Montenegro, 22 October 2026
On the sidelines of the Berlin Process Leaders’ Summit in Montenegro, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, met with Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Thomas Byrne.
Thanking him for Ireland’s continued support for Kosovo and its contribution to security through KFOR, Prime Minister Kurti said that more than 3,000 members of the Irish Defence Forces had served in Kosovo since 1999, while, earlier, more than 1,000 Albanian refugees from the Kosovo war had found shelter in Ireland.
He added that the Republic of Kosovo continued to work with its partners to translate its democratic progress and commitment to Europe into concrete steps towards membership of the European Union.
In this regard, they discussed the necessary progress Kosovo needs to make on this path. The Prime Minister said that “November is an important month, and we expect the European Commission’s Report to reflect the progress achieved and for this progress to take concrete shape through the receipt of the European Commission’s questionnaire.”
