as an opportunity and not as a risk,” he said.

Kosovo avoids Chinese creditors, as neighbors take billions from China (AP)

The news website covers a report by AidGlobal titled "Chasing China: Learning to Play by Beijing's Global Lending Rules" which analyzes over 30,000 projects and activities in 217 countries around the world, financed by 1,193 Chinese creditors, including loans and grants reaching $2.2 trillion during the period 2000–2023. The report shows that Kosovo, unlike its neighbors in the Western Balkans, has not received a single cent from China. Kosovo has not taken any loans from China, staying out of the vast global financial network that China has built in other countries in the Western Balkans region. There are no Chinese creditors registered in Kosovo, and no public or non-public loans have been recorded in the period 2000–2023.

The report also shows that Serbia has agreements with 23 Chinese creditors, receiving US$6.9 billion in public loans and US$1.5 billion in non-public loans. Bosnia and Herzegovina has secured US$1.5 billion from 15 unique Chinese creditors by 2023. North Macedonia has contracted US$1.2 billion in public loans and US$24.7 million in non-public loans, while Montenegro has received US$1 billion in public loans and US$41.2 million in non-public loans. 11 Chinese creditors are registered in Montenegro. Albania has also received US$92 million in public loans from 10 unique creditors.

The route along Banjska that is used for smuggling (Kallxo)

Kallxo published a documentary on Sunday evening showing how mountain routes are still being used in the north of Kosovo for smuggling. For three weeks in a row, different types of vehicles, including trucks and smaller cars, were recorded as they were moving through a route along Banjska. In Zubin Potok, the Kallxo team managed to identify some of the vehicles that were using illegal routes to transport different goods from Serbia into Kosovo. The documentary included footage of the route. Kallxo said that it sent the footage from the last couple of weeks to the Kosovo Police and that their research resulted in several arrests on the night of December 11. Six people were arrested on suspicion of smuggling goods in the area where Kallxo had placed cameras.

Hundreds take part in Santa run through Pristina (AP)

The Associated Press said in a short video post on Sunday that around 5,000 people dressed in bright red Santa Claus costumes participated in the Santa Marathon held in Kosovo’s capital. The organizer of the tenth edition of Santa Run (Vrapo Babadimer) said that “all this money is for charity for many, many people and numerous families’ needs this year. And I’m excited. More than 5,000 Santas are coming”.

See more at: https://shorturl.at/KkvUw

Albanians protest in Skopje over Thaci trial (BIRN)

Thousands of ethnic Albanians and Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA war veterans protested in Skopje, North Macedonia, in support of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three others on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

Hysni Gucati, director of the KLA War Veterans Organisation, which organised the protest, said the high turnout showed that the KLA “originated from, was born out of and operated on behalf of the people”. He added that the protesters “demand justice” for Thaci and his co-defendants, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli, and Rexhep Selimi – who were all KLA officials during wartime.

Ethnic Albanians consider the court in The Hague biased against the KLA’s just war. They have staged five protests since August – in Pristina, The Hague, Tirana and Strasbourg before the one in Skopje.

Rama: Close cooperation with US one of main pillars of development (Indeksonline)

Pristina Mayor Perparim Rama hosted US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Anu Prattipati today, and said that close and sustainable cooperation with the United States of America remains one of the most important pillars of development, stability and the long-term vision of the capital. “This partnership represents much more than institutional cooperation, it is an alliance of values built on democracy, mutual trust and a shared vision for the future,” Rama said in a Facebook post.

Shala: Arrests by Serbia are a political message (Ekonomia Online)

Drizan Shala, Pristina-based security expert, said that recent arrests of people from Kosovo in the territory of Serbia are part of an intentional political and psychological strategy by Belgrade and that “the idea of closing the Kosovo-Serbia border would be an illogical act and result in grave economic consequences for Kosovo”. “Such immature acts [referring to the idea to close the boundary] would not only cause unnecessary diplomatic trouble for Kosovo’s institutions but they would also create negative consequences for the state and people of Kosovo. At the same time, they would give Serbia room to ask for international legitimacy for its arbitrary actions against the citizens of Kosovo. One thing should be clear: Serbia has not changed and it is not changing its discourse toward the Republic of Kosovo. The political climate in Serbia, especially the way it is reflected in the actions of Serbian state institutions, is not about to change. As a result, we cannot expect any changes in their approach to prosecute and arrest citizens of the Republic of Kosovo. Therefore, any action should be well-thought, institutional and coordinated, because immature actions send the wrong messages and they could be used against our interests,” he argued.

Vucic: I am preparing for first official visit to China (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Friday he was preparing for his first official visit to China and noted that the two countries maintained a steely friendship based, among other aspects, on mutual respect of territorial integrity.

Speaking to reporters in Merosina, southern Serbia, Vucic said he had paid many working visits to China in the past but that he would now make an official visit and that he was exceptionally pleased with that honour.

"I am grateful to President Xi (Jinping) for the support he is providing to our country, always - politically, economically and in every other sense. And I think the visit may be a historic one for our country. We are too small for it to be historic for China, but it will be for us", Vucic said during a visit to a factory of the Chinese company Yusei Machinery.

Return to the Institutions: Zubin Potok (KoSSev)

An opinion piece by Dragutin Nenezic

A week ago, Serbs returned to local institutions in four municipalities in northern Kosovo, three years after their withdrawal. A great deal happened during those three years: the exit from institutions and the removal of Serbs from the barricades; the violent takeover of municipal buildings by Vetëvendosje and the subsequent illegitimate elections; the events in Banjska and all their consequences; legal violence, police occupation accompanied by expropriation, the elimination of the dinar and everything that relied on it; and finally, guarantees stronger than ever before, whose balance sheet includes the loss of at least three Serbian lives, the life of one Kosovo police officer, around 45 Serbian detainees (a number that constantly fluctuates), and an unknown number of Serbs on wanted lists.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/e64ku