Kosovo Sets Parliament Inauguration Date Amid Deadlock Uncertainty

As potential coalition talks have stopped, Kosovo's Acting President Albulena Haxhiu has set the constitutive session of Kosovo's new parliament, deriving from the June snap parliamentary elections, for August 6, one day before the constitutional deadline.

Illustration. BIRN/Besnik Krivanjeva

Albin Kurti – Baba: Kosovo’s ‘Father’ Who Inherits an Absence
  • July 22, 2026

Amid Kosovo’s political instability in the past two years, a nickname hardened into a title: Albin Kurti’s voters no longer call him Prime Minister but Baba –father. This essay asks what that word is doing and why it keeps reappearing at moments of political and economic anxiety?

EU, OSCE Missions Criticise Kosovo’s Demolition of Serb-Owned Villas
  • July 22, 2026

EU and OSCE regret bulldozing of allegedly illegally-built Serb villas near important lake, urging authorities to respect due process and the property rights of all the communities in the country.

Kosovo Prosecutorial Council Rejects Serb Prosecutors’ Return to Old Posts
  • July 20, 2026

Prosecutorial Council dismisses requests from several Serb prosecutors who joined a mass boycott of Kosovo institutions in 2022 to resume their former posts.

North Mitrovica. Photo from archives: BIRN.

After 2022 Mass Resignations, Some Kosovo Serbs Seek Return to Judicial Posts
  • July 17, 2026

A number of judges and prosecutors who joined the mass resignation of Kosovo Serbs from state bodies in 2022 reportedly want their old jobs back.

Kosovo Coalition Talks Suspended as Turmoil Grips Opposition Party
  • July 16, 2026

Crisis within the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, forces its embattled leader to break off talks to form a governing coalition with Albin Kurti’s Vetevendosje.

Derogatory Language Keeps Persons with Disabilities on the Margins of Kosovo’s Society
  • July 16, 2026

For many persons with disabilities in Kosovo, the greatest barriers extend beyond inaccessible buildings or limited job opportunities. They also face prejudice and discrimination, including offensive remarks that question their appearance, abilities, and even their place in public life.

Kosovo Journalists’ Association Condemns Mayor’s Claims as Kallxo.com Announces Defamation Lawsuit
  • July 15, 2026

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo condemned Obiliq Mayor Halil Thaçi’s accusation that Kallxo.com journalists had attempted to blackmail him, describing the allegation as an attack on media freedom. Separately, Kallxo.com announced that it would file a defamation lawsuit against the mayor.

More Than a Tournament: Rugby, Rights and Resilient Girls
  • July 23, 2026

On Saturday afternoon, 11 July, a rugby tournament in Obiliq brought together women and girls from different communities across Kosovo. Some were brand new to the game, while others had been playing for longer, but all wanted to claim their place in Kosovo’s sporting tradition.

Kosovo Bans Serbian Minister Following Ethnic Cleansing Comments
  • July 15, 2026

Kosovo has declared Serbian minister Snezana Paunovic a “persona non grata” and has permanently banned her from entering or transiting through the country after statement that she would have “ethnically cleansed Kosovo” in 1998.

opinion

Albin Kurti – Baba: Kosovo’s ‘Father’ Who Inherits an Absence

Vjosa Musliu
  • July 22, 2026
Illustration. BIRN/Besnik Krivanjeva

The Missing Context in Kosovo’s Energy Debate

Viktor Berishaj
  • June 5, 2026

Testing the Future: North Macedonia’s Non-Existent Albanian Language Bar Exam

Xhavit Rexhaj
  • April 15, 2026

big deal
Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic (L), EU High Representative Josep Borrell (2-L) and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti (R) at a meeting of the EU-Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue in Brussels on February 27, 2023. Photo: EPA/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

Two Years On, Kosovo- Serbia Normalisation Deal Still Pending
  • March 18, 2025

The EU-facilitated verbal deal to implement the ‘normalisation’ of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, reached in Ohrid, North Macedonia in 2023, continues to hang in the balance as the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue remains nearly paralysed.

NATO General Secretary (L) and Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani (R) in Prishtina, Kosovo on March 11, 2025. Photo: Official Facebook Account of Vjosa Osmani

NATO General Secretary Urges Leadership and Dialogue for Lasting Peace in the Balkans
  • March 11, 2025

NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte emphasised the need for leadership and commitment from all parties to secure lasting peace and stability in the Balkans during his visit to Kosovo.

Kosovo Optimistic About Becoming Newest Member of Council of Europe, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister
  • March 22, 2024

The Kosovo deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, Kreshnik Ahmeti, told Kallxo Përnime TV programme that the implementation of the Constitutional Court ruling which awarded land to the Decani Monastery will lead to Kosovo becoming the newest member of the Council of Europe very soon.

opinion
Posters at the opening of Anibar International Animation Festival read: “‘Patriarkati: Fabrikë e Dhunuesve (The Patriarchy: a Factory of Abusers)’; ‘Patriarkati: Armik i Përbashkët (The Patriarchy: Mutual Enemy)’; ‘Patriarkati: Fundi po i vjen (Patriarchy: Its end is coming)’." July 15, 2024. Photo: BIRN

‘Smashing the Patriarchy’: Anibar Film Festival Provides Possibilities for Equality

Anibar International Animation Festival

In its fifteenth edition, the Anibar International Animation Festival, in Kosovo’s town of Peja, urges citizens to raise their voices against patriarchal oppression.
Purple flags at the Sunny Hill festival for this year’s festival’s theme “A Flag for Her”, against gender based violence. Photo: BIRN

Sunny Hill festival

Most attendees praise the new out-of-town site of Kosovo’s Sunny Hill festival, which opened on Thursday – though some are less happy about updated ticket prices.

Prishtina

You might have read that Yahoo article about how the best macchiatos in the word are made in Prishtina. But the city has more than that. A visitor spending a day in the newest capital of Europe should take in a macchiato before walking around some of the interesting places, old cultural objects and bars – without which Prishtina would be known only for good macchiato and nothing else.

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    Illustration. BIRN/Besnik Krivanjeva

    Albin Kurti – Baba: Kosovo’s ‘Father’ Who Inherits an Absence

  • B 1010

    Kosovo Prosecutorial Council Rejects Serb Prosecutors’ Return to Old Posts

  • C 562

    EU, OSCE Missions Criticise Kosovo’s Demolition of Serb-Owned Villas

  • D 304

    More Than a Tournament: Rugby, Rights and Resilient Girls

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