Labour Friends of Kosovo & the Western Balkans

ANNOUNCEMENT 📣 We can reveal that our new Parliamentary Chair is @PaulFosterMP. Paul is the Labour MP for South Ribble, elected in July 2024, and served his country for 15 years as a member of the British Army’s Corps of Royal Engineers. Paul served in the Balkans during the late 1990s and early 2000s, including in Kosovo. As an MP, Paul also Co-Chairs the Armed Forces All Party Parliamentary Group, the core forum for 🇬🇧 armed forces’ engagement with Parliament. We thank @EmmaLewell for chairing our group for the past 18 months. In this role, Emma championed reinforced relations between 🇬🇧 and the Western Balkans, particularly from a security perspective. Emma will continue to remain a valued member of our group.

Congratulations to @BlerinaHashani, @florentsherifi, and Erza Doda on their recent successful elections as Labour councillors in London. It’s fantastic to see three excellent representatives of the British-Kosovar community stepping up to deliver for their communities and constituents. Their success is a testament to the growing contribution of the British-Kosovar community to public life in the UK.

An encouraging high-level meeting between NATO and BiH officials. Very positive signal that NATO expects BiH’s defense spending to double as part of its membership drive. That is beneficial for BiH and says NATO is (sensibly) refusing to make exceptions for the country.

Widespread incidents of violence, threats and voting irregularities - what the observer mission of the Council of Europe has witnessed during the Serbian local elections is unacceptable. Free and fair elections are fundamental in democracies, especially for EU candidate countries like Serbia. We call on the competent national authorities to ensure swift and transparent investigation of the reported incidents, and to hold perpetrators accountable.

A huge congratulations to 🇧🇦 for progressing to the World Cup!

Scenes of accredited election observers being beaten during local elections in Serbia are a total affront to democracy. It is high time that the West collectively gets tougher on Vucic and his government.

We agree with our 🇺🇸 Congressional allies. The removal of US sanctions on Dodik should only have occurred through a change in the very behaviours that led to those sanctions in the first place. That is why 🇬🇧 sanctions remain in place, a position which our Group argued for at the time.

We wholeheartedly agree with His Majesty's Ambassador to Kosovo. Given the increasingly challenging international security environment, constructive conversations and compromise are essential to advancing Kosovo's fundamental national interests. As friends of Kosovo, we urge all parties to be laser-focused on this goal and to work collaboratively with international partners at this critical time. @UKinKosovo

Former British Ambassador Michael Davenport writes in @NewDiplomacyUK: “Here, the UK is well placed to help strengthen deterrence [in Kosovo] without contributing to escalation. The 2024 UK–Ukraine bilateral security agreement provides useful pointers. That agreement commits the UK to cooperation and support to Ukraine in the event of a future armed attack. A similar formulation could apply to Kosovo. Without naming any country explicitly, the UK could commit to co-operation and support to Kosovo in the event of armed attack by any state or non-state actor, including Wagner-style proxy forces of the kind seen at Banjska.” newdiplomacy.uk/articles/3r9cx…

Labour MP and member of our group @Phil_Brickell described the ex-diplomats’ lobbying as “highly inappropriate”. “I’m shocked to find out that former UK ambassadors are now lobbying on behalf of Putin-aligned Republika Srpska,” Brickell told Democracy for Sale. “Having just returned from the region, I’ve seen first-hand how Dodik continues to destabilise the western Balkans.” democracyforsale.substack.com/p/ex-uk-ambass…

Congratulations to our sister party @LVetevendosje on their impressive victory in the Kosovo general election today. We look forward to working with the new government to further strengthen the special relationship between the United Kingdom and Kosovo 🇬🇧 🤝 🇽🇰

“It is not for me to advise the citizens of Kosovo on how to vote in the general elections on 28 December. However, I can suggest to my friends in all political parties that it is their democratic duty to make the necessary compromises to form a government after the elections” - John Grogan, former Labour MP and current member of Labour Friends of Kosovo and the Western Balkans, writes in the Kosovo daily, Koha Ditore. koha.net/en/index.php/o…

While these measures should not have been implemented in the first place, the fact they have now been lifted is positive and welcome news. Kosovo’s full Euro-Atlantic integration is in the interest of all Europeans.

In any substantive democracy, media independence, pluralism and commitment to widely recognised journalistic standards are essential to speaking truth to power. We welcome the proactive communications approach from the British Embassy Belgrade and our Ambassador there, with a view to countering anti-British narratives from outlets that peddle misinformation and conspiracy theories. Sadly, this is a common theme among media in the region and requires greater focus from the UK and its allies.

Great to have made it as a finalist at the @SME4LABOUR awards. Well done to @1987Committee for their victory. Always next year - big plans ahead!

Statement on sanctions policy related to individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

NEW: Ahead of the London “Berlin Process” summit, I have partnered with @NewDiplomacyUK to produce a comprehensive policy report offering the UK government a retooled, security focused agenda for the W. Balkans, featuring a foreword by The Lord Robertson. newdiplomacy.uk/briefings/u5bq…

An important new report setting out how the 🇬🇧 government should adapt its approach towards the Western Balkans, with a foreword from our President and former NATO Secretary General, Lord George Robertson.