Starovic: Pristina's efforts to join NATO will not bear fruit

Despite Pristina's desire to join NATO, this will not happen in the foreseeable future, Nemanja Starovic, Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran, and Social Affairs, tells Kosovo Online. He emphasizes that membership in the Alliance is not about meeting certain requirements or criteria, as with the Council of Europe, but rather about the fundamental issue of status.

He reminds that four NATO member states do not recognize Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence and that some of them are very firm in this stance.

"I would highlight, for example, Spain, which does not allow any steps, no matter how small, to be taken in that direction. Despite Pristina's declared desire and intention to join organizations such as the UN and the Council of Europe, which we have witnessed in recent months, I believe they are very aware that this is quite far off, if not impossible. However, their real goal and ambition are to gain recognition from the five EU member states that have not yet done so, four of which are also NATO members," Starovic stated.

He reminds that Pristina adopted an Action Plan for joining NATO some time ago, which defines three steps leading to this. The first is gaining full membership in the Adriatic Charter organization, which prepares candidates or those wishing to become members. The second step is joining the Peace Partnership program, and the third is full NATO membership.

"However, I must say that for several years now, we have been effectively preventing any attempt for Pristina to become a full member of the Adriatic Charter, successfully halting these processes at the very first step defined by the provisional institutions in Pristina," our interlocutor said.

Given all this, he says that Pristina's efforts to join NATO will not bear fruit in the foreseeable future.

"But this does not mean there will not be a lot of noise about it, nor will there be frequent demands from Pristina towards its international sponsors, hoping that if they cannot join the UN or the Council of Europe due to not fulfilling even the minimal obligations set before them, they might compensate by joining NATO. However, this will not happen," Starovic says.

According to him, the situation with the Alliance is "significantly different" compared to the Council of Europe, where, unfortunately, a consensus has already been reached among member states.

"When I say consensus, I mean among two-thirds of the Council of Europe members about Pristina's right to join as a member, even if they do not fulfill certain obligations. In NATO, the situation is significantly different because decisions are made by consensus, and Pristina cannot be admitted to membership if even one country, and here we have several, does not support it and does not want it. Here, the matter does not come down to fulfilling certain set requirements or criteria but to the fundamental issue of status," he stated.

He adds that countries like Spain "certainly will not make any compromises" and will not allow Pristina to hypothetically become a NATO member.

"Unlike the Council of Europe, which is an international organization based on the European Convention on Human Rights, NATO is something else entirely, with its founding documents, for example, including the obligation of collective defense. These are far too significant and important matters for the countries that do not recognize Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence to make compromises on," Starovic concluded.