Dublin, 12 November 2026
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, was welcomed by Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the opening of the European Political Community (EPC) meeting in Dublin.
Opening Statement by Prime Minister Kurti to the Media:
Good morning,
I am very happy to be back in Dublin after three and a half years. I would like to thank Taoiseach Micheál Martin for the invitation and warm welcome.
Ireland is an outstanding success story of European integration and membership. The Republic of Kosovo also aspires to join the European Union and NATO, but to get there, we first need to obtain candidate country status and open accession negotiations. We are counting on the Irish Presidency. We would also like to thank the people of Ireland for taking in more than one thousand Kosovar Albanian refugees in 1999, when they were expelled from their homeland as a result of the genocide committed by the armed forces of Milošević’s Serbia and Yugoslavia.
I would also like to thank the Irish soldiers and officers who have served in KFOR over the past more than two and a half decades, helping to ensure peace, security and protection for all the citizens of my country.
The European Union and NATO are indispensable organisations for democracy, prosperity and overall security.
Thank you very much!
…
It is very important for leaders to come together, discuss and harmonize their positions at a time when Russian aggression in Ukraine is continuing and, through kinetic warfare, attacks on critical infrastructure and hybrid warfare, is extending beyond Ukraine. So, I think the EPC is helpful because it brings leaders together and allows them to join forces!
Thank you!
