Kosovo - Articoli

The cats of a US constitutional judge in Kosovo

26/09/2014 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

The US judge Robert Carolan, appointed by the ICO to serve in the Kosovo Constitutional Court, has withdrawn his recently announced resignations. Given his previous record, this may not be good news for the Kosovo judiciary


Kosovo wants to play

19/09/2014 -  Violeta Hyseni Kelmendi Pristina

A Pristina magazine has started a campaign to end Kosovo's international isolation in sports. The shining judo star Majlinda Kelmendi has joined in


The remarkable but dangerous fantasy of Kosovo’s president

12/09/2014 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

By illegally appointing three constitutional judges, the Kosovo president breached the constitution. If the EU delegation supported the president’s decision, it gave her bad advice


Kosovo mobilizes to fight religious radicalism and terrorism

25/08/2014 -  Violeta Hyseni Kelmendi Pristina

After a major police operation, that recently resulted in 40 arrests of people suspected of engaging in conflicts in Syria and Iraq and supporting terrorist organizations, Kosovo institutions mobilized to fight religious extremism in the country


The SITF report speaks less of Kosovo than of the international community

31/07/2014 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

"What is most interesting about the report unveiled on Tuesday by the special investigative task force (SITF) is not what it says about the KLA, but what it implies about the post-conflict and state-building international interventions in Kosovo". A comment by Andrea Lorenzo Capussela


Eulex’s new clothes

04/07/2014 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

Keeping a toothless Eulex in Kosovo for two more years is not only a waste of money. It is also providing legitimacy to the decisions of vulnerable judges


Kosovo at a critical juncture

26/06/2014 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

Following the parliamentary elections of June 8, in Kosovo a new political landscape is emerging. Will it be more democratic? A comment


Dzenana Karup Druško: the painful importance of the ICTY

04/12/2013 -  Caterina Bonora

Bosnian journalist Dženana Karup Druško is one among many human rights activists who sent a letter to UN Secretary General asking that an investigation be opened after the recent ICTY controversial judgments


Kosovo, a new start for Eulex. Maybe

22/10/2013 -  Matteo Tacconi

The resources invested by the EU in Kosovo have not affected the power of organized crime and the level of corruption within local institutions. The recent turnover in Eulex's top management and the pressure from Berlin could, however, improve the effectiveness of the European mission


Kosovo: a long hot autumn

21/10/2013 -  Tatjana Lazarević Mitrovica

Kosovo is preparing for the local elections of November 3 after the shocking murder of EULEX officer Audrius Šenavičius. A test on the recent Belgrade-Pristina agreements


Blitz trade war between Macedonia and Kosovo ends

19/09/2013 -  Risto Karajkov Skopje

Truck drivers sealed off the border after a rapid escalation in trade restrictions between Macedonia and Kosovo. The situation quickly came back to normal, but not without consequences


Has Eulex changed its policy?

27/05/2013 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

Organ trafficking in Kosovo: the Marty report, the Medicus case and the first convictions. Some open questions on the Eulex conduct


Keljmendi, the boss of the Balkans

22/05/2013 -  Cecilia Ferrara

After having escaped an operation by the Bosnian police, Naser Keljmendi was arrested in Kosovo on May 5th. He is accused of murder, drug trafficking and allegedly runs networks extended throughout the Balkans


Kosovo: my son Tonibler

06/05/2013 -  Marjola Rukaj

For ten years Alban Muja of Kosovo has been doing research into the names of towns, places and people; at the moment he has an exhibition in the centre of Tirana in a small gallery called “the fly”


The EU and the Kosovo-Serbia deal

30/04/2013 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

A stable Serbia, firmly anchored to the EU, is Brussels' strategic objective. Even if the deal on Northern Kosovo should unravel


Kosovo: the deal is good

22/04/2013 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

The Kosovo-Serbia deal is a victory for the civic notion of statehood and citizenship, avoiding further risks of ethnic partitions. Also, it is a remarkable success for the EU, and a reason to be optimistic about its future


