A government announcement to implement the license plate rule in stages until April was not enough to quell pressure on Pristina, as international diplomats are still pushing them to submit to Belgrade’s demands in other areas. On Monday, a previously-postponed rule was to come into force which would mean all cars owned by Kosovo citizens
Albania must shelve its ‘golden passports’ plan and crack down on money laundering and corruption, according to the country report for 2022 published on Thursday by the European Commission. The report gives an overview of the state of play in terms of its path to EU membership, focussing on developments, improvements, and areas of concern
Albanians are protesting against proposed plans to burn some 600 tonnes of oil per day on two floating power plants in one of the country’s most sought-after tourist regions, surrounded by protected areas. A floating TEC terminal arrived in Vlora at the tip of the Albanian Riviera on Sunday. It will be joined by a
The Iranian government denied on Wednesday evening any involvement in a cyberattack against the Albanian government, which led to Prime Minister Edi Rama giving diplomats at the embassy in Tirana 24 hours to leave the country. Rama announced that all diplomatic ties would be severed with Iran due to their involvement in the 15 July
One of the biggest problems facing our region is that of brain drain. In Albania, Kosovo, and other Western Balkan countries, thousands of young, intelligent, and ambitious people leave their countries every month for opportunities in Europe and the US. While it is not difficult to understand why many feel this way- poverty, education, healthcare,
A handful of people own most of the conventional media in Albania and experts say that the concentration of ownership undermines freedom of speech by censoring journalists. The data speak of a lack of media pluralism, while the weak legal framework and weak institutions blur the divisions between media, politics and business. In 2021, Albania fell
Russia’s war on Ukraine has sobered up debate around the EU’s enlargement process and shown the need to speed up the procedures, essentially halted by the previous Commission, Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview. The comments came after EU leaders in June granted candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova as a
Prime Minister Albin Kurti has promised Kosovo will show zero tolerance for Serbia’s illegal structures in the north of the country, following what the government called “terrorist attacks” against the police last week. Five attacks against the Kosovo police were reported last week, including an assault with automatic guns, with a grenade, spiked metal devices
The embassies of the European Union and United States in Prishtina have called on the Kosovo government to refrain from alleged speculation regarding the origin of the firearm attack against its police on the border with Serbia. On Friday, Minister of Interior Xhelal Svecla denounced an assault with a grenade and assault rifle on two
Kosovo marked the 23rd anniversary of NATO bombings against Serbia’s selected military targets amidst the ongoing massacres and ethnic cleansing Serbia committed against Kosovo Albanians. On March 24, 1999, NATO launched its aerial campaign on the then Yugoslav (Serbia and Montenegro) army targets, following an order by US President Bill Clinton. The order came after