Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo Albin Kurti chaired the second meeting of the Ministerial Council for European Integration, which conducted its proceedings in its capacity as the Steering Committee for the Growth Plan. The meeting addressed progress on reforms, projects under implementation and IPA programmes.

Kurti announced that on 15 July, Kosovo submitted to the European Commission its first official report on the implementation of the Reform Agenda, together with its first request for the disbursement of Growth Plan funds.

According to him, by 30 June, 20 reform steps had been completed and reported to the European Commission, with a total value of €153.3 million in European Union funds. The European Commission is currently carrying out the relevant assessment. Once it is completed, a decision on the release of the funds is expected, with Kosovo to receive them in accordance with that decision.

The prime minister also announced that at the beginning of next week, three international agreements related to IPA programmes would be sent to the Assembly. The package includes two amendments concerning the IPA 2021 and IPA 2022 projects, as well as the IPA 2026–2027 Financial Agreement. Kosovo is expected to receive €258 million from these agreements. He called on the Legal Office and the Ministry of Finance to finalise the necessary opinions without delay.

Kurti stressed that the expected funds from the Growth Plan and IPA programmes total more than €400 million. These funds will be used for good governance and the implementation of reforms aimed at Kosovo’s membership in the European Union.

He said that, of the 13 reforms that were supposed to be completed by 30 June, six had not been implemented within the deadline. As a result, more than €40 million of the €90.7 million earmarked for this period was not received.

According to the prime minister, the failure to release these funds was a consequence of the deadlock in the Assembly, which prevented the approval of the necessary laws. Nevertheless, all draft laws related to the 30 June deadline will be put forward at the next parliamentary session.

Kurti emphasised that the Assembly’s deadlock does not cancel the implementation of the reforms included in the Growth Plan or the work carried out by the government, but it risks the loss of funds allocated for these reforms.

According to him, attention should focus on the 22 reforms whose final deadline is the end of December this year and which are linked to €131.4 million in European Union funds. Eight of them, or more than one-third, require the approval of draft laws in the Assembly.

These involve 10 draft laws with a deadline of 31 December 2026. The prime minister said that these acts were in the finalisation phase and would be approved by the government within this deadline. Meanwhile, the institutions have cooperated with the European Commission so that the draft laws with a 31 December deadline can complete consultation with the European Union within a shorter period.

He warned that, if the Assembly functions, neither the reforms nor the funds allocated for them will be lost. Kurti reiterated that the parliamentary deadlock does not lead to the loss of reforms, but could cause the loss of Growth Plan funding.

The prime minister recalled that the Assembly is a branch of government separate from the executive and one of the three pillars of a democratic state. Its main duties are to adopt laws and oversee the government, functions that can be exercised only by a functioning Assembly. He added that, under conditions of social and political pluralism, responsibility for the highest representative and legislative institution is shared.

According to Kurti, citizens have determined through their vote the weight and responsibility of each entity in the Assembly, without granting any of them absolute responsibility.

Referring to the Constitutional Court’s announcement the day before yesterday, he said that the deadline for electing the president expires on 6 October. If a new president is not elected, the country will go to the polls again, which would be the fourth election in less than two years.

The prime minister described new elections as unnecessary and costly, arguing that Kosovo already has a speaker of the Assembly and an elected government. According to him, this Assembly is capable of giving the country a new president, whether male or female.

Kurti clarified that presidential elections are not held in Kosovo. The next elections would again be for the Assembly and the government, while the president is elected by the Assembly.

He asked why the country should return to elections to form yet another Assembly that fails to elect a president. According to him, it is unreasonable for elections to be repeated continuously merely to produce the same results.

As the meeting continued, the prime minister announced that he would give the floor to the National Coordinator for Growth Plan Reforms, who would present the state of the reforms and investment projects within the framework of the Western Balkans Investment Framework.

The meeting was also addressed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Donika Gërvalla Schwarz, as well as Jeton Zulfaj, Chief Negotiator of the Republic of Kosovo with the European Union and National Coordinator for the Reform and Growth Facility. Ministers, deputy ministers and representatives of state institutions attended the meeting.

The prime minister thanked the participants for their presence and attention.

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