“We call on Kosovo to abide by its international obligations to guarantee the judicial independence of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, as well as its commitment to ensuring accountability and delivering justice to victims and their families from all communities in Kosovo,” an EU spokesperson told Radio Free Europe.

The law was approved late on Tuesday, shortly before parliament elected Justina Shiroka Pula as Kosovo’s new president, a move welcomed by Brussels.

The EU said the Chambers’ current mandate and independence must be fully respected, stressing that the court delivers justice based on individual criminal responsibility.

Brussels also welcomed an end to the institutional deadlock that had gripped Kosovo since 2025, saying renewed stability should allow the country to advance on its European path.

The EU said Kosovo must also press ahead with reforms linked to its Growth and Reform Facility, implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, regional cooperation and gradual integration into the EU Single Market.

The amendments, initiated by the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), were approved in second reading before parliament elected Shiroka Pula in the early hours of Oct. 7.

The Specialist Chambers are based in The Hague but form part of Kosovo’s judicial system. They were established under a 2014 exchange of letters between then-President Atifete Jahjaga and former EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and have received nearly 400 million euros in EU funding.

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Kurti said that if the PDK pledged to secure at least half of the 22 votes in its parliamentary group for Bekim Sejdiu’s election as Kosovo’s new president that evening, he would secure 62 votes from his party and governing coalition partners to pass the proposed amendments.

Sejdiu was nominated under an agreement between Kurti’s Vetëvendosje Movement and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), but withdrew last month after six LDK MPs opposed his candidacy.

Kurti said at a press conference that Sejdiu remains a candidate and that he needs half of the PDK’s votes to secure the presence of at least 80 MPs in the 120-seat Assembly, the required quorum for his election on the final day of the constitutional deadline to elect a new president.

He said he was now awaiting a response from the PDK, as the opposition party “no longer wants to meet with us”.

“Bedri Hamza has issued an ultimatum and refuses to meet,” Kurti said.

Earlier, PDK leader Bedri Hamza said he would not meet Kurti or anyone else until the proposed amendments limiting the Specialist Chambers’ powers were passed.

Kurti pledged to support the PDK’s proposed amendments to limit the Specialist Chambers’ powers “first thing Thursday morning”, arguing that Article 85 of the Kosovo Assembly’s Rules of Procedure must be respected, which requires at least 72 hours to pass between the principle approval of a bill and its second reading.

The amendments were approved in principle on Monday.

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