But two years on political instability in Kosovo has delayed ratification of the agreements needed to begin implementation. As a result, Pristina has received only 61.8 million euros in pre-financing. This was just 7 per cent of its total allocation.
Earlier this month, Kosovo’s squabbling parties reached a deal that many hope will put the legislature back on track after three elections in two years and a debilitating row over who should be appointed president.
But much work remains to be done, and much time has been lost in political wrangling, election campaigns and post-poll negotiations.
Kosovo’s Head of Negotiations with the EU, Jeton Zulfaj, states that all the required reforms must be implemented by the end of December, or Kosovo will forfeit more than 90 million euros.
“A total of 131.4 million euros in funding from the European Union’s Growth Plan must be allocated to this package of reforms,” Zulfaj told BIRN.
After three failed attempts, parliament narrowly passed the anti-money laundering law on Friday, one of the key laws in the reform package that would enable Kosovo to join the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Kosovo’s non-membership of SEPA had been costing its citizens some 55 million euros per year.
However, 16 other laws still need to be adopted by December.
“Securing the votes, especially for some of these laws, remains a challenge,” Zulfaj admitted.
Kujtim Dobruna, director of ECIKS, an NGO focused on sustainable economic development, investment promotion and public-private sector growth in Kosovo, said that losing EU funds simply due to failure to meet the criteria was irresponsible.
“For a small economy like Kosovo, more than 100 million euros is a significant amount, especially when we still face basic infrastructure problems that should have been resolved long ago,” he told BIRN. “Kosovo cannot afford this.”
Following a June deadline, Kosovo submitted its first formal disbursement request in July. In its request, Kosovo claimed progress in anti-corruption, women’s and youth employment, judicial accountability and early childhood education enrolment. But it did not explain the exact extent to which these criteria had been fulfilled.
Kosovo has requested 142.6 million euros, including 66.3 million euros for direct disbursement to the Kosovo Treasury and 76.3 million euros through the Western Balkans Investment Framework, WBIF. Of the total requested, 35.3 million euros was in loans and 40.9 million in non-repayable support.
The European Commission confirmed that the request is under assessment, with the amounts expected to be clarified by the end of October.
“Kosovo risks losing additional funds if it fails to meet a reform milestone by the end of the grace period. For 23 of the 64 milestones, originally due in 2025, that period expired at the end of June 2026,” the European Commission told BIRN.
The Commission is assessing whether Kosovo has met each requirement. “Each milestone effectively has its own price tag, and payments are released based on the level of implementation,” it noted.
In practice, the Commission enjoys broad discretion over how the funds are used and could redirect them to other priorities.
According to the Commission, implementation of the Growth Plan in the region has been highly uneven. While some countries have advanced reforms and secured EU funding, others, including Kosovo and Serbia, are making slower progress.
The €140 million already withdrawn from Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina has remained in the region after being transferred to the European Innovation Council Compartment for the Western Balkans.
The next reporting deadline comes in January 2027, when the grace periods for steps originally due in 2025 expire.
According to the Commission, slow progress in implementing reforms puts Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina at risk of losing hundreds of millions of euros in total. All three countries have seen significant delays in adopting their reform agendas and accessing initial funding, risking permanent cuts to their allocations.