CSO SUSTAINABILITY: 3.9

Kosovo was focused on some complex and sensitive events during 2012, which left little room for CSO advocacy initiatives on other issues.

The government continues to focus on increasing the number of countries that officially recognize Kosovo. By the end of 2012, ninety-six countries had granted Kosovo official recognition. Kosovo also continued the dialogue with Serbia to facilitate better relations between the two countries in 2012. The process, which had stalled before the general elections in Serbia in May, resumed with a meeting between the two prime ministers that was mediated by Baroness Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Albania celebrated its one hundredth anniversary of independence in the second half of 2012. This major anniversary was noted in almost every aspect of life in Kosovo, and led to an increased sense of patriotism in the country.

Other important events during the year included Kosovo’s new membership in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the EU Feasibility Study on Starting the Negotiations for the Stabilization Association Agreement with Kosovo, release of all charges for three former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighters by the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and ongoing protests on various issues by Vetevendosje, a nationalist political movement.