Kurti: Closer to Christmas We apply for EU membership

The country's prime minister, Albin Kurti, has indicated that Kosovo will apply to become EU membership candidate this autumn or winter, but not later than this year's Christmas.

Asked by Welt that “what makes you so sure this will work”, Kurti said Kosovo is the most pro-democratic and pro-Western country in the Western Balkans.

Besides, we already have close contractual ties with the EU through a Stabilisation Agreement. - Association we can build on. In addition, the security of the European continent is threatened following Russia's completely unjustified attack on Ukraine. So it would be important to have a stable partner in Kosovo on your side in the Western Balkans. So both sides would benefit equally”, Kurti said, Welt, broadcast Clankosova.tv.

In turn, he said he does not expect Kosovo to membership this year or next year, since, according to him, such a thing would take time, while adding that someone influential in the EU would have to say the six countries of the Western Balkans must join the EU by 2030<18x1>.

“would be absolutely necessary a time frame from Brussels with points to be achieved. It would be important that someone with influence in the EU get up and say: All six Western Balkan countries must join the EU by 2030. This was promised to us in 2003. Nobody should be afraid of us”.

The six countries in the Western Balkans along with 18 million people are the size of the Netherlands. Economic power corresponds to Slovakia's gross domestic product. In addition, every third Western Balkan resident no longer lives at home, but somewhere in Western Europe, mainly in Germany”, Kurti said.