Kosovo is making headway in its efforts to draw nearer to the European Union. Just last year, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU entered into force, Pristina adopted a list of priorities – the so-called European Reform Agenda – meant to help the implementation of the SAA, and the European Commission proposed visa liberalisation for Kosovo. In parallel, since the beginning of the EU-mediated talks between Pristina and Belgrade in 2011, the two sides have reached important agreements aimed at normalising their relations. Kosovo is now eager to advance even further on its EU track. But to do so, it must first deliver on the reform commitments assumed to date. Recent bilateral tensions with Serbia, which brought the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue to an effective halt, as well as the parliamentary impasse reached in the implementation of Kosovo’s border demarcation deal with Montenegro are not helping Kosovo move forward. Moreover, the continuing refusal of five EU member states to recognise Kosovo’s independence continues to call into question Kosovo’s eligibility for EU accession.

What are the key legal and political obstacles in the way of Kosovo’s European integration and how can they be overcome? How can Kosovo ensure meaningful progress on its EU-related reform agenda? Where does Kosovo stand from a Balkan regional perspective? And what more can the EU do to help Kosovo in its quest for EU membership? This Policy Dialogue was organised in cooperation with the Group for Legal and Political Studies.

Speakers included: Corina Stratulat, Senior Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre, Ulrike Lunacek, European Parliament Vice President of the Greens/EFA Group, David Cullen, Head of Unit for The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo at the Commission’s DG Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, Augustin Palokaj, Brussels Correspondent for Koha Group, Fisnik Korenica, Senior Fellow Research, Group for Legal and Political Studies in Kosovo