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Antonio Costa in Kosovo as part of Balkan tour, CoE president meets with country's leaders
2026-06-03 12:31:16 / KOSOVA
The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, is staying in Kosovo for meetings with institutional and party leaders.
Costa begins his visit with a meeting with the acting president, Albulena Haxhiu. He will then meet with the acting prime minister, Albin Kurti.
Costa is also scheduled to hold meetings with the leaders of opposition parties in Kosovo.
The European official's visit to Kosovo is part of a tour of the countries of the Western Balkans region.
"My second tour of the Western Balkans sends a clear signal: the European Union's commitment to the region is real, as is the opportunity for enlargement. The momentum is there. Now is the time to deliver," he said in a statement ahead of the start of his visits to the region.
Costa began his Balkan tour in Sarajevo, where he met with members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the head of the Council of Ministers.
A day later, he stayed in Tirana where he met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and President Bajram Begaj. Then, in Skopje, he held a meeting with Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
After his stay in Pristina, Costa will travel to Serbia, for meetings with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić, and representatives of civil society organizations.
Costa will conclude his visits to the region in Montenegro, where in addition to meetings with Montenegrin officials, he will co-chair the EU-Western Balkans summit in Tivat.
The theme of this year's summit, according to the EU, is "Shared Prosperity and Stability of the EU and the Western Balkans."
Last year, this summit was held in Brussels and Kosovo was represented by the now former president Vjosa Osmani, while Serbia did not participate. In the declaration of last year's summit, it was stated that "the lack of normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade is keeping both countries blocked on the European path."
Kosovo and Serbia began negotiations, under the mediation of Brussels, over a decade ago.
A number of agreements were reached during the process, but not all of them were implemented on the ground.
The two countries have not held a high-level political meeting since September 2023, a few days before the armed attack in Banjska, Zvecan.
A group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police, killing a sergeant. In the ensuing exchange of fire, three more Serb attackers were killed.
Kosovo blames Serbia for the attack, but Belgrade denies involvement.
For the attack in Banjska, authorities in Kosovo have convicted three defendants, while dozens of others are on the run.
Milan Radoicic, the former deputy leader of the Serbian List – the main Serb party in Kosovo that enjoys the support of Belgrade – has claimed responsibility for organizing the attack, as Kosovo repeatedly demands that Serbia extradite him./REL
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