Croatia welcomes Kosovo's EU membership application

BELGRADE, Serbia

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic welcomed Kosovo's application for European Union (EU) membership and wished it success.

"We will continue to provide support and share Croatian experiences," Plenkovic wrote on social media.

He congratulated the prime minister and president of Kosovo, Aljbin Kurti and Vjosa Osmani, respectively, and the citizens of Kosovo.

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti submitted a signed application Thursday to the Czech Republic, which currently presides over the European Union.

The request was submitted to Czech Minister for European Affairs, Mikulas Bek.

Bek said Kosovo's request for membership fulfills one of the priorities of Czech and European Thursday policies to expand the EU to countries in the Western Balkans.

"We firmly believe that the European future is the only way to solve a number of problems in that region, economic, social, ethnic,'' he said.

Bek said the Czech Republic, as chairman of the EU in the second half of 2022, paid a lot of attention to the Western Balkans.

Kurti said Kosovo is determined to share European values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

"We understand that we have to fulfill a number of tasks on the way to the EU. We don't want any shortcuts, no accelerated process,” he said. “A minority of member states do not recognize our independence. I believe that by presenting our request for EU membership, we can appeal to diversity. I believe that our commitment will change the opinion of possible skeptics.”

Spain, Slovakia, Greek Cypriot administration, Romania and Greece are EU member countries that do not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Kosovo is the last country in the region to submit an application for candidate status and it occurred on the same day that Bosnia and Herzegovina was confirmed with the status in the EU.

- Serbia objects

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that by taking this step, Kosovo violated the Washington Treaty, Brussels Treaty and UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

Vucic criticized the international community and Western partners for not respecting the agreements.

In 2020, Serbian and Kosovar leaders met in a US-sponsored two-day dialogue in Washington where they agreed to normalize economic ties.

Both sides agreed to freeze diplomatic recognition/de-recognition campaigns.

Kosovo, predominantly inhabited by Albanians, broke away from Serbia in 1999 and declared independence in 2008. It aspires to EU membership and aims to gain a visa-free regime for the EU zone.

But Serbia has not recognized Kosovo’s independence and sees its former province as its territory.

Kosovo is also not a member of NATO or the United Nations.

In early December, European Council President Charles Michel said the EU will give an update on Kosovo's visa liberalization.

Kosovo is among a handful of countries in Europe outside the EU’s visa-free regime.