German top diplomat: Kosovo needs a government capable of action

2025-11-18 16:52:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The German chief diplomat, Johann Wadephul, demanded that Kosovo quickly have a government capable of acting domestically and internationally.

After meeting with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, the German Foreign Minister said that such an expectation after the February parliamentary elections is reasonable.

According to him, for some in the region, Kosovo is considered a symbol of democracy and a strong civil society.

" In order for this success to continue, Kosovo needs to have a government capable of acting both internally and externally as soon as possible. Voters have been waiting for its formation for eight months. They have reasonable expectations that these democratic processes will reach a positive conclusion, and this includes a stable government."

His call for a new government comes just one day before the constitutional deadline for Glauk Konjufca of the Vetëvendosje Movement to present the new executive composition to the Assembly expires.

Konjufca, who is the second candidate to form the government, needs 61 votes to form the new government. His party leader, Albin Kurti, had previously failed to secure these votes in the Assembly.

Wadephul said that Germany supports the dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, but claimed that this process has recently stalled.

" It is very important that there is concrete progress here very soon. The Ohrid Agreement, which contains all the relevant elements for normalization, must be implemented quickly and fully. We expect this from both sides and for this more commitment is needed from Kosovo and Serbia ," he said.

Kosovo and Serbia reached the Agreement on the Path to Normalization, known as the Ohrid Agreement, in 2023, but the pact has not yet been implemented.

Although the agreement has not been signed, the European Union insists that it is binding on both sides.

According to the European chief diplomat, in this regard, Kosovo is required to take steps towards establishing the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities.

Wadephul said that Germany supports the dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, but claimed that this process has recently stalled.

" It is very important that there is concrete progress here very soon. The Ohrid Agreement, which contains all the relevant elements for normalization, must be implemented quickly and fully. We expect this from both sides and for this more commitment is needed from Kosovo and Serbia ," he said.

Kosovo and Serbia reached the Agreement on the Path to Normalization, known as the Ohrid Agreement, in 2023, but the pact has not yet been implemented.

Although the agreement has not been signed, the European Union insists that it is binding on both sides.

According to the European chief diplomat, in this regard, Kosovo is required to take steps towards establishing the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities.

Regarding the dialogue, the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said that the country remains committed to this process.

"As long as Kosovo remains under the EU's own measures, even the EU-facilitated dialogue cannot be considered balanced, principled or equitable," she said.

Osmani demanded the lifting of the punitive measures that the EU imposed on Kosovo in the summer of 2023 due to tensions in the Serb-majority north, but also Germany's assistance for the country's European integration.

Wadephul, who is visiting the Western Balkans region, pledged that Germany will support Kosovo on its European path, while saying that EU enlargement is a "geopolitical emergency."

" We all, whether we are EU members or not, must make it clear to Russia that destabilization, disinformation and manipulation have no place on our continent. We respond to destabilization attempts with a united Europe. In this context, EU enlargement is now a geopolitical emergency. For this, for the first time in many years, there is a realistic prospect ," he said.

Of the countries in the region, only Kosovo has stalled in the European integration process, as it is the only country that does not even have the status of a candidate country. The country applied for membership in December 2022. However, this application has not yet even passed the first formal phase, that of review by the EU Council and then sending it for opinion to the European Commission./ REL