EVERY MOMENT IS ANOTHER CHANCE DONT LET IT GO....: Kosovo Is The Last Country To Gain Independence in 21st Century

Kosovo (Косово, [ˈkɔsɔvɔ]) is the Serbian neuter possessive adjective of kos (кос) "blackbird", an ellipsis for Kosovo Polje "field of the blackbirds", the site of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo Field. The name of the field was applied to an Ottoman province created in 1864.

The region currently known as "Kosovo" became an administrative region in 1946, as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. In 1974, the compositional "Kosovo and Metohija" was reduced to simple "Kosovo" in the name of the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, but in 1990 was renamed back to Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.

The entire region is commonly referred to in English simply as Kosovo and in Albanian as Kosova (definite form, [kɔ'sova]) or Kosovë ("indefinite" form, [kɔ'so:v]). In Serbian, a distinction is made between the eastern and western areas; the term Kosovo (Косово) is used for the eastern part, while the western part is called "Metohija" (Метохија).

Since Kosovo declared independence, it is now also referred to as "The Republic of Kosovo" in English, though "Kosovo" is still the most common name used.

Kosovo, UN administration

Flag

History of Kosovo
Early history (before 850)
Prehistoric Balkans
Roman Empire (100 BC to 395 AD)
Byzantine Empire (395 to 839)
Middle Ages (850 to 1455)
Bulgarian Empire (839 to 1241)
Medieval Serbia
Battle of Kosovo
Ottoman Kosovo (1455 to 1912)
Eyalet of Rumelia
Vilayet of Kosovo
Albanian nationalism
20th century
First Balkan War
Kosovo in the Kingdoms of Serbia and SHS/Yugoslavia
AP Kosovo and Metohija (1946 to 1974)
SAP Kosovo (1974 to 1990)
Kosovo War (1996 to 1999)
UN administration (1999 to 2008)
Republic of Kosovo (since 2008)

The International Reaction to the 2008 Declaration of Independence by Kosovo follows Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, enacted on 17 February 2008 by a unanimous vote of a 109-member quorum of the Kosovar Parliament, with 109 in favour and 0 in opposition; all 11 representatives of the Serb minority boycotted the proceedings.The act proclaimed the Republic of Kosovo. Concurrently, letters were sent to all the world's governments, soliciting recognition. Accordingly, on 27 February 2008, Germany became the first country to formalise its recognition of Kosovo by renaming its diplomatic office in Pristina as an embassy and on 8 March 2008, the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt became the first foreign minister to officially visit Kosovo since it declared its independence.

As of 15 September 2008, 47 out of 192 sovereign United Nations member states have formally recognised the Republic of Kosovo. Notably, a majority of European Union member states have formally recognised Kosovo (21 out of 27); EU member states decide individually whether to recognise Kosovo, whereas the EU has commissioned the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) to ensure peace and continued external oversight. Twenty-one NATO member states out of twenty-six and both acceding member states have recognised Kosovo.

A number of states expressed concern over the unilateral character of Kosovo's declaration, or announced explicitly that they will not recognise an independent Kosovo. The UN Security Council remains divided on this issue: of its five members with veto power, three (the United States, United Kingdom, France) have recognised the declaration of independence, while the People's Republic of China has expressed concern, urging the continuation of previous negotiation framework. Russia has rejected the declaration and considers it illegal.On 15 May 2008, Russia, China, and India released a joint statement where they called for new negotiations between the authorities of Belgrade and Pristina.

Of Kosovo's neighbour states other than Serbia, Albania has recognised its declaration of independence, while Montenegro is still uncommitted, despite several hints of recognition. The Republic of Macedonia has broached the outstanding issue of border demarcation between it and Kosovo, now raised with the new Pristina government and previously negotiated with the government in Belgrade. The Joint Macedonian-Kosovar Commission on Border Demarcation began operating on 25 March 2008 in Skopje. The actual demarcation process formally started on 30 June 2008.The committee began drawing the border on 2 September 2008.

Due to the ongoing dispute in the UN Security Council, the planned reconfiguration of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and partial handover to the EULEX mission met with difficulties. In spite of Russian and Serbian protest, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proceeded with the reconfiguration plan. On 15 July 2008, he wrote in his quarterly report on the evolving situation in Kosovo: "In the light of the fact that the Security Council is unable to provide guidance, I have instructed my Special Representative to move forward with the reconfiguration of UNMIK ... in order to adapt UNMIK to a changed reality and address current and emerging operational requirements in Kosovo." According to the Secretary-General, the "United Nations has maintained a position of strict neutrality on the question of Kosovo’s status".

Republika e Kosovës
Република Косово / Republika Kosovo

Republic of Kosovo