Swedish Ambassador on the blockade: This situation can be exploited by those who do not recognize Kosovo’s independence
Express newspaper
10/08/2025 10:21
The Swedish Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonas Westerlund, in an interview with Ekonomia Online, said that Kosovo is in a sensitive situation, which could be exploited by countries that do not recognize its independence.
However, he assessed that the country has achieved a lot since the war, but the process “is not over yet.”
Westerlund recalled Sweden’s experience in 2018, when the formation of a government took several months, but through dialogue and compromise an agreement was reached. “But I have not seen so much dialogue between political parties (in Kosovo) to reach an agreement. This is missing, compromise is not something negative,” he emphasized.
“As I said before, there are many Western democracies where government formation takes time and is a challenge. But the problem with Kosovo is that it is in a very sensitive position. It is the youngest democracy in Europe and is not a member of Euro-Atlantic structures, so it is more vulnerable. This situation affects several areas. First, the connection between voters and political leaders is at risk if the latter fail to fulfill their promises. Second, the functioning of the democratic state is at risk – currently, about 17 institutions are not functioning properly, and this is a very dangerous path for Kosovo.”
“Regarding the situation, we had something similar in Sweden in 2018, where two coalitions were very close in terms of mandates, but neither had an absolute majority. It took us several months to find a solution, but in the end we reached a compromise. What was happening was that the political parties were constantly discussing, hours of talks to find a common platform and a solution. I don’t know what goes on behind the scenes here, but I have never seen so much dialogue between political parties to reach an agreement. This is missing, compromise is not something negative,” the ambassador added to EO.
“I would say that Kosovo is the youngest democracy in Europe and has achieved a lot since the war, but the process is not yet complete. It has not been recognized by all member states of the international community nor by many international organizations. So, it is a success story, but we are not yet in a stabilized position. For this reason, Kosovo is in a sensitive situation now and this can be exploited by those who do not support its independence. We have to keep this in mind,” Westerlund concluded. /EO/