January has passed, and February has entered its fifth day, but the electoral process in Kosovo, as a condition for the establishment of new institutions, has not yet been finalized.

In these circumstances, around 900 million euros in European Union funds are still awaiting the approval of MPs to be disbursed to Kosovo.

The European Union says that despite the delays, Kosovo still remains eligible to receive up to 882 million euros under the Growth Plan.

According to them, the delays are occurring due to the failure to form institutions in Kosovo after two election processes last year.

And, in the current government, they say that after the formation of new institutions, the priority is to vote on international agreements, including the Growth Plan.

The executive branch states that, despite the fact that the funds have not been allocated, they are continuing to work towards implementing the reform agenda agreed with the EU on this deal.

European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper tells KosovaPress that it is in Kosovo's interest for the ratification of international agreements to occur as soon as possible in order to utilize all opportunities under the Growth Plan.

According to her, without receiving the green light for these agreements, Kosovo cannot request payment within the framework of the reforms.

“Kosovo was among the first Western Balkan partners to adopt its Reform Agenda required by the EU Growth Plan, which was adopted by the European Commission in October 2024. Therefore, Kosovo remains eligible to receive up to €882 million in funds under the Growth Plan, subject to the entry into force of the agreements related to the Reform and Growth Facility, as well as all other conditions for disbursement.

Due to the delay in the formation of institutions, the agreements related to the Reform and Growth Facility have not yet entered into force. Without the ratification of the agreements, Kosovo cannot request a payment under the Reform and Growth Facility. The Reform and Growth Facility is a time-limited instrument, approved for the period 2024–2027, and it is in Kosovo’s interest that ratification occurs as soon as possible in order to fully utilize all the opportunities under the Growth Plan, for the benefit of its population,” it said in its responses to KosovaPress.

On the other hand, Klisman Kadiu, advisor to the acting Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Besnik Bislimi, says that the delays in allocating EU funds to Kosovo occur due to the unwillingness of opposition parties to pass them in the previous legislature.

According to him, despite the fact that funds have not been disbursed to Kosovo, the incumbent government is working on implementing the reforms agreed with the EU on the Growth Plan.

"The incumbent government, while the Assembly was formed, before the early elections, proposed voting on international agreements, including the Growth Plan, from which Kosovo will benefit about 882 million euros and the initial pre-financing of over 60 million euros. The opposition refused to vote on it, holding hostage the approval of the agreement and the start of the release of funds from the EU for Kosovo. If there had been no illogical blockage by the opposition, Kosovo would have received the amount of pre-financing today. With the formation of new institutions, voting on international agreements, including the Growth Plan, will again be a priority. In the meantime, the government continues to work towards the implementation of the reform agenda agreed with the EU on the Growth Plan, for which we also report to the Union on a regular basis regarding the continuity and advancement of reforms", Kadiu declares in his response to KosovaPress.

But, despite Kosovo being late in ratifying agreements with the EU, according to professor of European integration, Dritëro Arifi, these agreements have not yet expired.

According to him, only 65 million euros are secure as pre-financing funds, while the rest must be proven through the implementation of reforms.

"We are already late. We are more than a year late in ratifying the two agreements with the European Union, but that is not all. An amount, a pre-determination of 61 million euros has been foreseen to start the reforms. We have not yet started the reforms and this first advance payment depends on the ratification of the two agreements to start the reforms. Any other means to be allocated to the government must be proven that the reforms undertaken have been completed. It is not that simple to receive those funds, since we are thinking that we will receive 880 million euros immediately, but no. We only receive 61 million immediately and the rest must be proven, evidenced and proven that the reform has been approved. Even if we had the government today, we would have to work at the speed of light and achieve the reforms on time", he emphasized.

The disbursement of pre-financing funds for Kosovo is linked to the approval of two international agreements in the Assembly, which, due to the failure to constitute the tenth legislature, has not yet occurred.

The Growth Plan is a new EU framework for accelerating reforms for European integration of the entire region, combining reforms with direct financial contributions from EU funds to the budgets of the beneficiary countries and investment projects. By implementing these reforms, Kosovo will benefit from up to 882,6 million euros of EU funds. Of this total amount, 253,3 million euros are grants, while the remaining 629,3 million euros are long-term loans.

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