The Swedish Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonas Westerlund, has called on parliamentary parties to respect the ruling of the Constitutional Court regarding the constitution of the Assembly. According to him, the Court made it very clear that the ninth legislature cannot be considered constituted without the election of a deputy speaker from the Serb community. Speaking to KosovaPress, he urged for the swift formation of new institutions, saying Kosovo needs a legitimate government to push forward its Euro-Atlantic processes.
The Constitutional Court has not yet published the full judgment, but in its September 30 announcement it stated that the constitutive session of the Assembly of Kosovo, which began on April 15, had not concluded because the deputy speaker from the Serb community had not been elected.
The Court ordered MPs to constitute the ninth legislature within 12 days of the publication of the full judgment, but without specifying the legal consequences if the Assembly bodies are not completed.
The Court’s decision came after a complaint by the Serb List, the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo, regarding the separate voting of deputy speaker candidates from non-majority communities.
The Swedish diplomat told KosovaPress that the Constitutional Court is the foundation of any democratic society, and therefore its rulings must be respected.
“The Constitutional Court has given a very clear statement on this. The Parliament has not been constituted, but instead, it must proceed with the appointment of a deputy speaker from one of the non-majority communities. I don’t have any particular opinion on the content itself, but I am very pleased that this is a very clear statement from the Constitutional Court. Now, let’s not forget that the Constitutional Court is the foundation of any democratic society, and we must adhere to it and respect all its rulings,” he emphasized.
Westerlund told KosovaPress that Kosovo needs a legitimate government in order for the country to focus on joining the European Union, the Council of Europe, and NATO.
Deeming the formation of new institutions after the February 9 parliamentary elections as necessary, the ambassador mentioned Albania and Montenegro, which according to him are making progress in their European Union integration process.
“We are now seeing that Albania and Montenegro are moving forward, perhaps to become EU members after a few years. Kosovo needs to begin the same process, to focus on this, to focus on EU membership, on membership in the Council of Europe, on membership in NATO. They have our support for these aspirations, but they really need a government and to focus on EU membership,” the Swedish diplomat said.
In addition, the Swedish ambassador to Kosovo also spoke about the beginning of the lifting of EU punitive measures against Kosovo.
Since June 2025, the European Union has begun the gradual removal of the measures, with the resumption of meetings within the framework of the SAA and the release of some funds for projects such as energy and digitalization.
Westerlund said the gradual removal of measures will continue, but the future will show what happens regarding their full removal.
The European Union imposed punitive measures against Kosovo in 2023 as a result of tensions in the north of the country.
“We have already decided on a gradual lifting of the measures, and that gradual lifting will continue. But we will see in the future, we will see what happens,” he underlined.
On the other hand, Ambassador Westerlund, speaking about the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, declared that once a government is formed in Kosovo there must be serious discussions in Brussels for the normalization of relations between the two countries.
He added that he is very pleased with the appointment of Danish diplomat Peter Sorensen as the EU envoy for dialogue, saying he is taking steps forward in the normalization process.
“We have already decided on a gradual lifting of the measures, and that gradual lifting will continue. But we will see in the future, we will see what happens,” he underlined.
On the other hand, Ambassador Westerlund, speaking about the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, declared that once a government is formed in Kosovo there must be serious discussions in Brussels for the normalization of relations between the two countries.
He added that he is very pleased with the appointment of Danish diplomat Peter Sorensen as the EU envoy for dialogue, saying he is taking steps forward in the normalization process.
“I am very pleased that we have a new EU voice, from the beginning of this year, Peter Sorensen. He is taking steps forward in the normalization process. I hope we can accelerate the process. We have not seen much progress this year yet, so I hope we can have a government in Kosovo and have more serious discussions in Brussels on the normalization dialogue,” he emphasized.
Despite the fact that Kosovo still has not formed a new government, two meetings have been held in Brussels at the level of chief negotiators between Kosovo and Serbia, but they have not produced concrete results regarding the implementation of the Brussels Basic Agreement and the Ohrid annex agreed in 2023.
Kosovo has not established new institutions even more than eight months after the February 9 parliamentary elections.
