22 - 29 July 2026 | Weekly Regional Briefing

This week's Balkan Legal News is led by Albania, where SPAK has extended its investigation into former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, keeping one of the region's highest-profile corruption cases in the spotlight. In The Hague, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers has again postponed its verdict in the Thaçi war crimes trial, while in Brussels, EU member states remain split over opening further accession chapters with Serbia. Serbia's media regulator, meanwhile, has become operational after 18 months of EU pressure.

Kosovo Specialist Chambers postpones Thaçi trial judgment to September

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers has again delayed the pronouncement of the trial judgment against former President Hashim Thaçi and his co-accused, former KLA leaders Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi, now scheduled for 16 September 2026. The Trial Panel has cited the scale of the evidentiary record, including testimony from around 270 witnesses and thousands of exhibits, as grounds for the repeated extensions. The verdict is widely seen as pivotal for the credibility of the Hague-based tribunal.

Source: Kosovo Specialist Chambers

EU member states divided over advancing Serbia's accession negotiations

A discussion among EU ambassadors has exposed a split over opening the remaining chapters under Cluster 3 ('Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth') in Serbia's accession talks. Eight member states have opposed advancing the chapters, citing rule of law concerns and Serbia's foreign policy alignment, while a majority favour proceeding on technical merit. The Commission had already assessed Serbia as meeting the opening benchmarks for two of the three outstanding chapters.

Source:  The New Union Post SPAK extends corruption investigation into former Albanian Deputy PM Belinda Balluku

Albania's Special Anti-Corruption Structure, SPAK, has extended by three months its investigation into former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, citing the complexity of the case and the volume of public procurement procedures under review. The probe centres on allegations of corruption and money laundering linked to public tenders, including sections of Tirana's Greater Ring Road. Parliament's Socialist majority had earlier rejected a prosecutorial request to lift her immunity for arrest, a decision that continues to draw scrutiny over the limits placed on Albania's anti-corruption bodies as the country pursues EU membership.

Source: Balkan Insight

Serbia's media regulator becomes operational after 18-month deadlock

Serbia's Council of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media, REM, has held its first constitutive session, a step long demanded by the European Commission as part of Serbia's rule of law obligations. The Council remains incomplete, having failed to elect a president or fill its ninth seat, following repeated EU criticism of the regulatory vacuum that had persisted since the previous Council's mandate expired in late 2024.

Source: European Commission – 2026 Rule of Law Report, Serbia Country Chapter