Former Kosovo President Thaçi Sentenced to 25 Years by International Court in The Hague

Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by an international court in The Hague, which found him criminally responsible for war crimes committed during Kosovo's violent break from Serbia in the 1990s, according to reporting by The Guardian.

Thaçi, who led the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) before later serving as the country's president, had faced charges relating to atrocities committed during the conflict. The court's ruling holds him accountable for crimes that occurred during that period, the report said.

The sentencing marks a significant development in the long-running effort to address alleged war crimes stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia and the conflicts that followed Kosovo's separation from Serbia.

In a separate development covered in the same report, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressed European leaders, stating that "kickstarting Europe's economy is our number one priority." She said Europe needed to better utilize its large market and world-class industries and services, adding that the single market remains "too fragmented" and requires further reform, with a goal of completion by the end of next year.

Von der Leyen also framed broader questions facing the European Union in terms of democratic resilience, asking whether Europe would "rally around" a shared vision of self-determination or allow its democracies to be "undermined by the proxies and puppets of authoritarians." She said that whether the threat came from ultra-nationalist movements, anti-European sentiment, Russian interference or disinformation, the underlying goal of such forces was the same, according to the report.