The response of Europa Nostra to the letter of President Osmani and Prime Minister Kurti, a few days before the decision for including the Deçan Monastery in the list of "Seven most endangered"

H.E. Dr. Vjosa Osmani - Sadriu
President of Kosovo

H.E. Mr Albin Kurti
Prime Minister of Kosovo

Re: 2021 List of 7 Most Endangered Sites in Europe

Dear Madam President,
Dear Mr Prime Minister,

First of all, we congratulate you on your recent election, respectively, as President and as Prime Minister of Kosovo. We wish you every success in the exercise of your important responsibilities for the benefit of ensuring a European future for your country and its citizens.

We thank you for your letter dated 18 March which you have addressed to the Board of Europa Nostra and to the Advisory Panel of our 7 Most Endangered programme. We wish to assure you that we have carefully examined your views with regard to the Deçan / Dečani Monastery, which is inscribed on the World Heritage List in Danger and has been shortlisted for our 2021 List of 7 Most Endangered sites in Europe.

Please note that this year’s final List of 7 Most Endangered sites in Europe will be announced to the public on 8 April 2021. We wish to recall that by publishing annually such a list, Europa Nostra and our partner, the European Investment Bank Institute, commit to act as catalysts for positive change and future-oriented dialogue of importance for the safeguard of Europe’s endangered heritage.

In the light of the above, we applaud your strong commitment to the safeguard and enhancement of cultural and natural heritage in Kosovo, which forms part of the shared cultural heritage of Europe and the World. We are grateful for your invitation to organise a meeting to discuss ways in which we can develop a future collaboration. We very much hope that it will soon be possible to travel again and to organise a visit to Kosovo. In the meantime, may we suggest that we set up a virtual conference call sometime in the coming weeks.

In the framework of our strong commitment to the proper safeguard of cultural and natural heritage in the Western Balkans, as a vital component of their European path and future, we look very much forward to collaborating with public and private bodies active in the field of cultural heritage in Kosovo, as well as in all other countries of the region.

On behalf of the Europa Nostra Board, Yours sincerely,

Hermann Parzinger,
Executive President