Brussels: Without functional government, Kosovo cannot move towards the EU

At a conference dedicated to enlargement, European Commission Director General for Enlargement recalled that there is no government in Kosovo since February. He cited cases of Albania and Montenegro, which, according to him, are fully focused on European integration processes, advising Kosovo authorities to follow the same example.

My Council for the country is to focus on this direction, because if it's not fully engaged, it's hard to move forward. We, in the Commission, are in the process of lifting the measures after a very difficult discussion at the EU Council last year. We would be willing, of course, to prepare a thought on Kosovo's application for membership, but for that the Council should invite us and I think there should be a reflection in Kosovo as well, why the Council is not doing this”, said Gert Jan Koopman, director General for Enlargement at the European Commission.

Kosovo's ambassador to Belgium, Agron Bajrami, recalled that Kosovo cannot be treated as a country without government, though it is on limited mandate. He stressed that, despite the steps taken, punitive measures against Kosovo still remain in force.

“These measures were not responding to any Kosovoggress in democratic processes. I must remind everyone that these measures came after a particular situation in the north, which, from our perspective, had to do with implementing rule of law and ensuring that institutions are maintaining constitutional order”, he stressed,

Meanwhile, several days ago the European Union confirmed that the prosperity of local elections in the country is seen as a positive signal towards lifting measures. However, the message from European institutions remains unchanged -- initially, the delivery of local government must take place, in order to consider the continuation of the process of lifting measures.

At the moment, the EU has removed only a few symbolic measures.