• Kosovo President praises Trump’s contribution to peace in region (Bloomberg)
• Osmani: Kosovo in the EU, both a strategic and security imperative (Euronews)
• European Commission confirms: We’ll remove only 50 percent of measures (Koha)
• Hargreaves, Kurti discuss election campaign, hopes for smooth elections (Express)
• Court annuls decision to dismiss Kelmendi as acting state chief prosecutor (RFE)
• Feride Rushiti given “European of the Year” Award (RTK)
• Durmishi on new bus lines linking Mitrovica South and Mitrovica North (Telegrafi)
• Kosovo signs contract to purchase HUMVEE Hawkeye artillery systems (AP)
• AJK condemns threats and abusive language against journalist Saranda Aliu (Kallxo)
• From a de facto colony to a colony de jure (Kosovo 2.0)
• How Serbia’s government spent the year trying to dodge an election (BIRN)
• Spahiu: All topics in the pre-election campaign have been exhausted (Kosovo Online) 
• Vucic: Talks between Russian side and major company about NIS nearing conclusion (Tanjug)

Kosovo President praises Trump’s contribution to peace in region (Bloomberg)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani praised her US counterpart Donald Trump for supporting peace in the Western Balkans and wider region of Europe.

Osmani, speaking in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday, said US troops presence in Kosovo was “the biggest deterrent and prevention to an escalation in the region.” US soldiers are part of the NATO-led peacekeeping force that’s been in Kosovo since the end of the war with neighboring Serbia in 1999.

Kosovo’s economic progress has been slowed by months of a political deadlock that Osmani said she hopes may be resolved in Dec. 28 snap vote. The country heads into a second early ballot this year after election winner Albin Kurti failed to form a majority coalition as parties snubbed his leadership style that has irked European and US allies.

Osmani said she thinks politicians in her nation will have a “more constructive approach” to working together now. “I’m very, very hopeful” as “we do need institutions so that we can also move ahead with huge projects with the European Union and the United States of America,” she said.

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

Osmani: Kosovo in the EU, both a strategic and security imperative (Euronews)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani in an interview with Euronews today said that she absolutely believes that Kosovo will join the European Union. “It’s our destiny. It’s something that we have worked on for a very long time and while practically speaking we have applied a few years ago and we’re hoping for our application to be on the table of the members of the Council very very soon. In fact as an identity, as a country, as a nation, we have been contributing to the values on which the European Union has stood for centuries. So we strongly believe that while it is a very complex process, if the merit-based criteria is used, Kosovo would have actually been a front-runner by now. But it is complex in our case additionally because of the five non-recognizers, who we truly do hope will understand that having Kosovo as a member of the Union, it is not just at the benefit of the people of Kosovo, but it’s a strategic imperative, it’s a security imperative, for the entire continent,” she said.

Osmani said that Kosovo is at a 100 percent alignment with the common foreign and security policy of the European Union. “Every single decision in these areas is completely aligned, whether it is sanctions against Russia or against other adversaries of the western world. What the EU represents today in terms of values Kosovo is also entirely aligned. In terms of rule of law reforms, we are a front-runner and based on international indexes such as Gallup International which was recently published, Kosovo is actually number 1 in Europe in terms of the rule of law index. It is topping all of the European countries, and it is third in the world when it comes to fighting crime and corruption. This has been the top priority of our institutions and right now in terms of the corruption perception index we have the lowest in the region. So these are some of the issues on which we have worked hard. In terms of economic reforms, again according to the European Union reports that we get yearly we are the best in the region. In terms of administrative reforms, we’re the best in the region. Obviously there are still some things and some homework that we need to complete. But I think that if there were no political complications that have nothing to do with reforms we would have absolutely been the top country in the region so far,” she said. 

Osmani also said that Kosovo supports Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. “As I said this is beyond just the internal reforms in a certain country. If we want Europe to be whole, free and in peace, which was the dream of the founders, we need to understand that we need to be given a chance to move forward. And while of course we would want Ukraine to complete all the reforms that are required of the rest of us too, it is a security imperative as well. Adversaries such as Russia, China and Iran, do not leave any space without having it used. So there is no vacuum. If the European Union, if the trans-Atlantic relationship, is not of course having its influence in the Western Balkans, then someone else will come, and not for charity but because they have strategic interests there. So we need to make sure that whether it is Ukraine or the Western Balkans, again on a merit-based process, move forward,” she added.

