Kosovo

UPDATED: Kosovo formally applies to join EU

PRAGUE, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti submitted a bid for Kosovo to join the European Union on Thursday, launching a process that could take years, if…

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EU prepared to send reinforcements to mission in Kosovo

BRUSSELS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The European Union is ready to reinforce its EULEX mission, tasked with patrolling northern Kosovo, in response to the latest tensions in the region, the bloc's foreign…

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EU’s Borrell urges Kosovo and Serbia to de-escalate after latest clashes

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Kosovo and Serbia must de-escalate a tense situation in the region, the European Union's foreign policy chief said, after Serb protesters in northern Kosovo blocked main roads…

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Serbs in Kosovo clash with police as ethnic tensions flare

MITROVICA, Kosovo (Reuters) -Serb protesters in northern Kosovo blocked main roads for a second day on Sunday following a nightime exchange of fire with police after the arrest of a…

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Serbs in Kosovo block roads, clash with police as ethnic tensions worsen

By Fatos Bytyci MITROVICA, Kosovo Dec 11 (Reuters) - Serb protesters in northern Kosovo blocked main roads for a second day on Sunday following a nightime exchange of fire with…

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Serbia to ask NATO to deploy Serb military, police in Kosovo – Vucic

BELGRADE (Reuters) -Serbia will ask NATO peacekeepers to let it deploy Serbian military and police in Kosovo, although it believes there is no chance of the request being approved, President…

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EU drafts new proposal for Kosovo-Serbia ties – senior EU diplomat

TIRANA (Reuters) -The European Union has drafted a new proposal for normalisation of ties between Kosovo and Serbia with a clear timeline of actions, according to a senior EU diplomat,…

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EU warns of escalating Serbia, Kosovo tensions

The European Union on Monday warned of "escalation and violence" after emergency talks between Kosovo and Serbia failed to resolve their long-running dispute over car licence plates used by the ethnic…

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EU holds emergency meeting with Serbia and Kosovo over rising tensions

BRUSSELS, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The European Union on Monday will hold an emergency meeting with the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti to…

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EU police patrol Kosovo’s north after Serb officers quit

MITROVICA, Kosovo, Nov 19 (Reuters) - European Union police officers are undertaking patrols in northern Kosovo after some 600 police officers from the Serb minority quit over a car licence…

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Western Balkans leaders to sign deals on closer integration in Berlin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Western Balkans leaders are set to sign three agreements on mutual recognition of identity cards, university degrees and professional qualifications at a summit in Berlin on Thursday.…

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Kosovo backs off from Serb car plate rule after West warnings

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo said it will delay a rule to confiscate cars owned by ethnic Serbs who refuse to use local car plates following criticism by Western countries that…

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Why ethnic tensions are flaring again in northern Kosovo

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo began on Thursday a two-month implementation period for a controversial move to oblige Serbs, mainly those living in the northern part of the Balkan nation, bordering…

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UPDATED: EU urges Kosovo to give ‘sufficient time’ for car licensing rule

BRUSSELS, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The European Union said on Thursday that Pristina should give sufficient time for the implementation of a rule under which ethnic Serbs living in northern…

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EU says Serbia, Kosovo settle dispute over identity documents

BRUSSELS, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Serbia and Kosovo have settled an ethnic dispute over the movement of citizens across their border, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Saturday. "We…

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Number plate row fuels ethnic tensions in Kosovo as Serbia seeks more talks

BELGRADE, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Mediated talks over the status of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo have failed to ease tensions - fuelled by a dispute over car number plates -…

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Serbia warns NATO over safety of Kosovo Serbs

Ethnic Serbs working in Kosovo will leave their jobs unless a deal is reached to end their "persecution," Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned on Sunday. In a fiery TV address after meeting Kosovo Serbs, Vucic called…

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Serbia, Kosovo fail to break car number plate impasse, agree to more talks

BRUSSELS, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo failed to resolve differences fuelling tension between the estranged Balkan neighbours during talks on Thursday, but they agreed to resume discussions ahead…

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NATO peacekeepers increase presence in northern Kosovo

Peacekeepers in NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) have increased their presence in northern Kosovo to be able to react to security challenges, a NATO spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday (August 18). KFOR peacekeepers were seen…

