Even this year without liberalisation, connoisseurs of political issues show obstacles

International relations acquaintances say spectacularly that this year Kosovo will get the green light for visa liberalisation, as they are considering an obstacle not to define Kosovo relations. - The EU in terms of contractual, as well as the lack of fighting corruption.

Regarding recent statements by EU officials where Kosovo, according to them, must make itself efforts to recognise and liberalise visas, and where some states are even challenging the possibility that Kosovo is ready for visa liberalisation, Demush Shasha, executive director at the Kosovo Institute for European Policy(EPIK), in an interview for Online Economy considers these statements to be conspiracy positions, and according to him, Kosovo has not even noted progress in this direction.

“But these are consensus positions, some member states now a long time, in particular, like France, which has now more officially confirmed that it does not consider that Kosovo has met the visa liberalisation criteria, with particular emphasis on the issue of rule of law, respectively, the fight against high-level corruption and organised crime, and in this respect countries say that five years have passed since Kosovo has asked for progress in this area, and after five years we still have zero cases in the fight against high-level corruption, and not only that we have not marked progress but we have noted the regrech>

He also stresses that the main blame for non-visa liberalisation belongs to Kosovo institutions because they have had a good opportunity in 2016 to benefit together with Ukraine and Georgia.

Of course, it has to be said that the blame for non-visa liberalisation is for Kosovo institutions, because the EU has opened the door to Kosovo to benefit from visa liberalisation in 2016, and since then Kosovo has had the golden opportunity, which together with Ukraine and Georgia benefit from visa liberalisation, and those two states have taken advantage of us, because between the breach and isolation for Kosovo citizens and a question of demarcation we chose the demarcation. And now from year to year, things are getting more complex, last year, and now we have pandemics, and in this context it's very difficult to imagine that in an environment where Germany is restoring borders with Austria, and Czechia, it's hard to think I'm now opening with a third country like Kosovo. So I consider that in this regard, there should be no hope that there will be any progress”, he points out.

On the other hand, political affairs connoisseur Africa Hoti said the visa liberalisation process has stalled after Kosovo's relationship - The EU is not defined in the contractual context.

The process is definitely becoming a nuisance, and at certain points here I am primarily talking about the European Union, where it is losing credibility for the fact that Kosovo is constantly facing other preconditions and conditions, while it has never received the result it deserved. On this basis we are the only country that today we don't have contractual reports, nor do we have clear reports with the EU, that these are practically arguments that are actually closing the process we're telling dialogue. It is definitely on the road and it is desirable that this process be completed as soon as possible, for the fact that we have a new administration in the US, and we have a new government in Kosovo”, Hoti said.

As for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Shasha said a positive environment in terms of dialogue has been created, as there is now a co-ordination between the US and the EU on the issue.

“Now in terms of dialogue, a more positive environment has been created for advancing dialogue compared to a year ago or two years ago. That's all for two reasons, the first we're seeing a co-ordination, every once larger than the United States and the EU. And second, Mathe Palmer, the separate representative of the State Department for the Western Balkans, a few days after President Beden's statement, repeated the same message but at a more Western Balkan level and said the US supports the dialogue. And we have another reason because for the first time, we will have a prime minister who will enjoy complete legitimacy and invulnerable, and this will increase his legitimacy”, Shasha said further.

While, Hoti said that in the dialogue process, it is time for Kosovo to benefit something from this direction because it has been a painful process for the country.

“There have been other actions and steps here I mean the leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, their resignations, so they have not been completely inexorable processes, and if Kosovo has been able or has shown readiness to walk in this direction, it is definitely time for it to benefit something, and its profit would have been to conclude negotiations and mutual recognition with Serbia”, he stressed.

Hoti says very few are likely to receive the country's status, EU membership candidates, and even says it will be very difficult to achieve that status, because there are no clear reports with the EU.

“Very little reliable in the fact that unfortunately Kosovo still does not have clear reports with the EU, its five countries do not recognise Kosovo's legal citizenship, and on this basis it is almost impossible at least in a formal sense to obtain candidate country status, because this status belongs only to independent states and are internationally recognised when the fact that this status must be approved in the national parliaments is known and then I see it as the formal obstacle of at least before the agreement with the Republic of Serbia and prior to mutual recognition Kosovo will have difficulty getting candidate status <1> was expressed further.

Eventually, Hoti said that the loss of millions of IPAS funds is at risk, as a result of the failure to implement the SAA.

“Definitely but the SAA is a story in itself, and despite these other political processes, it needs to be taken very seriously because and against political status Kosovo, however, has been transferred to a separate road forward. The resulting benefits have been really minority, and this has resulted from the fragile governance we've had recently and the European agenda that has since been neglected”, Hoti concluded.