During the opening ceremony of "Women in Kosovo’s Security Institutions" project, Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga expressed her support for all women and girls in uniform, who are part of judicial and security institutions in Kosovo.

Hashim Thaci, Principal Deputy to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kosovo, hosted today Urlike Lunacek, the Deputy President of the  European Parliament and Deputy Head of the Delegation for Bosnia and Herzegovina and  Kosovo. They discussed Kosovo’s European perspective.

“We confirmed once again at this meeting our determination for the European perspective of our country and our unstoppable engagement on this journey,” said Thaci.

With 73 votes in favour, 38 against, and 2 abstentions, Kosovo Assembly elected the new Government led by Isa Mustafa. The Government of Kosovo will consist of: Isa Mustafa, prime minister Hashim Thaçi – first deputy prime minister Kujtim Shala - deputy prime minister Branimir Stojanovic - deputy prime minister PDK 1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Hashim Thaci 2. Ministry of Education, Science and Technology - Arsim Bajrami 3.

The leaders of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) have now signed the agreement which enables the creation of new institutions. Hashim Thaci, leader of the PDK, stated that they signed the agreement for the governing coalition between the PDK and LDK for the years 2014 – 2018.

Lumir Abdixhiku, the Executive Director of Pristina-based RIINVEST research institute, notes that the Transparency International’s Corruption Index has ranked Kosovo as 110^th out of 175 countries and territories. “Kosovo is ranked in the same position as four years ago and this explains our stalemate. In four years, our politicians failed to take any serious steps to prevent and reduce corruption that derives from institutions that they lead … Our country has been stuck on the same level for four years and this explains emigration, the lack of visa liberalization and the stalemate.

The association of paraplegics and paralyzed children of Kosovo, HandiKos, organized a press conference to mark the International Day of People with Disabilities [3 December]. During the conference, it was discussed about the challenges and difficulties that people with disabilities go through on their everyday life in Kosovo. Afrim Maliqi, director of Handikos, said the people with disabilities are not receiving the support that they need from Kosovo institutions, such as employment, health care and transportation.

The upcoming session of the UN Security Council will take place this Thursday afternoon in New York and will focus on the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s quarterly report on Kosovo. Kosovo and Serbia will be represented in the meeting by their respective prime ministers, Hashim Thaci and Aleksandar Vucic. In the latest report, the UN SG Ban expressed concern over the non-constitution of Kosovo leading institutions.

In its annual ranking, corruption watchdog Transparency International, has listed Kosovo on the 110 place, an improvement from last year’s 111. Albania has also been ranked 110^th while other countries in the region have received better rankings. Macedonia is in the 64^th place, followed by Montenegro in 76^th, Serbia 78^th and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 80^th place.  The Corruption Perceptions Index report includes 175 world countries.

Representatives from the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) said in a press conference that the failure to establish new institutions is unreasonable and damaging to Kosovo. Driton Selmanaj from KDI said that six months after elections, Kosovo continues to be in an institutional crisis despite the political power-sharing agreement between the two largest parties, Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). According to Selmanaj, the crisis has affected both the political and economic development.