![Kosovo on Global Stage with Drilon S. Gashi [PODCAST]](https://4liberty.eu/phidroav/2025/08/1-1024x1024.png "Kosovo on Global Stage with Drilon S. Gashi [PODCAST]")
What does Kosovo’s path to the EU look like? What should we know about Kosovo’s struggle for independence? What geopolitical tensions should we be aware of in the Western Balkans? And what is the situation of the Kosovar in Warsaw, Poland? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Ambassador Drilon S. Gashi, the Chief of Mission of the Consulate General of the Republic of Kosovo in Warsaw since December 2023. He has stood up Kosovo’s Consulate General as his country’s first-ever Diplomatic/Consular Mission in Poland, with himself as the Kosovo’s first-ever resident top diplomat in the country.
Leszek Jazdzewski (LJ): In your experience, what are the things that people tend to misunderstand about Kosovo the most?
Drilon S. Gashi (DSG): First of all, Kosovo is a complex place with a complex history, and this can potentially keep people from getting more interested in the place or from having clear views with regards to Kosovo. Secondly, our war, from 26 years ago, is still fresh in the minds of people’s perceptions of Kosovo. Therefore, they interpret us only through this political and historical lens.
However, whilst the war is a very important part of our history and heritage, we are much more than that war. We like to share all the things that make us interesting and distinct that go beyond just that history, and, particularly, that present the things we are very proud of in our history. Living in the period of our independence, we are quite ambitious when it comes to our future.
LJ: Kosovo was very closely aligned with the West during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. How does Kosovo perceive its place in a broader European security architecture?
DSG: In a way, before, Kosovo was the recipient of great support from the West –politically, militarily, and in terms of values. I do not think that we would be independent today had it not been for the fact that there was a great consensus within the countries typically seen as the West (the United States and leading European nations), and what they thought would be the right outcome for us in terms of our political status, but also our place in Europe and the world.
Therefore, for us, the Russian aggression on Ukraine was an opportunity to actually speak with a voice of support – maybe for the first time as an independent country – on an issue that was very close to home for us as well. Our leadership (President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti) have been vocally very supportive of Ukraine.
For the first time ever, we have offered an extensive program of housing up to 5,000 refugees of Ukraine in Kosovo. That may be a small number if we think about Poland or other places in Europe, but for us, it is the largest commitment we have ever made to such a program. And because of the fact that 1 million Kosovars themselves were refugees right after the war (at least 1 million, but probably much more than that), this hit close to home in terms of our identity.
What was really important was the fact that Ukraine was a country that either did not take a stance on Kosovo’s independence or might have not been friendly to our cause, but that played no role in either the political or the public support for Ukraine – which I thought was also uplifting. For instance, the Ukrainian flag is draped on the Grand Hotel in Kosovo, which is the most central location in our capital city, and it stays there proudly. And so, we continue to support Ukraine.
Moreover, we are trying to use our voice as well to say this is a moment for strengthening the European security architecture. Recently, in NATO, there was an endorsement of more spending on defense by all EU countries. But we think that this moment is about recommitting for countries that are part of that infrastructure today, but also being open to more countries joining the European and NATO security infrastructure – that has to be Ukraine, Kosovo, and other places that are pursuing this goal either in the east of Europe or the south of Europe.
LJ: From your personal experience, when you joined the Foreign Service, what was it like to navigate the foreign policy for a country with still limited international recognition? What are the strategies that Kosovo is pursuing to gain more recognition globally, but also on the European stage, given the fact that there are still five countries within EU that do not recognize Kosovo’s independence?
DSG: We are now in the 17th year of independence. About 120 countries globally have recognized Kosovo as an independent state. We have joined many of the international financial institutions. We are hoping to start joining the major European institutions, starting with the Council of Europe and, of course, eventually, the European Union, and then the United Nations as well.
There are a few reasons why we have had to pursue this unique route of individual recognitions. First and foremost, unfortunately, it is due to Russia backing away from a peace process in which they were also invested in the future status of Kosovo, and then spoiling our efforts to join the UN and other agencies.
As a result, the onus is really on all of our ambassadors and diplomats. We need to have some thick skin and not get discouraged by the fact that we are not always invited to the clubs or parties. We cannot let this make us give up. We must be very committed, very active. I, personally, have tried to show that in my role in Poland.
There are, however, some challenges of working for a country that is trying to consolidate its position in the global stage. Nonetheless, it is also a great privilege to have a say in a pivotal point in your country’s history. This is exactly what gets me here excited daily about working to have very strong relations with Poland, but also to represent Kosovo across bilateral and multilateral initiatives that are happening in Poland, often engaging with all countries in Europe or many countries in the world. All this means that we have some perhaps rather specific challenges, but it is all the more reason for us to try to stand out.
When I spoke with my fellow colleagues in Washington who are in our foreign services, it was clear that we do try to set ourselves apart in being active and being innovative and really try to draw positive attention to our country. And so, maybe, the challenges have actually led us to have an above average diplomatic and foreign service. But, you know, we have to keep that up because we still have a lot to achieve.
One of the main goals for me in joining our foreign service was that we want to be a member of the EU or NATO, but we have to make it so. Therefore, the more people who join that effort and push forward our country’s major initiatives, the closer we will get there. And we will achieve that. Independence was hard to achieve, and we got there. Similarly, we will achieve joining these very important institutions as well.
LJ: What are some of those hurdles and obstacles to the EU membership for Kosovo?
DSG: Of course, to be become a member of the European Union, you have to state your case across all EU members, so that they can support numerous milestones for you across the process. Unfortunately, the fact that five countries still do not recognize Kosovo as an independent state also means that they do not support the progress in our EU integration process.
