KOSOVO

Kosovo is the most southern part of Serbia. Albanians present more than 90% of its population. As Albanian population hadn't had any national rights in socialist Yugoslavia and also in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and due to constant repression by Serbian government and police, long-time passive resistance turned into armed revolt in 1998.

Because of its atrocities against the Albanian population in Kosovo during revolt, the Yugoslav government had been under frequent trade embargoes and experienced NATO military intervention in 1999.

Yugoslavia was forced to withdraw its army from Kosovo in June 1999 and NATO forces occupied the province and established international protectorate. Since then Kosovo is administrated by UNMIK (United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo) and the locally elected Provisional Institutions of Self-Government, with security maintained by the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) and Kosovo Police Service. Special stamps are used in the region:

The Euro is the official currency of Kosovo and used by UNMIK and the government bodies. The Serbian Dinar is used in the Serbian populated parts.

International negotiations began in 2006 to determine the final status of Kosovo. Whilst progress was made on technical matters, Serbs and Albanians remained diametrically opposed on the question of status of the province.
The Kosovar Assembly approved a declaration of independence on 17 February 2008. Over the following days, several countries announced their recognition, despite protests by Serbia.