Prishtinë, 7 maj 2026
Kryeministri në detyrë i Republikës së Kosovës, Albin Kurti, mori pjesë në pritjen e organizuar nga Zyra e Bashkimit Evropian në Kosovë, për shënimin e Ditës së Evropës.
Fjala e plotë e kryeministrit në detyrë Kurti:
Excellencies Fatmir Sejdiu and Atifete Jahjaga, former Presidents of the Republic of Kosova,
Dear Ms. Eva Palatova, Head of the European Union Office in Kosova,
Honorable ministers,
Dear former and future Members of Parliament,
Excellency ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic missions in Kosova,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,
I apologize that I will have to repeat a lot of things from what Eva has just said, but this is a direct consequence of the lack of coordination.
It is a privilege to mark Europe Day alongside the ambassadors and representatives of the European Union and of the wider European family.
In his declaration, Schuman spoke of Europe as a whole. Not as a selective club of nations, but as a continent of peoples. He famously said that “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.”
What followed was the Treaty of Paris in 1951, which established the European Coal and Steel Community. From the Treaty of Paris to the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992 — which gave birth to the European Union — and the Treaty of Lisbon, which gave the EU a single legal personality, the European project has reached one milestone after another. Just as Schuman had predicted. Concrete achievements brought and increased solidarity.
More than eighty years have passed since the end of the Second World War, and more than seventy-five since the European Convention on Human Rights. Europe has rarely been more prosperous than nowadays.
The founders of the European Union knew that for Europe to be wealthy and secure, there had to be common institutions and shared values. Common institutions would foster cooperation, and cooperation would make conflict less possible. That vision has prevailed.
The European Union is Europe’s largest and most successful peace project. And as such, it must be both protected and defended.
It is for the values and the standards that the European Union represents that soldiers are fighting and willing to die in Ukraine.
The undaunted determination of the Ukrainian people to fight for European values, and to become a member of the European Union, is the strongest reminder of what the EU stands for. We must not forget this. And we must help Ukraine succeed, because their success is our success, and their victory is our victory.
And just as Ukraine looks to Europe as its destination, so do we.
For Kosova, the European Union is not a distant reality or a set of standards to be met. It is the natural home of our society, the framework of our reforms, and the future of our citizens that has already been chosen.
More than 80% of our citizens support European Union membership, one of the highest support rates anywhere in Europe.
We have made significant progress on our path. We have one of the strongest rates of economic growth in Southeastern Europe and the strongest in the Western Balkans.
We are a frontrunner when it comes to democratic advancement, 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 merits recognition on our path to joining the European Union.
After a decade of waiting, we now enjoy visa liberalization, and we took the historic decision of applying for membership in the European Union on 15th of December 2022.
We are part of the Growth Plan, where we are making every effort to implement each step. We do face some challenges here, as you well know — with laws that still need to be passed by the Assembly.
Last month, on 15th of April, we marked forty months since I handed over our application for membership in Prague. I believe the EU must work together to deliver on Kosova’s candidate status and the opening of accession negotiations. There must be unity of engagement in the EU so that Kosova is not left behind.
In the meantime, while we wait for the EU’s decision, we are taking concrete steps to ensure that no time is lost on our end.
We will work closely with Albania, and with Montenegro, to learn from their experience as they are ahead of us in the process.
- First, we will begin preparing our answers to the thousands of pages of the Questionnaire and we will prepare them with the Screening process in mind.
- And secondly, we will also prepare for setting up the inter-institutional negotiating structures, in order to save years of preparation.
EU’s promise is enlargement. Our promise is reforms. We can and should deliver on both. This is a shared responsibility.
And let me also recall an interesting and important book. In 1939 just before the Second World War started, Fan Noli, who used to be Prime Minister of Albania for six months 1924, defended his dissertation called “Beethoven and French Revolution”. Very interesting and important book. I was thinking of it while standing still and listening to “Ode to joy”. To all of you who don’t have this book or cannot find it, you can count on me. And, I would send it to you the PDF version if it wouldn’t have been for copyright issues.
Thank you. And happy Europe’s Day!
