Prishtina, 6 October 2025
The Acting First Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Development and Dialogue of the Republic of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, welcomed in a meeting the Austrian Minister for Europe, Integration and Family, Claudia Plakolm, and the Slovenian State Secretary for European Affairs, International Law, Protection of Interests and Economic Diplomacy, Neva Grašič.
While extending a warm welcome to them, the Deputy Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to Austria and Slovenia for their strong and continuous partnership, as well as their support, particularly on Kosovo’s path toward European integration.
In continuation, the Deputy Prime Minister spoke about the country’s economic development and democratic progress over the past four years. He emphasized that the average economic growth during this government’s mandate has been the highest in the region, along with a reduction of unemployment from 23.8% to 10.9%, redistributive policies including allowances for new mothers and children, increases in pensions, the minimum wage, and the implementation of reforms such as the program for preventing and reducing the administrative burden, as well as significant advancement on the European integration path, including visa liberalization and Kosovo’s application for EU membership, with the objective of obtaining candidate country status.
Regarding this latter point, the Deputy Prime Minister stressed that Kosovo’s progress and macroeconomic indicators serve as a reflection of the country’s development and as evidence to the European Union that our country deserves to take further steps forward on its path toward European integration.
The meeting also included discussions on the Growth Plan, the Berlin Process, EU enlargement, the dialogue process, the security situation in the region, and the need for the complete removal of the EU’s measures against Kosovo.
