“Hard work and strong commitment are necessary for Kosovo to
prepare for European integration, but EU is here to help”
Sabine Erkens, Legal Advisor from ICO
gave a lecture in secondary school Ruzhdi Berisha in Dragash/Dragas,
in the presence of Deputy Minister for Education Usmen
Baldzi. She started her lecture by sharing her personal
experience with the European Union - studying and working in
different countries of the European Union had led her to
understand the importance of the Union but also its
diversity.
Sabine Erkens then offered the
students to ask questions on specific issues they may want
to know more about. Most of the questions the students asked
were on visa liberalization, to which Sabine Erkens answered
that the process was based on objective criteria that needed
to be fulfilled. She reminded them that the institutions of
Kosovo and of every potential candidate to European
integration need to be brought up to European standards
before they can join the EU.
Some students also wanted to discuss
the challenges that Kosovo faces today and how the European
Union could help in overcoming these issues. Mrs. Erkens
said the integration process was a long one as Kosovo will
need to translate what is called the “acquis communautaire”
in its own legislation, that is to say more than 90 000
pages of laws. But she insisted on the fact that the EU is
strongly committed to Kosovo’s European future and is
currently acting through the presences of the EUSR office,
the EULEX rule of law mission and the European Commission
Liaison Office.
In conclusion, Sabine Erkens reminded
the students that the first goal of the European Union was
to provide for security and stability in Europe. It is still
a major point in the Union’s enlargement process which is of
importance for the Western Balkans region which has been at
war for a long time. The main goal of the EU is to make its
members closer to one another so that war will become
inconceivable.