Jeton Zulfaj, the Republic of Kosovo’s chief negotiator with the European Union and at the same time the National Coordinator for the Reform and Growth Instrument, announced that Kosovo has failed to meet all of its obligations within the extended deadline of the European Union’s Growth Plan. According to him, the failure to implement six reform steps could lead to the loss of more than 40 million euros, Ekonomia Online reports.
At a press conference, he said that by June 30, 18 of the 62 steps currently under implementation had been completed, while on July 15 Kosovo will submit to the European Commission its request for the disbursement of funds for the completed reforms.
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“In total, as of yesterday, 62 steps are under implementation. Of these, 13 had an extended deadline until June 30, 2026, while the other 49 steps are also under implementation, with 27 of them having an extended deadline until the end of 2026. Out of the total 62 steps, we consider 18 steps to have been implemented, for which on July 15 we will request the disbursement of funds from the European Union. For the steps that fail to be implemented within the extended period, according to the reform instrument, the funds dedicated to their completion are lost,” Zulfaj said.
He explained that of the 13 steps for which an extended deadline had been set until June 30, seven have been completed, while six have not been fully carried out.
“Of these 13 steps that were part of the reform agenda with an extended deadline, seven are considered implemented, while six have not managed to be fully implemented. Even in these six steps, some sub-steps have been carried out, mainly actions that depend on the government, but full fulfillment of the obligations has not been achieved,” he stressed.
According to Zulfaj, the measures that remain unfinished are mainly linked to the voting and adoption of legislation in the Assembly.
“The steps that had not been implemented by yesterday are: the Law on Energy and Electricity with the accompanying bylaws, the Law on State Aid, the Law on Innovation and the establishment of the National Council and the Innovation Fund, bankruptcy and insolvency legislation, the package of six laws on justice reform, as well as the Strategy for Combating Organized Crime with the relevant sub-steps,” he said.
He underlined that the majority of the unfulfilled obligations are directly linked to the functionality of the Assembly.
“Of these six steps that have not been implemented, five of them, or 83 percent, concern the adoption of laws in the Assembly. The only step related to the government is the Strategy for Combating Organized Crime, which for procedural reasons cannot be approved by a caretaker government and requires the government to be in full capacity. In other words, almost all the steps that failed to be implemented within the extended deadline are a consequence of the dysfunction and blockade in the Assembly,” he said.
Zulfaj warned that the failure to implement these reforms could cost Kosovo tens of millions of euros, while stressing that the final assessment will be made by the European Commission.
“The estimated cost of failing to complete these six steps on time is calculated to be more than 40 million euros. The exact value will be determined by the assessment of the European Commission, depending on whether it will also take into account the sub-steps that have been implemented. We will present all the arguments and the progress achieved during the assessment process,” Zulfaj added.
