EU officials visit Kosovo: Terrorism and violent extremism continue to be a problem

European Union officials and Kosovo's top officials met yesterday and today to discuss security, the fight against terrorism and the fight against violent extremism.

EU delegation led Deputy Secretary General Pedro Serrano from the European Foreign Action Service (EEAS), along with the EU's co-ordinator for the fight against terrorism, Gilles de Carchove, and General Director Olivier Onidi, from DG HOME.

According to an EU office communique, the visit is the continuation of high-level visits to the Western Balkans on these issues.

Anti-Terrorism and violent extremism are common challenges for the EU and the Western Balkans and can be effectively fought only with close co-operation. The two-day meetings were productive in the assessment of challenges and the identification of approaches to empowering joint efforts in meeting with these threats. In this context, both sides welcomed Kosovo as of December 13th 2017, Kosovo is a partner with Europol's full priority in order to further strengthen strategic co-operation with the EU. EU officials met with top Kosovo officials, including Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Behxhet Pacolli, Interior Affairs Minister Flamur Sefaj, and Kosovo Police General Director Shpend Maxhu. Terrorism, radicalism and violent extremism continue to pose a threat to the UN «security of the EU and the Western Balkans. Regionally, co-ordination between the Western Balkan relevant countries and other key partners is essential, facilitated by the Western Balkans Initiative for Combating Terrorism ( EBCTI). The initiative aims at co-ordinating EU and international assistance and regional co-operation in the field of combating terrorism, by minimising the doubling and maximized efficiency of kosket”, the communiqué says.

In Kosovo, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU covers key relevant parts of combating terrorism, including the creation of a solid history of investigation, prosecution, and all-powerful punishments, as well as advanced regional co-operation and exchange of information between law enforcement and security services.

On December 13th 2017, Kosovo is fully included in the Europol priority partner list for strategic co-operation.