Minister Çitaku and Director General Mr. Danielsson discus Kosovo’s European agenda

At the press conference, Minister Çitaku addressed the media with the opening remarks: “Concerning the Stabilization and Association Agreement, I would like to express satisfaction that the negotiating process is being developed with a high intensity and we are approaching completion of this process in accordance with the provided deadlines. During next week, the second round of negotiations at the level of technical groups will take place and on this occasion, I expect almost all the technical details of the negotiations to be finalized. This will pave the way for the next meeting of the chief negotiators and the conclusion of the negotiation process”.

Also, the Minister emphasized that: “I informed Mr. Danielsson about the measures that our institutions are undertaking within the Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation, and that we expect for the dialogue on the Visa Liberalization process be intensified in the following months. In the weeks to come we hope to conduct the remainder of the assessment mission that has began in December and rounding it up with a real report that will identify all the achievements of the Kosovo institutions”.

In addition, on this occasion it was emphasized the planning of EU assistance for Kosovo for the next 7 years. Among others, Minister pointed out that: “Only through the Pre-Accession Instrument, Kosovo will benefit approximately 500 million Euros over the next 7 years. It is important that these funds are spent in accordance with the priorities of the Kosovo Institutions and in line with the priorities of the European agenda “.

On his turn Mr. Christian Danielsson stated: “We had a very constructive meeting which was focused on the next steps relating to the negotiations for the SAA. I emphasized that it is important for Kosovo to continue with necessary reforms in the Rule of Law area, combat against corruption and organized crime. We will help the Government of Kosovo in its efforts for better economic governance and efficient public administration and there will be important IPA instruments to implement this”.

Regarding the visa liberalization process, Minister Çitaku and Director General Danielsson concluded that this is a criteria application based process and it is not based on dates or deadlines.