Strasbourg, France, March 15, 2023
The next meeting in Strasbourg was held by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, with the Spanish MEP from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), at the same time the Chairman of the LIBE Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Internal Affairs in the Parliament European, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar.
The topics of discussion were the latest developments, the two-year government, reforms in the justice system, and the rule of law and the liberalization of visas for citizens of Kosovo. Prime Minister Kurti expressed his gratitude for the support that the LIBE Committee has given Kosovo so far for removing the visa regime, support that he hopes to receive in the next vote in this committee, and said that after last week’s decision of the Council of The European Union expects that the European Parliament will soon hold the last two votes within this process.
Speaking about the two-year government, Prime Minister Kurti, in addition to internal assessments, referred to international reports, including that of the European Union, which are proving the improvements and progress in the economic and democratic plane of the country. Last year’s EU Country Report was the best ever for Kosovo. According to the World Justice Project, for the second year in a row, Kosovo is ranked first in the Western Balkans in terms of the rule of law, while in 2022 it was ranked second in the world in terms of annual improvement. While last week the report for this year by Freedom House ranked Kosovo the first in the Balkans, the second in Europe and the third in the world in terms of improvement in political rights and civil liberties, at a time that for the 17th year with liberties at the global level have declined.
MEP Aguilar expressed his support for Kosovo’s application to the Council of Europe and the European Union, as well as for the conclusion of the visa liberalization process by the European Parliament, so that citizens of Kosovo can travel freely without visas in the Schengen area from 1 January next year.
In this meeting, Prime Minister Kurti was accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Kreshnik Ahmeti, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo in Brussels, Agron Bajrami and the two advisers of the First Deputy Prime Minister, Fatmir Curri and Sebastien Gricourt
Last modified: March 15, 2023