During the plenary session of the Berlin Process Summit in Montenegro, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Serbia had adopted the same approach toward Kosovo that Russia uses against European countries. He referred to the terrorist attack in Banjska and the explosion at the Ibër-Lepenc canal, calling for Kosovo to be granted candidate country status and for negotiations on EU membership to begin.
Kurti later published his full speech on Facebook, emphasizing that Kosovo had fulfilled all the obligations that depended on it. The next step, he said, is now the responsibility of EU member states.
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“Assess us on the basis of the requirements the EU has for a candidate country”
The prime minister recalled that Kosovo’s application for membership, submitted in December 2022, has still received no response, and that Kosovo remains the only Western Balkan state without candidate country status.
“We ask you to make a decision, request the Commission’s opinion, grant Kosovo candidate country status and open membership negotiations,” Kurti told the leaders.
He said Kosovo respects the principles set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. He also referred to independent assessments that rank Kosovo among the countries with the greatest democratic progress in Southern Europe, including in the fight against corruption and the strengthening of the rule of law. On foreign policy, Kurti stressed that Kosovo acts like an EU member state, having implemented all European sanctions against Russia from day one.
Banjska, Ibër-Lepenc and Radoičić
A significant part of the speech focused on security threats. Kurti said that, in addition to its war in Ukraine, Russia is targeting Europe’s airspace, undersea cables, critical infrastructure and citizens through limited and denied attacks designed to remain below the threshold that would trigger a joint response.
“In Kosovo, a neighboring state has used the same methods and pursued the same objectives against our country,” he said.
Kurti noted that last month marked three years since the terrorist attack in Banjska, in which Kosovo Police Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed. He added that next month will mark two years since the explosion at the Ibër-Lepenc water supply canal in the village of Varagë. Milan Radoičić, who has accepted responsibility for the events in Banjska, remains free and appears in public, he said, under the protection of the same state apparatus.
“An attack on a European democracy is an attack on all of Europe and demands a collective response,” Kurti stressed. He added that NATO membership would also strengthen deterrence for Kosovo.
Diplomas still being blocked
The prime minister also spoke about the Berlin Process agreements signed by the six countries in 2022, concerning the recognition of diplomas and travel using identity cards. He said that even after four years, some states continue to block the agreements for Kosovo because they contain European Union standards.
“No one can be forced to love the European Union, but no one should have the right to make the path harder for those who do,” he said.
A call for the Preševo Valley
In closing, Kurti called for the Berlin Process to adopt a common approach to minority rights. He said that almost every majority community in the region is a minority across the border. In this context, he urged leaders to carefully consider the situation in the Preševo Valley, where, he said, Albanians are gradually being pushed out of institutions and public life, facing conditions that make staying much harder than leaving.
Kurti opened his speech by congratulating Montenegro on its progress toward the European Union. He also mentioned several benefits of gradual integration, including SEPA, which he said would save citizens and the diaspora 58 million euros every year; “Green Lanes” to facilitate trade with the EU; and “Roam Like at Home,” under which mobile internet use would cost the same in the EU and Kosovo.
