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Kosova

Fact-Check/ Is Kosovo's application for EU candidacy destined to fail?

Politiko 2022-11-28 10:36:52

Fact-Check/ Is Kosovo's application for EU candidacy destined to fail?

With the end of the year approaching, so is the objective set by the Kosovo government to apply for candidate status in the European Union. Experts, however, warn that the EU is unlikely to approve it. Even if it happens, Kosovo faces a long road and obstacles towards membership, writes Balkaninsight .

Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced in June that his government plans to apply for candidate status within the year, and his deputy, Besnik Bislimi, in October, emphasized that in terms of fulfilling obligations to the bloc, Kosovo "is significantly better than all countries others in the region at the time they applied."

"Serbia applied even before the implementation of the Stabilization-Association agreement; Albania applied 2-3 weeks after receiving the agreement, while we are in the sixth year of implementing the strategic documents", said Bislimi.

Indeed, in its latest progress report on Kosovo, the EU's executive arm, the European Commission, praised the former Serbian province, saying it had "strengthened its capacity to coordinate the implementation of commitments and obligations that emerge from the Stabilization and Association Agreement, MS, and ERA II [European Reform Agenda phase 2], and has improved reporting mechanisms."

Kosovo, however, is in a unique position: five of the EU's 27 member states do not recognize it as independent and are unlikely to do so without a binding agreement to resolve relations between Serbia and Kosovo, something that seems far from being close. Experts say the EU, which has yet to grant visa waivers to Kosovo citizens, is unlikely to look favorably on an application for candidacy.

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