8 and 9 May 2008, Slovenia
Your Excellencies;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
First of all I would like to thank the organizers, the Westdeutscher Rundfunk, for the invitation to attend such a respected forum on Europe. In addition, I want to thank the European Commission and the European Parliament for supporting this event. It is indeed a pleasure to be here among such a distinguished group of people who share one common goal and vision, that of a united, peaceful and prosperous Europe.
As Prime Minister of the newly independent Republic of Kosovo, I have the special honour to be able to use this podium to thank all of you who are present and all those that are not present today for your contribution for peace, stability and democracy in Kosovo and the region.
As a final act of the violent break up of the former Yugoslavia, the independence of Kosovo, which has already been recognized by the majority of EU member states, NATO and UN Security Council members, has produced clarity and stability for the region and is strongly rooted in European values, of tolerance, respect for minority rights, rule of law, which we share and cherish.
These same values were enshrined in President Martti Ahtisaari’s Comprehensive Proposal for the Status of Kosovo which we have embraced and accepted in full and which contains, both in spirit and letter, provisions of the highest international and European standards for the protection of community rights, in particular the Serb community.
We have also codified it in our laws and in our new Constitution and we are determined to implement it in full and without delay especially in the areas such as decentralization, affirmative action, property rights and favorable representation in the government for the Serbs. We have taken genuine steps towards democratic, accountable and multiethnic governance.
Dear friends:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am proud to lead a Government which is both professional and multiethnic: two ministers of my Cabinet are from the Serb community and one from the Turkish community including deputy ministers from almost all communities. I have recently established an Office of Community Affairs which will report directly to me and will be a one stop shop to deal with the day to day problems of the minority communities.
The main challenges before us now are to integrate all communities into the institutions and society as well as to put Kosovo on a sound economic basis that would attract much needed foreign direct investments, which in turn will offer jobs and decent living conditions for all communities in Kosovo.
We welcome and encourage investors from the Europe to come and invest in Kosovo.
To this end, the priorities of my Government are to establishing a solid legal framework, strengthening rule of law and fighting organized crime and corruption.
Promoting open borders and free flow of goods, capital and labor will also be a priority of my government. We want our citizens to be free to travel and trade, first regionally, and later within the EU borders. In the new Kosovo no citizen will feel discriminated. Kosovo is home to all its people.
As an aspiring member of the EU, we are committed to maintaining good relations with all our neighbours: Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and hopefully Serbia in the near future. There will be no changing of borders or partition of Kosovo.
We are already working towards regional cooperation and integration in all sectors. We consider that it is time for Kosovo to be a modern European state and we are working very hard to achieve this aim.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The UN Mission has done a good job in helping build democratic institutions after the war in 1999. Now it is time to move to a new phase.On June 15, the new Constitution of Kosovo will enter into force. It is a modern Constitution written with the highest standards of human rights and democratic governance in mind.
The time has come for us, the people and Government of Kosovo, to run our own affairs and be in charge of our own fate. But that is the only way we can grow up as a mature state and a responsible member of the family of free nations.
The international community is welcome to supervise and monitor our progress. Our destination is the European Union and EU has capacity to open the door for us and other European countries who share same values. De facto Kosovo even today feels as part of EU and NATO. This is why we have invited the EU to send a rule of law mission to support and assist us in building up our country. We are counting heavily on EU’s support to help us mount Kosovo on a foundation built in the rule of law. Europe is present in Kosovo since and it will remain. We welcome their presence but the time is coming for Kosovo and others to join EU family and be present in Europe. With Kosovo becoming an EU member, Europe will get more values.
What we need is domestic economic, social development and regional integration in the spirit of EU integration. Europe has spoken with one voice for Kosovo. This makes the role of the EU in Kosovo and in entire region indispensable. I say this openly and on behalf of the Kosovo citizens who strongly endorse Kosovo’s European future.
Our population is young and entrepreneurial. We are already investing in education. We want to train our youth to take an active part in the global economy. Our youth today is our future, tomorrow it will be Europe’s future. I hope that with the help of Europe and other international partners, we can set-up appropriate facilities in Kosovo to train and harness this potential.
Your Excellencies:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Kosovo is a success story not only for kosovars but for the international community, too. One cannot not imagine the progress made so far without the role that the European Union has played in the Balkans and in particular in Kosovo in the last decades. Billions of Euros in aid and reconstruction and thousands of soldiers, police officers and civilian experts have been crucial to restoring peace as well as to building the foundations for democratic institutions and economic development.
Now it is time to stand on our feet and prove that we can live up to the expectations of the democratic world. The EU’s political, economic and security presence in the region is of fundamental importance in order to build on the progress we have made together until such time as it absorbs the remaining countries of the Balkans into its own structures.
The much needed reforms, sometimes painful ones, can only carried out if they are built in the framework of the European perspective. However, there is no alternative for Kosovo and the region. We are part of Europe. Only by working together we can build a bright future for us and the generations to come.
Thank you!
Last modified: July 31, 2022