Kurti: Serbia must implement the Berlin Process agreement on diploma recognition

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has called on all countries participating in the Berlin Process to implement the agreements reached, emphasizing Serbia’s responsibility, including the implementation of the agreement on diploma recognition.

Kurti made the statement in Sveti Stefan, Montenegro, where he is attending the Berlin Process Summit, held on October 22.

According to the prime minister, Kosovo has fulfilled its commitments, having ratified all the agreements reached through this process.

“Kosovo has ratified all the Berlin Process agreements, including the one on diploma recognition. All parties must implement them, including our northern neighbor, Serbia,” Kurti wrote on Facebook.

He made the comment after meeting European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, the first meeting Kurti held on the sidelines of the summit. During the talks, he asked the European Commission to proactively support Kosovo’s efforts to obtain candidate country status and launch negotiations for membership in the European Union.

On November 3, 2022, the agreement on the recognition of higher education qualifications was signed at the Berlin Process Summit in Berlin. At the same time, agreements were also signed on visa-free travel with identity cards and on the recognition of the professional qualifications of doctors, dentists and architects. The agreements were reached after nearly two years of talks among the six Western Balkan countries.

Kosovo’s Assembly ratified the three agreements in February 2023, while Serbia’s Assembly did the same on April 28 of that year. With the ratification, both states formally assumed the obligations; Kurti’s demand concerns their concrete implementation.

The recognition of diplomas between Kosovo and Serbia has remained an unresolved issue for years. In the dialogue mediated by Brussels, the parties agreed on two agreements, in 2011 and 2016 respectively. Earlier reports indicated that the 2016 agreement was not implemented and the certification of diplomas was suspended.