Daniel Serwer after his stay in Kosovo: After NATO, the country should move without delay toward the EU

American professor Daniel Serwer visited Kosovo last week as part of the commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary.

In a reaction for the newspaper “Bota sot,” he said that his attention during this period had not been focused only on the Balkans, but also on developments in the United States itself.

Commenting on the political situation in Kosovo, Serwer believes that compromise remains difficult, as the opposition fears that Albin Kurti aims to make constitutional changes.

“The country has been forced to hold three elections in less than 16 months. There is still no new president, nor a government with a full mandate. Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the Vetëvendosje Movement — in power since 2020 — have enough seats, together with representatives of minority communities, to secure the necessary majority in the Assembly. However, electing the president requires a two-thirds majority of votes. The fragmented opposition is not ready to support the candidates proposed by Kurti. It is unclear whether the opposition can agree on a candidate of its own, or whether the prime minister would support an opposition candidate if that were to happen. He may prefer to take the country to a fourth election. Such a move would risk voter dissatisfaction. Turnout in the most recent election was lower, as was support for Kurti. The population wants politicians to get on with their work. Political polarization is making this increasingly difficult. The opposition fears that Kurti intends to change the Constitution, including the provisions on minority rights, which it believes he does not like. It also thinks that he has acted in an authoritarian, even anti-American, manner in handling certain issues. This makes compromise even more difficult,” Serwer said.

As for the economy, the professor says Kurti’s time in government has been relatively favorable.

According to him, the prime minister aims to increase production from renewable sources and expand energy storage capacities, while at the same time seeking to modernize existing power plants and gasify lignite.

“Kurti’s years in power have been relatively prosperous, as he has benefited from the economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also managed to improve Kosovo’s ranking in several rule of law indexes, including Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, even though Kosovo lost one point in 2025. However, he distributed additional payments to pensioners and other categories shortly before the election. Although the beneficiaries were mainly lower-income groups, vote-buying harms democracy. Kosovo, though a small country, faces major challenges in the energy sector. It imports a considerable share of its electricity. Domestic power plants use lignite, an abundant local resource, but one that causes severe air pollution. Kurti aims to increase production from renewable sources and energy storage capacity, but he also wants to modernize existing power plants and gasify lignite. So far, he has rejected imports of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) through an extension of the pipeline from North Macedonia. This has caused controversy, as the Trump administration is trying to use gas supply as a geopolitical issue. Kurti argues that importing electricity from an American LNG power plant in Vlora, Albania, is sufficient. However, this represents only a small portion of the amount of LNG that could be imported through Skopje. The issue of price has been overshadowed in the public debate. American LNG is expensive. Gasifying lignite is also costly and creates byproducts that will not be easy to manage. If all conditions were equal, it would be desirable for Kosovo to import American LNG, but it is not clear whether those conditions are truly equal. Lignite has the advantage of being a domestic resource. But is it cheaper than LNG after the gasification process? The prime minister refers to the current energy plans as the plans of the Minister of Economy. Perhaps this suggests there is willingness to reconsider them,” the professor said.

On the country’s social situation, Serwer underlines that Kosovo is experiencing a major construction boom, while trade and services have become significantly more modern.

“It is difficult to understand the condition of a society during a short visit. Nevertheless, some things are obvious.

Kosovo is undergoing a major construction wave, financed largely by diaspora money. The country has seen many of its citizens emigrate — perhaps around one-third of them live abroad. Some of them continue to send euros to Kosovo. That is a positive sign. However, public infrastructure has lagged behind — the country needs more highways and railways. Shops and the service sector have modernized significantly in the nearly twenty years since independence. There are many quality restaurants, hotels, shopping centers, banks and cafes, not to mention Mercedes dealerships and Chinese electric vehicles,” Serwer said.

He describes healthcare as a problematic sector, while adding that interethnic incidents remain rare.

“Healthcare remains problematic — Kosovo does not have a health insurance system. Most citizens rely on the public system, while those with the financial means are treated in the private sector and private hospitals. Interethnic crimes are rare. According to the American military forces deployed in Kosovo, Serbs and other minorities move freely throughout the country. However, I have been told that in both the Serbian and Albanian communities, harsh statements against ‘the other side’ are common. Political tensions remain high, especially in North Mitrovica, not least because of Belgrade’s influence,” the professor stressed.

In conclusion, Serwer says Kosovo is in a clearly better situation than before and that the possibilities for improvement remain encouraging.

According to him, the next decisive step is membership in NATO, while Americans must persuade the four alliance member states that still do not recognize Kosovo to accept it.

After that, Serwer stresses, there should not be a long delay before membership in the European Union.

“Things could be better in Kosovo. The country could have a government with a full mandate that does not buy votes. Citizens could enjoy faster economic growth and more investment in public infrastructure. More could be done to promote understanding and cooperation between Serbs and Albanians. Politicians could cooperate in order to provide citizens with the best possible services. Belgrade, too, could be less hostile. Nevertheless, the situation is clearly better than in the past and the prospects for improvement are positive. The next vital step is NATO membership, for which the Kosovo Security Force is expected to be ready in 2028. Americans will need to persuade the four NATO member countries that still do not recognize Kosovo to accept it. Membership in the European Union should not be delayed much longer after that, provided that the next government seriously commits to implementing legislation harmonized with the EU, which the Assembly has already approved. With membership in NATO and the EU, Kosovo will not care much about the lack of UN membership, which is not expected to happen until Russia and Serbia experience a democratic revival, something that today is difficult to imagine,” the professor concluded.