Soldiers of the Southern Infantry Regiment, part of the Albanian Land Force, are continuing preparations for the international competition “Cambrian Patrol”. One of the training phases has taken place in Kosovo.

The Albanian Land Force announced that this training was conducted together with members of the Kosovo Security Force and British personnel.

The joint training aimed to increase interoperability among forces, share professional experiences, and prepare the personnel for the situations they will encounter during the competition.

The program focused on improving tactical and professional capabilities, along with increasing the physical and mental endurance of the participants.

The “Cambrian Patrol” competition is considered one of the most difficult international challenges in military patrolling. In the 2025 edition, teams from Albania and Kosovo took part. The Albanian squad from the Infantry Regiment was among the units awarded a bronze medal, while the KSF team secured a silver medal.

The 2026 edition of “Cambrian Patrol” will be held in the United Kingdom, from October 2 to 13.

For the Albanian squad, the preparatory phase in Kosovo represents an important step before participating in this competition, where key evaluation criteria include teamwork, tactical skills, and physical and mental endurance.

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The government is preparing the legal framework for how it will calculate, plan and transfer its contribution to the European Union budget after accession. At least, that is the aim of a draft law from the Ministry of Finance that has been released for public consultation.

The draft law “On the National Contribution of the Republic of Albania to the Budget of the European Union” sets out the rules for calculating, financing, reporting and making the contribution available, as well as the responsibilities of the Albanian institutions involved in the process.

The contribution will be linked to the EU’s “Own Resources” system. The draft defines it as Albania’s contribution to the European budget, comprising “traditional own resources, the resource based on value-added tax (VAT), the resource based on gross national income (GNI)” and other resources established by EU legislation.

In its other provisions, the draft law also specifically includes the resource linked to non-recycled plastic packaging waste.

The Ministry of Finance must include in budget planning the projected value of the contribution, as well as “the fiscal space necessary to cover potential financial adjustments” and liabilities that may arise from statistical, methodological or financial revisions.

Payments will not be determined unilaterally by the Albanian authorities. According to the draft, they will be made on the basis of requests from the European Commission.

“Payments of the National Contribution for the Own Resources components shall be made on the basis of calls for funds (‘Call for Funds’),” the draft law states, adding that these notices will specify the amounts and deadlines for transfers.

A special account at the Bank of Albania is envisaged for managing the financial flows. The “National Contribution Account” will be owned by the Republic of Albania, opened and administered by the ministry responsible for finance, and used to make transfers to the EU budget.

The Ministry of Finance will serve as the National Coordinating Authority and will coordinate the institutions that produce and verify the data, carry out the relevant calculations, plan payments in the state budget and report to the European Commission.

The draft law also requires the data used for the contribution to be traceable, verifiable and documented, with records retained for up to 10 years.

INSTAT will be responsible for producing Gross National Income according to the ESA 2010 methodology and transmitting the relevant data to Eurostat.

The Customs Administration will administer and report traditional own resources, while the Tax Administration will provide data for the harmonized VAT base. The ministry responsible for the environment will cover data on non-recycled plastic packaging waste.

Another element is the creation of the National EU Own Resources Data Repository, which will be administered by the Ministry of Finance. It will collect customs, VAT, GNI and plastic-waste data, as well as methodological documentation, audit trails, corrections, unpaid liabilities and late-payment interest.

The draft also envisages consequences for late reporting or inaccurate data. Violations include failure to submit information within the deadline, reporting inaccurate or incomplete data, failure to retain documentation and failure to cooperate during audits.

The Ministry of Finance may request that violations be corrected within 15 days, while cases resulting in financial consequences will incur administrative, disciplinary, civil or criminal liability under the legislation in force.

Obligations to pay the contribution will be activated only when Albania becomes an EU member. The draft stipulates that the transfer of the National Contribution and other financial obligations “shall apply from the date of the accession of the Republic of Albania to the European Union.”

However, the institutions must establish the relevant structures, information systems, database and procedures within 24 months of the law’s entry into force.

The explanatory report accompanying the draft law states that, before accession, the contribution itself is not expected to have any direct financial effects on the EU budget.

The institutions’ additional duties are expected to be covered by their existing funds, while for the establishment of the National Data Repository and the adaptation of information systems, “the assessment of the related costs will be carried out during the later stages of implementation.”

The explanatory report links the initiative to Albania’s preparations for Chapter 33, “Financial and Budgetary Provisions,” stating that there is currently no horizontal framework defining coordination among the customs, tax, statistics, environmental and public finance administrations for managing the contribution to the EU budget./Monitor

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The Special Prosecution Office of the Republic of Kosovo (SPO) filed an indictment on July 17, 2026, against Adem Helshani, Qëndrim Elshani, Mentor Dreshaj, Leon Dizdari, Ardian Gashi and Faruk Osaj. All six are accused of involvement in an organized criminal group and other criminal offenses.

