Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti has announced that Serbian institutions have blocked the transfer of more than €2.1 million allocated by the Government of Kosovo to Albanians in Presheva, Bujanoc, Medvegja and Sandžak.
According to Kurti, the funds are part of two transfers: €304,511.16 sent in January 2026 and another €1,837,511.16 in April of the same year. The money was intended to finance 136 projects in education, culture, art, sports, media and other fields.
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He described the move as another example of the systematic and institutional discrimination that, according to him, Albanians in these areas are facing.
Kurti said the Government of Kosovo would continue supporting Albanians in Presheva, Bujanoc, Medvegja and Sandžak, while also pledging to continue international efforts to protect their rights. He called for the funds to be unblocked and transferred to the account of the Albanian National Council.
“When funding for books is blocked, students suffer the consequences. When support for culture is obstructed, identity is harmed,” Kurti said.
During a meeting at the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, Kurti received representatives of non-governmental organizations, the media, culture, education, the arts and sports, as well as students from Presheva, Bujanoc, Medvegja and Novi Pazar. Albanian National Council Chairman Enkel Rexhepi, MP Shaip Kamberi and Presheva Mayor Ardita Sinani also attended the meeting.
The representatives told him about the difficulties they face, including systematic and institutional discrimination, as well as the blocking of financial assistance allocated by the Government of Kosovo to Albanians in these areas.
Kurti emphasized that this support is fully transparent and that there is nothing secret or unclear about how it is organized.
For years, projects in education, culture, art, sports, media and civil society organizations have been funded through the Albanian National Council, which is the representative institution of Albanians under Serbian law as well.
The two blocked transfers amount to €304,511.16 in January 2026 and €1,837,511.16 in April 2026. They relate to 136 projects covering education, culture, art, sports, the use of the Albanian language and national symbols, the media, support for children with special needs, 61 families of students who have lost one or both parents, as well as programs providing free books, professional internships and support for the functioning of the Albanian National Council.
According to him, this is not a technical issue. Blocking funding for books directly affects students, withholding funding for culture weakens identity, while obstructing Albanian-language media restricts the public space in which Albanian is used. Likewise, blocking the Albanian National Council’s programs weakens the institutional capacity of Albanians in these areas.
Concerns were also raised during the meeting that financial isolation is being used as an additional means of pressure in a situation already aggravated by underrepresentation in institutions, barriers to employment, the non-recognition of diplomas from Kosovo, difficulties in using the Albanian language and the deactivation of Albanians’ addresses there.
Kurti said the situation of Albanians in Presheva, Bujanoc, Medvegja and Sandžak is linked to human rights, the rule of law and the responsibility of a state seeking membership in the European Union.
The Government of the Republic of Kosovo, he added, will continue supporting Albanians in these areas and pursuing international efforts to uphold their rights. According to him, the approved projects must be implemented, and discrimination must not be accepted as normal.
