Koopman: Kosovo must demonstrate its commitment to the European path

Source: Europeam Commision

Gert Jan Koopman, Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood, said today that the issue of amendments to the Law on the Kosovo Specialist Chambers was “extremely unhelpful,” stressing that Kosovo must demonstrate its full commitment to the European path, Gazeta Express reports.

“It is extremely unhelpful. I would look at the issue the other way around: because we have a delicate institutional situation, with five countries that do not recognize Kosovo, the country really needs, across all issues, to demonstrate and fully prove its commitment to the European path,” Koopman told the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center.

He said that the amendments to the law on the Specialist Chambers “should not be approved,” while adding that “the situation in the north needs to be properly managed.”

“I think that, if this is done, it is entirely feasible for the Council of the European Union to invite the European Commission to start working on the application and provide an opinion, which is the next step. It is then for the Council to decide whether or not Kosovo will be granted candidate status,” Koopman said, according to Gazeta Express.

He assessed that it should not be too difficult for Kosovo to obtain candidate status provided that it fulfilled the conditions he had outlined, but added that “we are not there yet.”

“Kosovo is a partner in the enlargement process and receives funding from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). Therefore, I do not think it should be difficult for countries to grant Kosovo candidate country status, provided that it meets all these conditions. But we are not there yet,” Koopman said.

He stressed the importance of beginning consideration of Kosovo’s application for candidate status, which was submitted in December 2022.

“The five countries that do not recognize Kosovo are hesitant. But it is not only about those five countries. There have also been problems in the north of the country, and now the issue of the Specialist Chambers has resurfaced,” Koopman said.