9 - 15 September 2026 | Weekly Regional Briefing
This week's developments underline how closely political stability, judicial accountability and European integration remain interconnected across the Western Balkans.
Kosovo's new government and the forthcoming Thaçi judgment mark a particularly significant moment, while Serbia's October elections and the diplomatic fallout over Ratko Mladić demonstrate the continuing importance of institutional accountability and the rule of law to the region's European path.
Kosovo: Thaçi Trial Judgment Due on 16 September
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers is due to pronounce its trial judgment on 16 September in the case against former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi and former KLA commanders Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. The judgment follows a trial involving allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity dating from 1998-1999, with the proceedings having lasted more than three years.
The verdict is expected to carry significant legal and political implications in Kosovo and across the region. Thousands also gathered in Pristina on 12 September in support of the defendants ahead of the judgment.
Source: Kosovo Specialist Chambers
Additional reporting: Associated Press
Serbia: Early Parliamentary Elections Set for 25 October
Serbia will hold early parliamentary elections on 25 October, following the dissolution of parliament amid nearly two years of large-scale student-led protests. President Aleksandar Vučić has said he will resign on 27 September and seek the position of prime minister, while the student movement has now formally entered the electoral race with its own candidate list.
The election is likely to become a major test of Serbia’s political system, institutional accountability and the government’s ability to maintain its grip on power after prolonged domestic unrest.
Source: Associated Press
Kosovo: New Government Formed, but Political Crisis Persists
Kosovo’s parliament approved a new government led by Albin Kurti on 13 September, with 62 of 120 lawmakers voting in favour. Opposition parties boycotted the vote and have indicated that they will challenge the procedure before the Constitutional Court. The country remains without a president, while the prolonged institutional deadlock continues to raise the possibility of another early election.
Source: Associated Press
Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: Diplomatic Fallout Over Mladić Funeral
Tensions between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina escalated following the public funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić in Belgrade. Bosnia expelled two Serbian diplomats and suspended plans to sign a regional cooperation agreement, while the European Commission criticised the presence of Serbian officials at the funeral and warned that the episode could undermine Serbia’s EU accession prospects.
The dispute adds a new layer to already difficult relations between Belgrade and Sarajevo, while again placing accountability for war crimes and the treatment of the past at the centre of the region’s European integration debate.
Source: Reuters, via Internazionale
Kosovo: Court of Appeals Acquits Agim Çeku and Nine Others
Kosovo’s Court of Appeals has acquitted former Prime Minister Agim Çeku and nine other defendants in the long-running veterans’ lists case. The Appeals Court overturned the first-instance convictions, finding that it had not been proven that the defendants committed abuse of official position or authority.
The ruling is notable both for its implications for accountability in Kosovo and because the case concerned the politically sensitive process of recognising and verifying KLA war veterans.
Source: KOHA
North Macedonia:
Prosecutorial Council Reviews Court Ruling and Launches New Appointment Procedure
North Macedonia’s Council of Public Prosecutors reviewed an Administrative Court judgment concerning the termination of the mandate of public prosecutor Ahmed Ahmedi on retirement grounds. Following the court’s ruling, the Council reconsidered the matter and on 11 September adopted a new decision confirming the termination of Ahmedi’s mandate, effective from 8 September 2026.
At the same session, the Council established two commissions to conduct the procedure for selecting the new head of the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime and Corruption in Skopje. The appointment process follows the vacancy of the current head, with the selection procedure now formally under way.
Comments