On Friday 25 November, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Kosovo's Foreign Affairs Minister Enver Hoxhaj signed a framework agreement on Kosovo's participation in EU programmes. Kosovars can now therefore participate in programmes such as Erasmus and Horizon 2020, as well as the civil protection mechanism.
Signature of this agreement was followed by the first ever Stabilisation and Asociation Council. During the press conference afterwards, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn urged "not only the government" but "all politicians" to take the necessary measures for the last two criteria to be fulfilled (from the initial 95) for granting visa waivers to Kosovars: the agreement on delimiting the border with Montenegro, and the track record on the fight against corruption. Stating that the Commission had noted back in May that there were only two criteria remaining to be fulfilled, Hahn expressed his surprise that their resolution was taking so long. Kosovo's Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said he hoped these issues would soon be settled.
Mogherini called for "constructive dialogue" between the different political parties, the government and opposition in the Parliament – the polarisation between the government and opposition having been monitored this year (see EUROPE 11665). The dialogue would be seen as a factor bringing progress to Kosovo on its European path, and the EU is ready to accompany this dialogue, Mogherini added.
She underlined "the importance of progress" in implementing the agreements between Kosovo and Serbia. "We have encouraging and important measures, especially recently, on implementation, in particular, the agreements on free movement, justice, and the Association of Serb majority municipalities, and energy", Mogherini said. She also hailed the arrangements made on telecommunications (see EUROPE 11667). "We await the agreed opening of Mitrovica Bridge in January", she said. "We will continue the dialogue with Serbia, to work on new subjects and implement all the agreements already obtained", Mustafa added, saying he hoped for mutual commitment on this implementation.
In addition, Mustafa reiterated the Kosovars' resolve to continue on the path of European integration and to be able to join the wider European family. "We consider that we have a place in the EU and we expect support from all the member states", he said, adding that he would like the five EU member states that have not yet recognised Kosovo's independence (Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus and Greece) to do so. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)