• EU confirms work underway to fully lift measures within next few weeks (RTK)
• Sorensen writes about his visit and meetings in Kosovo (media)
• Kosovo marks 27th anniversary of Recak massacre (Prishtina Insight)
• Osmani: Kosovo’s unwavering commitment to walk alongside US (media)
• Hoti calls for Abdixhiku’s resignation: Standard of resignation after deep loss is clear (media)
• Haliti: The new president must come from the PDK (Telegrafi)
• Closing statements in trial of former KLA leaders around mid-February (media)
• Bislimi: Implementation of law on foreigners and law on vehicles begins (media)
• Petkovic on implementation of Kosovo’s laws on foreigners and vehicles (Kosovo Online)
• How disinformation undermines interfaith tolerance in Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

EU confirms work underway to fully lift measures within next few weeks (RTK)

The European Commission has confirmed that all measures against Kosovo could be lifted within the next few weeks once internal procedures within Brussels structures are completed, the news website reported on Tuesday. Director for Enlargement Jan Koopman said that together with the measures already lifted, more than €400 million will be released for Kosovo. He said that work is currently at the programming and contracting stage. “Between programming and contracting, we would effectively have lifted all financial measures in the coming weeks. This is more or less what our President has said and what we are planning to do now, as well as what we are actually doing in practice,” he said.

Speaking at the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Koopman said that Kosovo’s situation in terms of the Growth Plan is relatively straightforward and that financial resources would be allocated as soon as the relevant agreements are ratified, a process that has so far been impossible due to the lack of functional institutions. “This is something we hope will be finalised soon. After the elections in December, we expect that the government will be formed swiftly. The authorities can then finalise this documentation, which is essential to protecting the EU budget and the interests of European taxpayers. After that, we will be able to move quickly, hopefully to catch up with the pace,” Koopman added.

Koopman also said that Kosovo’s authorities worked intensively on the reforms and that many of them have been prepared and can be implemented quickly. As a result, he said that Kosovo could catch up with the pace of others in the region but only after the ratifications in the assembly.

Sorensen writes about his visit and meetings in Kosovo (media)

EU Special Representative for Dialogue, Peter Sorensen, said in a post on X on Thursday that during his stay in Kosovo he had “valuable meetings and open discussions on next steps in the EU-facilitated Dialogue to ensure 2026 delivers tangible results for the people of Kosovo”. “Continued engagement remains essential for progress on Kosovo’s EU future,” he said.

Kosovo marks 27^th anniversary of Recak massacre (Prishtina Insight)

Kosovo marked the 27th anniversary of the Recak massacre honoring the 45 ethnic Albanian civilians killed by the Serbian police and military on January 15, 1999, an atrocity that shocked the international community and became a turning point in stopping ethnic cleansing.

On Thursday, Kosovo remembered the 45 ethnic Albanian civilians—children, men, women and elderly—killed by Serbian forces in the village of Recak of Shtime on January 15, 1999—marking 27 years since the massacre committed by the Serbian police and military.

Kosovo’s leaders, including President Vjosa Osmani and acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti, paid homage at the Recak memorial complex.

International representatives also joined the commemorations.

In a post on X, the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo stated that the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Josh Peterson joined Kosovo’s leaders and citizens in remembering the victims of Recak massacre.

“An act of unspeakable horror that stunned the world. May their memory stand as a reminder of our shared duty to defend truth and dignity and a call to never forget what the world witnessed,” the embassy wrote.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo likewise marked the massacre anniversary with a post on Facebook: “A reminder of the collective duty to uphold human rights, ensuring accountability and justice for all.”

The French Ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guerot, laid flowers at the memorial, and the French Embassy claimed in a press release that “France continues to fight against impunity everywhere.”

The British Embassy in Kosovo said its deputy ambassador attended the ceremony as well. “Our deputy ambassador attended this morning’s ceremony to honour the 45 innocent lives lost and stand in solidarity with the victims’ families and their calls for justice.”

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/q49Cc

Osmani: Kosovo’s unwavering commitment to walk alongside US (media)

Most news websites report that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met on Thursday with US Embassy Charge d’affaires Anu Prattipati and discussed the parliamentary elections and the highest democratic standards. “They emphasized the importance of constituting the new institutions as soon as possible and the need for this process to be done in full compliance with the Constitution,” a press release issued by Osmani’s office notes.

