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Kosovo Assembly fails to repeal Specialist Chambers Law due to lack of quorum

Opposition MPs boycotted Assembly’s Presidency urgent meeting late on Friday leading to collapse of an initiative of the ruling coalition MPs to repeal the Law on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, established to investigate and try alleged crimes committed by former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Original …

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US Ambassador says abrogating Law on Specialist Chambers would be considered by the US as a stab in the back

US Ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, in an extraordinary press appearance on Friday evening, said that potential abrogation of the Law on Specialist Chambers, it will be considered by the US as stab in the back. Original post Here

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Head of EU Office: Abrogating Specialist Chambers Law appalling and extremely damaging

Head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Nataliya Apostolova, has reacted to surprise efforts of Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, Speaker of Assembly kadri Veseli, and Prime Minister Ramushj Haradinaj, to abrogate the Law on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecution Office. Original post Here

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British Ambassador: This could be the most dangerous night for Kosovo since the war

British Ambassador to Kosovo, Ruairi O’Connell, said at the Assembly building “that tonight could be the most dangerous night for Kosovo since the war.” He made these statements after Kosovo Assembly’s initiative to abrogate the Law on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecution Office. Original post Here

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US Ambassador Delawie: You are destroying the future of Kosovo

US Ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, says the idea of changing the Special Court Law could globally isolate Kosovo. “Terrible idea. Don’t turn back the clock,” Delawie wrote on his Twitter account. Original post Here

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Veseli asks urgent meeting on abrogation of the Kosovo war crimes court

43 Kosovo MPs have asked for an extraordinary Assembly session on abrogation of the Law on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. Original post Here

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MPs initiative to abrogate Specialist Chambers Law supported by top Kosovo leaders, according to sources

Gazeta Express has learned that Kosovo MPs have started collecting signatures to call an extraordinary session of the Assembly next Tuesday, in a desperate effort to abrogate the Law on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. Sources told Gazeta Express that this initiative is being supported also by Kosovo top …

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Kosovo opens new highway section

A new section of Kosovo’s highway Pristina-Hani i Elezit leading towards Macedonia was inaugurated on Friday. Original post Here

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The EU reminds Kosovo: Fighting organised crime, corruption is one of the outstanding criteria

Kosovo has not fulfilled one of the two remaining benchmarks concerning a track record of convictions in high-level organised crime and corruption cases. In addition Kosovo also needs to to ratify the Agreement on border demarcation with Montenegro in order to get visa free regime with the EU. Original post …

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EULEX reacts to Kosovo leaders’ statement on closing of the EU Mission

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and head of the Supreme Court Enver Peci, stated that Kosovo is capable dealing with its own problems and asked the EU to close its rule of law mission in Kosovo – EULEX. But the EULEX officials told Express that the future of the mission will …

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Albania’s Anti-Corruption “Success”: A Manufactured Illusion

By Zef Preçi What kind of political system are we living in today? Even though we have a weak state, authoritarian tendencies in governance have become more pronounced, and in a synthesized way this is reflected in the increasing number of MPs of the ruling party from one mandate to …

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Week in Review: Surprises and Standoffs

As the year draws towards its end, our Balkan Insight Premium stories show that there is no shortage of political surprises, unexpected twists and new standoffs across the region. Original post Here

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How Albanians in America Lobbied for Freedom Back Home

Albanian-American writer Fron Nahzi’s new book explains how the Albanian diaspora used its newfound freedom in the United States to campaign for a range of nationalist causes. Original post Here

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Rebuilt Housing Estate for Albanian Quake Survivors Hosts Just One Family

The earthquake that hit Albania in November 2019 left many families homeless. But a rural housing estate built to accommodate some of them remains almost empty due to problems with infrastructure and insecure terrain. Original post Here

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Albania’s Political Absurdity:Doomsday – The Day Albania “Lost” Its Deputy PM

O tempora, o mores. After Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku faced criminal charges, and after the court suspended her from office and banned her from leaving the country, what one would normally expect is either her immediate resignation or her immediate dismissal by Prime …

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The Limits of Spectacle Diplomacy in the UK–Albania Migration Row

