Belgium launches EU chairmanship, scepticism over Kosovo integration process

The European Union leadership mandate in early 2017 after Spain will take over Belgium. In this case, international policy connoisseurs in the country do not expect any major progress in dealing with Kosovo's application for EU membership. The reasons for this are many

The end of 2023 has also brought the end of Spain's mandate at the helm of the European Union.

On January 1st, 2024, Belgium will assume that responsibility, within which the EU headquarters is located.

During Spain's leadership, which does not recognise Kosovo's independence, there was no step towards the country's application for EU membership.

But connoisseurs of international relations do not expect progress either under Belgian leadership.

The maximum Kosovo can expect at this stage is to initially remove these measures, which the EU has taken in the form of sanctions and then see how the Kosovo-Serbia negotiations process will flow, the more the process has started to be determined by the dynamics of Kosovo-Serbia” dialogue, the Imeri professor of international relations has said.

That Kosovo's path towards the European bloc will be challenging is assessing the other international policy connoisseur Fidan Ukaj.

According to him, even elections within the EU will affect this process.

“Despite what the rotating presidency takes over a Kosovo connoisseur state, however, the EU will be engaged in electoral processes within it and the likelihood of dealing with Kosovo's application, I think they are minimalistic”, has stressed Fidan Ukaj analyst. Belgium will take the lead at the key moment for the EU, as at the end of this presidency's mandate, European elections will be held in early June.