Kurti: The EU must work toward securing candidate status for Kosovo

Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti called on the European Union to grant Kosovo candidate status as soon as possible and open accession negotiations, stressing that Kosovo must not lag behind in the European integration process, Ekonomia Online reports.

Speaking on the occasion of Europe Day, marked on May 9, at an event organized by the European Union Office in Kosovo, Kurti stated that as many as 80 percent of Kosovo’s citizens support EU membership.

“For Kosovo, the European Union is neither a distant reality nor merely a set of standards to be fulfilled. It is the natural home of our society, the framework for our reforms, and the future of our citizens that has already been chosen. More than 80 percent of our citizens support membership in the European Union, which is one of the highest levels of support anywhere in Europe,” he said.

Kurti emphasized that Kosovo has achieved significant progress in several key areas, citing economic growth and democratic advancement.

“We have one of the strongest economic growth rates in Southeast Europe and the strongest in the Western Balkans. We rank at the top in terms of democratic progress, whether measured by the World Justice Project, Freedom House, Transparency International, or the World Press Freedom Index. We are also the safest country in our region, with the lowest crime rate. All of this progress has been recognized on our path toward European Union membership. After a decade of waiting, we now enjoy visa liberalization and made the historic decision to submit our application for membership in the European Union on December 15, 2022,” he said.

He added that Kosovo is part of the EU Growth Plan and is working to fulfill its obligations, although, as he noted, there are obstacles due to certain laws not yet being adopted in the Kosovo Assembly.

“We are part of the Growth Plan, where we are making every effort to implement each step. We are facing certain challenges, as you well know, with laws that the Assembly still needs to adopt. Last month, on April 15, we marked 40 months since I submitted our membership application in Prague. I believe the EU should work collectively toward securing candidate status for Kosovo and opening accession negotiations. There must be unity of engagement within the EU so that Kosovo is not left aside. In the meantime, while we await the EU’s decision, we are taking concrete steps to ensure that no time is lost on our part,” he said.

Kurti stressed that the EU enlargement process and reforms should proceed in parallel.

“Your promise is enlargement. Our promise is reforms, and we can and must achieve both — it is a shared responsibility,” he said.