Prishtina, April 25, 2018 – The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, attended today the conference “Kosovo’s Next Decade: Advancing Reform Making, Regional Cooperation and European Integration”.
President Thaçi said that this conference and similar initiatives are very important for the future, but above all also for the future of Kosovo, with reflections for the region as well.
“For my opinion, there is a political maturity in Kosovar politics, but at the same time, as in the whole region, this politics is followed by gossips, speculations and a few debates with arguments and counterargument and proper thoughts and discussions which show where we are as a politics, where we are as institutions, where we are as a civil society and where the Kosovar media are”, said President Thaçi, adding that the question should be asked what should be done from now on to advance the agenda of the state of Kosovo, the full reformation of the society in the coming years and decades.
The Head of State has expressed confidence that the coming weeks and months will be decisive for many aspects, including the consolidation and strengthening of the state of Kosovo.
“What we lack is a good debate and not to focus solely on day-to-day politics or next week’s politics, but in a more consensual, transparent politics, of the clear institutional agenda both internally and in relation to the region and the Western world, but of course also in relation to countries that have not yet recognized Kosovo’s independence”, he stated.
The President has said that Kosovo is a story of full success, but we are witnessing that in recent years the institutions of the country have operated with a greater fragility.
“As a result of this we have also had the developments in the Assembly of Kosovo, the unnecessary developments that have sent a message and picture of the non-Kosovo reality, but a visual picture not so appealing to our country in the world. They have also managed to weaken the position of the support countries for Kosovo and produce arguments for those who still hesitate to recognize the independence or oppose the independence of Kosovo”, said President Thaçi.
The Head of State has said that all these have been overcome with political maturity and now we have the demarcation with Montenegro which has been voted with two-thirds and we have started work on the functionalization of the Management Team for the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities.
President Thaçi said that the title of today’s forum itself “Kosovo’s Next Decade: Advancing Reform Making, Regional Cooperation and European Integration” is a very contentious and essential title, which has two extremely important sides and at the same time indispensable inevitable for politics in Kosovo.
“The very concept of a review and planning opinion for the upcoming course in Kosovo, which as a unit of measurement has a full decade, is something that we are missing in Kosovo politics. Likely, each of us, know what the next ten years of Kosovo should look like or what our goals will have to be. But we still lack a strategic plan of this kind, which should really clarify the state agenda of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, no matter who is heading them today and who will be heading them tomorrow. Because the people in charge of the institutions and the parties that are in charge of the country or who are coalition partners are in power today and can be changed tomorrow, but the agenda remains the same, I speak about the Euro-Atlantic agenda. And this was seen in the past as well, we had differences regarding the demarcation and association, and today we have a consensus that we must move forward”, he stated.
President Thaçi stressed that he welcomes the platforms that are being presented by Kosovo’s political leaders on the current situation in the country and the planning agenda for the future, and in particular the efforts to reach a maximum consensus, as broad as possible, for the next stage or for the final phase of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.
“Even today I continue to be convinced that a legally binding agreement is necessary and is indispensable for both countries. Why do I say this? I say this because we should not become an obstacle for one another, neither Kosovo nor Serbia, for the European future. Such an agreement facilitates the European future of the two countries, but also sends the best message for good neighborly relations, peace and stability in the Western Balkans”, said President Thaçi.
The Head of State has said he understands and respects the critics of the dialogue, but the European Union does not accept either Kosovo or Serbia, without closing the open issues among themselves and these issues will not be solved for us without showing will and responsibility.
He has said that dialogue will be difficult for Kosovo, but it is the only way to move forward.
President Thaçi thanked the civil society for the support it is giving to the important processes for our country.