35 minutes agoHoxhaj: A visa liberalisation priority once, then EU membership
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)For Kosovo this year, visa liberalisation must be a priority, and then institutions would have to engage for application for candidate country membership status in the European Union (BE). Deputy Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj, in an interview for Online Economy, has said that application for candidate status cannot be made without [...]
Deputy Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj, in an interview for Online Economy, has said that application for candidate status cannot be made without implementing the European reform agenda.
Hoxhaj is not satisfied with the work that has been done so far in fulfilling the obligations the institutions have made.
I think my attention should be on visa liberalisation in 2018, even though visa liberalisation is not a literal European agenda. We should see how Kosovo in the coming weeks has a timetable for when the decision on visa liberalisation is made when the decision entered into force for people to travel without visas towards Europe, and these will have the main attention”, he said.
According to the deputy prime minister, concrete work must be done so that at the end of the year they will have an assessment regarding how much the European agenda of reforms has been implemented.
“Candidate status we cannot apply without implementing the European reform agenda, and if we look at how much this agenda has been implemented I think that even last year it hasn't become a big deal we have to do concrete work. I think by the end of 2018 we have an assessment and then if we have implemented the European reform agenda which is a huge package, then we should really apply for candidate status”, Hoxhaj told EO.
Thaci lead final dialogue with Serbia
Deputy Prime Minister Hoxhaj has further talked about the final dialogue with Serbia. He said this dialogue would begin in June of this year to end by the summer of next year.
Former Foreign Affairs Minister Hashim Thaci will support the leadership of this dialogue, the Government and the Democratic Party, of which Hoxhaj is part.
“I think the dialogue will begin in June and will probably end at the end of this year or end in mid-2019. Now there's a time plan from our Western partners. There are some principles on which the last phase of the dialogue must be directed.
“We as the government and the Democratic Party give full support to Mr. Thaci to lead the dialogue since Mr. Thaci also, due to his constitutional position, leads his foreign policy and since dialogue should not be seen only from the inner context of Kosovo”, he said.
Although he said the final dialogue with Serbia would be more difficult than thought, Hoxhaj voiced confidence that it would end with mutual recognition of states.
