Brussels – There is always a reason for silence, especially when it comes from the European Commission. The EU’s “temporary and reversible” measures against Kosovo offer a stark example. Two and a half years after their introduction, it took a statement from President Ursula von der Leyen to reveal what had been kept under wraps for months, with responsibility passed on to Member States or hidden behind partial – or entirely absent – answers.
“I am glad to announce that we are moving forward to lift the measures on Kosovo,” said von der Leyen following a meeting with Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani on the margins of the EU-Western Balkans Summit on 18 December. She announced that the Commission is planning €216 million in financial assistance and intends to release €205 million “early next year.”
A tweet from the head of the EU executive might not have raised eyebrows, were it not for what happened behind the scenes. Several diplomatic sources told The New Union Post that segments of the Commission – including DG ENEST Director-General Gert Jan Koopman – had actively sought to keep the measures in place for as long as possible, despite costing Kosovo over €600 million in projects ranging from culture to environment and the rule of law, and impacting society at large. However, von der Leyen’s announcement changed the game.
“The EU consumed these measures into absurdity,” says Besar Gërgi, Research Fellow at the Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS), stressing that the decision was “mercifully” taken out of the hands of the 27 capitals by the Commission President. In other words, “they were imposed by the Commission and could be withdrawn without the approval of the Member States,” he adds, confirming the insights of several diplomatic sources that a vote in the Council was not necessary.
A controversial decision
As von der Leyen herself emphasised, the decision to lift the EU’s punitive measures is closely tied to the “peaceful” transfer of local governance in northern Kosovo. Following the local elections on 12 October, newly appointed mayors took over from their Albanian predecessors in the Serb-majority municipalities of Zubin Potok, Zvečan, Leposavić, and Kosovska Mitrovica. The Albanian mayors had assumed office in spring 2023 amid escalating violence, which had escalated into a sort of guerrilla conflict involving NATO-led KFOR troops.
As a result, nearly three years after the withdrawal of Serbs from Kosovo’s national institutions in November 2022, Lista Srpska – the largest Serbian party in Kosovo – has restored its leadership in the northern Serb-majority municipalities through a “smooth transition” from Albanian to newly elected Serb mayors, notes Rrona Zhuri, Research Coordinator at the GAP Institute.
However, the lifting of the measures did not occur, with several Member States – including Italy, France, Hungary, Slovakia, and Spain – and the most senior figure in DG ENEST opposing the decision, while the majority of EU capitals and the European External Action Service (EEAS) were in favour. As a result, Brussels institutions spent over two months “walking back on their promise,” summarises GLPS’s Gërgi. The latest inaction came after a meeting of the 27 EU representatives in early December.
According to Gërgi, Kosovo President Osmani’s participation in the EU-Western Balkans Summit “proved decisive, as she was able to sway von der Leyen in favour of lifting the measures.” Retweeting the Commission President’s post, Osmani confirmed that the first tranche of funds “will be programmed immediately,” with the remainder set to take effect “in January.” No further details have been provided, and the end of the month is being considered a potential deadline.
The financial impact of the measures
An analysis by the GAP Institute for Advanced Studies revealed that the financial and developmental impact amounts to approximately €613.4 million. Of this, €7.1 million has already been irretrievably lost due to the expiration of procedural deadlines, including the project for the renovation of Kosovo’s oldest cinema, in Prizren. For all these months, the European Commission has refused to provide answers regarding the announced “gradual, conditional, and reversible” lifting of the measures, as well as the risk of forfeiting the entire sum allocated under the IPA 2020 agreement.
“We cannot provide an exact figure for the amount lost, as there are no specific details on which projects will continue or be discontinued,” warns GAP Institute’s Zhuri. At the same time, citing the Director of the Development Cooperation Office in Kosovo, Florim Canolli, EU funds will be immediately released for four IPA projects – worth €34.6 million, complemented by €8.4 million in co-financing from Pristina – “which are considered to be at highest risk,” echoes GLPS’s Gërgi.
These projects include the district heating scheme in Pristina (€17.6 million in EU financing) from IPA 2020, the wastewater treatment plant in Kosova B (€12 million), the landfill management project (€2 million), and the financing of the Young Cell Scheme (€3 million), the latter three from IPA 2021.
Looking ahead to the next two years, “at least €150 million” is planned under the IPA 2026-2027 framework. Both experts note that estimating any further potential losses is difficult. Gërgi warns that “neither Kosovo nor any other country in the region has a 100% absorption rate of IPA funds.” This is likely to affect access to EU funds frozen since June 2023, and “the inertia built up over two years will inevitably depress the absorption rate.” Meanwhile, the early elections on 28 December are expected to help address the political and institutional instability that has persisted since the elections last February.
What are the EU measures against Kosovo
Since Kosovo’s independence in 2008 until 2020, the European Union has contributed over €1.5 billion, representing a key partner in the country’s economic, political, and institutional development. However, following the tensions in northern Kosovo, the European Commission adopted “temporary and reversible” measures against Kosovo on 28 June 2023, in response to the “lack of cooperation” by the authorities in Pristina, following escalating tensions with neighbouring Serbia in northern Kosovo.
For the past two years and a half, the EU has suspended both the functioning of the bodies established under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, launched in 2016, and all bilateral visits – except those conducted within the framework of the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. On the diplomatic front, Kosovo representatives have not been invited to high-level events.
Financial measures have also been significant: funding under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) has been frozen, and proposals submitted by Pristina through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) were not tabled at the Management Board meeting.
