• Kurti promises €100 for children and pensioners one day after elections (media)
• Vote and vote again: Kosovo returns to polls to end year of gridlock (BIRN)
• Guerot: Kosovo needs a cooperative government (AP)
• Hamza: Biggest threat to Kosovo comes from immigration (media)
• Two candidates for MPs turn their backs on Rasic, side with Serbian List (Koha)
• Osmani: Kosovo is stronger thanks to the spirit of coexistence (RTK)
• CDHRF calls for investigations against ERO over electricity bills (media)
• COMKFOR meets Chief of General Staff of Albanian Armed Forces (media)
• Italian KFOR troops conduct daily activities along ABL and across Kosovo (media)

Kurti promises to give €100 to children and pensioners one day after elections (media)

One of the leading stories in the media has been a Facebook post by Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister and Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti to give €100 to children and pensioners one day after the December 28 parliamentary elections. “As every end of year, this year too we have decided to support children and pensioners with €100 allowances. The opposition’s decision not to vote the budget has made our work extremely difficult, but we have done the impossible to secure an end of year support this year too, and it will be processed before New Year’s Eve,” Kurti said.

Asked to respond to criticism that his decision comes on the last days of the election campaign, Kurti said that for the last three years, “before the New Year, in winter and during holidays, we have rejoiced the elderly and the children. There is nothing new in this respect. What is new is our governance which will continue for a third mandate”.

Vote and vote again: Kosovo returns to polls to end year of gridlock (BIRN)

Voters in Kosovo go to the polls on Sunday for the second time in 2025, after ten months of stalemate in parliament – amid hopes that political parties are toning down the overt animosity.

Afestive mood might prevail elsewhere in Europe, but not in Kosovo, which is bracing for another election showdown this Sunday – the second in a year.

Over ten days of the campaign, political leaders and more than 1,200 candidates have trawled for the support of around 2.1 million voters at meetings of all sizes in sports halls, schools, restaurants and even in traditional entertaining rooms in Kosovo homes, known as odas.

In the previous elections in February this year, the ballots cast did not result in a new administration. The inauguration of parliament took months to complete; a new government never materialised.

For many, including politicians and political experts, this was mainly down to the bitter animosities between the various parties. Last week, President Vjosa Osmani said she hoped this belongs to the past.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/1rb6a

Guerot: Kosovo needs a cooperative government (AP)

French Ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guerot, said on Thursday that Kosovo needs a government that will be a partner and cooperative government for many important projects. “We need a full government with which we will be able to work on the Growth Plan, and on many other issues, related to the normalization of relations with Serbia, the development of Kosovo and its legislation,” he said.

Guerot said that 2025 was a difficult year without a full government. “There have been initiatives that we could not implement at the local level. Kosovo is a democracy and as such it needs a government that is held accountable by the Assembly,” he said.

Guerot said that the EU measures have delayed many important projects for Kosovo. “We have a very important project that has been stalled because of the measures, and it involves a wastewater treatment plant which will cover Pristina, Obiliq, Fushe Kosove and Gracanica. This is in fact a joint project with Germany,” he said. “Work at the technical level has continued but I hope that this project will pick up speed now and this is but one of the projects we have”.

Hamza: Biggest threat to Kosovo comes from immigration (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and candidate for Prime Minister, Bedri Hamza, said on Thursday that the biggest threat to Kosovo comes from demographics, namely from depopulation. “If this immigration continues, we will lose our key resource, the human resources. Kosovo’s biggest assets are its people. We need to create conditions so that our people can see a better future in Kosovo, and not consider only immigrating,” Hamza said in an interview with Klan Kosova. “We need to create conditions for economic development, so that people can develop here, the private sector can develop and generate new jobs”.

Two candidates for MPs turn their backs on Rasic, side with Serbian List (Koha)

Two candidates for MPs from the Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival, Sladjan Nikolcevic and Gordana Mihajlovic, have withdrawn from the race three days before the December 28 parliamentary elections. They justified their decisions by claiming that party leader Nenad Rasic’s actions were weakening the position of the Serb people in Kosovo.

Koha tried to contact the leader of the Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival, Nenad Rasic, but he was not available for comment. The party said in an Instagram post that they were prepared for the withdrawal of some of their candidates for MPs. “We knew this was going to happen. With their decisions they have not destroyed us but on the contrary, they helped us consolidate our ranks,” the post notes.

Osmani: Kosovo is stronger thanks to the spirit of coexistence (RTK)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani stayed with two families in the town of Janjeva for Christmas Eve. “For the end of year holidays, when human values get an even deeper meaning and homes are filled with warmth, last night we had the honor to be guests at the family of Vjekoslav Tosic from the Croatian community and the family of Anton Gashi in Janjeva, to convey them our most sincere wishes and a uniting spirit for Christmas,” Osmani said in a Facebook post. “Holidays always remind us that peace, love, and hope are values that live in our families and in our common tradition of celebrating holidays, as we have always shared, together, with respect and understanding. Our Kosovo is stronger precisely thanks to this spirit of coexistence, hospitality and solidarity, that has kept us connected across generations”.

CDHRF calls for investigations against ERO over electricity bills (media)

Most news websites report that the Pristina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) has called on the Special Prosecution of Kosovo to launch investigations against the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) over what it called inflated electricity bills for December. The Council said that it had already received numerous complaints from the people saying that the December electricity bills were 70 percent higher than those compared to the previous month. The Council also said that the “unlawfully inflated bills” are an economic abuse against the people and also criticized the government for supporting the ERO.

COMKFOR meets Chief of General Staff of Albanian Armed Forces (media)

Commander of the NATO-led KFOR mission, Major General Ozkan Ulutas, met in Pristina on Wednesday with the Chief of the General Staff of the Albanian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Arben Kingji. “During the meeting, generals exchanged the views on the security situation in Kosovo and the wider Region. General Ulutas also expressed his sincere appreciation for Albanian valuable contribution to the KFOR mission,” KFOR said in a Facebook post.

Italian KFOR troops conduct daily activities along ABL and across Kosovo (media)

The NATO-led KFOR mission said in a Facebook post that Italian soldiers from the Regional Command-West continue to carry out their daily activities along the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) and across Kosovo. “They conducted patrols aimed at ensuring a visible and reassuring presence on the ground, while enhancing situational awareness. Through their professionalism and commitment, they contribute to regional stability and play a key role in KFOR’s ongoing mission to maintain a safe and secure environment for all people living in Kosovo,” the post notes.