13/03/2026
Prishtina, March 12, 2025: A new policy memo published by the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) argues that Kosovo should pursue observer status in the European Migration Network (EMN), describing the move as a practical step toward closer cooperation with the European Union. The paper, authored by Fisnik Rexhepi and Ramadan Ilazi, frames participation in the EMN as part of a broader approach known as operational integration—a model that promotes engagement with EU institutions and policy frameworks before full membership is achieved.
Rather than focusing solely on the long and politically complex enlargement process, the paper argues that operational integration allows Kosovo to take part in EU‑level cooperation in specific policy areas where technical readiness already exists. Migration governance, it suggests, is one such area.
The European Migration Network is the EU’s main platform for collecting and sharing information on migration and asylum policies. Coordinated by the European Commission, it brings together national authorities, researchers, and policy experts to support evidence‑based policymaking.
While EMN membership is limited to EU member states, a number of non‑EU countries—including several from the Western Balkans—participate as observers. Kosovo is currently not among them.
According to the paper, observer participation would give Kosovo access to comparative data, policy analysis, and expert networks, while also enabling Kosovo institutions to contribute to discussions on migration trends affecting the region.
The authors argue that Kosovo has already developed much of the institutional capacity required to engage with the EMN. In particular, they point to the Government Authority on Migration, an inter‑institutional coordination body that brings together public institutions involved in migration policy, data collection, and analysis.
Recent reforms, the paper notes, have strengthened Kosovo’s ability to produce migration profiles, coordinate across institutions, and respond to emerging trends—developments also recognised in recent European Commission assessments.
The paper also highlights Kosovo’s cooperation with EU agencies such as Frontex and the EU Agency for Asylum, including the development of a migration contingency plan based on EU methodologies. Kosovo experts have since shared this experience with partners in the region.
“These examples show that Kosovo is not only a recipient of expertise, but can also contribute to European policy discussions,” the authors write.
From Kosovo’s perspective, the paper argues that EMN observer status would support alignment with EU standards in the Justice and Home Affairs field, strengthen evidence‑based policymaking, and improve regional cooperation on migration issues.
For the EU, closer cooperation with Kosovo could improve understanding of migration dynamics in the Western Balkans, a region that remains closely linked to broader European migration trends.
The paper acknowledges that Kosovo’s status may raise political and legal questions within EU frameworks, but notes that status‑neutral arrangements already exist in other areas of cooperation. Similar solutions, it argues, could be applied in the case of the EMN.
The publication forms part of KCSS’s operational integration agenda, promoted within the framework of the IGNITA initiative, which seeks to identify concrete ways for Kosovo and other Western Balkan countries to engage more closely with EU policies and institutions.
Rather than replacing the goal of EU membership, the paper presents operational integration as a complementary approach—one that delivers tangible cooperation, builds institutional capacity, and strengthens trust on both sides.
The full policy paper is available on the KCSS website.
🔗 Read the publication: Kosovo should become an Observer Member in the European Migration Network (EMN)
