Kosovo Seeks EU Candidate Status Ahead of Tivat Summit
Albin Kurti asked Antonio Costa for candidate status and the opening of talks, two days before the EU and Western Balkans summit in Tivat.
- Albin Kurti asked Antonio Costa for EU candidate status and the opening of negotiations.
- Kosovo is the only country in the region without candidate status; it filed its application in December 2022.
- The EU and Western Balkans summit is being held in Tivat, with more than 30 heads of state and government expected.
- Kosovo enters the summit with relations with Serbia still unresolved.
Two days before the European Union and Western Balkans summit in Tivat, Kosovo’s caretaker prime minister Albin Kurti asked European Council President Antonio Costa for candidate status for EU membership and the opening of negotiations. The request was made at a meeting in Pristina, as reported by kossev.info and euronews.al.
Kosovo is the only country in the region without candidate status for EU membership. Pristina filed its membership application in December 2022, but it has yet to pass the first formal stage in the Council of the EU. With this request, Kosovo joins the regional debate ahead of a gathering whose stated theme is shared prosperity and stability.
What exactly did Kurti ask of Costa?
According to kossev.info, Kurti described candidate status and the opening of talks as the expected response by the Union to Pristina’s commitment.
On our determined and unconditional path to the EU, the Union should respond by granting candidate status and opening negotiations.
During a multi-day visit to the region, Antonio Costa toured six countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro. In Kosovo he met with acting President Albulena Haxhiu, outgoing Prime Minister Kurti and representatives of the opposition.
The Tivat summit is set to bring together, according to announcements, more than 30 heads of state and government. Organisers cite shared prosperity and regional stability as the themes, while individual requests for progress in the enlargement process remain on the side of each delegation.
Open questions before the gathering
Whether the summit will give a concrete signal on Kosovo’s candidacy remains open. Such an outcome is for now the interpretation of some media outlets, not a conclusion of the gathering itself, which has not yet taken place. Several facts stand independently of the outcome:
- Kosovo enters the summit with relations with Serbia still unresolved, an issue Belgrade and Pristina address through the EU-facilitated dialogue.
- Pristina’s 2022 application has not yet received the status that would launch formal negotiations.
- Five EU member states still do not recognise Kosovo’s independence, a factor in the Council’s decision-making.
For now, the official positions of EU institutions on Pristina’s request have not been condensed into a single document before the gathering, so any conclusion about how delegations will react remains a matter of assessment rather than a confirmed decision.
Will the Tivat summit move Kosovo closer to candidate status, or will the decision remain in the hands of the Council of the EU for some time yet?
