New York, 24 September 2026
As part of the High-Level Week of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo Albin Kurti attended a lunch hosted by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, with the leaders of the Western Balkans.
Full statement by Prime Minister Kurti:
Yesterday, in New York, I attended a lunch hosted by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, with the leaders of the Western Balkans.
Candidate status for EU membership, without further delay, would not only be a deserved response by the European Union to Kosovo’s commitment to democratic values and its clear Euro-Atlantic strategic orientation, but would also serve as an incentive for us to further strengthen our commitment to reforms and development.
Keeping the application submitted in December 2022 in Prague on hold, while we are fully aligned with the EU’s foreign and security policy and have made significant progress in almost all areas, would not only constitute an injustice towards the Republic of Kosovo, but would also encourage destabilizing actors in the region and beyond.
The Republic of Kosovo should not and cannot remain hostage to its northern neighbour, a state that protects and rewards criminals of this century and glorifies others who committed crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide at the end of the last century, during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. It also denies and conceals these crimes and refuses to cooperate in uncovering the truth about persons forcibly disappeared, thereby obstructing justice. At the same time, it continues to violate the rights of Albanians in the Presheva Valley and carry out administrative ethnic cleansing against them.
