PRISTINA – Today, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has urged Kosovo to establish fully functioning institutions as soon as possible. After her meeting with Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Pristina, she noted that the “institutional stability is crucial for Kosovo, it is the foundation for everything else – reforms, growth, and progress on the European path”.
“We have seen recently that dialogue between political parties is possible, and you should build on it”, President of the EC stated at the joint press conference with Kurti.
She reminded that the EU has been among the main supporters of Kosovo, stressing that it can receive a total of 882 million euros from the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, Koha ditore reported.
Ursula von der Leyen also called on Kosovo to implement reforms, “move quickly and make the institutions fully functional”.
“The Growth Plan can take you closer to the Single Market and you need to seize this opportunity… The aspiration for EU membership must be transformed into concrete progress. I believe in the future of Kosovo in the EU and I know how deeply Europeans the people of Kosovo feel. Our task is to transform this aspiration into concrete progress towards the membership”, she underlined.
Speaking about the verdict against four former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army delivered by Kosovo Specialist Chambers in the Hague, President of the EC remarked that the “sentence is individual”, and that “Kosovo has not been on a trial”.
“The judgment is delivered by an independent judicial institution and its mandate must be respected. The defense has the right to appeal. This judgment relates to individual responsibility, the population of Kosovo was not on trial and we must respect the memory of all victims for all communities in Kosovo. Memory must remain a part of the past and move towards reconciliation”, she noted.
Albin Kurti asked Ursula von der Leyen to support the granting of candidate country status for Kosovo and to call for the European Council to seek the opinion of the European Commission on Kosovo’s application.
According to him, Kosovo meets the criteria for the status of a candidate country and for the opening of accession negotiations.
“The progress of the country is also evidence in the annual reports of the European Commission”, Kurti stated, it was reported by Koha ditore.
In addition, President of the EC met with Albulena Haxhiu, Acting President of Kosovo. According to Haxhiu, “Kosovo’s progress deserves concrete steps towards EU membership”.
