Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani criticized the European Union for its incorrect attitude towards Kosovo, which is reflected in the still valid punitive measures imposed on the country and the frivolous treatment of Kosovo's application for membership in the European Union, KosovaPress reported.
She said this after arriving in Brussels for yesterday's EU-Western Balkans summit, adding that although Kosovo submitted an application for membership more than two years ago, it is "somewhere in the drawers" and is not being considered.
Kosovo submitted an application for EU membership on December 15, 2022 and is the only country in the Western Balkans region that does not yet have the status of a candidate country for membership. Five EU member states - Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Spain - do not recognize Kosovo's independence.
According to Osmani, Kosovo has aligned its policies with those of the EU and the bloc's punitive measures against the country should be lifted, and the country should receive the status of a candidate country for EU membership.
The Kosovo president said that this is not happening due to the lack of political will on the part of some member states to support Kosovo on its European path. Osmani criticized the bloc's readiness to continue negotiations with Serbia, even though the country is pursuing a policy of aggression towards Kosovo and has not imposed sanctions on Russia.
Serbia, as well as the Serbs in northern Kosovo, where they are the majority, do not recognize Kosovo's independence, which was declared in 2008. Belgrade and Pristina are conducting a dialogue to normalize relations under the auspices of the European Union.
Due to the escalation of tensions in northern Kosovo, the EU imposed a punitive measures against Pristina, which include the temporary suspension of the work of the EU-Kosovo joint committees based on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the freezing of invitations to high-level meetings and bilateral visits, except those related to addressing the crisis in northern Kosovo within the framework of the EU-led Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.
Osmani also said that they were “absolutely disappointed with the attitude of some EU member states towards Kosovo“ due to the lack of progress in lifting the punitive measures. She added that there was no prospect of these measures being lifted in December, calling them “unfair and also un-European“.