• Kurti travels to Germany, will attend Munich Security Conference (media)
• Ahead of Munich conference, Rubio says world at ‘defining moment’ (RFE)
• Osmani: Kosovo fully aligned with the United States (media)
• Murati: Kurti is ready to discuss with parties the issue of the President (Express)
• Kosovo, Albania parliaments adopt resolutions seeking justice for Thaci (BIRN)
• Krasniqi about meeting with Serb mayors: Government is ready to support them (Koha)
• Serb mayors: We didn’t discuss integration in meeting with minister Krasniqi (Kallxo)
• Gervalla: No one is above the law (Nacionale)
• Senior German official Frank Schwabe visiting Kosovo (media)
• Kosovo aims to start building Albania railway link in four years (SeeNews)
• Kosovo’s “Hard Teeth” turns waiting into a monument at Venice Biennale 2026 (PI)

Kurti travels to Germany, will attend Munich Security Conference (media)

Most news websites report that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has travelled to Germany where he will attend the Munich Security Conference.

Ahead of Munich conference, Rubio says world at ‘defining moment’ (RFE)

The world faces a "defining moment" as the geopolitical landscape shifts, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said before he arrived in Germany on February 13 for the Munich Security Conference (MSC), where European officials will be seeking clarity on how Washington is changing its relationship with the Continent.

"The world is changing very fast right in front of us. The old world is gone -- frankly, the world that I grew up in -- and we live in a new era in geopolitics, and it's going to require all of us to sort of reexamine what that looks like and what our role is going to be," Rubio said in comments ahead of his departure from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

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

Osmani: Kosovo fully aligned with the United States (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met with US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Anu Prattipati on Thursday and discussed the constitution of the Assembly and the formation of the government, with emphasis on the importance of concluding constitutional processes and complete institutional consolidation, in the function of democratic stability, development and addressing the needs of the people. The meeting also discussed Kosovo’s role in the Board of Peace and further steps in the process. Osmani expressed Kosovo’s unwavering commitment for full alignment with the United States.

Murati: Kurti is ready to discuss with parties the issue of the President (Express)

Kosovo’s Minister of Finance Hekuran Murati said today that after the Assembly votes on the budget for 2026 and adopts the international agreements, discussions will begin between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and political parties about the issue of the President. “As far as the issue of the President is concerned, the Prime Minister said in the [government] meeting yesterday that after the three emergent steps are completed, one of them being the adoption of the budget and the international agreements, he is ready to meet with other political parties in the Assembly and discuss how a solution to move forward can be found,” he said.

Kosovo, Albania parliaments adopt resolutions seeking justice for Thaci (BIRN)

Kosovo’s parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution calling for a fair trial for the four ex- guerilla Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, leaders on trial in The Hague for war crimes.

Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi are accused of having individual and command responsibility for crimes committed against prisoners held at KLA detention facilities in Kosovo and neighbouring Albania, including 102 murders during the 1998-99 Kosovo war.

“[Parliament} requests the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office … to ensure the strict implementation of constitutional and international standards relating to a fair and impartial trial, while also respecting the principles of transparency, accountability and the cultivation of public confidence in justice,” the resolution says.

The initiative came from MPs from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, the party led first by Thaci and then by Veseli for more than two decades until November 2020 when they were sent to The Hague awaiting trial.

Ninety MPs from the ruling Vetevendosje party, the PDK, and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, supported the document. MPs from the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, did not participate in the vote.

The seven-point document urges the Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecution to ensure “full implementation of constitutional and international rights related to the protection of basic rights of the defendants, including the obligations deriving from the European Court of Human Rights”.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/shY5W

Krasniqi about meeting with Serb mayors: Government is ready to support them (Koha)

Kosovo’s Minister for Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, said today that he met with the mayors of the ten Serb-majority municipalities to coordinate the institutional responsibilities between the two levels. He said in a Facebook post that the meeting today “was one of the forums for communication and coordination with the municipalities”. “During the meeting, I listened closely to every mayor and about the challenges they face. The government in general, and the Ministry for Local Government in particular, is ready to offer them the necessary support and assistance to resolve problems that are in the interest of the citizens,” he said.

Krasniqi did not mention the integration of Serbian-run institutions of healthcare and education into Kosovo’s system. He said that meetings will continue with concrete and detailed agendas. 

Serb mayors: We didn’t discuss integration in meeting with minister Krasniqi (Kallxo)

Mayors of the ten Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo met today in Pristina with Minister for Local Government Elbert Krasniqi but said that they “did not discuss the integration of Serbian health and education institutions into Kosovo’s system”.

Mitrovica North Mayor Milan Radojevic said they are not competent on the issue of integration and that it needs to be negotiated within the dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. “We as mayors of municipalities believe that this is not something we should deal with; this is a topic exclusively for the negotiations and the chief negotiators,” he argued.

