Can Kosovo be considered as a ‘third country’ in the meaning of EU law? Case note to Spain v. Commission
| Published date | 01 June 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X20988232 |
| Date | 01 June 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Case Notes |
Case Note
Can Kosovo be considered
as a ‘third country’ in the
meaning of EU law? Case
note to Spain v. Commission
Celia Challet* and Pierre Bachelier*
Abstract
The question of the recognition of the independence of Kosovo has been a dividing factor among
Member States for more than a decade. Never before, however, had it led to an action for
annulment before European courts. In Spain v. Commission, the Kingdom of Spain challenged the
validity of a Commission decision providing for the participation of Kosovo’s national regulation
authority in the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). The
General Court ruled that the Commission could consider Kosovo as a third country in order to
provide for the participation of its national regulation authority in BEREC. The Commission could
also rely on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement concluded between the EU and Kosovo in
order to enhance such cooperation. This judgment is of particular importance in terms of both
EU-Kosovo relations and participation of third countries in EU agencies.
Keywords
Kosovo, third country, third state, BEREC, Stabilisation and Association Agreement
1. Introduction
The question of the recognition of Kosovo’s independence has been a dividing factor among
Member States for more than a decade. While the majority of EU Member States have recognized
Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence of 17 February 2008, five Member States, among
them Spain, still refuse to do so.
1
In spite of this lack of consensus on the status of Kosovo, the EU
* College of Europe, Brugge, Belgium
Corresponding author:
Celia Challet, College of Europe, Dijver 11, 8000 Brugge, Belgium.
E-mail: celia.challet@coleurope.eu
1. As of today, Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain have not recognized Kosovo as an independent State.
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
2021, Vol. 28(3) 399–405
ªThe Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1023263X20988232
maastrichtjournal.sagepub.com
MJ
MJ
To continue reading
Request your trial