All that was said after meetings with Ursula von der Leeyen in Kosovo

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stayed in Kosovo on Wednesday under her tour of the Western Balkans. During the visit, she met with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurti at a meeting held in the Kosovo Assembly environments.

The focus of the discussions was Kosovo's commitment to the path of European integration, the Western Balkans' Growth Plan and the requirement for lifting EU measures towards Kosovo.

After the meetings, von der Leyen expressed in a post on the “X” EU commitment to the European future of all Western Balkan partners, stressing that integration requires building functional institutions and reducing internal tensions.

President Osmani, according to a statement from the presidency, called for the removal of unfair measures against Kosovo and stressed the importance of adopting the Growth Plan once the new Assembly begins operating. It also demanded that Kosovo be granted candidate country status for EU membership and stressed the country's commitment to reform and democracy.

Meanwhile, incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurti expressed gratitude for the European Commission's continued support and stressed the need to hand over the membership questionnaire and advance Kosovo towards candidate status. He also spoke of recent local elections, naming them free and democratic.

Kurti handed down three official letters for launching strategic dialogue in three key areas: Agriculture, Information Technology and Communication (TIK), as well as Defence Industry, sectors where Kosovo hopes to deepen economic co-operation with the EU through the “Single Market Highway” initiative.

In closing, the two Kosovo leaders called for more concrete support from the EU, while von der Leeyen reiterated that the path towards integration requires concrete action and continued co-operation.