Osmani and Prattipati also exchanged views on several important issues for bilateral cooperation. Osmani expressed Kosovo’s unwavering commitment to walk alongside the United States, in the spirit of mutual trust, shared values and close coordination on strategic processes.

Hoti calls for Abdixhiku’s resignation: Standard of resignation after deep loss is clear (media)

Member of the presidency of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and one of its most voted politicians, Avdullah Hoti, said on Thursday he will resign from the party if the current leadership does not assume responsibility for the results in the December 28 parliamentary elections. He said in a Facebook post that the statute of the LDK is clear: if the party leader resigns, the Assembly is convened and then elects the new leader as was the case in 2021. He said that any deviation from this procedure is an attempt to relativize the political responsibility of the leadership. He also said that after the deep election defeat, the LDK needs a new leadership and comprehensive reorganization.

Haliti: The new president must come from the PDK (Telegrafi)

Elected MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Xhavit Haliti said on Thursday that the PDK must be part of discussions for the new President of Kosovo and that it needs to support a president from the opposition. “We need to support the idea of the president coming from the PDK, and whether or not the candidate is supported depends on the party’s decisions,” he said.

Haliti also argued that the PDK is the only party that can challenge the Vetevendosje Movement and Albin Kurti. “Who else is going to challenge it, the LDK? I think that if we want we can do a lot. There are some obstacles that I cannot go into which have sometimes forced us to keep silent and I believe things will be better,” he said.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/3Dk3i

Closing statements in trial of former KLA leaders around mid-February (media)

Most news websites cover a press release issued by the Specialist Chambers of Kosovo in the Hague which notes that the closing statements in the trial of Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi will take place on 9 to 13, 16 and 18 February. The hearings are scheduled to begin at 9:00 and end at 16:30.

Bislimi: Implementation of law on foreigners and law on vehicles begins (media)

Kosovo caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi said in a Facebook post on Thursday that the implementation of the Law on Foreigners and the Law on Vehicles begins today. “During the first phase, visitors entering through border crossings will be provided with informational materials outlining the relevant procedures and rules. This initial phase will last until March 15. Following this period, the full implementation of all procedures and regulations provided for under the aforementioned laws will commence. The Government of the Republic of Kosovo emphasizes that this period of affirmative implementation should be used to the fullest extent to initiate the process of meaningful integration of the health and education systems throughout Kosovo,” he said.

Petkovic on implementation of Kosovo’s laws on foreigners and vehicles (Kosovo Online)

Director of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, said on Thursday that the two-month postponement of the implementation of the Law on Foreigners and the Law on Vehicles must not remain the final outcome of international engagement, as otherwise—he noted—the survival of the Serbs, as well as the dialogue on the normalization of relations itself, would be seriously called into question. He said that Pristina’s Law on Foreigners and the decision on vehicles represent “a continuation of institutional violence by Pristina against Serbs who live and work in Kosovo, and constitute a new escalatory move by Albin Kurti, which is absolutely contrary to the agreements reached in the dialogue”.

“Besnik Bislimi’s statement — that the postponement period should serve Pristina for further pressure on the Serbs—is entirely threatening and malicious. The institutions of healthcare and education form the backbone of the survival of the Serbian people and represent the very heart of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. In this regard, any statement that envisages the life and survival of the Serbs without the CSM is extremely dangerous,” Petkovic said.

How disinformation undermines interfaith tolerance in Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

Disinformation campaigns targeting interfaith harmony in Kosovo seek to destabilise society, undermine democratic institutions, and divide interethnic coexistence.

Investigations by Kosovo’s Special Prosecution and counterterrorism institutions show that radical religious ideologies have been exploited to fuel interfaith and interethnic tensions, particularly through online platforms.

In the online sphere, clashes between Sunni and Shia groups promote narratives of division within the religion itself, while certain radical movements linked with the Orthodox Church have been associated with incidents that were later framed as interethnic conflict.

The Special Prosecution of Kosovo has filed dozens of indictments for hate crimes, primarily crimes linked to these extreme religious ideologies. Dozens of ISIS supporters have been arrested on terrorism charges, while one indictment for incitement to hatred was documented against a supporter of the Shia movement.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/AHMf6