European Commission confirms: We’ll remove only 50 percent of measures (Koha)

A spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed to the news website that 50 percent of the financial assistance for Kosovo will be released as part of the process of removing the penalty measures. “Following the regular and peaceful transfer of local power in December 2025 after the recent local elections, we will further release approximately 50 percent of the financial assistance amounting to around €216 million,” the spokesperson said. “This will enable signing four projects (which together amount to €34,6 percent of EU contributions) and enable their implementation to begin. It will also enable the completion of the remaining program of IPA III funds dedicated to Kosovo”.

From this amount, €181 million are expected to be planned for approval by the European Commission as a financing decision in spring 2026, which would allow the first projects to start in the second half of 2026.

Hargreaves, Kurti discuss election campaign, hopes for smooth elections (Express)

UK Ambassador to Kosovo Jonathan Hargreaves said in a Facebook post today that he met with acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti. “We discussed the election campaign and hopes for a smooth electoral process that enables the swift formation of institutions in the new year. This is essential for urgently needed progress on areas such as the national budget. We also discussed the need for the next government to reboot progress on the EU-facilitated Dialogue and European integration and active measures to facilitate further integration of Kosovo’s non-majority communities. I hope that we can deepen the UK-Kosovo partnership with the next government,” Hargreaves said.

Court annuls decision to dismiss Kelmendi as acting state chief prosecutor (RFE)

The Supreme Court of Kosovo has annulled today a decision by the Prosecutorial Council of Kosovo to dismiss Besim Kelmendi as acting state chief prosecutor, saying that the decision was illegitimate. The court said in a statement that it has returned the case to the Council for review and restoration. Kelmendi was dismissed last month after reports claiming that he had cooperated in 1999 with a Serbian judge in the case of the Recak massacre which she said was fabricated. Kelmendi denied the allegations. His dismissal caused polemics about the legality of the decision, as the decision was voted on by only five members of the Prosecutorial Council. The other members of the KPC said there was no quorum and that the decision was “an institutional coup”. Kelmendi then complained to the Supreme Court, and the latter said that the council’s decision was “illegal, arbitrary and without basis”. The court said that the decision was made “in a procedure that is not based on the law”.

Feride Rushiti given “European of the Year” Award (RTK)

Feride Rushiti, head of the Kosovo Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRCT), was presented with the European of the Year” on Tuesday. The EU Office in Kosovo said in a Facebook post that “for the first time in 10 years, tonight we had the honour to present not one, but two European Of The Year Awards to KRCT - Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims's founder and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Feride Rushiti & Youth Perspective, Pristina University Law Students competing in international moot trials. Decided by public vote, the Awards recognise their outstanding contributions to advancing the European values of human rights, justice, equality, and solidarity. We are proud to stand with them tonight as EU’s support for Kosovo’s progress continues”.

Durmishi on new bus lines linking Mitrovica South and Mitrovica North (Telegrafi)

Kosovo caretaker Minister of Infrastructure, Hysen Durmishi said in a Facebook post today that good news for Mitrovica is not stopping. “Today we have announced a bid for public transport which we will subsidize with the aim of bringing people even closer together and uniting the South and the North even stronger. There will be bus lines from Mitrovica South to Leposavic and to Jarinje, to Zubin Potok and Bernjak, from Mitrovica South to Kroi i Vitakut and Zhazhde, Bistrica and Ceraje, and also from Mitrovica South to Banjska and other villages of Zvecan. Freedom of movement, unification of cities, unification of people,” Durmishi said.

Kosovo signs contract to purchase HUMVEE Hawkeye artillery systems (AP)

Kosovo caretaker Minister of Defense Ejup Maqedonci said on Tuesday that he has signed a framework contract with US military industry manufacturer AM General. “The contract includes purchasing mobile modern artillery systems Hawkeye 105mm Mobile Howitzer (MHS). The contract also includes modern support vehicles, reserve parts, maintenance and training for operation and maintenance,” he said in a Facebook post.

Maqedonci said that with this purchase, the Kosovo Security Force is moving to a new phase of development, and that it constitutes an important step in strengthening defense capacities and building a modern army. “Skilled, ready and inter-operable with our strategic allies by guaranteeing greater security for the country and long-term stability in the region,” he said.

AJK condemns threats and abusive language against journalist Saranda Aliu (Kallxo)

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) said in a statement that it strongly condemns the threats and abusive language directed at journalist Saranda Aliu, a reporter for the investigative program Kiks Kosova on Klan Kosova, while she was performing her professional duties. “Aliu was threatened by a man who was the subject of her reporting on a domestic violence case. According to the information provided by the journalist, the incident occurred on 15 December during a professional phone call, during which she was subjected to serious threats and degrading language. Such behavior represents a direct obstruction of the free and safe exercise of journalistic work. The AJK welcomes the fact that the case has been reported to the Kosovo Police and calls on the police and judicial institutions to treat this case with the utmost seriousness and without delay. Failure to investigate and punish such incidents risks encouraging further attacks and threats against journalists. The Association of Journalists of Kosovo expresses its full solidarity with journalist Saranda Aliu and reiterates that threats and verbal abuse against journalists are unacceptable and constitute a direct violation of media freedom and freedom of expression,” the statement notes.

