10/03/2025
On March 10, 2025, the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) released its most recent publication on the subject of advancing Kosovo-NATO relations. The publication titled “Exploring Options for Advancing Kosovo-Nato Relations” comes at a time of geopolitical uncertainty and unpredictability. Three years since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, implications of this war continue to affect not only Ukraine who is at the frontline, but also the wider European continent. The Western Balkans, as a region with unsettled disputes, is no exception to these implications. While three countries (Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia) in the region are NATO members, and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are members of the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP), Kosovo is the only country that is not part of the former or the latter. Despite the KFOR presence, the security situation in Kosovo remains fragile. Therefore, this paper launched by KCSS calls for taking NATO-Kosovo relations to an advanced level.
Inspired by the 1995 NATO Enlargement Study, the main argument of the paper lies in suggesting a framework named “NATO-Kosovo Enhanced Cooperation” (KECI). Ramadan Ilazi, lead author of the study argues that KECI can be adopted jointly between Kosovo and NATO in the context of the 1995 NATO Enlargement Study, which at that time was a pivotal document that set the tone for the Alliance’s expansion after the Cold War, articulating why, how, and under what conditions new states could join NATO. While Kosovo faces a critical challenge to membership due to four non-recognizers in the Alliance, Ilazi argues that, similar to the 1995 NATO Enlargement Study, which “made clear that enlargement would not undermine the Alliance’s defensive nature but would, in fact, reinforce its core mission by extending stability to new member states that had previously been outside its protective umbrella,” a similar approach could be applied to Kosovo.
Furthermore, Jeta Loshaj, co-author of the publication argues that the partnership can move forward despite the blockade that can exist by the non-recognizers due to the current geopolitical context. A shift in the NATO enlargement dynamics was evident in the case of the membership of Sweden and Finland, which were previously hesitant to join the Alliance, but the situation with the unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine called for action. Given the security fragility in Kosovo (one terrorist attack in September 2023 and another one on its critical water infrastructure in 2024), the high and consistent pro-NATO sentiment in Kosovo, and the readiness and willingness of Kosovo Security Structures to closely align its capacities with NATO, KECI would be an excellent pathway to enabling membership, argues Loshaj.
Finally, the paper underlines that NATO-Kosovo relations are not of vital importance for Kosovo alone. Mentor Vrajolli, Executive Director at KCSS argues that Kosovo's credible path towards NATO membership would be beneficial for the Alliance as well due to several facts: ensuring that no external malicious actor, whether Russia or Serbian pro-Russian nationalist elements inside and outside governmental institutions, would seek to destabilize the security situation in the country. Secondly, Kosovo's membership in NATO would reduce the burden on alliance members regarding investment in KFOR. Finally, Kosovo would become an exporter of security within the framework of the alliance, rather than continuing to only import resources from it.
The publication comes in light of the visit of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to the region. While this visit indicates that the security situation in region, particularly in Kosovo and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is taken into consideration, this paper argues that more promising and tangible steps need to be taken in order to reduce the fragility of the security situation in the region amid the current global events.
The report is available for download here:
