Kosovo urges EU to lift sanctions
The European Union's punitive measures have not forced the Kosovo government to change its course, but they have had an impact on the well-being of citizens. Without a clear consensus within the EU on when they can be lifted, uncertainty continues to shape the situation, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.
Twenty months after freezing funds for Kosovo and suspending high-level visits, the European Union continues to refuse to lift these measures, despite continued requests from Pristina, but also from the European Parliament.
In a response to Radio Free Europe, a spokesman for the bloc said that "the EU's temporary measures are reversible and the Council has already set conditions for their gradual lifting, which are linked to steps being taken by Kosovo to reduce tensions in the north."
Klisman Kadiu, from the Office of Kosovo's First Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, did not respond to Radio Free Europe's question about whether the country's government has any signal about when the EU measures will be lifted. Similarly, he did not answer how much the losses from them are estimated to be.
The EU punished Kosovo in June 2023, due to what it assessed as Prime Minister Albin Kurti's role in fueling ethnic tensions in the north of the country - an area inhabited by a Serb majority.
On several occasions, he described EU measures as unfair, saying that he could not compromise with the rule of law and the country's constitutionality.
The EU did not disclose which projects specifically have been affected by the suspension of funds for Kosovo. However, sources from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty learned that they range from culture to infrastructure and that their value reaches up to 100 million euros.
Fisnik Osmani, CEO of Pristina City Heating Company "Termokos", confirms that a project of the company to double the heating capacities in the capital has been suspended, due to the freezing of a grant of 17.6 million euros from the European Union.
These funds, he says, were part of the IPA program, which provides financial and technical assistance to countries aiming for the EU, but which in the case of Kosovo has been blocked.
"EU sanctions have greatly damaged Kosovo's economic development. In this case, unfortunately, the City Heating Plant has also been damaged, and consequently the city of Pristina and its citizens," Osmani tells Radio Free Europe's Expose program.
