Kosovo prime minister Albin Kurti wrote letters to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU High Representative Josep Borrell, Gazeta Express reports. Kuri in his letters informed the EU top officials on priorities and objectives of the new Government of Kosovo.
“I am writing to inform you of the objectives and goals of the new government of the Republic of Kosovo. I want to take this opportunity to reaffirm our hope that we will deepen our country’s cooperation and integration with the European Union. I thank you for your ongoing support for the Republic of Kosovo in our efforts to establish the rule of law, develop our economy and implement good governance. We are very grateful for the EU’s continual support and assistance, and believe that our relationship with the EU is founded on deeply held shared values,” Kurti wrote in his letter to Borrell and Von der Leyen.
“The governing program of my government is built on two main pillars. Our primary focus is on economic development; through expanding investments we will create new jobs, especially for our young people and women. In addition, we are uncompromisingly committed to fighting organised crime and corruption. These two interrelated priorities of my government represent the will and the interests of the people of Kosovo. They are also important criteria we must meet as we continue our path towards European integration. We appreciate the support of the European Union in ensuring our progress towards realising these goals,” Kurti said.
“We recognize the need to resolve the remaining political issues between the Republic of Kosovo and Serbia. We are committed to the dialogue process; we believe it is the only way to reach an agreement, the ultimate goal of which should be the mutual recognition of both states. The negotiations must resume. They must be well prepared and based on principles. Achieving a political agreement between our two states will be an important step towards Kosovo and the Western Balkans’ full integration into the EU, as well as a means of creating lasting peace and stability in the region,” Kurti wrote.
“In line with this commitment, effective as of March 15, we will begin to remove the tariffs on goods from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina that were imposed by the previous government. Initially we will lift the tariffs on raw materials. This is a sign of our diplomatic goodwill and commitment to restarting the dialogue with Serbia. We hope that this decision will be reciprocated by Serbia; in return we expect Serbia to remove all remaining non-tariff barriers to trade with Kosovo, as well as ending its derecognition campaign against Kosovo. We invite the EU and the United States to create monitoring and sanctioning mechanisms to ensure that both sides abide by their commitments in existing and future agreements,” Kurti wrote in his letter.
“During the tenure of the previous government, there was a lack of coordination between the representatives of the Republic of Kosovo regarding their individual roles and the goals sought in the dialogue with Serbia. This created a lack of institutional and political clarity. My government is committed to ending this. As Prime Minister, I have the exclusive constitutional mandate, the political will, as well as the legal duty, to take charge of representing Kosovo at the highest diplomatic level. I look forward to working together with you and EU representatives to further our common interests and to move this process forward,” he said.
“My government, and I as its Prime Minister, are unwavering in our belief that the brightest future for our country is full integration with the EU. We look forward to deepening our partnership and to working closely with the EU at every level, especially on advancing the Kosova-Serbia dialogue towards an agreement which brings lasting peace to the region, econo1nic development for our country, and visa liberalization for the citizens of Kosovo,” Kosovo PM Albin Kurti wrote in his letter. /GazetaExpress/
