Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has called on the European Union to advance Kosovo’s integration process by taking a decision on the country’s candidate status and launching accession negotiations. He also warned that the attacks in Banjska and on the Iber-Lepenc canal pose a risk to European security.
Sveti Stefan, Montenegro, October 22, 2026 – Speaking at the plenary session of the 13th Berlin Process Summit, which is being held in Montenegro, Kurti said that Kosovo had fulfilled the responsibilities that depended on it. He recalled that its application for EU membership, submitted in December 2022, had still not received a decision from the European institutions.
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The head of Kosovo’s government called on European leaders to ask the European Commission to issue its opinion on Kosovo’s application, grant the country candidate status and open accession negotiations.
Kurti praised the role of the Berlin Process, launched by Germany in 2014, in strengthening regional cooperation and establishing the Common Regional Market, which is based on the European Union’s four freedoms.
Among the benefits of gradual integration, he listed the SEPA payment system, green corridors aimed at facilitating trade with the EU, and the “Roam Like at Home” initiative, which seeks to reduce communication costs for citizens while traveling.
According to him, the use of SEPA is expected to enable Kosovo’s citizens and diaspora to save around 58 million euros annually.
The prime minister called for Kosovo to be assessed on the basis of the criteria the EU sets for candidate countries. In this context, he cited democratic progress, the fight against corruption and the rule of law.
He stressed that Kosovo’s foreign policy had been aligned with that of the European Union and that the country had implemented all EU sanctions against Russia since they were introduced.
Kurti: Attacks on Kosovo require a joint European response
Security and attacks on critical infrastructure featured prominently in Kurti’s speech. He warned that destabilizing actions against European democracies pose a threat to collective security.
Kurti referred to the September 24, 2023, terrorist attack in Banjska, in which Kosovo Police Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed, as well as the explosion at the Iber-Lepenc water canal in Varagë in November 2024.
According to the prime minister, these two incidents are part of a pattern of actions aimed at damaging the state of Kosovo and its critical infrastructure.
He also mentioned Milan Radoičić, who has taken responsibility for organizing the attack in Banjska and who, according to Kurti, remains free in Serbia.
“An attack on a European democracy is an attack on all of Europe and deserves a collective response, because a response developed on a case-by-case basis does not constitute deterrence,” Kurti said.
He added that Kosovo’s membership in NATO would create a deterrence mechanism in the face of security threats.
During his speech, the prime minister also raised concerns about Russia’s actions against European infrastructure. He mentioned airspace, undersea cables, critical infrastructure and attacks that, according to him, are aimed at weakening the security of European countries.
Kurti calls for attention to Albanians in the Preševo Valley
Kurti called for the protection of minority rights to be addressed as a common issue within the framework of the Berlin Process.
He said that many communities that are majorities in one state constitute minorities in neighboring states, and stressed that guaranteeing their rights should not be limited by state borders.
As an example, the prime minister singled out the Preševo Valley, claiming that the area’s Albanians are gradually being excluded from institutional, public and civic life.
“I urge you to take a close look at the Preševo Valley, where Albanians are being pushed, step by step, out of institutional, public and civic life, until staying becomes more difficult than leaving,” Kurti said.
Concluding his address, he stated that human dignity and human rights should be among the main principles uniting the countries of the Western Balkans with their European partners.
The 13th Berlin Process Summit is being held on October 22, 2026, in Montenegro, with the participation of representatives of the Western Balkan countries and the European Union. The meeting is taking place as part of efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and advance European integration.
