Pristina, 27.10.2022 – The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, for the second time in a little more than a year, welcomed to Prishtina the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

In this meeting, accompanied by the Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, and the Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Arbërie Nagavci, Prime Minister Kurti informed the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, about the continuous progress Kosovo is marking in economic and democratic indicators and the work of the Government in the justice reform, fulfillment of the European agenda and the fight against crime and corruption.

He highlighted the findings in international reports that prove gradual but continuous progress of the Republic of Kosovo in many areas, including here the Country Report 2022, which was among the best in the region, and now recently the report of the World Justice Project (WJP) which, in addition to ranking Kosovo as the first in the region in the rule of law, ranks it in the second place in the world as the country with the greatest improvement in this area.

In terms of the path of the Republic of Kosovo towards the European Union, Prime Minister Kurti said that Kosovo will apply for membership to the European Union before the end of this year, as a result of the political and value orientation of both the Government and the citizens of the Republic, who support massively and completely integration into the EU.

Meanwhile, concerning the visa liberalization, Prime Minister Kurti stated that Kosovo has met all the criteria and that the liberalization is already more than meritorious for the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo.

Energy crisis faced by the entire European continent was also discussed. The European Union has been a continuous partner of the state of Kosovo. Today’s meeting confirmed the immediate budget aid of 75 million euros for Kosovo, to deal with the energy crisis.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo and the people of Kosovo, Prime Minister Kurti, Minister Rizvanolli and Minister Nagavci expressed their gratitude for this support, which will directly help minimize the effects of the energy crisis on our citizens.

After the meeting, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, together with Minister Artane Rizvanolli, Minister Arbërie Nagavci and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited the facility of the Faculty of Architecture. Thanks to the funding of the European Union, the facility now has a new central heating system, while the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, through cooperation with the World Bank, has invested in the energy efficiency of this facility.