The meeting between the mayors and Krasniqi was mentioned earlier this week by former Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi who said that the next five-six weeks are crucial for the integration of Serbian health and education institutions and that everyone needs to be constructive on the matter.

Gervalla: No one is above the law (Nacionale)

Kosovo’s new Minister of Justice, Donika Gervalla, who assumed this position on Thursday, said that justice is the cornerstone of Kosovo. “Reforms in the judiciary are proof of our determination to build a state where the law does not negotiate, where responsibility cannot be avoided and where justice knows no name, position or influence … This is our fight for justice, institutional dignity and the trust of the people. No one can be above the law! This is the principle that leads our cause and the guarantee that the Republic of Kosovo will always stand stronger, fairer and prouder for every citizen of Kosovo,” Gervalla said in a Facebook post.

Senior German official Frank Schwabe visiting Kosovo (media)

The German Embassy in Kosovo said in a Facebook post that Parliamentary Secretary of State of the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, Frank Schwabe, is currently visiting Kosovo at a particularly historic moment. His visit coincides with the constitution of the new parliament and the formation of the government—events he was able to witness firsthand by attending both assembly sessions. He was also among the first to congratulate Prime Minister Albin Kurti on the formation of the new government.

During his stay, Frank Schwabe met with the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, as well as Glauk Konjufca, just hours before his appointment as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. The meetings focused on assessing the state of bilateral relations and identifying new areas for cooperation. What was planned as a regular visit quickly turned into an especially dynamic and engaging one, shaped by Kosovo’s fast-moving political developments.

The embassy said in another post that Schwabe also visited the Decan Monastery, a remarkable Serbian Orthodox site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, embedded in Kosovo’s rich and diverse cultural landscape. He was received by Father Petar, who guided him through the monastery’s church and introduced him to its extraordinary frescoes, architecture, and centuries-old history. Although this was Frank Schwabe’s first visit to the monastery, it is a place he knows well from his work in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where he has long been engaged in supporting the implementation of the Kosovar Constitutional Court’s verdict related to the monastery. A truly magnificent and impressive visit, underscoring the value of protecting cultural heritage and the rule of law within a sovereign, pluralistic European state.

Kosovo aims to start building Albania railway link in four years (SeeNews)

Kosovo’s newly appointed government plans to begin construction of a railway line linking the southwestern city of Gjakove and Albania’s northwestern city of Shkoder within its four-year term, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Thursday.

Speaking at a government meeting a day after taking office, Kurti did not commit to a specific date for the launch of the project, a video posted on the government's Facebook page showed. The 30-kilometre segment on Kosovo territory is part of a railway project to connect Albania's port city of Durres with Kosovo's capital Pristina. The 105.8-kilometre Gjakove-Shkoder railway section is set to comprise 43 bridges and 14 tunnels, the mayor of Shkoder, Benet Beci, said last March. Its total cost has been estimated at 1.8 billion euro ($2.14 billion), which will be provided by the two countries' state budgets and multilateral institutions, the Albanian government has said.

Kosovo’s “Hard Teeth” turns waiting into a monument at Venice Biennale 2026 (PI)

Kosovo will be represented at the 61st La Biennale di Venezia in 2026 by ‘Hard Teeth,’ an installation by artist Brilant Milazimi that examines waiting as a political and psychological condition shaped by uncertainty.

A 17 metre long landscape painting, picturing a dense sequence of closely huddled, waiting figures, titled ‘Hard Teeth,’ symbolising uncertainty and waiting, will be exposed for several months at the Santa Maria del Pianto Church in Venezia as part of the Venice Biennale.

At a press conference held on Wednesday, the Kosovo Pavilion unveiled its curatorial concept for the 2026 Biennale. The country will be represented by ‘Hard Teeth,’ an installation by artist Brilant Milazimi, curated by José Esparza Chong Cuy. 

At the 2026 edition of the Biennale, the Kosovo Pavilion explores the theme of waiting as both a political and psychological condition. The composition reflects decades of a life marked by instability, because of political transition, contested international recognition, and a prolonged state-building process.

Brilant Milazimi, 32, from the eastern city of Gjilan, described representing Kosovo at the Venice Biennale as a “significant personal and professional milestone.”

“Artists from smaller countries like Kosovo are often expected to explain themselves, to produce clear and easily readable narratives. That has never been my ambition,” Milazimi said. “I want to create works that stand firm in their stillness, creating a space where others can enter and remain—a space that resonates beyond individual experience and conveys emotion without being explanatory.”

According to the curatorial team, ‘Hard Teeth’ examines waiting, not as a metaphor, but as a structure that shapes life and time in contexts defined by uncertainty, displacement, and the unfinished bureaucracies surrounding Kosovo’s sovereignty.

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