EP rapporteur on Kosovo calls on Council to adopt SAA as soon as possible
The European Commission today adopted the Stabilisation and Association agreement (SAA) with Kosovo; Green MEP and EP rapporteur on Kosovo, Ulrike Lunacek, stated after this decision:
„This is very good news and another important step on Kosovo’s way to EU integration: I welcome today’s decision of the EU Commission to adopt the SAA and to submit it to the Council and the EP. For the first time the EU and Kosovo will enter into a contractual agreement. It is thus the Council’s turn to take the next step. I therefore call on the Council to sign and conclude the SAA as soon as possible, and no later than mid-2015. Then the ratification by the EP and Kosovo assembly should be possible in autumn, and the SAA could enter into force as of 2016 and apply immediately. I am calling for a speedy process because SAA will provide a powerful incentive for the implementation and institutionalization of reforms and new possibilities for Kosovo to strengthen relations with its neighbours and contribute to the stabilization of the region. We must seize this opportunity to confirm our desire to give fresh impetus to the enlargement process.“