United Kingdom next year will send 30 more soldiers to Kosovo, said today the British defence minister Michael Fallon.
- There are significant challenges to security and stability in the Western Balkans - said Fallon.
British soldiers will join the NATO forces in Kosovo early next year, in a period of 12 months.
Preliminary observations by the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Karima Bennoune, at the end of her October 3-14 visit to Serbia and Kosovo*
(*) Throughout this document, the reference to Kosovo shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo
The main Kosovo Serb party’s boycott of parliament shows that its decisions are guided by Belgrade, while also highlighting Pristina political leaders’ inability to integrate the country’s Serb minority.
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/highs-and-downs-in-relations-between-listasrpska-and-kosovo-institutions-10-11-2016
Speaking about the political murders, Kosovo’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Skënder Hyseni said that he is not certain if someone tried to kill him. Somebody apologized to him through a phone call telling him that he wanted to kill him. “It is a discourse where everyone that feels like it, deals with political murders and these matters should resolve in order to avoid this discourse,” Hyseni said.
The President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, participated at the organized conference for the European Union Day Against Human Trafficking. Thaçi stressed that many people in the world are facing this shameful phenomenon and Kosovo is not excluded. “This phenomenon should be prevented through concrete measures and actions,” Thaçi said. He said that this is the right momentum to united, prevent and fight this crime, in all its shapes and do more on protecting trafficked victims.
Edi Rama's remarks on Kosovo during his visit to Serbia have sparked a row over the level of involvement that Albania should have in Kosovo's affairs.
The EU has encouraged Serbia to intensify implementation of reforms in key areas such as the judiciary, the fight against corruption and organised crime, and freedom of expression and the media, and also expects Belgrade to further normalise its ties with Pristina and align its foreign policy with the EU.
Kosovo’s parliament voted last Friday to nationalize a huge mining complex, Trepca, and save it from bankruptcy; bankruptcy proceedings would have otherwise begun on November 1st.
Economic crisis turns political
Creditors have claims against Trepca to the tune of €1,4bn. That is more than 20% of Kosovo’s GDP. However, the mining complex is one of the biggest employers in Kosovo, which suffers from 32% unemployment.
The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, said during his speech at the Security Forum in Belgrade that Kosovo is the point where he does not agree at all with the Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić. He told the Serbian Prime Minister that it would have been better for everyone if Serbia recognized Kosovo.
He added however that the political leaders in Pristina and Belgrade should be commended for the ongoing dialogue.
MPs of opposition parties urged the President of the parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun to convene a session as soon as possible.
They are also requesting the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Đurić to be present.