Tefta Kelmendi

Tefta Kelmendi is a foreign policy analyst whose research centres on EU policy in the eastern neighbourhood and the Western Balkans, with a particular focus on EU enlargement, democracy promotion, and geopolitical dynamics in these two regions. Her analysis also incorporates security issues and protracted conflicts in the Western Balkans and select countries within the eastern neighbourhood.

She served until recently as the deputy director for the Wider Europe programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Prior to ECFR, Kelmendi served as a diplomat at the Kosovo embassy in France, where she was responsible for Kosovo’s relations with French-speaking countries, Kosovo’s international recognition, and its integration in international organisations. She has previous experience working with the Ministry of European Integration in Kosovo on human rights policies, with a particular focus on minority rights and integration. Kelmendi holds a master’s degree in international security from Sciences Po – Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA).