The European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs has approved the draft report on Kosovo’s progress on the path towards the EU during 2023 and 2024.
MEPs have highlighted that Kosovo has made significant progress in electoral reforms, economic sustainability and the protection of fundamental rights, but have noted that challenges remain in judicial reform, media freedom, administrative efficiency and the digitalization of public services.
The report was approved in the Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday with 48 votes in favor, 19 against and six abstentions.
The report states that the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue has not yielded the expected results.
It is said that Kosovo’s determination to join the European Union has been constant and all efforts to bring Kosovo out of the “gray zone” are in the interest of both Kosovo and the EU.
It also fully supports Kosovo’s application for membership in the Council of Europe and the strategic goal of joining NATO’s Partnership for Peace, as well as efforts to join international organizations.
The report welcomed the progress made in prosecuting corruption cases. But it called on Kosovo to improve the capacity of the Special Prosecution Office to investigate and prosecute high-profile cases of organized crime.
In the report, MEPs called for the immediate lifting of EU measures against Kosovo.
It is said that the measures are not justifiable since Kosovo has met EU requirements.
MEPs say the measures are in stark contradiction with Kosovo’s commitment to European values ??and are hindering the resumption of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue in good faith.
The report highlighted that the dialogue has not brought the expected results and urged Kosovo and Serbia to implement the Brussels and Ohrid agreements, including the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities, and also for Serbia to lift its objections to Kosovo’s membership in regional and international organizations.
Both countries have been urged to avoid unilateral actions that could harm the dialogue process.
“It is clear that the Kosovo integration process needs a new momentum – we need a new chapter in the talks between Pristina and Belgrade. It is extremely positive that in the Kosovo political landscape, all major parties are strongly in favor of EU integration. Kosovo’s future is in the European family and we will work together on the reform agenda, as any future membership must be based on merit,” said the rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament, Riho Terras.
Meanwhile, in the report adopted on Serbia on Wednesday, MEPs called on Serbia to “show with seriousness” its strategic orientation towards the EU.
The report on Serbia was voted with 55 votes in favor, 13 against and 8 abstentions in the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs.
It has been found that there is no progress in areas critical for EU membership.
Serbia’s close relations with Russia have been noted. MEPs have called on the EU to reconsider the amount of financial assistance to Serbia if it continues to support anti-democratic ideologies and fails to align with EU sanctions and its common foreign and security policy.
It has been emphasized that corruption continues to be a major obstacle.
“The overall pace of membership negotiations also depends on Serbia’s commitment to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, which should be conducted in good faith to ensure a legally binding agreement based on mutual recognition,” the report says.
The rapporteur for Serbia in the European Parliament, Tonino Picula, has said that a long-standing political crisis, intensified by the lack of progress on the basic criteria, is having a direct impact on Serbia’s progress towards EU membership.
“For a long time, Serbia has tried to get the most out of EU funds, ignoring our core values ??and geopolitical orientations. The enlargement process is based on meritocracy, and Serbia’s progress can have a positive impact on the region,” Picula said, reports “Koha”.