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Events in the year 2024 in Kosovo.
Source: [10]
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a country in Southeast Europe with partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the north and east and North Macedonia to the southeast. It covers an area of 10,887 km2 (4,203 sq mi) and it has a population of approximately 1.6 million. Kosovo has a varied terrain, with high plains along with rolling hills and mountains, some of which reach an altitude of over 2,500 m (8,200 ft). Its climate is mainly continental with some Mediterranean and alpine influences. Kosovo's capital and the most populous city is Pristina; other major cities and urban areas include Prizren, Ferizaj, Gjilan and Peja.
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from the breakup of Yugoslavia, which began in mid-1991, into six independent countries matching the six entities known as republics that had previously constituted Yugoslavia: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Macedonia. SFR Yugoslavia's constituent republics declared independence due to unresolved tensions between ethnic minorities in the new countries, which fueled the wars. While most of the conflicts ended through peace accords that involved full international recognition of new states, they resulted in a massive number of deaths as well as severe economic damage to the region.
The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a NATO-led international peacekeeping force and military of Kosovo. KFOR is the third security responder, after the Kosovo Police and the EU Rule of Law (EULEX) mission, respectively, with whom we work in close coordination. Its operations are gradually reducing until Kosovo's Security Force, established in 2009, becomes self-sufficient.
The Democratic League of Kosovo is the oldest and one of the largest political parties in Kosovo.
NorthKosovo ; also known as the Ibar Kolašin ; earlier Old Kolašin,, is a region in the northern part of Kosovo, generally understood as a group of four municipalities with ethnic Kosovo Serbs majority: North Mitrovica, Leposavić, Zvečan and Zubin Potok.
The visa policy of the Schengen Area is a component within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union. It applies to the Schengen Area and to other EU member states except Ireland. The visa policy allows nationals of certain countries to enter the Schengen Area via air, land or sea without a visa for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. Nationals of certain other countries are required to have a visa to enter and, in some cases, transit through the Schengen area.
Accession of Montenegro to the European Union is on the agenda for future enlargement of the EU.
The accession of Kosovo to the European Union (EU) is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU. Kosovo is currently recognized by the EU as a potential candidate for accession.
Kosovo unilaterally self proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008, a move which Serbia strongly rejects. Serbia has not recognized Kosovo as an independent state and continues to claim it as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. However, differences and disputes remain, while North Kosovo partially remains under Serbian influence. Initially there were no relations between the two; but in the following years there has been increased dialogue and cooperation between the two sides.
The passport of Kosovo is a travel document that is issued by the Interior Ministry of Kosovo to the citizens of Kosovo to enable them to travel abroad. The passports are also used as proof of identity within the country, along with the national identity card.
An incident took place on the Albania–Yugoslav border in April 1999 when the Yugoslav Army shelled several Albanian border towns around Krumë, Tropojë. In these villages, refugees were being housed after fleeing the ongoing war in Kosovo by crossing into Albania. On 13 April 1999, Yugoslav infantry entered Albanian territory to close off an area that was used by the Kosovo Liberation Army to stage attacks against Yugoslav targets.
Clashes between the Republic of Kosovo and ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo began on 25 July 2011 when the Kosovo Police crossed into the Serb-controlled municipalities of North Kosovo, to control several administrative border crossings. This was done without the Kosovo Police consulting either Serbia or Kosovo Force (KFOR)/EULEX. Though tensions between the two sides eased somewhat after the intervention of NATO's KFOR forces, they remained high amid concern from the European Union, which also blamed Kosovo for the unilateral provocation. On 19 April 2013, an agreement was signed in Brussels between representatives of Kosovo and Serbia. The 15-point document granted devolved powers to North Kosovo regarding economic development, education, healthcare and urban planning, and several mechanisms that allowed a certain autonomy in justice, policing and electoral matters.
An advisory referendum on accepting the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo was held in the Serb-dominated regions of North Kosovo on 14 and 15 February 2012. The referendum was held in Zubin Potok, Zvečan and Mitrovica on both days, while Leposavić voted on 15 February. The voting ran from 7:00 to 19:00 on both days. The result saw 99.74% of voters reject the writ of the Republic of Kosovo's institutions. The poll was rejected by the governments of both Serbia and Kosovo.
Triggered by the Government of Kosovo's decision to reciprocally ban Serbian license plates, a series of protests by Serbs in North Kosovo—consisting mostly of blocking traffic near border crossings— began on 20 September 2021. The ban meant that individuals who owned vehicles with Serbian license plates in Kosovo would have had to switch for Kosovar license plates at a government vehicle registration center. The ban was intended to mirror a prohibition against Kosovar license plates that had been imposed by Serbia since 2008. The Government of Serbia does not recognise Kosovo's independence and considers the Kosovo–Serbia border to be temporary.
Beginning on 31 July 2022, tensions between Kosovo and Serbia heightened due to the expiration of the eleven-year validity period of documents for cars on 1 August 2022, between the government of Kosovo and the Serbs in North Kosovo. Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, signed an agreement with Serbia in 2011 that determined the use of license plates in North Kosovo. This agreement was supposed to change license plates from the ones that were issued by Serbia to neutral ones. The agreement for the change was extended in 2016 and expired in 2021, which led to a crisis in 2021 that ended with an agreement to terminate the ban of Kosovo-issued license plates in Serbia.
Events in the year 2022 in Kosovo.
Local elections were held in four municipalities in the north of Kosovo on 23 April 2023. They were initially scheduled to be held in December 2022, but were subsequently postponed. The elections were held in the four Serb-majority municipalities of Leposavić, North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok and Zvečan, located in North Kosovo. The elections were boycotted by the biggest Serb political party in Kosovo, the Serb List, following its departure from Kosovan institutions and the resignation of their mayors in North Kosovo in November. Among the declared candidates, there were only two Serbs. Aleksandar Arsenijević, candidate for mayor of the North Mitrovica Municipality, withdrew his candidacy on 2 December. Only the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and Vetëvendosje (LVV) had mayoral candidates in all four municipalities. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani had initially set 25 December as the polling date for the municipal assemblies of Zvečan and Leposavić in the north of Kosovo. On 20 April, candidate for mayor of the Leposavić Municipality Aleksandar Jablanović, leader of the Party of Kosovo Serbs (PKS), withdrew his candidature for running in the elections.
Events in the year 2024 in Serbia.
A referendum on the dismissal of four ethnic Albanian mayors of municipalities in Kosovo was held on 21 April 2024, in the region of North Kosovo with a majority Serb population. The municipalities where the referendum for the replacement of the mayor will be held are: Zubin Potok, Zvečan, Leposavić, and North Mitrovica. For the referendum to succeed, a majority of registered voters must vote for the replacement of the mayor in each municipality. The referendum comes after a petition organized by citizens of municipalities in the north for the removal of 4 mayors in the north. It was officially held, having been approved by Kosovo's Central Electoral Commission.
On 26 May 2023, Kosovo Police forcefully took control of the municipal buildings of four Serb majority regions in Northern Kosovo after a local election was held. Three days later on 29 May 2023, hundreds of Serbian protesters clashed with NATO peacekeeping troops after rally at city hall in the town of Zvečan in Northern Kosovo.