Kosovo

[…] The Council appointed Mr. Dirk Schübel as the new EUSR for Kosovo. He will take up his duties on 1 September 2026 for an initial mandate of two years, succeeding Aivo Orav. Dirk Schübel is a German national and a senior European diplomat with extensive experience in a range of leadership positions within the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission and worked also at the German Foreign Ministry. He currently serves as the Head of the Russia Division at the EEAS.

From limited cooperation from other countries to prolonged delays in proceedings, an OSCE report outlines the issues that Kosovo's justice system continues to face in the adjudication of war crime cases.

There have been angry reactions in Kosovo after the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Wednesday said the verdict in the war crimes and crimes against humanity trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi will not be delivered until September 16.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced on Wednesday at a press conference in Brussels that the Western alliance will considerably reduce peacekeeping troops in Kosovo as a result of the improved security situation in the country’s Serb-majority north compared to 2023.

Albin Kurti’s Vetevendosje Movement, which has ruled Kosovo for the past five years, topped Sunday’s parliamentary elections again, though preliminary results suggest that it will need to cooperate with other parties to govern.

Kosovo is heading towards its third parliamentary election in 16 months. During this time, the politicians did not manage to form government institutions, opting instead for another election that might not provide a very different result to the last one.

Judges in the trial of ex-President Hashim Thaci and three others have extended the deadline to issue the verdict until July – sparking condemnation in Kosovo, where some called it 'an extension of injustice'.

Following parliament’s failure to elect a new president, Kosovo is heading towards snap polls in which former President Vjosa Osmani is clearly planning a role.

Kosovo MPs supported a bill to ratify the country’s membership of President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’, with lawmakers saying it helps the Balkan state get closer to the US.

A meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and opposition leader Lumir Abdixhiku to agree on who should become the next head of state ended without results, raising concerns about snap elections.