Kosovo: We will apply to the EU before the end of the year

Speaking at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Tirana, Osmani said: “I am here today in the presence of all EU leaders: Kosovo will apply for EU membership before the end of this year.”

Of the other Western Balkan countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are at different stages of the EU accession process, but Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, is yet to has postulated.

The governments of Serbia and Kosovo agreed in 2013 to negotiate with the mediation of the EU to resolve their disagreements, but these negotiations did not advance much.

One of the conditions for Serbia’s acceptance as a member of the EU is the settlement of disputes with Kosovo.

“We believe that the dialogue led by the European Union and fully supported by the United States is the only solution for a final agreement based on mutual recognition,” Osmani said.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic also expressed his determination to carry out a dialogue with Kosovo through the mediation of the EU.

“But we also have to protect our constitutional interests,” Vucic said, referring to the Serbian constitution, which recognizes Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia.

In 1999, NATO carried out 11-week airstrikes to stop the massacre and deportation of ethnic Albanians by Serb counter-insurgency, after which Belgrade lost control of Kosovo.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia flared when the Kosovo government proposed this year to replace Serb-licensed vehicles used by ethnic Serbs in the country’s north with license plates issued by official Kosovo institutions.