The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, on Thursday handed over the formal application for accession to the European Union, in a symbolic visit to the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the bloc until December 31.
Kurti has insisted that it is a «historic» milestone for the former Serbian province and hopes to receive «as soon as possible» the questionnaire to be filled out by Pristina to move forward in this complex process, Kosova Press reports.
The head of the Czech government for the EU, Mikulas Bek, sees European integration as a «guarantee of peace and prosperity» for the entire Balkan region. The Czech Foreign Ministry has also emphasized on Twitter that the application confirms that the citizens of Kosovo «see their future in the European Union.»
The EU treaty stipulates that the rotating presidency must inform the other member states and also the European Parliament. It is then up to the foreign ministers to assess the case and decide whether to seek Brussels’ opinion.
As of today five EU member states, including Spain, do not recognize the independence of the former Serbian province, so it is unclear how Pristina’s request will be dealt with, a step that normally takes months in the Council and in this case could be a more complicated procedure.