Kosovo’s money: the central bank, a party, and some dangers

02/04/2013 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

Kosovo just appointed the new governor of its central bank. But Bedri Hamza is too close to the current government to guarantee the necessary independence. An analysis


Kosovo: Challenging Homophobia

21/03/2013 -  Francesco Gradari

“Challenging Homophobia” is the title of the first European project for the protection and promotion of the rights of LGBT people in Kosovo.It was started to support a growing LGBT community, but has been intimidated by violent episodes tolerated by the institutions. Simon Maljevac from the organization Legebitra is one of the promoters of this initiative


Kosovo fights crime repression, not crime

08/02/2013 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

The new criminal code procedure approved by the Kosovo Parliament makes it even more difficult for witnesses to give evidence, and risky


Serbs in Northern Kosovo fear Dačić negotiations

07/02/2013 -  Tatjana Lazarević Mitrovica

Negotiations between Belgrade and Priština are swiftly proceeding, while Serbs in Northern Kosovo fear being abandoned by the new socialist government


Kosovo: the return of Haradinaj and the "UCK government"

14/12/2012 -  Veton Kasapolli Pristina

With the acquittal at The Hague and Ramush Haradinaj's return on the political scene, in Kosovo there are open talks about a possible political alliance between the leader of AAK and current Prime Minister Hashim Thaci


Peripheral comments on the EU audit report on Kosovo

04/12/2012 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

The Eulex mission in Kosovo is failing, in spite of its clever media campaign. A comment


Kosovo: The end of supervision?

11/09/2012 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

The supervision of Kosovo does not end today: the ICO did many things, good or bad, but it certainly did not supervise Kosovo. Kosovo was, and will continue to be, supervised by foreign powers. A comment


North Kosovo, one year after the crisis

05/09/2012 -  Tatjana Lazarević Mitrovica

The two crossings at Jarinje and Brnjak, heavily guarded by international military and police forces, today de facto separate central Serbia from North Kosovo. The distance between Pristina and Mitrovica, however, has not diminished


Kosovo's PTK privatization: with a little help from old friends

18/09/2012 -  Veton Kasapolli Pristina

Efforts to sell 75 percent of Kosovo’s telecom shares are coming to an end. Old American friends are favourites for the country's biggest privatisation yet


Kosovo, where ideas bring value

28/06/2012 -  Veton Kasapolli Pristina

A Minister for marketing? Why not? Promoting the country's image is something a new generation of musicians, sports people and artists is already working on, awaiting politics also to take its course


Kosovo: obvious thoughts on the footnote

13/03/2012 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

The agreement between Kosovo and Belgrade, reached through EU mediation, enables Kosovo to be represented at regional summits and sign commercial agreements with third countries. At one condition, though: the country's name must be marked by an asterisk linking it to a footnote. The meaning of which is explained to us by Andrea Lorenzo Capussela's


North Kosovo: Serbs say "No" to Pristina

23/02/2012 -  Tatjana Lazarević Mitrovica

The referendum organised by four Serbian municipalities in North Kosovo riaffirmed their refusal to accept Pristina's authority. As expected, the vote was rejected by the Kosovo government and international authorities. But the referendum marks a turning point in the relationship between North Kosovo and Belgrade, which opposed it fearing repercussions on its EU integration process


EU fiasco: the case of Kosovo’s Central Bank

24/01/2012 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

On January 11 EULEX dimissed all the corruption charges against Hashim Rexhepi, former governor of the Central Bank of Kosovo. Rexhepi's case, however, unearthed serious concernes about the EU Mission's administration of justice. An editorial by Andrea Lorenzo Capussela, former Director of ICO's Economics Unit


Kosovo: the unnecessary highway that could bankrupt Europe’s poorest state

02/12/2011 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

Kosovo is building a four-lane highway to connect the country with Albania: it will cost one billion Euro, 25% of Kosovo's 2010 budget. According to Andrea Capussela, former Head of the ICO economics unit, the project is financially unsustainable, marked by non-transparent procurement procedures and may end up sending the country into bankruptcy