According to Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla, Kosovo’s acting foreign minister, Israel brings to 117 the number of countries which currently recognise the young state, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after NATO conducted a 78-day airstrike campaign to halt the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo’s majority Albanian population.
Most western nations have since recognised Kosovo’s independence (many, such as the US, Germany, France and the UK, did so immediately), but Serbia and its allies Russia and China (and their allies in turn) refuse to do so.
Then there are the five European Union countries that do not recognise Kosovo: Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Spain.
| UPDATED: 12:15, Wed, Jan 13, 2021
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The battle over rule of law has been described as a long-term challenge facing Poland and the European Union, according to the Vice-President of the Civil Development Forum Marek Tatala. Poland is increasingly being viewed as a troublemaker within EU, with the country, together with Hungary, accused of adopting authoritarian governing styles. The ruling Law and Justice Party in Warsaw have used sweeping reforms in an attempt to interfere with the country s judiciary, spark