Kurti tells Le Monde Slovakia is the strongest opponent of Kosovo’s EU integration

In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Pristina aims to join the European Union through a fair, merit-based process. He identified Slovakia as the country most strongly resisting Kosovo’s European progress.

Kurti opened the conversation, held in Paris on Tuesday, November 10, by saying that Russian aggression against Ukraine is bringing history back onto the global stage with a force not seen before this century. Le Monde described the 51-year-old, who has served as prime minister since 2021, as calm and showing no signs of nervousness.

During his three-day stay in Paris, Kurti will attend the ninth Paris Peace Forum. His agenda also includes two meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron: a one-on-one conversation at the Élysée Palace and, on Wednesday, a meeting with delegations from both countries.

Kosovo has not yet been granted EU candidate status. Five EU member states do not recognize its independence: Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Slovakia. Kurti said the strongest opposition comes from Slovakia. According to Le Monde, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico makes no secret of his ideological affinity with Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The newspaper also notes that Fico recently appeared alongside Aleksandar Vučić during the campaign for Serbia’s October parliamentary elections.

According to Kurti, Kosovo is the only European country committed to enlargement that has not yet received candidate status. After visa liberalization for the Schengen Area three years ago, Pristina aims to move on to the next stage without seeking special treatment.

“We are not asking for shortcuts, fast-track procedures or entry into the European Union through the back door. We are asking for merit-based membership,” Kurti said. He added that the path to integration matters just as much as membership. Over the next four years, Kosovo’s three priorities, he said, are completing reforms in the justice system, public administration and education.

Kurti welcomed Vučić’s defeat in the Serbian elections, saying he had promised Kosovo Serbs that he would partition the country. However, the prime minister said he remains cautious about the Student List, which won the October elections, because its platform continues to oppose Kosovo’s sovereignty. “We know who has lost, but we still don’t know who has won,” he said.

Le Monde writes that Kurti wants Kosovo to be under the protection of the European Union and NATO, while Serbia refuses in any way to recognize its independence. The newspaper notes that the level of autonomy Kurti’s government offers Kosovo Serbs, who make up around 6 percent of the population, is one of the main points of disagreement with Belgrade and, to a lesser extent, Brussels.

During his visit, Kurti called on France to support investment in infrastructure and energy so Kosovo can be more resilient in the face of geopolitical uncertainty. On November 10, French company Akuo Energy won the public tender to build wind turbines with a capacity of 98 megawatts. Pristina is also seeking half a billion euros for five dams to serve industry, agriculture and households.

Kosovo is also seeking Paris’s support to host the 2030 Mediterranean Games. It has secured a 60-million-euro loan from the French Development Agency (AFD) to design the international athletes’ village.

Railways are another area in which Pristina is seeking French assistance. Kurti is seeking funding for three new lines and the modernization of a fourth, as well as support for Kosovo’s inclusion in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). He sees trains as a means of development for a landlocked country, as well as an important element of security.

“We need only look at Ukraine: people travel by train, not by plane. The train is the most resilient means of transport,” Kurti concluded.