Tag: Kosovo

The Assembly of Kosovo has ratified the Facility and Loan Agreements with the European Union, marking a milestone for the country’s participation in the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. This legislative action formally opens the path for the implementation of the Reform Agenda and provides access to the financial incentives designed to accelerate socio-economic convergence with the European Union.

While the ratification is a significant step, the focus must now shift toward the immediate fulfillment of technical requirements to ensure the disbursement of the initial 7% prepayment, totaling 61.8 million euros. This process necessitates the swift establishment of the Monitoring Committee for the Implementation of the Growth Plan and the formal appointment of a national coordinator. These administrative actions are essential to maintain the momentum of the Reform Agenda within the established deadlines.

The timeline for implementation is particularly compressed, as deadlines for the first three semesters have already passed. A primary concern is the upcoming reform measures set for June 2025, for which the final grace period expires on June 30, 2026. This specific phase includes 13 reform steps tied to an allocation of 90.7 million euros. Given that a significant portion of the allocated time for these measures has already elapsed, the coordination of efforts through a dedicated task force is highly recommended to ensure no further delays occur.

Ultimately, the successful execution of these reforms serves a dual purpose. It provides financial support for the national economy while simultaneously aligning the legal, political, and administrative framework with the EU acquis. After a period of legislative delay, a unified and accelerated approach to these reforms is necessary to meet the benchmarks of the Growth Plan and ensure the country remains on a steady path toward European integration.

Photo: Kuvendi i Republikës së Kosovës – Skupština Republike Kosova

Disclaimer: Since it is so difficult to find some positivity in the current political situation, we had to invent a parallel reality to make a comparison of what we could have had if things went smoothly. The events set out in this op-ed, sadly enough, are entirely fictional.

Dear Readers,

Happy New Year 2026!

The year that we are leaving behind was certainly memorable with many positive events that helped propel Kosovo’s EU aspirations.

In the beginning of the year, the political parties were able to quickly come to an understanding that Kosovo needs a steady executive to pursue its strategic goals, therefore they left behind their ideological and political differences and created a stable government and a functional Assembly.

Once the government was created, it immediately went ahead with the signing of the Loan Agreement from the Reform and Growth Facility, and presented it to the Parliament together with the already signed Facility Agreement. The Members of Parliament, understanding their duty to serve the European aspiration of the people and not the daily squabbles, voted in favor of the treaties almost unanimously. After some technical steps, within weeks Kosovo was allocated the pre-financing of some €61.8 million, of which some 55% were allocated to the Western Balkans Investment Framework and the rest were dedicated as direct budget support for the government. After almost two years of punitive measures, this was a very positive sign by the European Union for Kosovo.

The responsible politicians of Kosovo understood that merely declarations of commitment to the European Union are not enough. As the old saying goes, words are good, deeds are better. Therefore, the new government set out to seriously and speedily implement all the reform steps laid out in Kosovo’s Reform Agenda. As a result, until the end of this year, the Government of Kosovo successfully implemented all 40 reform steps set out for the first three semesters and as a result was allocated €300 million euros in total, after taking into account the pre-financing as well. Such a massive amount of investment spurred an impressive economic growth for Kosovo.

Such an exemplary performance from Kosovo became a prime factor in the decision of the European Council and Commission to retrieve the punitive measures introduced in June 2023. After all, it was so unfair to keep such measures against a country that had such a terrific record in the implementation of the EU oriented-reforms. Even the most vehement opponents of the withdrawal of the punitive measures were robbed of their arguments by such a performance. In fact, there is a momentum to open accession negotiations with Kosovo, but the discussions are still on-going.

Experts believe that by implementing the Reform Agenda in such a decisive manner, Kosovo undoubtedly benefitted financially, however it also improved its chances of getting into the EU. This year’s Country Report was very positive and there were improvements in the overall evaluation in the majority of the policy areas. Experts state that such a progress will help Kosovo down the line to have smoother negotiations for accession.

As you can see, Kosovo had an incredible year thanks to a responsible political class. They were able to move beyond slogans and set their differences aside to work for common good. One has to wonder how things would be if instead they stuck to their guns on minute differences and lost a whole year on fruitless debates!

Photo: © European Union 2016 – European Parliament.

Author: Besar Gërgi, Group for Legal and Political Studies, Kosovo

Today on 30th of May, the National Consultation Mechanism for Reform Agenda (N-CoMRA) in Kosovo has held its first meeting. This platform aims to bring together all actors of civil society, academia, chambers of commerce and all other activists and supporters of EU integrations into a single space. It is organized by the Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) and its goal is to monitor the implementation of Kosovo’s Reform Agenda.

The Reform Agenda is a complex document spanning 111 reform steps in 5 policy areas such as Governance, Public Administration Reform and Public Finance Management; Green and Digital Transition; Private Sector Development and Business Environment, Human Capital Development and Retention and Fundamentals / Rule of Law. Therefore, such a sophisticated process requires the input of not only public institutions but also civil society, academia, economic chamber for a better implementation rate.

At the start of the event a draft concept note for the N-CoMRA was presented by research fellow Besar Gërgi. Following that, present members gave numerous comments on improving the concept note and structuring the cooperation to enhance intra-civil society collaboration. Finally, N-CoMRA adopted a Declaration to call for the speedy ratification of the Facility Agreement between Kosovo and the European Union which is the prerequisite to acquire the pre-financing in the value of € 61.8 million.

We once again urge all the interesting civil society organizations to join the National  Consultation Mechanism for Reform Agenda to provide their input in order to ensure transparency in the Reform Agenda and also contribute towards a better implementation rate that would be translated into a closer integration with the EU and more funds for the citizens of the country.