Removal of the border between Kosovo and Albania, in process

 The border among Kosovo and Albania in Morina

 The governments of Kosovo and Albania are working to facilitate the free movement of citizens and goods between the two countries, but non-stop movement takes time, say officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo.

"Work is being done to have special border crossing points, temporary border crossing points in over ten villages of the border zone. Other facilitations are being made, such as cooperation in the interconnection of joint border control systems."

"We are working on the possibility that in festive cases, natural disasters or similar circumstances to cross the border anywhere outside the border points," said in a written response of this ministry.

All these measures and actions, according to the ministry, have started to be implemented, but for technical, financial, security reasons, they need time to be fully implemented, ‘as is the will of the parties.

 Carpet with the flag of Albania and Kosovo designed at the meeting of the two governments

At the last meeting of the governments of the two countries held in November 2021, the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, and that of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, have asked the ministers of the respective departments to deal with the procedures that lead to the removal of the border.

The Minister of Interior of Albania, Blendi Çuçi, and the Minister of Kosovo, Xhelal Sveçla, have agreed to install cameras at the border to monitor vehicles entering and leaving the country and not to require passports or ID cards from citizens crossing the border.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo told Radio Free Europe that they are working on the goals they gave at the last meeting of the two governments.

Radio Free Europe also asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Albania for more details on this issue, but, until the publication of this text, did not provide any response.

The citizens of Kosovo and Albania have the opportunity to cross the border without stopping during the holidays or any historical date such as the independence of Albania or Kosovo.

Statements of leaders over the years

Over the years, leaders from Kosovo and Albania have made statements such as 'we will remove the border between the two countries', but this has not yet happened.

Citizens of Kosovo and Albania continue to be subject to controls at border crossings connecting the two countries.

In September 2018, Ramush Haradinaj, then Prime Minister of Kosovo, had said that the Kosovo-Albania border will be removed on the night of the New Year.

After Haradinaj, a statement on the removal of the border in 2019 was given by Hashim Thaçi, who at that time was the president of Kosovo.

Such a statement was not absent from Albin Kurti, the current Prime Minister of Kosovo.

But, for these statements, the Government of Serbia had constantly reacted, which considered these statements a threat to peace.

Rama: The Kosovo-Albania border can only be removed by agreement with others

But, the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, in his statements has emphasized that it is not that they did not want to remove the border, but every time this issue had alarmed Belgrade, Washington, and Brussels.

Rama has said that in order to remove the border in a 'complete measure', as he calls it, there is a need for agreements with others, which means agreements with the countries of the Western Balkans.

For this, Rama said that he had initiated in 2019 the ‘Balkan Mini-Schengen’ initiative, which has now been renamed the “Open Balkans”, with the participation of Albania, Serbia, and North Macedonia.

However, Kosovo has already refused to be part of this agreement, despite pledging to join the "mini-Schengen" initiative through the Washington Agreement, signed on September 4, 2020, at the White House.

The executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, Arian Zeka, told Radio Free Europe that the idea of ​​a common regional market could start with a common market between Kosovo and Albania.

"It should be practiced how this common market between Kosovo and Albania will function before such an idea is extended to other Balkan countries," said Zeka.

Representatives of businesses in Kosovo have repeatedly stated that they encounter bureaucratic procedures when exporting to Albania. They have demanded that the border be removed and the movement of people and goods be made as if in European Union countries.

The United States has confirmed its support for the Western Balkans' efforts to strengthen economic integration. They called on the Government of Kosovo to approach the efforts for regional economic integration with an "open mind".

But the Government of Kosovo, led by Albin Kurti, thinks that the "mini-Schengen" initiative is a visionless initiative for the region.

This initiative is not supported even by the opposition parties: the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Democratic League of Kosovo, and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo.

Kosovo and Albania, over the years, have signed dozens of agreements to eliminate trade barriers.

Also, to have easier economic cooperation between Kosovo and Albania, billions of euros were invested in road infrastructure.

Both countries have also built roads, or highways that connect them more easily.