Sweden, a strong supporter of Kosovo’s EU integration

During the meeting it was discussed about the bilateral cooperation between both countries, Kosovo’s European agenda, with special emphasis on the process of visa liberalization for Kosovo and the implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, signed between Kosovo and the EU.

The Deputy Minister Ilazi thanked Ms. Modeer for continuous support that the people and Government of Sweden have provided to the Republic of Kosovo, especially in the field of rule of law, human rights and European integration. Only for the period 2014-2020, Sweden will support Kosovo with approximately 70 million Euros, within the cooperation agreement signed between both countries in October of last year.

The Deputy Minister Ilazi informed Ms. Modeer about the work and commitment of the Kosovo institutions towards the process of European integration. Regarding SAA, he stated that the national program for implementation of the SAA has been approved; whereas in terms of visa liberalization, he stated that the last input of fulfilling eight recommendations for visa liberalization deriving from report of 18 December 2015 of European Commission was submitted on January 15. “Now we are waiting for the announced visit of EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, in Kosovo, in order to move forward in this process with the recommendation for visa liberalization for citizens of the Republic of Kosovo,” said Deputy Minister Ilazi.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State (Deputy Minister) for Development and Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Ms. Ulrika Modeer, stressed that Kosovo and Sweden are strong partners and highly appreciated the cooperation between both countries.

She also reaffirmed the support of the state of Sweden to the process of visa liberalization and Kosovo’s European agenda in general. “Kosovo and Sweden have a long-term partnership on reforms and development, being focused on climate and the environment, democratic governance, public administration reform and economic development. As Kosovo is moving closer to the EU, we are focused on reforms and on respecting human rights in order to promote socio-economic development. In economic terms, the bilateral support of Sweden in Kosovo amounts to about 9 million Euros per year,” said Ms. Modeer.