• Bislimi: European Commission lifted majority of measures against Kosovo (Koha)
• Abdixhiku writes to Von der Leyen, calls for removal of measures (Telegrafi)
• The campaign for December 28 parliamentary elections starts today (RTK)
• Hamza visits former KLA leaders in the Hague, says they will return home (AP)
• Haradinaj: I welcome Kurti and VV if they want to be part of Haradinaj 3 govt (Klan)
• Albanian Police chief: Time for Kosovo to join SEPCA with full rights (Sinjali)
• Bridge for pedestrians over Iber to be opened today (Reporteri)
• Six arrested after Kallxo exposed smuggling routes at Kosovo-Serbia crossing (PI)
• Serbian President laments Kushner’s withdrawal, threatens critics (BIRN)
• Vucic announces early parliamentary elections (Tanjug)
• Tolkach: The issue of territory painful for Ukrainians, just as the issue of Kosovo is for Serbia (Kosovo Online)

Bislimi: European Commission lifted majority of measures against Kosovo (Koha)

Kosovo caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that he received a letter from the Director General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission, Gert Jan Koopman, informing him that the Commission has decided to lift the majority of measures against Kosovo, and that they involve projects related to IPA programs at the amount of €34.6 million. “We have continuously called for the removal of measures. We welcome the next step by the EU, which should come as soon as possible with the full removal of measures. There is no reason why part of the measures should remain in force, especially after the legal and smooth transfer of power in the four northern municipalities,” Bislimi said.

Abdixhiku writes to Von der Leyen, calls for removal of measures (Telegrafi)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and candidate for Prime Minister, Lumir Abdixhiku, sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, calling for the removal of EU measures against Kosovo. He said that the LDK believes that the continuation of measures is unjustified and does not reflect the political and institutional developments in Kosovo.

Abdixhiku also said that the measures have direct consequences for the people of Kosovo and its institutions. “The local power in the Republic of Kosovo in the northern municipalities has now been transferred and the criteria set by the EU has been met. These measures have directly damaged Kosovo and its citizens, and not the politicians. As a result, a considerable number of development projects and important investments have remained blocked and unimplemented, obstructing economic development and the improvement of public services,” he argued.

The campaign for December 28 parliamentary elections starts today (RTK)

The election campaign for the December 28 parliamentary elections will start today. Spokesperson for Kosovo’s Central Election Commission (CEC) Valmir Elezi told RTK on Tuesday that the campaign involving 24 political parties and 1,180 candidates will be held from December 17 to 07:00 hours on December 28. “The Law on General Elections adopted by the Kosovo Assembly in 2023, provides that the election campaign ends once the polling stations open on election day. Same as the previous elections held in February and October this year, there will be no election silence one day before the elections,” he explained.

Elezi also said that the law determines a series of actions that are sanctioned to political parties, their candidates and supporters, during the election campaign. “These sanctions mainly relate to not obstructing the campaign of political opponents and a harsh ban on using threats and violence during the election process. In general, according to the law, the campaign must be held in a peaceful, respectable, democratic spirit, without hate speech, without intimidation and distanced from any form of violence,” he said.

Hamza visits former KLA leaders in the Hague, says they will return home (AP)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and candidate for Prime Minister, Bedri Hamza, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that he has visited the former KLA leaders who are standing trial in the Hague. “The walls in the Hague cannot imprison the truth and the ideal of Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli and their friends. I found them in good health and full of enthusiasm for our unification. They served Kosovo with sacrifice and they stand strong today, with their heads held high, regardless of the injustices they are faced with here. As a citizen of Kosovo, as a friend, as PDK leader and candidate for Prime Minister, I personally feel these injustices. This process is coming to an end, and we expect the end to be fair. Delays do not serve anyone: neither justice, nor Kosovo nor the international community. Kosovo is waiting for its sons with pride. Freedom has their names and they are returning home,” Hamza said.

Haradinaj: I welcome Kurti and VV if they want to be part of Haradinaj 3 govt (Klan)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and candidate for Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, in an interview with the TV station on Tuesday, said that he would accept the Vetevendosje Movement to join a government led by him. “I work for a government by the opposition … But if I don’t become head of government, I will not obstruct the creation of a government by the opposition. If I get the mandate to form a government, and if Kurti or the Vetevendosje Movement want to become part of a Haradinaj-led government, I welcome them,” he said.

Haradinaj also said that he would not vote for a government led by VV leader Albin Kurti.

