The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said that the European Commission is ready to prepare the opinion on the candidate status for Kosovo and to remove the measures, but for this, unanimity is needed in the Council. Von der Leyen said this while answering the question about the criticism expressed by the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, for the unequal treatment of Kosovo by the EU and why Kosovo has been left with punitive measures and without candidate status. .
“We are ready to start the process, but we need an invitation from the Council to issue an opinion. We are working to get this and we are ready. The same applies to measures. We are absolutely ready to remove the measures, but even here we need the unanimity of the member countries, which we don’t have now, but we are working hard to get it because it is important that Kosovo also moves forward”, Von der said. Leyen adding that “it is important to make sure that the money is not lost”.
“So full support for Kosovo, but you see that this is a process that we have to go through, taking into account unanimity”, she said further.
Von der Leyen has added that countries aspiring to join the European Union must prepare for the responsibilities of membership, and on the other hand, the EU must also accommodate a larger family.
“We have to face the new reality. The new reality is that it is not enough to simply leave the door open for aspiring members, but we must be active and actively reach out to them. We will continue to work on two priorities with our Western Balkan partners, one is the admission to the EU and the other is the gradual integration into our common market”, she said at the press conference after the EU – Western Balkans Summit.
Meanwhile, the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, said that the states of the Western Balkans were in line with the joint declaration issued after the summit. He emphasized that the Western Balkans have their place in the EU.
“There is no other region in the world where the EU has invested so many resources, financial, human and expertise. The EU is already the largest economic partner and investor in the Western Balkans. It is and will remain the most stable partner in the future. We all know that some challenges remain. Bilateral disputes and neighborhood dilemmas still need to be addressed. We must stay focused on credible and sustainable reforms, and admission will be based on merit,” said Costa. Costa added that the new momentum should be used “to create the necessary conditions for expansion, because there is no doubt that the future of the Western Balkans is in the EU”.