Besim Beqaj was appointed as Kosovo's minister for EU integration in April this year. Before that he was president of the Chamber of Commerce of Kosovo.
He was speaking to Georgi Gotev.
To read a shortened version of this interview, please click here.
You were appointed recently as minister for EU integration, a newly-created ministry. What are your tasks exactly?
European integration and preparation for accession is very high on our agenda - that is why we are focused on legislation and economic development. The ministry is the main interlocutor between Pristina and Brussels. We coordinate between government and local institutions at a political as well as on a technical level.
We are in the process of establishing all offices in the ministries dealing with European integration and the municipalities dealing with good governance, which is one of the pre-requisites for opening discussions with the EU.
Do you expect good or bad news very soon from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning the legal status of Kosovo?
Everybody is now expecting an ICJ opinion but it is important that this doesn't affect the process of state-building for the Republic of Kosovo, which has already been recognised by sixty-nine countries and many more are expected to follow. Nobody knows how long the decision will take but it is on its way.
It is the second stage of the ICJ's opinion and we expect a balanced opinion in terms of recognising Kosovan sovereignty and in opening the door for Kosovo to be recognised by many more countries.
This is a new stage for Kosovo where, most probably, some practical issues will be discussed at great length. From our point of view, these discussions will be very technical, as with all the other countries in the neighborhood, such as Albania and Macedonia. There are issues where Kosovo will not negotiate at any point, such as territorial integrity or status.
The northern part of Mitrovica is not an acceptable situation for us and we will work very hard to get the situation under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Kosovo. It is currently controlled by EULEX and KFOR. It is very encouraging to see that, despite a turnout of just 25%, Serbs want to be integrated under Kosovan institutions here. Results in Partesh [in Northern Kosovo] with a 65% turnout were also very encouraging.
There are a number of practical issues that Kosovo needs to resolve - to my knowledge Serbia does not allow flights to Kosovo to cross its territory, so planes must circumvent Serbia. Also, Kosovo has also not been assigned a code number for telephones, and the Kosovo football team can't compete in the European or World Championships. Do you think practical solutions can be found out of goodwill?
It is important that every country in the region wants to be part of Europe, which means that problems with neighbours must be solved. I've heard very good views from European politicians that the integration process is based on merit but also neighbourhood cooperation. In this sense I think that Serbia has to go through changes itself as, at the end of the day, membership of the EU depends on the Copenhagen criteria.
With regard to the state-building process, it is not an easy one and more than two years after independence, a lot has been achieved but a lot more has to be done. Many bilateral and multilateral agreements will be signed recognising car insurance and country codes in terms of communications. This will have to be inline with other countries recognising us, because at some point we will be part of almost all institutions financially and politically. This is linked with culture, sport, the media - everything.
Are you feeling the effects of the economic crisis in Kosovo?
There is a saying in Albanian - 'wet people do not care for rain'. Kosovo was already in bad shape - we suffered the disintegration of our economy in the 1990s. The assets of our companies were transferred to Serbia. The Kosovan economy is now concentrated more on production now, and is ensuring financial stability in cooperation with the IMF, of which Kosovo recently became a full member. This is a good sign for other financial organisations.
We are also part of the World Bank and are planning further investments. Kosovo has 41 out of the 42 votes needed to join the EBRD [European Bank for Reconstruction and Development], which would open up possibilities for more economic development.
Last year saw 4% economic growth, this year 5-6% is forecast to be followed by 6-7% in the coming years as forecast by the IMF. This is due to the non-exposure of our economy to the international one, so our financial sector is quite stable. The credit given to companies was done very carefully. Last year's growth was due to investment by the government in the public sector, such as in highways, for which 700-800 million euros were invested and which are due to be completed in 3-4 years.
Post and telecommunications are in the process of privatisation and big names are now interested. Conceding Pristina international airport has now also been decided, with a French and Turkish consortium to work there for the next 20 years investing 120 million euros.
What about the country's unemployment rate?