Albanian Police chief: Time for Kosovo to join SEPCA with full rights (Sinjali)

Albanian Police General Director Ilir Proda said at the closing session of the Second Assembly of the South-East European Police Chiefs Association that the time has come for Kosovo to become a member of the SEPCA with full rights. A press release said that police chiefs agreed that the SEPCA needs to function as “an early warning system” for possible fluxes of irregular migration. A central topic of discussion was the fight against heavy drugs and against international criminal groups. Participants said that sharing information and joint analysis are the only way to having concrete results.

Kosovo Police General Director Gazmend Hoxha, who was present in the role of observer, said that he guarantees that Kosovo Police have all the operational and organizational capacities to become an integral and equal member of the SEPCA.

Bridge for pedestrians over Iber to be opened today (Reporteri)

The bridge for pedestrians over the Iber River in Mitrovica will be opened today. The news was announced by caretaker Minister of Infrastructure Hysen Durmishi who said that the bridge is “a masterpiece”. He also said in a Facebook post that caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti will be present at the opening ceremony. The construction of the bridge has cost around €3 million.

Six arrested after Kallxo exposed smuggling routes at Kosovo-Serbia crossing (PI)

Hidden cameras installed by KALLXO.com exposed ongoing smuggling along illegal mountain routes in northern Kosovo, exposing vehicles crossing between Kosovo and Serbia, despite increased police patrols.

On December 4, the night before the newly-elected ethnic-Serb mayors of the four Serb majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo were sworn into office, several vehicles crossed the border toward Serbia via illegal routes, and returned to Kosovo hours later with smuggled goods.

While smuggling activity increased on that night, it was not an isolated scenario.

Over the course of several days, from November 27 to early December 2025, a KALLXO.com crew used hidden cameras to document dozens of vehicles travelling, mainly in groups, from Serbia along illegal and hard-to-access routes that link municipalities in the north of Kosovo, Leposavic, and Zubin Potok. The road, located in the area known as ‘Junak’, which runs alongside the village of Banjska, where Serb gunmen organised an attack that resulted in the death of a Kosovo policeman in September 2023, has long been used for the illegal transport of goods between Kosovo and Serbia.

Dozens of cars, vans, and small trucks were recorded crossing the border, most often between 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., smuggling mainly food products and textiles, proving that despite authorities efforts to close illegal smuggling routes, some are still operational.

The footage, showing thirty cases within several days, was submitted to the Kosovo Police on December 10, days before it was broadcast publicly on December 14.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/PSa5k

Serbian President laments Kushner’s withdrawal from project, threatens critics (BIRN)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday that the withdrawal of Jared Kushner’s company from a planned project in Belgrade will cost Serbia 750 million euros’ worth of lost investment – and blamed protesters and prosecutors for the loss.

Kushner’s Affinity company on Monday said it was pulling out, on the same day that Serbian prosecutors filed an indictment against the Minister of Culture and three other officials over the removal of cultural heritage status from the old military HQ in Belgrade.

“Unfortunately, both as a state and as a people, we are the big losers. We have lost an exceptional investment of at least 750 million euros. The total property and economic damage caused to us by the blockaders [anti-government protesters] and the prosecution is no less than one-and-a-half billion euros, in various ways,” Vucic said.

He also threatened to “personally make sure that everyone who participated in the destruction of the Republic of Serbia and in causing this kind of damage” is held accountable.

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

Vucic announces early parliamentary elections (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday parliamentary elections in the country would be called before the expiry of the term of the current parliament and that local elections in several municipalities would be held in five or six months.

"There will be early parliamentary elections. We will be going to those elections before the expiry of the term of the current parliament, and then the people will have an opportunity to assess the work of every one of us," Vucic said at the Palace of Serbia, responding to questions from reporters.

"In the elections, the citizens will decide whether we will live in a decent, normal Serbia," he said.

Tolkach: The issue of territory painful for Ukrainians, just as the issue of Kosovo is for Serbia (Kosovo Online)

“The issue of territory is very painful for Ukrainians, like the issue of Kosovo is for Serbia, because territorial integrity is something from which we must always start, and Ukraine today is fighting for its territorial integrity and the inviolability of its borders,” Ukrainian Ambassador to Serbia Volodymyr Tolkach said yesterday for TV Prva among other things.

Asked what a post-war agreement should look like, he replied that everyone must return to the “status quo”, adding that it is important, he noted, to stop the bloodshed.

“That is also what Trump wants. Today we are conducting negotiations, but most Ukrainians are not ready for territorial concessions,” said Tolkach.

The ambassador, who is concluding his mandate in Serbia, said that his task was to build friendly relations.