We realize that, and we try to work on in the sense that Kosovo becoming closer to the EU should not prejudge that decision for now and that it has some good benefits anyway – both for our country, but also for us as a potential partner (economic and otherwise) for the European Union. We are hoping for ways to unlock the process that we keep joining, and then make a penultimate decision for these countries’ recognition when we are much closer to actually joining the EU.
When it comes to other aspects of our reform process, we have been doing quite well – especially in the past few years, which is great. These developments are reflected in terms of the EU progress reports that are drafted each year, as well as by means of other indicators throughout the year. This upward trend has been recently lauded by Commissioner Marta Kos and was also mentioned at the higher levels by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in terms of our economic progress. Therefore, many of those very objective metrics are positive for us right now.
However, there is a third, additional factor, which is our bilateral relationship with Serbia. Of course, any country that is looking to join the EU has to settle their bilateral disputes in the process. Here, there is progress as well, although we still have to fight against the perception that there is none. However, what should be taken into consideration in this area is, sometimes, leaving two countries to their own devices as a prerequisite to joining the EU rather than really bringing them closer and having that be a true ‘carrot’ for the two countries to also get along better in terms of political relations. We have to think about that more. And, perhaps, in our case, there are ways to bring Kosovo and Serbia closer to the EU, and then that in itself could provide the impetus that is needed to get past the remaining bilateral hurdles.
LJ: Recently, we have seen many protests in Belgrade and elsewhere. Could this lead to a change of the autocratic course of Serbia and affect its political future? How much is the future of Serbia and Kosovo interlinked?
DSG: Officially, our government and our leadership have been cautious in terms of weighing in and having a lot of opinions with the ongoing protests across Serbia. Nevertheless, in terms of Kosovo’s perception, you can probably find a consensus among our people on the fact that more democracy, more rule of law in Serbia is good for Kosovo as well as for Serbia’s relations across the region. This directly relates also to Serbia’s EU perspective, because a more democratic Serbia with greater rule of law is also much more likely to be in favor of joining the European Union, where it sees itself as having a natural position.
The protests have been incredibly resilient. They have been ongoing now for about a year, and they have found a way to maintain their voice in an otherwise very difficult environment to do so. It will be interesting to see what kind of lasting impact they have. In general, a more active civil society is certainly a good outcome of this. And that seems to be something that is being well maintained. We shall see if it changes the political course of Serbia from within.
Certainly, there is a correlation between these internal developments to our relationship with Serbia – and then both of our paths to the EU. They are linked. However, it is important to have a linkage to all countries in the region that are looking to pursue the European Union, but not to the point where one is being fully held back due to the lack of will by the other. As such, it is sort of an in-between scenario. You want the region to move in a certain direction, but you do not want, inadvertently, one country to act as a spoiler for the other.
We often emphasize with European and other publics that we have a 97-percent support for EU membership in Kosovo. We do not have any anti-EU political parties. What is important is that there are no anti-Kosovo Serb political parties either. All of this shows that we have a positive moment in our liberal democracy, and we hope for that to be encouraged, supported, and not taken for granted. Because, as we have seen elsewhere, if that happens for too long, then we may not be able to always get such progressive statistics. This is really in the interest of the entire region.
Kosovo has a population of 1.6 million today. The region altogether is about 17 million. As such, it is smaller than a mid-sized EU country. Therefore, the benefits far outweigh the risks of thinking about the entire Western Balkans joining in – and, particularly, for those countries that are very persistent in both wanting to join and making an effort to join.
LJ: What are the challenges and the opportunities that you pursue as an ambassador of Kosovo in Warsaw? How did the experience of pursuing Kosovo’s independence transform the society? Can the world still learn from solidarity and nonviolent movements? And how can this message resonate throughout the world?
DSG: In terms of my recent work in Warsaw, I can honestly say there is nowhere I would rather represent my country than in Warsaw, Poland. And I say that with full sincerity and with all due respect to Washington, Paris, and other great capitals around the world – including the capitals on the Far East.
This is an incredibly important relationship for us in many ways because of a very principled position of Poland to Kosovo, which has been consistent. Still, we are just scratching the surface in terms of a very productive bilateral relationship we can form.
I see my role as really making as solid as possible foundation for a special relationship between Kosovo and Poland. That might not be what many people thought about this relationship a few years ago, but I think we can get there. This is why I am fully committed to that relationship.
In terms of consolidating our independence and still fighting for our independence to be recognized abroad, I derive a lot of inspiration from Poland’s example. Poland is very familiar with having to reestablish its independence about a century ago and then having to restore it, again, 30 years ago. Therefore, our message, our plight actually resonates here in Poland quite strongly – especially when they hear more about the specifics of our history, our cause, our legal right to independence, all of the above. This is really important across this part of Europe.
Often, because of this great understanding of the fight for political independence, one’s culture and identity are paramount. This is the fight of Ukraine against the Russian aggression today. We cannot lose sight of how important this experience is to our friends further west. And why joining the EU and NATO is particularly important, because it re-establishes the independence, the identities, the safeguarding of culture that certain countries have to continuously fight for and defend, unfortunately.
Sometimes you have to try to adjust certain aspects, so that it becomes easier in the future. What may help redouble the efforts of anyone involved in representing our country and in wanting to further our ambitions is knowing that there were many others here, before us, trying to do the same thing in other capacities (perhaps not in diplomacy), and many will be thereafter. Right now, we have the baton and so we have to make a great effort forward. Of course, it comes with challenges, but therein lies the opportunity to have a small positive impact in the course of history of your country. I certainly hope that more people will ascribe to that and join these efforts.
This podcast is produced by the European Liberal Forum in collaboration with Movimento Liberal Social and Fundacja Liberté!, with the financial support of the European Parliament. Neither the European Parliament nor the European Liberal Forum are responsible for the content or for any use that be made of.