Unemployment stands at 35-40%. It is very high, which is why we are privatising as much as possible and investing in projects such as the highway to open up new jobs for Kosovan citizens.
In the meantime, very serious work is being undertaken to fight the informal economy. I hope to reduce unemployment through this as well. We are experiencing serious problems with it in the north, where 150-200 million euros' worth of goods are arriving from Serbia. This is why we are cooperating with EULEX as much as possible in order to downsize the formal economy.
Remittances from Kosovans abroad are very important for the Kosovan economy, I have seen this myself with hundreds or even thousands of Swiss number plates on cars leaving from Kosovo for Switzerland after the holidays. How many Kosovans live abroad and in which countries?
We do not have exact figures concerning this but they are certainly a big number in EU countries. We have two types of diaspora since the 1990s when the problems started. First there were poorly-educated people doing physical work, now they are more educated from outside and possess high levels of human capital.
We are now trying to get them back with the 'brain gain' programme the government has put in place. Remittances are important, valued at 550-600 million euros per year, which is enormous compared to the size of the country. This is now decreasing as feared, even during the financial crisis.
We are not only looking at this but also at human capital investments, however, such as with the 'brain gain' programme. That's why I think Kosovo has one of the greatest assets in the world in terms of 'third globalisation': according to Freidman's book 'The world is flat', where the role of individuals is becoming bigger and bigger.
Are you optimistic concerning visa liberalisation? With such a high rate of unemployment and the disapora to help newcomers, more immigration pressure is implied. Can Kosovo solve the visa problem as the other Balkan countries are doing at present?
Absolutely, I believe in that process. It is important to understand that the Kosovan government is very keen and active in fulfilling all criteria required by the European Commission. We believe that during this summer we will start official dialogue with the Commission to be given a road map looking ahead to the conditions that need to be fulfilled.
I think the greatest risk is to keep Kosovo closed, as if we do so we will open the door for traffickers as, at the end of the day, they always have their channels to go outside. We are communicating with our people very efficiently, with our citizens saying that visa liberalisation does not equate to a work permit in Europe, it is an opportunity to go and see, for business to go and explore opportunities, and then return.
So there should be no fear of a big influx - in this regard we are working bilaterally with EU member states as they have this fear. We recently adopted a law on readmission and are signing these agreements bilaterally as due to five countries not recognising us, we are unable to sign agreements with the [European] Commission as other countries have done. By the end of the year we will have between 15 and 16 bilateral agreements signed.
During our last visit in Belgium with the prime minister, we signed a further agreement on the transportation and detainment of detainees, which means that we have progress on all stages. I do believe that the young generations are looking more and more to Kosovo as a place where they can build their lives however.
Are you angry with the five countries that have not recognised Kosovo - Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia- or do you understand their reasons?
No, we are not angry at anyone. It is very important that 22 EU countries have done so, and it is does not mean that these five are 'against' Kosovo as such; they are experiencing internal issues which we do understand and are patient with. We evaluate their concerns very highly and will try to bring a successful case to Brussels to prove that their fears are unfounded.
Kosovo is a contributor to stability in the region, not a consumer. We have proved this over the past 11 years. We are having some difficulties with Serbia and Bosnia-Herzogovina but are open to regional cooperation. We were created two years ago, we have been waiting for delivery from the EU and other European institutions but are very patient.
We are very determined to create a stable state to contribute to the region. And one day, when we are a member of the EU, we will not bring problems but a big human value needed now all around the world.
Let's imagine that during the course of this month the ruling from the ICJ will make things easier, and that the Serbian president comes to Kosovo. Would you see this as a good gesture or as an offence?
All visits respecting our sovereignty are welcomed. We are open to cooperation with all neighbouring countries, even Serbia, and have showed this during big regional conferences, such as the one in Slovenia and the one in Sarajevo.
We want to be equal, we are equal as states now, and Mr Tadić will be welcome in the Republic of Kosovo, to meet the president of the Republic of Kosovo as the president of Serbia. Why not?
