Rafaela Prifti/
The Western Balkans were presented with a new plan by European Union leaders at a summit in Tirana on Monday. It consisted of access to parts of the EU single market and reforms ahead of membership for the region’s six countries.
The senior EU officials at the annual talks – called the Berlin Process – held in Tirana were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, joined by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The six countries are: Albania, Bosnia, Kosova, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia and Serbia. This piece attempts to generally point at the consistency of the policies that drive the Kosova government presented in the remarks by Prime Minister Albin Kurti at Monday’s summit and at last week’s virtual discussion with Columbia University Albanian Society.
In the wake of the terrorist attack of September 24 carried out in Northern Kosova by alleged Serbia-sponsored perpetrators who are still free after publicly admitting their involvement, Prime Minister Kurti is pushing on the need for accountability. “Even after 25 years of a genocidal campaign and numerous rounds of dialogue, Kosova is being threatened with Serbia’s invasion. The moment calls upon us to reflect and not go about business as usual,” said Mr. Kurti in Albania’s capital.
Expressing support for the “Four Step Plan” of EU expansion for the Western Balkans presented by the European Council President Charles Michel, Kosova Prime Minister called for “aligning EU economic benefits and policies with EU values.” It is a relevant consideration in light of the issues that involve morality and justice, fighting corruption and protecting citizens’ rights and so on.
He acknowledged the long road ahead citing as an example the gap of the living standards between Kosova and the EU countries. Yet Mr. Kurti expressed optimism when it comes to facing the new challenges. He touted a newly created body named Convergence Observatory as a helpful government tool towards reaching a brighter future. “Present day citizens of West Balkans should not live in fear of tomorrow but work together for their common future,” Mr. Kurti stated at the summit.
His statement at the annual talks on Monday was, at least, in part previewed at an hour-long online meeting hosted by Columbia University Albanian Society just days before the summit in Tirana. The main topics of the discussion were International relations, Political Science and Diplomacy – areas of particular interests for alumni, graduates and students of the prestigious institution. Moderated by Elidor Mëhilli, Associate Professor of History and Public Policy and the Columbia Albanians Board members Bekim Bruka and Altrim Mamuti, the engaging discussion included a presentation by Prime Minister Kurti and a Question-and-Answer segment on issues concerning Kosova security, US support, the current role of diaspora, Open Balkan etc.
That same day PM Kurti had met with two US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Peter Welch visiting with him in Prishtina. Mr. Kurti expressed his appreciation calling the move a clear sign of support by the US on the heels of the September 24 violent attack in Northern Kosova by alleged perpetrators backed by Serbia. He also indicated the White House National Security Advisor condemnation of the amassing of Serbian troops at the border with Kosova. Knowledge of past and present power relations among nations inform a deeper understanding in geopolitics and in this context, Mr. Kurti drew the analogy in the sequence of events that followed the collapse of Soviet Union to the disintegration of the Yugoslav Federation. Asked about the Association of Serb communities, Mr. Kurti recognized the rights of the Serbian minority guaranteed by Kosova’s Constitution, further noting that out of 38 municipalities in Kosova, 10 have Serb majorities, while 93 percent of population is Albanian, 4% Serb and the other 3% includes Bosniaks, Turks, Ashkali, Egyptians, Gorani and Roma.
A consistently central theme for the administration, diaspora, was discussed in terms of its role before and after the war. “It was engaged in an effective multipronged campaign through financing the war, through lobbying the US Congress and White House up until the liberation,” said PM Kurti. The successful efforts however were followed by a postwar “incredible relaxation” he added. Yet “currently the diaspora is undergoing a third revival, remarked Kosova’s PM. The remittances by diaspora accounting for 20% of the country’s GDP are one way of demonstrating such revival, according to him.
Among the challenges and obstacles the country is faced with, he echoed the discrepancies between the job market and education degrees for a whole generation of Albanians who pursued years of studying abroad. PM Kurti brought up programs designed in accordance with a Swiss model that matches the labor market with the proper level of education, in order to assign the right person with the right job. “There is no time like the present.” said Prime Minister Kurti but “the present is especially important to Kosova.” “And all of you are part of us and are dear to the nation.”
Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who has consistently opposed the idea, called the Open Balkan “an abuse of Eastern and Northeastern powers, which makes it insufficiently European”. In contrast, the Berlin Process is the right geopolitical orientation because Balkans should be European. At the summit, Mr. Kurti welcomed the new plan offered by the European leaders ahead of the membership of the Western Balkans to the EU bloc.