Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has announced that Pristina will apply for EU candidate status before the end of the year, when it will host German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on his first visit to the Western Balkans.

“Europe is our destiny, Europe is our future,” said the former prime minister of the Serbian province that declared its independence in 2008 and is still not recognized by Belgrade. “We are still hoping that we will have a candidate for the European Union and we will apply before the end of the year,” he added.

The normalization of relations remains a major obstacle on the European path for Pristina, as well as for Belgrade, despite years of Union-led dialogue. Most EU countries recognize the independence of Kosovo, but neither Serbia nor its allies Russia and China, which prevents its entry into the UN.

For his part, the German chancellor called for reconciliation between the two former enemies after more than two decades of war that has claimed the lives of 13,000 people, most of them Kosovo Albanians, adding: “It is important for Kosovo to promote dialogue between it and Serbia, which is ruled by the European Union.” “. He believed that both sides should find a political solution with a comprehensive and permanent agreement that also contributes to regional stability.

Schultz also stressed the need to fight Moscow’s influence in the Balkans, praising Kosovo’s support for sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in late February, in addition to the European and international community.

After the war in Ukraine, the Kosovo authorities stressed the need for a closer rapprochement with the West and called for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As for Serbia, it condemned the war at the UN, but refuses to join Western sanctions.

The German chancellor’s next tour of the region has taken him to Belgrade today, from where he will travel to Thessaloniki and on Saturday to North Macedonia and Bulgaria.