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Kosovo starts power cuts as a result of energy crisis

PRISTINA, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Kosovo’s energy distribution company, KEDS, said it would start power cuts at 8 a.m. on Monday because of a lack of domestic production and high…

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Kosovo PM warns of possible new conflict with Serbia

PRISTINA, (Reuters) - Kosovo is prepared to stand against a possible attack by Serbia as worsening strife with minority Serbs could result in a new armed conflict, Prime Minister Albin…

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Kosovo detains Russian journalist at the border

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo’s interior minister said it has arrested a Russian journalist at the border on suspicion that she could be a spy, and security authorities were searching “for…

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Serbia, Kosovo leaders to discuss tensions at Brussels Aug. 18 meeting

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo will meet in Brussels on Aug. 18 to discuss a flare-up of tensions between the neighbouring western Balkan nations, the European Union's executive…

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Kosovo starts issuing extra documents to Serbian citizens as protesters block roads

ZUPCE, Kosovo (Reuters) - Kosovo's government on Monday began issuing extra documents to Serbian citizens crossing into its territory, as Serbs living in the north of the country who oppose…

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Kosovo hopes to join Council of Europe after Russia’s exit

PRISTINA, May 12 (Reuters) - Kosovo government said on Thursday it will apply for membership at the European rights watchdog the Council of Europe, seizing an opportunity after Russia quit…

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Kosovo bans Serbian vote on constitutional changes on its soil

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo's parliament on Saturday passed a resolution banning ethnic Serbs from voting on Kosovan soil in Serbia's national referendum on constitutional amendments. Serbia will hold a referendum…

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Kosovo reports first cases of COVID-19 Omicron

Kosovo's health ministry said it had registered its first nine cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the Balkan country. The ministry said that out of 22 people who tested…

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Denmark to rent jail cells in Kosovo to ease prison overcrowding

Kosovo has agreed to rent 300 prison cells to Denmark to ease overcrowding in the Scandinavian country's jails. Denmark will pay an annual fee of €15m (£12.8m) for an initial…

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Serbs unblock roads in Kosovo as NATO moves to end car plate row

JARINJE, Kosovo - Serbs removed trucks and cars used to block the border with Kosovo on Saturday as NATO troops moved in under a European Union mediated deal to end…

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Kosovo, Serbia agree deal to end border tensions

Kosovo agreed to withdraw police units from its northern border with Serbia to end a mounting dispute over vehicle licence plates that briefly escalated into violence and prompted NATO to…

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Kosovo PM urges mutual car plate recognition with Serbia to ease tension

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Wednesday his country and neighbouring Serbia should start recognising each other's car licence plates to allow free movement of people…

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Kosovo to destroy 133,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines

The Kosovo government decided to destroy 133,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines over their expired date of use as the country faces a sharp rise in the coronavirus death rate. The vaccines…

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Vjosa Osmani elected as new president of Kosovo

Kosovo’s parliament has appointed a 38-year-old U.S.-educated female law professor and candidate of the ruling Vetevendosje party as the country’s new president, following an election in February. Vjosa Osmani took…

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Spain cruise to top spot in qualfiers despite keeper howler

Spain secured a convincing 3-1 home win over Kosovo in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday, although goalkeeper Unai Simon made a huge blunder to cost his side a goal. Dani Olmo gave Spain a…

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Albania donates COVID-19 vaccines to Kosovo health workers

Hundreds of health workers from Kosovo travelled to Albania over the weekend to be inoculated against COVID-19 after the neighbouring country offered to donate some of its supplies. Kosovo, where…

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Kosovo opens embassy in Jerusalem

Kosovo opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem on Sunday, joining the United States and Guatemala as the only countries with embassies in a city whose status is at the…

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Kosovo threaten to withdraw from Spain game unless flag, anthem respected

(Reuters) - Kosovo's national football federation has threatened to withdraw from its upcoming World Cup qualifier away to Spain later this month if it is not allowed to display its…

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Early results point to Kosovo opposition party win in parliamentary vote