The clash between Edi Rama and Shabana Mahmood over the fate of 700 Albanian families in the UK exposes a deeper truth about modern diplomacy: visibility is not the same as influence. When the Home Secretary singled out Albanian families while announcing sweeping asylum reforms, she was not improvising. She …

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Albania: Between Reform Dynamics and Democratic Fragility

Elez Biberaj Thirty-five years after Albania’s emergence from one of Europe’s most repressive communist regimes, the country’s democratic trajectory remains emblematic of post-authoritarian transformation, reflecting the promise of political renewal while exposing the challenges of durable consolidation. In this context, the May 2025 parliamentary elections stand out as a test …

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Opposition Rejects EU Commissioner’s “Free and Fair” Assessment of Elections

By Tirana Times Staff TIRANA, Albania , November 22, (Tirana Times).  Albania’s main opposition party sharply criticized European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos for describing the country’s May 11 parliamentary elections as “free and fair,” arguing that her assessment contradicts the findings of international election monitors. In a statement delivered …

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Week in Review: TikTokcracy, Labyrinths and an Anniversary

New leaders, old challenges, the threat of ‘TikTokracy’ and – not least – a look at the Dayton Peace Accords thirty years later, are all themes that preoccupy our selection of Premium stories this week. Original post Here

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Albanian PM Condemns Deputy’s Suspension by Court as ‘Brutal Interference’

Edi Rama slated the court decision suspending Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku while she faces a graft probe – and threatened to take the matter to the Constitutional Court. Original post Here

News

Albania’s Anti-Corruption “Success”: A Manufactured Illusion

By Zef Preçi What kind of political system are we living in today? Even though we have a weak state, authoritarian tendencies in governance have become more pronounced, and in a synthesized way this is reflected in the increasing number of MPs of the ruling party from one mandate to …

News

Week in Review: Surprises and Standoffs

As the year draws towards its end, our Balkan Insight Premium stories show that there is no shortage of political surprises, unexpected twists and new standoffs across the region. Original post Here

News

How Albanians in America Lobbied for Freedom Back Home

Albanian-American writer Fron Nahzi’s new book explains how the Albanian diaspora used its newfound freedom in the United States to campaign for a range of nationalist causes. Original post Here

News

Rebuilt Housing Estate for Albanian Quake Survivors Hosts Just One Family

The earthquake that hit Albania in November 2019 left many families homeless. But a rural housing estate built to accommodate some of them remains almost empty due to problems with infrastructure and insecure terrain. Original post Here

News

Albania’s Political Absurdity:Doomsday – The Day Albania “Lost” Its Deputy PM

O tempora, o mores. After Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku faced criminal charges, and after the court suspended her from office and banned her from leaving the country, what one would normally expect is either her immediate resignation or her immediate dismissal by Prime …

News

The Limits of Spectacle Diplomacy in the UK–Albania Migration Row

The clash between Edi Rama and Shabana Mahmood over the fate of 700 Albanian families in the UK exposes a deeper truth about modern diplomacy: visibility is not the same as influence. When the Home Secretary singled out Albanian families while announcing sweeping asylum reforms, she was not improvising. She …

News

Albania: Between Reform Dynamics and Democratic Fragility

Elez Biberaj Thirty-five years after Albania’s emergence from one of Europe’s most repressive communist regimes, the country’s democratic trajectory remains emblematic of post-authoritarian transformation, reflecting the promise of political renewal while exposing the challenges of durable consolidation. In this context, the May 2025 parliamentary elections stand out as a test …

News

Opposition Rejects EU Commissioner’s “Free and Fair” Assessment of Elections

By Tirana Times Staff TIRANA, Albania , November 22, (Tirana Times).  Albania’s main opposition party sharply criticized European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos for describing the country’s May 11 parliamentary elections as “free and fair,” arguing that her assessment contradicts the findings of international election monitors. In a statement delivered …

News

Week in Review: TikTokcracy, Labyrinths and an Anniversary

New leaders, old challenges, the threat of ‘TikTokracy’ and – not least – a look at the Dayton Peace Accords thirty years later, are all themes that preoccupy our selection of Premium stories this week. Original post Here

News

Albanian PM Condemns Deputy’s Suspension by Court as ‘Brutal Interference’

Edi Rama slated the court decision suspending Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku while she faces a graft probe – and threatened to take the matter to the Constitutional Court. Original post Here