EN
In the judgement in case C-632/20P, Spain v. European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) had to determine whether Kosovo fell into the scope of the definition “third country” for the purposes of Article 35 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1971. The CJEU ruled that the term “country” can be used interchangeably with the term “State” and the European Commission did not err in law in finding that Kosovo can be considered a third country in order to provide for the participation of its national regulatory authority in the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). The CJEU stressed that the treatment of Kosovo as a third country does not affect the individual positions of EU Member States as to whether Kosovo has the character of an independent state under international law. This judgement confirms the status quo in relations between Kosovo and the EU. It also safeguards the position of those EU Member States that do not recognise Kosovo, while ensuring the further development of EU cooperation with Kosovo. By ruling that there is no difference between the concepts of “country” and “State”, and thus allowing their interchangeable use, the CJEU has prevented their artificial separation. This judgement, in a broader perspective than the EU’s bilateral relations with Kosovo, demonstrates that the question of establishing international cooperation with states not recognised by all member states is of little relevance to the development of their bilateral relations with the EU. Such a state can therefore join various forms of multilateral cooperation in the international arena, which does not affect the bilateral relations between it and a member state that has not recognised it. In this vein, Kosovo has established multilateral relations with various international organisations without having to engage in bilateral cooperation with states that do not recognise it.