Membership in NATO is more than a political aspiration for Kosovo—it is an urgent necessity. This position is held not only by the country’s authorities, but also by several key allies, at a time when warnings about the growing threat from Russia continue unabated.
NATO has pledged that its commitment to regional stability will remain unwavering, but is that sufficient for a country located on the front line of strategic challenges?
Kosovo’s caretaker government confirms that accession to the Western military alliance remains a strategic objective of the Republic, but stresses that the path toward this goal “also depends on circumstances and geopolitical developments.”
Officials did not give a direct answer to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) as to whether there are plans for a formal application for membership, but they emphasized the country’s continued engagement in this direction.
“Over recent years, we have significantly increased investments dedicated to defense. In 2024, the Republic of Kosovo—specifically the Assembly of Kosovo—advanced its status in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly from observer member to associate member. Meanwhile, on three occasions, in 2021, 2023, and 2025, we have participated in and hosted the military exercises Defender Europe,” government spokesperson Përparim Kryeziu told RFE/RL.
Of the six Western Balkan countries, Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia are already NATO members. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are part of the Partnership for Peace, while Kosovo remains outside even this framework of cooperation, for political reasons.
Within the 32-member NATO alliance, four countries—Greece, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain—do not recognize Kosovo’s independence. For most allies, the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia remains a key condition for any progress toward membership.
From Kosovo’s perspective, Serbia represents the primary security threat, while Russia is seen as the actor that fuels and exploits these tensions to expand its destabilizing influence in the Balkans.
According to President Vjosa Osmani, NATO enlargement to include Kosovo would contribute to strengthening regional stability.
“For us, being in NATO means being secure. I believe Russia has a long-term interest in destabilizing the Western Balkans and, through it, the entire European continent. And it will not abandon this objective,” Osmani said in an interview with Politico.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte raised the alarm on December 11, warning that alliance members are the next targets of Russia.
“Russia has brought war back to Europe, and Europe must be prepared,” he said.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago, Kosovo has repeatedly sought accelerated membership in NATO.
RFE/RL asked the alliance whether there are plans to deepen engagement with Kosovo beyond the peacekeeping mission KFOR, or whether mechanisms are being considered to provide Kosovo with stronger security guarantees.
In a response from a NATO spokesperson, it was stated only that “the Western Balkans, in general, remain high on NATO’s agenda. It is a region of strategic importance to the Alliance. Our commitment to its stability is unwavering, and we will not allow a security vacuum to emerge.”
While acknowledging that authoritarian states such as Russia seek to interfere and undermine democracies, the NATO spokesperson also underlined Kosovo’s fragile security situation, describing dialogue with Serbia as essential for resolving outstanding issues.
NATO last expanded in the previous year with the accession of Sweden. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted both Sweden and Finland a year earlier to abandon decades of military neutrality and seek collective security.
This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that his country is prepared to relinquish its aspirations for NATO membership in exchange for security guarantees. Nevertheless, Ukraine’s membership in the alliance—whose members are obliged to defend one another—has always been considered nearly impossible due to Russia’s opposition.
Former senior NATO official Jamie Shea says Kosovo may be able to benefit from this situation, as NATO does not want to create the impression that Russia has a veto over its decision-making.
“NATO has always prided itself on the autonomy of its decisions. And if, for the moment, it has to give up on Ukraine’s membership, it may wish to compensate by expanding toward two candidate countries in the Western Balkans—Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo—to demonstrate that the Alliance’s doors remain open,” Shea told RFE/RL.
Article 10 of the NATO Treaty sets out the conditions for enlargement, emphasizing that membership is open to all European states that share the Alliance’s values and have the capacity to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.
Former Albanian Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu, who participated in the negotiations for Albania’s NATO membership, argues that Kosovo has made progress in military terms, but highlights obstacles in the country’s internal functioning. For most of this year, Kosovo has operated with a caretaker government and without a functional parliament.
Mediu underscores the importance of political unity, citing Albania’s experience, where both government and opposition maintained a common stance during the accession process.
“Without this, it is impossible to advance toward NATO. NATO is not just a wish. It is a process of political, institutional, and legal commitments, of fighting crime and corruption… This is the political package. Then comes reform of the armed forces, where Kosovo has not moved with slow steps, but with positive ones,” Mediu told Expose.
According to Mediu, Kosovo’s integration into NATO will not come merely by positioning itself against Serbia or Russia—it requires a concrete strategic offer to allies, particularly the United States.
Relations with the U.S., he says, cannot be taken for granted; it must be clear what Kosovo and the Albanian factor in the region offer in return.
He sees a solution in gradual de facto integration: regional military cooperation and joint operational capacities.
“This would be a very positive platform to accelerate the process. If Kosovo were to be included with other NATO countries in the Balkan region in creating joint operational levels—relating to forces ready to act, airspace, maritime and land surveillance, and so on—Kosovo would, de facto, be integrated into a relationship with NATO,” Mediu said.
Along the same lines, Shea says Kosovo should deepen cooperation with Albania and Croatia, with which it already has defense partnerships, to demonstrate its contribution to regional stability.
In parallel, he says, the country must advance internal reforms and diplomatic engagement.
“I think, first and foremost, there must be a better working relationship between the government of Albin Kurti and the United States and key European powers. Let’s be frank—these relationships have not been easy in recent years, and Kurti has faced direct criticism from the U.S. and some European allies. The internal situation in Kosovo, with parliamentary blockades, failure to elect a speaker, and the fact that we are now heading into elections again on December 28, has also meant that political instability has not worked in Kosovo’s favor,” Shea told RFE/RL.
He adds that Kosovo’s NATO membership would primarily bring political benefits, as KFOR has protected the country for years. Membership would ensure full recognition, a seat at NATO’s table, international credibility, and a stronger role in regional and European security.
However, Shea warns that any reduction or repositioning of U.S. forces in Europe would force the continent to assume greater responsibility for conventional defense, including Kosovo.
This autumn, the U.S. announced a reduction of its rotational forces in Romania. RFE/RL asked the U.S. Department of Defense on October 31 and December 16 whether these changes would have any impact on U.S. military positioning in the Western Balkans, but received no response.
Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee discussed the situation in the Western Balkans, where Republican Representative Keith Self described the region as a “tinderbox” and emphasized that U.S. leadership must play a significant role in maintaining stability there.
“NATO countries in the Balkans must work together to build military and political defenses. Kosovo is particularly exposed without NATO membership—a process that remains blocked due to the refusal of Spain, Greece, Romania, and Slovakia to recognize its independence,” Self said.
Although the geopolitical context has changed significantly, the non-recognizing states have not shifted their positions, and similarly, Kosovo has not taken any major steps—beyond moving from one regular election cycle earlier in the year to another snap election at the end of it.
From a security perspective, this pace can be seen as an example of a delayed understanding of strategic urgency. /RFE/RL
