Europe is our destiny, Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani tells Euronews

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Europe is our destiny, Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani tells Euronews  Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani told Euronews' morning show Europe Today that accession to the EU remains Pristina's "strategic" and "security imperative," although it is not a full-fledged candidate for membership in the 27-member bloc.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/12/17/europe-is-our-destiny-kosovos-president-vjosa-osmani-tells-euronews  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00So, of course, Kosovo is not yet a candidate country for EU membership.

00:03It's not recognized by five EU countries.

00:06Will it ever be a member of the EU, do you think?

00:08Absolutely. It's our destiny.

00:11It's something that we've worked for for a very long time.

00:14And while, practically speaking, we've only applied a few years ago,

00:18and we're hoping for our application to be on the table of the members of the Council very, very soon.

00:24In fact, as an identity, as a country, as a nation,

00:27we've been contributing to the values on which the European Union stands for centuries.

00:32So, we strongly believe that while it's a very complex process,

00:36if the merit-based criteria is used, Kosovo actually would have been a front-runner by now.

00:41But it's complex in our case, additionally, because of the five non-recognizers,

00:44who we truly do hope will understand that having Kosovo as a member of the Union,

00:49it's not just at the benefit of the people of Kosovo, but it's a strategic imperative.

00:53It's a security imperative for the entire continent.

00:55And as you say, it's a very complex process.

00:58How would you rate, perhaps, your progress towards getting in line with EU standards

01:02and making sure that reforms are done, the most urgent ones?

01:04Well, if we'll look at what the EU says about that progress,

01:08Kosovo is right now at a 100% alignment with the common foreign and security policy of the European Union.

01:14Every single decision in these areas is completely aligned,

01:18whether it's sanctions against Russia or against other adversaries of the Western world

01:22and what the EU represents today.

01:25In terms of values, Kosovo is also entirely aligned.

01:29In terms of rule of law reforms, we are a front-runner.

01:32And based on international indices, such as Gallup International, which was recently published,

01:38Kosovo is actually number one in Europe in terms of the rule of law index.

01:42It's stopping all of the European countries, and it's third in the world when it comes to fighting crime and corruption.

01:48This has been the top priority of our institutions.

01:51And right now, in terms of the corruption perception index, we have the lowest in the region.

01:57So these are some of the issues that we worked on hard.

01:59In terms of economic reforms, again, according to the European Union reports that we get yearly,

02:06we are the best in the region.

02:07In terms of administrative reforms, we're the best in the region.

02:11Obviously, there are still some things and some homework that we have to complete.

02:14But I think if there were no political complications that have nothing to do with reforms,

02:19we would have absolutely been the top country in the region so far.

02:22Because now, of course, Ukraine is the top, if you like, because, of course, the situation there,

02:26it was speedily given candidate status.

02:29How does that make Kosovo feel?

02:30We do support Ukraine's membership in the European Union.

02:34And as I said, this is beyond just the internal reforms in a certain country.

02:40If we want Europe to be whole, free, and at peace, which was the dream of the founders,

02:44we need to understand that we need to be given a chance to move forward.

02:49And while, of course, we would want Ukraine to complete all of the reforms that are required of the rest of us, too,

02:54it is a security imperative as well.

02:57Look, adversaries such as Russia, China, and Iran do not leave any space without having it used.

03:06So there's no vacuum.

03:08If the European Union, if the transatlantic relationship is not, of course, having its influence in the Western Balkans,

03:15someone else will come, not for charity, but because they have strategic interests there.

03:20So we need to make sure that whether it's Ukraine or the Western Balkans, again, on a merit-based process, move forward.

03:25That is your destiny, as you say.

03:27President Osmani, thank you so much for coming into us today.

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