Washington, DC -- Rep. Eliot L. Engel, Co-Chair of the Congressional Albanian Issues Caucus, today wrote a letter to President Barack Obama congratulating the people of Kosova on the third anniversary of their declaration of independence.  The bipartisan letter, cosigned by 20 members of Congress, urged the United States to "mak[e] Kosova and the southern Balkans a priority and exer[t] a leadership role in any talks on the future of the region."

"I congratulate the people of Kosova on the occasion of the third anniversary of their independence," said Rep. Engel, a member of the Subcommittee on Europe of the House of Representatives.

"Today, I wrote to President Obama, along with a large group of members of Congress, to express our strong support for the Republic of Kosova and to underscore the importance of U.S. leadership on Kosova and the Balkan region."

Rep. Engel (D-New York) initiated today's letter along with Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), the Republican Co-Chair of the Congressional Albanian Issues Caucus.

The text of the letter follows:

February 17, 2011

The President

The White House

Washington, DC  20500

Dear Mr. President:

We join you in celebrating and congratulating the people of Kosova on today’s third anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Kosova.  Kosova’s independence represents a key element of continued stability and progress in the Balkans and a great success story for United States diplomacy.

In only three short years, the young nation of Kosova has taken many important steps forward.  It has adopted a constitution embracing the basic rights and freedoms of its citizens.  It has held democratic elections and has implemented the plan devised by former President of Finland and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari to embrace the rights of minorities. 

Further, Kosova is continuing to gain acceptance in the international community.  Seventy five countries have recognized the new state, including 22 of 27 European Union members, while Kosova has joined the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.  Most recently, the International Court of Justice has ruled that Kosova’s independence declaration violated no international laws and did not contradict United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244.

However, as the last Balkan country to become independent, Kosova faces serious hurdles in its quest to join the key Euro-Atlantic institutions, NATO and the EU.  We firmly believe that steadfast friendship and support from the United States remains critical for Kosova to take its rightful place among the countries of Europe. 

In the coming weeks, a dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade will begin on basic practical and technical issues which separate the two countries.  While these talks will be led by the EU, the United States must play an active role and be present at all stages of the dialogue.  We are convinced that without a strong American presence, the Kosovars will have little to no faith in the process and the dialogue will fail.

We are also concerned that the EU may have already unintentionally tipped the scales toward Serbia.  Serbia has signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, and Serbians have already been granted visa-free travel into the EU.  Kosova, on the other hand, faces a virtually opaque future, having no visible roadmap into Europe.  It has not begun an EU accession process, and its people and commerce remain more isolated than other Balkan countries which already benefit from visa-free or expedited travel into the EU. 

While we do not oppose Serbia entering the EU, if Serbia enters before Kosova is resolved, it will be able to veto Kosova’s future EU membership.  This would be a disaster for the Balkans, and risks turning Kosova into a black hole into which the region’s well-documented dangerous tendencies will flow.  This can only be avoided if the U.S. makes Kosova and the southern Balkans a priority and exerts a leadership role in any future talks on the future of the region.

Therefore, as we commemorate the third anniversary of the independence of Republic of Kosova, we express our strong support for Kosova’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and look forward to working with your Administration to secure democracy, freedom, and prosperity in Kosova and throughout the Balkans.

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