An inter-parliamentary commission between the EU and Kosovo called on the EU Council on Tuesday to give a mandate to the European Commission to review Kosovo's application for membership in the European Union (EU).
The Commission, which operates within the Stabilization and Association Agreement between Kosovo and the EU, has also asked the five bloc member countries that have not yet recognized Kosovo's independence to do so "as soon as possible".
"We support Kosovo's application for membership in the EU, we reiterate that future member states must be evaluated on the basis of individual merits", says the joint recommendation of the commission.
Kosovo has applied for membership in the European Union on December 15, 2022.
Since then, the EU Council presidency has been shared between five member states: the Czech Republic, Sweden, Spain, Belgium and Hungary. The first one accepted the application, but none of the others reviewed it.
The Council, namely the representatives of the 27 member states, decide when the application is sent to the European Commission, which is invited to prepare an opinion on the merits of the applicant country to obtain the status of a candidate country and to open membership negotiations.
Kosovo is the only country in the Balkans that still does not have the status of a candidate country.
In the recommendations that have been approved, Kosovo's commitment to EU membership is welcomed, which is a goal with strong support from the citizens.
"We express our deep conviction that the EU integration process brings a significant transformative power and democratic consolidation, institutional integrity and socio-economic cohesion", the recommendations state.
The main topics of the discussions were Kosovo's progress in EU-related reforms, the rule of law and minority rights in Kosovo, dialogue with Serbia, regional cooperation and Kosovo's membership in international organizations.
Meanwhile, the commission also emphasized that the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia should be concluded with mutual recognition between the two neighboring countries. These demands were approved by the joint delegation at the first meeting held in Brussels on Tuesday.
The meeting was co-chaired by the head of the delegation of the European Parliament, Davor Ivo Stier, and by Mimoza Kusari, the head of the delegation of the Assembly of Kosovo.
In these recommendations, Kosovo's decision to remove restrictions on the import of goods from Serbia and the unilateral removal of visas for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a contribution to regional cooperation is also evaluated.
Likewise, Kosovo's progress in fulfilling the criteria for benefits from the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans has been welcomed.
This commission has condemned the attacks in the north of Kosovo, the one in Banjska in the fall of 2023, as well as the last attack in the Ibër-Lepencit canal, and has requested that the perpetrators of these attacks be brought to justice as soon as possible.
The Commission has expressed regret for the continuation of the measures that the EU has in force against Kosovo and has invited them to be removed "immediately"./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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