Croatian Ambassador: Political decision is needed for visas, but EC positive recommendation is solid ground

In 2004 alone, The EU had formalised the candidate statute for Croatia, negotiations on what they started a year after, and followed a series of criteria that the state, released from the breakup of Yugoslavia, would have to meet.

Among the main criteria was that of co-operating with The Hague Tribunal to address war crimes issues.

Five years after Croatia's EU membership, Croatian Ambassador to Kosovo Marija Kapitanovic looks back and shows it was not an easy process, but necessary for citizens.

The same says it should be for Kosovo aimed at integration into Europe.

In an interview for Kosovo Press, a day after the European Commission's positive report on meeting the criteria for visa liberalisation for Kosovo, the ambassador remembers that this issue now belongs to the European Parliament and is in the hands of politics.

The Commission will now present this report to EU member states and they will discuss this report and make the decision. Of course, EU member states are 28 and each will express their opinion. The second is that the European Parliament must make the decision or adopt it. So now I would say that the visa liberalisation issue depends on the European Parliament and the European Council ... It is a political decision but also a technical decision in the sense that member states and also European Parliament representatives, MPs, based on the European Commission report, will assess the fulfillment of these” criteria, the ambassador has said.

She says, however, that the EC report is a good basis for members of the European Parliament because it emphasises the good will for fighting corruption that Kosovo institutions have. Although he says it would be better if the last criteria, especially the one for determining demarcation with Montenegro were fulfilled earlier.

It's a pity that it's been so long to meet these two remaining criteria, especially that of demarcation. Visa liberalisation is very important for your citizens, it's for the sake of citizens, it's not that they can't travel, but they need visas, so they have to go through procedures. Why is it important? Young people have to travel, they have to know other countries, they need to know the societies of other countries, because this contributes to mutual understanding, so in my view as Croatian ambassador is really important to travel to other countries in the region and to get acquainted with these societies, and once they return they can positively compare what is good in this society and what is less good and to improve some things in the Kosovo society”, Karitanov said.

The final decision for visa liberalisation for Kosovo or not belongs to ministers of internal affairs of member states who are part of the European Parliament.

Asked if there would be obstacles to Kosovo in this direction, the ambassador has said they would assess the report, so at this point what's important is that this process goes through all the procedures.

“We have also gone through different steps in our EU integration process, any process of EU integration is based on criteria, for all countries, not just for Kosovo. It has always been this way, it has been with so - called new member states, which are currently not new member states, and this process with every new expansion was becoming more and more demanding by the European Commission, to learn what the difficulties were in the previous countries and then made efforts to set criteria even clearer for the countries to come later. So, it is a process, Kosovo is not the isolated case, so we hope that the process will go smoothly and I would say for the benefit of all Kosovo citizens, because they will have the choice if they want to travel “, she said.

Croatia's ambassador has also talked about dialogue on normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which it says brings progress for both sides but in different ways, due to different positions that the parties have only in the integration processes.

The process of both sides in the EU integration agenda is closely linked to progress in dialogue, this is clear from documents. When it comes to the EU agenda, the initial position of the two sides is different, but the issue of reality is also. As for dialogue, dialogue has entered a so-called, say, new phase, this new phase remains to be seen what it means because it depends on both sides. The EU is the supporter, but the final result will depend on both sides and in the sense that you want to see. It's a process, it's hard to answer now about what the final outcome will be, but one thing I can tell you and answer for sure is that it will depend on both sides and in that sense Kosovo should be an active participant and have a clear strategy about what your country's interest is and what are the goals you want to achieve, she has said.

Asked, meanwhile, how a recent normalisation of reports could be imagined, given the Serb side's lobbie against Kosovo's citizenship and the obstacles presenting the integration of Serbs in Kosovo, as is the case of leaving Kosovo members away from KSF, Kapitanovic says it is necessary for the Kosovo side to know why it has decided to dialogue with Serbia.

“Why are you in dialogue? You're in dialogue because you have different positions, different opinions, so you need dialogue, otherwise you won't have to. My advice would be to step by step, what is important now is to establish the clear negotiating position and what needs to be achieved. Of course, reconciliation is an important part of establishing relations within the region. But you have to step by step because it's a long process, it's not easy, it's complicated, because the past was not easy, and expectations should be realistic within the mandate and given context, but what can come from you is commitment and hard work because it is for a better future of the new population of all communities here in Kosovo, as well as a better life “, she has said.

She stressed that there are two international obligations Kosovo has taken over from dialogue and that it must meet. The first has to do with establishing the Serb majority municipality Association and second with war crimes through specialised chambers in The Hague.

When it comes to special rooms, we've gone through this process, we know what it means. Procedures and handling war crimes were one of the main criteria for Croatia during the entire process of EU integration, the EU accession process, and it was not easy, but we did it. So it was a full co-operation with The Hague Tribunal because it was one of the main criteria. It wasn't easy, but we had to do it, and it's a matter of responsibility. Second, association now is something that comes out of agreements, out of dialogue, so now this draft statute must be founded or written in a way that fits the expectations of both sides. But in my opinion, the ultimate goal of association should be better relations and better interaction between communities, they are simply obligations and there is no alternative “, she said.

Another controversial topic is the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force into the Kosovo Armed Forces, for which the votes of Serbian MPs are required. Asked whether Kosovo is close to meeting this and NATO membership, Kapitanovic has stressed that changes to this should be made through the Constitution.

When it comes to the Kosovo Security Forces at the technical level and the level of experts, we have worked hard with your side and there is commitment, there is work to be done, the diversity of the Kosovo Security Force is also a model for the country and of course it is a process, transition is a process that takes time. Of course, your institutions and your government have some goals that they would like to achieve, so it was our case when we were approaching NATO and EU integration, it's important to have the target and then continue to meet the criteria, the process is long, so it's important to work on it, to improve, and as I said in the case of dialogue is a step-by-step process, but of course it is important to have the goal, what is the ultimate goal? ...transformation as such would be good if it occurs and should occur within the constitutional changes of the framework in co-operation with international partners. Of course, the decision belongs to the Kosovo side, that is your decision, but we still believe it must be made within the constitutional framework”, she has said.

Croatia is among the countries that had recognised and supported Kosovo's independence since the beginning of its proclamation. Officially this recognition was made on March 19, 2008, a few weeks after declaring independence. Croatia and Kosovo have long friendly relations.

But this is a very good attitude, but it is only an initial position, according to the Croatian ambassador. Kapitanovic says relations between Kosovo and Croatia have a very good structure for developing bilateral relations, but still have to work on developing and intensifying these relations.

According to her, a good opportunity for intensifying relations is to improve or intensify economic co-operation between the two countries.

The “Reform in the procurement procedure is very important because it is a vital step towards fighting corruption. Corruption has consequences in economic investments and access to health as well as education. So this is one of the issues we want to see and we are very willing to help you in this regard. You have very well integrated communities in Croatia. They have lived in Croatia for decades and are an active part of society, mainly small business companies. On the other hand, we have a very small community here in Kosovo. Over two hundred people all together. What we would like to see here is you provide them with the best living conditions they need. Kosovo is their home, and in this direction it is important that Kosovo institutions provide them with basic basic standards of daily”, Ambassador Kapitakanovic has said.

She has also expressed awareness of the emotional connection the Albanian people have with that Croat, who, according to her, were seen with the fans that became the Croatian team in Kosovo during this year's World Football Championship.