Prishtina, 26 March, 2024
In the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, the first Session of the 11th Meeting of the EU-Kosovo Association Stabilization Parliamentary Commission was held today. In this meeting, the First Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Development and Dialogue, Besnik Bislimi, together with the Speaker of the Assembly, Glauk Konjufca, the Minister for Communities and Returns, Nenad Rashiq, the representative from the EU office in Kosovo, AnnaCarin Platon, participated in this meeting, MP and chair of the Parliamentary Committee for Stabilization-Association, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, as well as the co-chairman of this committee, at the same time MEP, Lukas Mandl.
Deputy Prime Minister Bislimi, in his speech, emphasized that “the Republic of Kosovo highly appreciates the resolutions and continuous calls of the European Parliament for the recognition of Kosovo by the 5 non-recognizing states, for the recognition of the progress that Kosovo has achieved in the deep political and economic reforms, which are related to our European integration, for making the decision on visa liberalization for our citizens, for welcoming our application for membership in the European Union, for supporting our application to the Council of Europe, for calling on the European Commission to remove the measures restrictive, even for the punishment of the aggressive and terrorist attack in Banjska in the harshest terms. For all this, we are deeply grateful.”
Among other things, he added that Kosovo belongs to the European Union and we are working every day to make this a reality as soon as possible, not only as a political position, but also as the position and will of the country’s citizens.
The complete speech of Deputy Prime Minister Bislimi, at the 11th meeting of the Parliamentary Committee for Stabilization and Association:
Honorable Speaker Mr. Konjufca,
Honorable co-chairs of the EU-Kosovo Stabilization-Association Parliamentary Committee, Mrs. Kusari-Lila and Mr. Mandel,
Dear Minister Rashiq,
Dear Ms. Platon,
Dear representatives from the Presidency of the Republic of Kosovo,
Dear members of the Joint Commission, and present,
It is a pleasure to be present today at the joint meeting of the Parliamentary Committee for Stabilization and Association, where I first express my thanks to you as members of this Committee, and also to the European Parliament as an institution that has always reflected the situation in the Western Balkans region with marked accuracy and objectivity.
The Republic of Kosovo highly appreciates the resolutions and continuous calls of the European Parliament for the recognition of Kosovo by the 5 non-recognizing states, for the recognition of the progress that Kosovo has achieved in the deep political and economic reforms, which are related to our European integration, for obtaining the decision to liberalize visas for our citizens, to welcome our application for membership in the European Union, to support our application to the Council of Europe, to call on the European Commission to remove restrictive measures, and to condemn the aggressive and terrorist attack in Bathing in the harshest terms. For all this, we are deeply grateful.
We believe that Kosovo belongs to the European Union and we work every day to make this a reality as soon as possible. This does not only reflect the political position of the Government, but also the position held by each citizen in our Republic, with a massive support for the European integration of Kosovo with over 94%. We as the Government have dedicated ourselves to this support, having the fastest growth of all democratic and economic indicators in the region, such as: justice, media freedom, and good governance, perception of the fight against corruption, increase in budget revenues, increase economic, employment, formalization and many others.
We have unconditionally joined the Western world’s sanctions against Russia following their aggression against the freedom-loving people of Ukraine. We have been continuously engaged in regional cooperation within the Berlin process, and now we will continue to be equally engaged in the Growth Plan of the European Commission for reforms and for the removal of trade barriers between the countries of the region. So, despite all the difficulties and obstacles that we have before us, Kosovo is still making progress.
However, our country does not operate in a vacuum. Kosovo operates in an environment where for the protection and progress of democracy, support is required from the citizens, from the states in the region, as well as solidarity and unwavering support from the international community. Democracy should never be taken for granted, especially now when we see that it is put in danger by autocrats and their regimes. Therefore, democratic progress must be supported even more vigorously by the transatlantic society for the countries where it exists.
Democratic progress, for us, first of all, means membership in international organizations of strategic importance. Membership in the Council of Europe, where we applied on May 12, 2022; and for which a few days ago the recommendation was given by the rapporteur herself to invite Kosovo to become a member of the Council of Europe.
Membership in the NATO Partnership for Peace, where on the 25th anniversary of NATO’s intervention in Kosovo, i.e. on March 24, the Permanent Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly invited the Parliament of Kosovo to become associate member.
Membership in the EU, for which we applied on December 15, 2022, and for which, unfortunately, no step forward has yet been taken and the application has not yet entered the agenda of the European Council. Kosovo remains the only country in the Western Balkans without candidate status for EU membership. We believe that the treatment of Kosovo’s application is possible and above all deserved. There is no technical problem to send the questionnaire to Kosovo, so that our institutional, legal and administrative capacities can be evaluated. Not being recognized by 5 countries was not a problem for signing the SAA, nor for making the decision on visas. Such will and the same wording should be used in this case by the Council of the EU and our institutions and especially our coordinating structures of European integration will be ready to answer this questionnaire, the results of which we are then convinced that they will manage to bring us the recommendation for the status of the candidate country.
Moreover, in the current geopolitical constellation and the current security situation on the European continent, the 5 non-recognizing states of Kosovo should undertake an important turning point to recognize our state, thus actively contributing to maintaining peace in the Balkans Western and throughout Europe.
Every democratic country within the EU and the Council of Europe, and every individual who knows the Western Balkan region at all, knows that Kosovo is one of the most democratic countries in the region and that our constitution is the most advanced in Europe in terms of protection of the rights of minorities or non-majority communities. However, the lack of progress in Kosovo’s membership in these organizations is not caused by the factor of the quality of democracy or the factor of the protection of human and minority rights, but by real factors beyond our control, which in this case is the behavior of an authoritarian regime around us.
In this spirit, any improvement and reform such as: the average economic growth per capita, which was 6.2% in the past three years, the doubling of exports and foreign direct investments, the improvement in all democratic and human rights indicators, the steps taken towards regional integration, as well as any other achievements of the Republic of Kosovo will have little importance for Kosovo’s position internationally if this pace and this unfair dynamic will continue.
The response of the European Union and NATO to security threats in the eastern region of Europe has been very clear: NATO integration for Finland and Sweden, candidate status for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, and recently the opening of negotiations for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We welcome all these steps of the European Union and NATO. Thus, the security threat to the Western Balkans should be treated in the same way and very simply. So should:
1. Remove the restrictive, and already absurd, measures towards Kosovo
2. As soon as possible, Kosovo should receive the status of a candidate for the EU and
3. We need membership in the Council of Europe.
At the very end, let me emphasize that amidst the political fog, it is very important that there are voices that echo the reality and demand measures that guarantee security and peace, so that our states and democracies are protected and have optimal conditions for development . This is the role many of you play in your daily life, so I thank you for what you do each day. You will always enjoy our support to work towards peace, security, and democracy, not only in the region but also throughout Europe.
Thank you very much once again and I wish you successful work.
Last modified: March 27, 2024