Kosovo may lose more than €90 million without reforms — Balkan Insight
Kosovo may lose more than €90 million in funding under the European Union Growth Plan if it does not implement the necessary reforms by the end of December. This was stated by Kosovo's chief negotiator with the EU, Jeton Zulfaj. Political instability in the country over two years delayed the ratification of agreements needed to begin implementing the reforms. So far, Pristina has received only €61.8 million in pre-financing, or 7% of the total funds allocated for Kosovo, Balkan Insight reports.
At the beginning of the month, Kosovo's political forces reached an agreement that is expected to restore the work of parliament after three elections in two years and a dispute over the appointment of the president. At the same time, considerable time was lost due to political confrontation, election campaigns and post-vote negotiations.
Laws required to access funds
On Friday, after three unsuccessful attempts, parliament adopted an anti-money laundering law by a narrow margin. This is one of the key acts in the reform package that is expected to open Kosovo's path to joining the Single Euro Payments Area, SEPA. According to the report, the lack of SEPA membership has cost Kosovo's citizens about €55 million annually.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Parliament still has to adopt 16 laws by December. Zulfaj acknowledged that securing votes, including for some of these bills, remains a difficult task. According to him, €131.4 million in funding is envisaged for the reform package under the EU Growth Plan.
Request for €142.6 million
After the June deadline, Kosovo submitted its first official request for a €142.6 million disbursement in July. Of this amount, the country requested €66.3 million for direct transfer to the treasury and another €76.3 million through the Western Balkans Investment Framework. The application also referred to €35.3 million in loans and €40.9 million in non-repayable support.
The European Commission confirmed that it is assessing the request; clarification of the amounts is expected by the end of October. The Commission verifies compliance with each requirement separately, while the volume of payments depends on the level of completion of the relevant milestones. For 23 of the 64 milestones originally planned for 2025, the grace period ended at the end of June 2026. The next reporting deadline will come in January 2027.
