First of all, let me say that we strongly condemn the violent attacks of September 24. My deepest condolences to the family and friends of the police officer. Such an attack is completely unacceptable, it is contrary to the values of the EU. And the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
Dear Madam President, dear Vjosa,
It’s good to be here again. And thank you very much for welcoming me back here in Pristina. First of all, let me reassure you that the EU is fully committed to a future with the six Western Balkan countries within our European Union. Regarding Kosovo, my first message is: Kosovo is making steady progress on EU reforms. So congratulations for your hard work and effort. Above all by strengthening your democracy, with your multi-party electoral reform. Of course, there is still work to be done, as we just discussed in our meeting. But I want to reassure you: we will walk this path together.
To start, perhaps a word on visa liberalization. I remember very well last year when we were both at the press conference and there was a strong call for visa liberalization. Now, this year, I would say we’ve pretty much succeeded. So this is a big step forward. From January 1, citizens of Kosovo will be able to travel visa-free to the European Union, like the rest of the region. We all know it’s a fantastic way to bring our people closer together. This is a very important step in our relations. So, well done. This is the result of years of hard work on the part of Kosovo. I know that.
My second message is this: we must bring our economies closer together. This is what we have done in the past. You remember that we have our European investment plan of 30 billion euros for the Western Balkans. He delivers quickly. For example, the X railway corridor which connects you to Serbia and North Macedonia. And the Solar4Kosovo photovoltaic plant that you are currently preparing. These are great projects. Last year, we went through a huge and serious energy crisis side by side. We have supported you to the tune of 75 million euros. I hope this has helped to ease the impact of high energy prices on households and businesses. These were very trying times, but we overcame the difficulties together.
As I said, we need to bring our economies closer together. If we look at the numbers, Kosovo’s economy represents 27% of the EU average income. So there is a lot of untapped potential. And we should try to double your economy in a decade. This is why we presented the Growth Plan. If I can summarize it very briefly, it contains four pillars.
The first pillar is this: we open our single market in several crucial sectors to your businesses.
In return, and this is the second pillar, we expect you to open your borders to your neighbors and complete the common regional market in the Western Balkans. This is very important because then we will have the single market and the common regional market, which has enormous potential. In fact, the regional common market could increase the Western Balkans’ GDP by 10% if completed.
The third pillar says that, for this opening of markets, we need fair conditions of competition. For this, certain reforms must be made. For example, for Kosovo, improve the business environment, equip people with the right skills or make your energy sector greener. You are doing a lot, but we must do more. And of course, there are still very important horizontal priorities, such as strengthening the judicial system as well as the fight against corruption and organized crime.
The fourth pillar says that the reforms you implement lead to investments. This is a principle that we have adopted within the European Union in our so-called NextGenerationEU plan: investment and reforms. And it works very well. So if it works in the European Union member states, I am convinced that it will also work in the Western Balkan countries.
This growth plan is supposed to stimulate your economy. Most importantly, it will create good jobs. And it will support you on your path to joining the European Union. I think it’s the right offer at the right time. As I said, the Plan has the potential to double your economy in a decade. And this will play an important role in your path to the European Union.
My last message: we all know that we can only achieve all this progress and success if Kosovo and Serbia normalize their relations. It is absolutely crucial that both engage and cooperate. And we discussed together the possibility of Kosovo launching the procedure for establishing the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian Majority – this was last week’s draft declaration. Serbia should obtain de facto recognition. This is what I will discuss tomorrow in Serbia. And of course, the European Dialogue is the ideal place to discuss these topics.
We are deeply convinced that this is the only way to move forward, not only to access the growth plan, but also towards a future in which Kosovo – and we really hope that this will happen – will be part of the European Union .
