Kurti urges European Parliament support for EU membership

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has asked the eurodeputs for support for Kosovo's membership in the European Union and the Council of Europe.

He made that request during the March 15th visit to the European Parliament, where he met with representatives from two EP groupings in Strasbourg ʹ the group of MPs from the European People's Party (EPP), which is also the largest political group, and the group of greens.

Kosovo has applied for membership in the European Union in December, while at the Council of Europe in May of last year.

“Prime Minister Kurti stressed the importance of supporting the European Parliament in the faster handling of Kosovo's applications and supporting along all integration routes”, the Office of Prime Minister's announcement said.

Kurti is staying in Strasbourg to participate in the 10th Parliamentary Committee meeting for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU.

While he is expected to meet with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola during the day.

• Pressures on Sweden to deal with Kosovo's EU application
• Leigh: EU response to application will be influenced by unaware states

In announcing the prime minister's office, “and the March 18th meeting in Ohrid reportedly has been discussed, the possibilities it presents and expectations from that meeting”.

From European Parliament sources it is said that MPs are also interested in recent developments in the process of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as the upcoming summit between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and Serbia's president, Alexander Vuciq.

They have not yet signed the proposal, but have agreed there is no need for this document to have further negotiations.

At the March 18th meeting, Kosovo and Serbia are expected to talk about implementing this proposal.

The European Parliament has supported the European proposal and has called on both sides to engage in consensus on normalising the reports, which would also help realise their aspirations for EU integration.

11 - Mother Document The European Union has not specifically mentioned bilateral recognition, which the Government of Kosovo has said should be the focus of an eventual agreement on normalisation of reports.

However, Article 2 of the proposal mentions that parties must respect each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The proposal also includes the parties' commitment to honour all agreements reached so far in the dialogue on normalising relations, as well as their commitment not to prevent each other from obstructing integration processes.