Ischinger: Kosovo membership in NATO would be projecting steps for stability in the region and signal for Moscow

The former European Union envoy in negotiations on Kosovo's status, Wolfgang Ischinger, said on Monday that the Western Balkans is the only region in Europe to carry explosive potential due to history and other reasons.

He made these comments during a conference in Pristina on the new “geopolitical topic following Russian aggression against Ukraine”, where he said bringing Western Balkan countries closer to the European Union would boost the region's stability.

Your region is the only region in Europe that still carries explosive potential because of history and other reasons. And if I'm sure of one thing after 45 years of diplomatic experience, I know that colleagues, diplomats, and Russian strategists are very clever, they know exactly how and where to explore weaknesses, and if I see weaknesses beyond the borders of my country, I know that these weaknesses are not so many, say Denmark or Ireland or other countries in the Union of Europe, but they are very evident in this part of Europe. Therefore, we must speed up the processes for bringing countries in the region closer, faster under the EU umbrella”, he said.

Ischinger said that given the current and ongoing difficulties Kosovo faces, an accelerated process for NATO membership is needed.

“The first step of this process should be Kosovo's membership in partnership for peace, this is an easy step to take. I think this would be the design of steps to help sustain the region's sustainability and send a fair signal to Moscow and bring the region closer to”, Ischinger said.

The rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament, Violet van Cromon, called for a Kosovo-Serbia agreement to open up the possibility of European integration.

But we need to take into account that when it comes to dialogue, we also need a certain degree of compromise on both sides, and we really hope that we will achieve this because we need this process and dialogue to end up going through other things that are on the table, whether in the Council of Europe, whether in membership in the European Union or in NATO, I see that this dialogue without any doubt is the first thing that we have to complete”, she said.

Kosovo Parliament Speaker Glauk Konjufca said mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia is the key to stability in the region.

Serbia's “recognition of Kosovo independence is vital for all of Europe because it closes some open and dangerous issues. If they close, I think they can open a new chapter important for European integration, but also for peace and security on our continent”, Konjufca said.

European diplomats call for the European Union to speed up integration processes for the Western Balkans in order to gain lost confidence over the past few years.