The European Union Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, told Radio Free Europe that the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is a prerequisite for Kosovo to obtain candidate status and begin the EU membership process.

Kosovo applied for EU membership on December 15, 2022, and remains the only country in the region that has not yet achieved candidate status.

“We are waiting for the [formation of the] new government. I am in contact with politicians there, and they claim to be very much in favor of normalizing relations with Serbia, which is a prerequisite for starting the negotiation process or granting candidate status,” Kos said in an interview with Radio Free Europe.

She emphasized that it is very important for the future government of Kosovo to meet several prerequisites “that must be fulfilled,” without specifying what they are.

Kosovo is currently led by a caretaker government, as the new legislature has not yet been constituted, more than a month after the certification of the parliamentary election results held on February 9.

The EU membership process for any country takes time, as the candidate country must meet several criteria, align its laws with EU legislation, and await the ratification of the accession treaty by the parliaments of all EU member states.

Kosovo is still in the early stages of membership, as it has not yet been granted candidate status. For this to happen, the European Commission must first give a positive opinion on the membership application, and then the European Council must unanimously confirm the candidate status.

“I have not received any signal from the member states or from the Danish presidency [of the European Council] that this [granting of candidate status during the Danish presidency] could happen. But I think it would be very good to get started,” Kos said.