The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, will participate this Thursday (October 22) in the Leaders’ Summit of the Berlin Process, which takes place in Miločer, Budva, in Montenegro. The meeting marks the end of the Montenegrin presidency of this process and will gather the leaders of the Western Balkans, representatives of the European Union and international institutions.
According to RTK, the prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, the German chancellor Friedrich Merz, the prime minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, and the prime minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenkovic, are also expected to participate in the summit. The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, will also be present. Regional cooperation, the implementation of agreements between the countries of the Western Balkans and the advancement of the integration process in the European Union are expected to be at the center of the discussions.
Kurti’s participation comes at a time when Kosovo seeks progress in the European integration process, including obtaining the status of a candidate country and opening negotiations for EU membership. A day before the summit, Kurti met with Commissioner Marta Kos in Saint Stefan, Montenegro. During the meeting, the parties discussed the reforms, the European integration of Kosovo and the need for the country’s democratic progress to be accompanied by concrete decisions from the European institutions.
After the meeting, the Prime Minister of Kosovo emphasized the importance of the full functioning of the institutions for the acceleration of reforms. He also spoke about the benefits that integration in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is expected to bring, estimating that citizens, businesses and the diaspora will save around 58 million euros per year.
In the framework of the discussions on the Berlin Process, Kurti requested the implementation of the agreements reached between the countries of the region. In particular, he pointed out the agreement on the recognition of diplomas, which he emphasized should be implemented by all parties, including Serbia. According to the preliminary agenda, the official arrival of the leaders and statements to the media are scheduled to start at 09:30, while the Leaders’ Summit is expected to start at 10:20.
