Kosovo risks losing another 11m euros from EU

At the Kosovo Institute for European Policy (EPIK), 43.4m euros are confirmed to have been lost, while expected to be confirmed for another 11 million.

Demush Shasha, from the Kosovo Institute for European Policy (EPIK), arguing losses with the European Commission's report, tells Kosovo Press that the European Integration Ministry has marked a decline in implementation in meeting the SAA measures from 715 measures to 361.

Shasha says that from 22 European Reform priorities only 5 priorities are completely fulfilled after two years of implementation, while, taking these two indicators to the low level of implementation of the programme for the SAA, there is a lack of political commitment to push ahead reforms on our integration path.

Do not implement these reforms, according to Shasha, is also bringing financial costs, and in this direction the first cost is under the agreement ratified in the assembly of the IPA-2016 budgetary agreement for public administration reforms.

“Under that agreement we have taken on obligation to implement a series of reforms, 11 of these, respectively, in 2018. And based on our monitoring that institutions have lost 11m euros to this day in the absence of implementation of these reforms, as an illustration in 2018, the deal has had to be paid, which stands on the 2.2m-euro deal, has had to be paid 5.5m euros to Kosovo in 2018, and this fee has never been made. As a result, these funds are lost. While another 5.5m euros are linked to the implementation of 11 indicators, which had to be met by the end of 2018, where in our monitoring of 11 only 2 have been fulfilled, another 9 are incomplete and therefore this adds a new cost of total to 11 million euros lost under direct budgetary support”, says Shasha.

In addition to these tools, Shasha says Kosovo has lost another 43m euros in financial period 2014-2020 due to poor performance of institutions, lack of reforms, as well as a lack of political will for reform implementation.

While Kosovo is heading towards financial losses within the integration process, Serbia and Montenegro have increased funds from the European Union.

Because of poor performance in absorption of EU funds... Kosovo has also lost another 43m euros for the 2014-2020 financial period. While Kosovo has lost 43.4m euros, Serbia and Montenegro have managed to increase their funds for 31m euros in Serbia's 8.6m-Montenegro case. So what we're seeing is a negative trend in the integration process as far as EU funds are concerned, where we have either direct budget support”, Shasha declares.

For the failure of institutions in implementing measures released under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, they have also confirmed monitoring Kosovo institutions, such as the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI).

KDI researcher Artan Murati has said that about 50 per cent of the obligations emerging from the SAA and the ERA have not been fulfilled, resulting in the loss of huge funds from the European Union.

The “more than half of the obligations issued by the SAA and the ERA have not been fulfilled, although there are trends in some cases that are moving forward... On the other hand because of the lack of timely approval of some agreements with the EU, Kosovo has also lost large funds in various fields. I can say that we have completely lost an application period in Erasmus plus”, Murati said.

For the losses of financial means dedicated to Kosovo by the EU, the deputies of the Kosovo Assembly have also agreed Monday during the European Integration Minister's report, Gift Hoxha, where the latter has denied such a thing, rather, has said there is increased funds.

Otherwise, the priorities set for financing are democracy and good governance, rule of law and fundamental rights, environment, climate change, energy, increased competitiveness, innovation, agriculture and rural development, education, employment and social policies.