In a session of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee held today, the draft report on the situation in Kosovo, presented by the rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament, Riho Terras, will be discussed.
In the document prepared earlier, Terras calls for the full implementation of all previous Kosovo-Serbia agreements, including the formation of the Association, and also urges the EU to lift sanctions against Kosovo.
In the draft report, Terras fully supports the EU-mediated dialogue and welcomed the appointment of Peter Sorensen as the EU Special Representative for the dialogue between the two countries.
Terras states that the European Parliament is closely following the political and socio-economic developments in Kosovo, and emphasizes that this final report, which summarizes developments throughout 2024, is being presented now as it could not be finalized earlier due to the European Parliament elections and the formation of the new Commission.
As a summary, it is stated that in 2023 and 2024, Kosovo made significant progress in electoral reforms, economic stability, and the protection of fundamental rights. However, Terras notes that “challenges remain in judicial reform, media freedom, the efficiency of public administration, and the digitalization of public services.”
“Continuous commitment to comprehensive reforms and inclusive governance is essential for Kosovo’s advancement on its European integration path,” said Terras in the summary of the report.
It is emphasized that some of Kosovo’s challenges are inherited issues, “the resolution of which requires the involvement of the entire region in the broader EU integration process.”
“The Pristina-Belgrade dialogue, which was initiated to find an acceptable compromise for both parties, unfortunately, has not yielded the expected results. The new European Commission, as well as the European Parliament and member states, must certainly do everything in their power to ensure that the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue continues with renewed energy. Therefore, the appointment of the new Special Representative, Peter Sorensen, is very much welcomed,” the summary of the report states.
Terras said that EU enlargement has been one of the greatest success stories of the EU and must continue.
“The broader geopolitical goal of enlargement is to eliminate the so-called grey zones from the map of Europe. The significant changes that have occurred in the context of Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine should increase the EU’s readiness to face competing global authoritarian players. Both Russia and China have shown clear interests in the Western Balkans,” the report highlights.
With this report, Terras aims to provide an overview and assessment from the European Parliament regarding the achievements and key challenges Kosovo faces today and in the near future.
“Certainly, it is not possible to cover all problematic areas and challenges in this report. One of the important prerequisites for preparing this report was the opportunity to visit Kosovo on a fact-finding mission and meet with government officials, opposition leaders, and civil society representatives. The preparation of this report included very useful exchanges with representatives of various EU institutions and international organizations, for which the rapporteur is very grateful,” the report further stated.