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo's anti-establishment party Vetevendosje is set to win Sunday's parliamentary poll, preliminary results showed, further complicating Western efforts to resolve the country's decades-long territorial dispute with Serbia.…

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Kosovo goes to polls in vote that could complicate dialogue with Serbia

Kosovo goes to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election that an anti-establishment party is expected to win by a landslide, further complicating Western efforts to resolve a decades-long…

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Photo Story: Heavy rain causes landslide in Central Kosovo

Local residents walk by a damaged road near the village of Sferke, Kosovo, on 10 January 2021. Due to heavy rain showers, the landslides on 09 January damaged the road…

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Kosovo president sets Feb. 14 as date for snap vote

Kosovo’s acting president, Vjosa Osmani, set Feb. 14 as the date for an early parliamentary election, following a decision by the country’s top court to annul the June parliamentary vote…

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Kosovo pins U.N. membership hopes on Biden presidency

Like many Kosovars, cattle seller Xhelal Terstena hopes incoming U.S. President Joe Biden will help the small Balkan country’s push for United Nations membership. Biden is respected in Kosovo for…

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Serbia unearths mass grave from Kosovo war

Human remains believed to be the bodies of over a dozen ethnic Albanians killed during the 1998-99 war in Kosovo have been found just inside Serbia, a Serbian official said…

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Kosovo president resigns to face war crimes charges

Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci, a guerrilla leader during Kosovo's war for independence from Serbia in the 1990s, resigned on Thursday in order to face charges for war crimes and crimes…

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Serbia and Kosovo sign deal to normalise economic relations

Former foes Kosovo and Serbia agreed Friday to normalise economic relations in a US-brokered deal that the administration of President Donald Trump touted as a major diplomatic success — but…

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Kosovo PM contracts coronavirus

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said on Sunday he has contracted COVID-19 and will self-isolate at home for two weeks. “I don’t have symptoms expect a very mild cough,” Hoti…

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Bosnian Serbs ask Vucic to tie their region’s independence to Kosovo talks

As Western diplomats try to revive stalled talks on normalising ties between Serbia and Kosovo, Bosnian Serb leaders this week put pressure on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to include the…

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Serbia accuses Kosovo of ‘blackmail’

Face-to-face talks between Serbia and Kosovo got off to a bumpy start in Brussels on Thursday as Belgrade accused Pristina of being unrealistic in its demands. More than two decades after clashing…

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Italy bans entry from Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro due to COVID-19

Italy on Thursday banned people coming from Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro from entering its territory to prevent the importation of COVID-19 cases from the outside. "Anyone who has been in…

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Serbia, Kosovo resume ‘very difficult’ talks on normalising ties

The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo at the beginning of the weekend held their first talks in 18 months on resolving one of Europe's most intractable territorial disputes, agreeing to…

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Kosovo President Hashim Thaci indicted for war crimes

Kosovo’s president and nine other former separatist fighters were indicted on a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes charges, including murder, by a court investigating crimes against ethnic…

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Hashim Thaci will quit Kosovo politics at end of Presidential term

After more than 20 years spent in Kosovo’s political arena, President Hashim Thaci on Thursday announced that he will no longer be involved in politics once his mandate ends in…

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EU bank supports Kosovo through €11m investment for wastewater treatment

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will invest €11 million to improve wastewater management and provide affordable access to water and wastewater services for more than 90 000 people in the municipality…

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Kosovo confirms its first cases of coronavirus

Medical staff wear face masks to protect against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the state hospital University Clinical Center in Pristina, Kosovo, 14 March 2020. The government of the Republic…

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Kosovo to lift tariffs on Serbian products

Kosovo will abolish 100% taxes imposed on import of raw material from Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina on March 15, Kosovo’s prime minister said on Thursday. Albin Kurti, who took office…

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Albania and Kosovo considering shared embassies

The Albanian Minister-in-office for Europe and Foreign Affairs Gent Çakaj and the Foreign Minister of Kosovo Glauk Konjufca met to discuss the establishment of common economic space for free movement…

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Kosovo and Serbia sign deal on rail and road links in huge diplomatic step

Kosovo and Serbia have agreed to create rail and motorway links between the two countries in a huge diplomatic step for the region. Representatives of both Balkan states signed a…

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