From a de facto colony to a colony de jure (Kosovo 2.0)

Opinion by Fatmir Zajmi.

After Kosovo’s annexation by Serbia in 1912 and its subsequent involuntary incorporation into successive Yugoslav states, Kosovo’s Albanian majority endured systemic political repression, widespread human rights abuses, apartheid policies, settler-colonial practices and economic exploitation. Although Kosovo functioned for most of the last century as a de facto colony of Serbia, it was never recognized as such due to geopolitical interests and outdated concepts in international law, particularly the United Nations’ (UN) 1952 Blue Water doctrine, which defined colonies as overseas territories separated from their administrators by water.

This legal framework was established in the aftermath of World War II, when the UN was founded with the aim of preventing global conflict and maintaining international peace and security. Ratified on 24 October 1945, the UN charter enshrines self-determination, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. Since its founding, the charter has facilitated the independence of 80 former colonies. This reached its height in the mid-20th century, as a wave of decolonization swept across the Global South, resulting in the establishment of new UN member states.

In the organization’s history of decolonization, the Blue Water doctrine was an early definition adopted by UN Resolution 637. The restrictive legal framework of this resolution failed to address instances of internal colonialism – situations where dominant ethnic or national groups within countries impose alien rule on other communities within state borders, subjugating and exploiting occupied lands as colonial possessions.

As a result, the international community overlooked Kosovo’s colonial status, even during the mid-20th-century wave of decolonization. It continues to do so today, eight decades later, despite developments in international law that recognize colonialism as not defined by geography but also by domination, subjugation and the denial of self-determination.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/rpg1R

How Serbia’s government spent the year trying to dodge an election (BIRN)

The entire year in Serbia was shaped by the actions of the protest movement led by students - and by the desperate attempts of Aleksandar Vucic’s administration to relieve itself of the pressure.

After its initial months of extra-institutional struggle, the student movement has politically matured. This was driven primarily by the wider context under which it operated: an increasingly authoritarian and violent regime, entirely resistant to any demands that might threaten its grip on power.

After months of protests, rallies, blockades and various other activities, it became clear that the government had no intention of fulfilling any of the students’ demands. Even when some concessions did appear, they were manipulative in nature, such as the repeated “releases” of documentation related to the reconstruction of the Novi Sad railway station, whose collapse in November 2024 claimed 16 lives and triggered the demonstrations.

Although the authorities released the documentation on several occasions (each time claiming that now it was “fully published”), independent experts have determined that many key documents remain missing and that several of those provided were flawed, suggesting that the government was merely buying time.

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

Spahiu: All topics in the pre-election campaign have been exhausted (Kosovo Online) 

Political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu assesses that all topics in pre-election campaigns have been exhausted and that the messages of political parties will be the same as in the previous elections, as well as that even the narrative of “calming the north,” promoted by Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, no longer resonates with voters.

The only novelty, according to Spahiu, is that the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and Nisma are not participating together in the elections.

“Everything has been exhausted. I do not see anything special in this campaign compared to the national elections on February 9. There is not even a significant change on the candidate lists. The only new thing is that Haradinaj and Limaj are no longer together, which is Albin Kurti’s hope that neither of them will pass the threshold and that he will win the majority of those parliamentary seats. Whether that will happen remains to be seen, but there is nothing special in this campaign, and I do not expect results different from those on February 9,” Spahiu told Kosovo Online.

Vucic: Talks between Russian side and major company about NIS nearing conclusion (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday evening talks between the Russian side and a major company about Serbia's oil company NIS - which is under US sanctions due to its Russian majority ownership - were nearing conclusion and that he expected trilateral negotiations to be held in Belgrade by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

"I expect that, of course, they will also have to speak with the Serbs - the Serbian side, with us - and I expect us to potentially hold those trilateral talks by Monday, or Tuesday at the latest, in Belgrade, Serbia, of course, to try to bring that story to a close. But I have to tell you that my optimism is not high, although it still exists, because we will not know where we stand until the OFAC (the US Office of Foreign Asset Control) approves a transaction", Vucic said in an appearance on the RTS.

He added that successful completion of the talks was crucial for Serbia and would mean full normalisation of NIS operations.