France reaffirms the support for Kosovo’s European agenda

The Minister met in separate meetings the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Mr. Harlem Desir, the Director for Continental Europe, Mr. Eric Fournier and the Director of EU from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, Mr. Pierre Levy, and at these meeting Minister Çollaku received their support for the process of SAA signature, fulfilment of criteria for visa liberalization dialogue and regarding the continuation of the process for normalizing the relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

Minister thanked them for the continuous support they have provided to Kosovo in general, with particular emphasis on the integration process, and informed the representatives of this state about the steps that were taken by Kosovo towards reaching the criteria for meeting the European agenda as well as the process of normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

“SAA has a special importance in establishing contractual relations between Kosovo and EU and we are grateful to the France for providing the support for us in this process. Now we are moving forward in this direction and it is expected during this year to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement. This will be a new and important step for the reform process in Kosovo”, stated Minister Çollaku.

Regarding the process of visa liberalization for the citizens of Kosovo, Minister Çollaku, informed that until the month of June, all the criteria for this process will be met and afterwards the final report will be submitted to the European Commission for assessment and later on next steps are expected to occur.

In these meetings, among others matter it was also discussed about irregular migration as well as about prevention and the fight against violent extremism and terrorism.

Minister Çollaku informed the French officials with the work that Kosovo has done in regulating the legal infrastructure and the concrete actions for preventing and fighting extremism and terrorism. “Kosovo is the first country in the region that issued the law to prevent the participation of its citizens in armed conflicts abroad. We are also working on the Strategy for preventing the violent extremism. Kosovo has given a clear message that it will not tolerate any organization or individual with religious, political or any other form of extreme conviction and platform”, stated the Minister.

In terms of bilateral cooperation, Minister Çollaku focused on deepening the cooperation, especially in the context of economic development and in attracting French investors to invest in Kosovo. In this context he stressed the great importance that the successful completion of the privatization of Brezovica Ski Centre has, which is a clear encouraging message for French investors.