After the Catalan referendum and the European Commission's position that this referendum is illegal, it is probably clear how difficult it is to safeguard the independence of Serbia, says President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, daily Večernje Novosti writes.
The European Commission (EC), that declared the referendum in Catalonia as anti-constitutional, claims that the case of the Spanish province and Kosovo “are not comparable,” Serbian media reported today.
The EC further elaborated on its stance by saying “Spain is a member state of the EU”.
The conditions for Western Balkan countries to join the EU membership will not be met before the end of the mandate of the current European Commission (EC).
EC President Jean-Claude Juncker said this on Wednesday, during his "state of the union" address at the European Parliament.
Beta is reporting that Juncker "stressed the EU will have more than 27 member states in the coming years."
Following the Kosovo Assembly’s move to review the draft law on population census in the north of Kosovo, the European Commission (EC) has also stressed the need for the adoption of a law that would enable the process taking place in the four northern municipalities. The EC has encouraged Kosovo institutions to invite international observers to take part in the census, says a press release, the issued by the Ministry of European Integration and the EU Office.
The European Parliament will hold today the first debate on the proposal of the European Commission for removal of visas for Kosovo. The European Commission will initially present its arguments, then the report which has to undergo Parliament procedures will be drafted. Despite the fact that majority of the European Parliament support removal of visas for Kosovo, the procedure to travel without visas this summer might not be reached.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, said today that the fight against corruption and ratification of the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro, are two conditions that Kosovo needs to meet in order to get visa liberalization. “I want to thank the Assembly because we have stepped up certain processes to meet the criteria. The European Commission made a historic decision. There are two more conditions that we need to meet. We must ratify the border agreement with Montenegro.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, told a press conference today that the recommendation for visa liberalization marks a huge step forward in Kosovo’s path toward European integration. Mustafa said: “This is a special day for Kosovo as the recommendation for visa liberalization marks a very important and multi-dimensional decision. Kosovo has made a huge step forward in the process of European integration … This comes as a result of the commitment of our citizens to Western values.
The European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said today that the European Commission has recommended to the EU Council and the European Parliament to grant visa liberalization for Kosovo’s citizens. Avramopoulos told reporters that the EU will closely monitor the visa liberalization process for Kosovo. “I know how important visa liberalization is for Kosovo and we recommend this,” he said.
The Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, issued a press release today saying that Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, will visit Pristina on Thursday. Mogherini is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Mustafa. Mogherini and Mustafa are expected to give a joint conference for the media.
Kosovo’s Minister for European Integration, Bekim Collaku, said today that he is confident that the European Commission will very soon announce a positive assessment on visa liberalization for Kosovo. Collaku made these remarks during a press conference with the French Minister for European Affairs, Harlem Desir, and German Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth. Desir said France would continue to support Kosovo. “France and Germany support Kosovo and I can say that Kosovo has achieved a lot of progress but more remains to be done.