The document obtained by “Betimi për Drejtësi” covers the defendants’ activities from July 2024 through January 29, 2025. According to the Prosecution, they operated as an organized criminal group with the aim of obtaining direct financial gain and engaged in ongoing criminal activities.

Adem Helshani, who lives outside the Republic of Kosovo, is suspected of having formed, led and controlled the group. Qëndrim Elshani, meanwhile, allegedly acted as an intermediary, conveying orders and securing money and weapons.

The members’ meetings and coordination of activities took place mainly in Peja, including at the home of Mentor Dreshaj and Leon Dizdari in the village of Nabërgjan, Peja.

One of the cases included in the indictment concerns June 1, 2024, when Faruk Osaj allegedly set fire, in accordance with a prearranged plan, to Blerim Elshani’s van in the village of Baicë, Istog. The material damage is estimated at around €9,000, while Osaj is also suspected of threatening the injured party with death.

During 2024 and 2025, over a property dispute, Adem Helshani allegedly threatened Jeton Buquku on several occasions. Initially, he demanded €1 million from him, then threatened to burn down his business and subjected him to continuous psychological pressure, with the aim of forcing him to act to the detriment of his property interests.

According to the indictment, in December 2024 and January 2025, Qëndrim Elshani, Leon Dizdari, Mentor Dreshaj, Faruk Osaj and Ardian Gashi, acting on the instructions of Adem Helshani, took concrete steps to kill Shkodran Hyseni. They also allegedly planned the wounding or possible killing of Jeton Buquku and Egzon Buquku.

The Prosecution claims that the motives were base and that the aim was to strengthen the criminal group’s position, intimidate the victims and force them to act against their own financial interests.

After earlier meetings and monitoring the movements of the injured parties, on January 28, 2025, in Nabërgjan, Peja, Leon Dizdari and Mentor Dreshaj met Ardian Gashi to involve him in the killing of Shkodran Hyseni.

At that meeting, according to the indictment, it was agreed that Gashi would be paid €30,000 if he carried out Hyseni’s murder. If he only wounded him, the payment would be €7,000.

On January 29, 2025, at around 8:00 p.m., near the railway in the village of Nabërgjan, Peja, Leon Dizdari and Mentor Dreshaj allegedly handed Ardian Gashi an AK-47 automatic weapon, which was to be used to carry out the plan.

The plan was not carried out because, according to the Prosecution, the intervention of the Kosovo Police and the arrest of the suspects prevented the murder from taking place.

Prosecution: Defendants had defined roles

In the conclusions of the indictment, the Special Prosecution Office states that the material gathered during the investigation creates a well-founded suspicion that the six defendants cooperated within an organized criminal group.

According to the Prosecution, this assessment is supported by telecommunications interceptions, audio and video surveillance, physical surveillance reports, records of searches and seizures, material evidence, expert examinations and witness testimony.

When analyzed together, these pieces of evidence, according to the prosecuting authority, show how the group was organized, how duties were divided and what each defendant’s contribution was.

Adem Helshani is described as the group’s organizer and leader, while Qëndrim Elshani is suspected of serving as its operational coordinator.

According to the Prosecution, Mentor Dreshaj and Leon Dizdari handled operational and logistical support. Ardian Gashi agreed to carry out the criminal objective, while Faruk Osaj allegedly took part in the group’s activities, including arson.

The Special Prosecution Office describes the defendants’ activities not as the result of a spur-of-the-moment agreement, but as the operation of an organized structure with divided responsibilities, continuous coordination and a shared criminal objective.

The indictment states that the procedural guarantees provided for by the Criminal Procedure Code were respected during the investigative proceedings and that the evidence was obtained in accordance with the law.

Regarding the defendants’ statements, the Prosecution says they were examined in relation to the material evidence. However, its assessment is that the statements are not supported by the evidence obtained and were intended to evade or mitigate criminal responsibility.

Adem Helshani is accused of the criminal offense of “Participation in or Organization of an Organized Criminal Group,” set out in Article 277, paragraph 2, of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo.

Qëndrim Elshani, Leon Dizdari, Ardian Gashi, Faruk Osaj and Mentor Dreshaj are accused of the same criminal offense under Article 277, paragraph 1, of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo, in connection with the offenses of “Preparatory Actions in the Commission of the Criminal Offense of Aggravated Murder,” “Coercion,” “Causing General Danger,” “Arson” and “Unauthorized Ownership, Control or Possession of Weapons.”

The Special Prosecution Office has determined that there is a sufficient factual and legal basis for filing the indictment and has requested that the defendants be found guilty of the criminal offenses with which they are charged.

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