European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed the willingness of her institution to begin work on processing Kosovo’s application for candidate status.
However, she emphasized that a unanimous decision from the EU member states is required for this process.
“We are ready to start the process, but we need an invitation to issue an opinion. We are working on getting this, and we are ready,” von der Leyen said during the EU-Western Balkans summit in Brussels.
Kosovo applied for candidate status in 2022, but its application has not yet been addressed by the EU Council.
In order to mandate the European Commission to work on the relevant opinion, a unanimous decision from all member states is required.
The President of the European Commission also noted that the issue of measures against Kosovo remains in the hands of the member states, which must decide unanimously on their removal.
“The same applies to the measures. We are absolutely ready to lift them, but here too we need the unanimity of the member states, which we currently do not have, but we are working hard to achieve it because, in any case, it is important for Kosovo to move forward,” von der Leyen declared, adding that despite the circumstances, Kosovo has full support from European institutions.
