Kosovo “respects” the Washington moratorium even after expiration

Kosovo has not applied for membership in any foreign international organization, although the moratorium on this issue has almost expired five months ago. The one-year moratorium was provided for in an agreement with Serbia, signed in Washington in September 2020.

With this agreement, Serbia stopped – also for a year – the campaign against the recognition of Kosovo.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora in Kosovo does not provide details on when and in which organizations Kosovo intends to apply for membership.

“This is a process that is subject to an in-depth analysis of conditions and circumstances and is based on foreign policy priorities and strategic interests of the country, but also depends on application deadlines in organizations where membership is intended,” said in a statement MFA for Radio Free Europe.

It states that the priority is “creating a strategy to strengthen Kosovo’s international subjectivity”, but does not provide more details.

REL asked the MPJD about the preparations for the application in July – about a month before the expiration of the moratorium – and then was told that “preparations in this regard are being made by the responsible teams, so that we are ready when the deadlines open. of applications from organizations ”.

Kosovo declared independence on February 17, 2008. According to the list published on the MPJD website, there are 117 countries in the world that have recognized it.

For these almost 14 years of citizenship, Kosovo has been a member of several international organizations, including financial and sports. Among them: the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Olympic Committee, the European Football Federation and the World Football Federation.

Kosovo is not yet a member of the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and others.

The curriculum of the current Government of Kosovo, which was formed in March last year, states that “membership of international organizations and the cultivation of good neighborliness are of special importance for the Republic of Kosovo.”

It also states that the executive “will be engaged in the function of membership in international organizations”.

At the end of last year, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that his Government plans to submit a formal application for membership in the European Union in 2022.

This was repeated days ago by the First Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, after a meeting with the heads of representations of EU countries in Pristina.

EU sources told Radio Free Europe that they “do not see any real possibility” that Kosovo’s application for membership would be approved, although the EU has repeatedly said that Kosovo has a European perspective.

There are still five EU countries – Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus, Greece and Romania – that do not recognize Kosovo’s independence. Arbër Fetahu, from the Group for Legal and Political Studies in Pristina, says Kosovo still has work to do before applying for EU membership.

“I consider that before applying for membership, Kosovo should work hard for full implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) and implement the envisaged reforms, then the path to the EU gradually comes based on the enlargement methodology”, says Fetahu for Radio Free Europe.

Kosovo signed the SAA, which is the first step towards EU membership, in 2015.

The SAA requires a country aiming for EU membership to ensure that its governance and civil society mechanisms meet EU standards.

From the countries of the Western Balkans, in the same position as Kosovo – meaning only with the SAA – is Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia and Montenegro have opened several chapters of EU membership negotiations, while Albania and Northern Macedonia are awaiting the start of these negotiations.

Opposition: We have no information from MPJD

Deputies from opposition parties in Kosovo, who are part of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, say that MFA leaders have never informed them about the application process for membership in any international organization.

The MP of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Ariana Musliu Shoshi, says that the MFA should have used the time of the one-year moratorium to prepare for application to international organizations.

“If we had an active foreign policy without scandals, a good opportunity is to apply to the Council of Europe, INTERPOL and NATO – as the most important organizations for Kosovo in the phase we are in,” says Musliu-Shoshi, without specifying that for which “scandals” he is talking about.

“However, we as MPs and members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs do not have information on what stage of preparation for membership is the MFA,” she added.

According to the MP of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Time Kadriaj, the MFA lacks concrete preparations for this issue.

“A period of one year is enough for the country to be prepared, because ad-hoc can not be applied for membership in international organizations, because from previous practices – although much lobbying – we have seen that there have been countries that have recognized Kosovo’s independence, but did not vote in favor of Kosovo’s membership in international organizations “, says Kadriaj.

Serbia’s campaign against Kosovo

Serbia has launched a campaign to withdraw recognition of Kosovo’s independence in 2017. According to Serbian authorities, there are about 18 countries that have withdrawn recognition – among them: Suriname, Burundi, Liberia, Solomon Islands, Madagascar, Togo, Central Republic of Africa, Ghana, Sierra Leone and others.

Poster with a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin located in North Mitrovica. Photos from the archive.

Serbia’s campaign has also prevented Kosovo from joining the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Agency (UNESCO).

It is not clear whether Serbia has resumed its campaign following the expiration of the moratorium provided for in the Washington Agreement. REL

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