EU punitive measures, their impact on Kosovo

The chairman of the Kosovo Economic Ode, Lulzim Rafuna, told the Voice of America that close to 300m euros is the value of suspended projects that should be financed by the European Union.

All these projects have been first to improvise as capital projects that had to go directly to the best of economic development, but also to establish a social welfare for Kosovo citizens. The second is the inability of Kosovo or Kosovo's failure to benefit from various European Union funds such as the fund for digitalisation where all the countries in the region participated, while Kosovo was disfellowshipped because of measures it has in place”, said Mr Rafuna.

Mr. Rafuna says that in addition to economic damage, punitive measures have delivered a bad message to foreign investors.

The director of the Group for Juridical and Political Studies, Abren Loxha Stublla, says further continuation of the measures will affect other countries' perception of Kosovo.

The non-constructive and restive side in this process may be considered that Kosovo, not many normal countries, is put into action by the EU that puts us in a group of countries that have committed major violations or had very non-European access”, said Mrs. Loja Stubla.

Punishment measures followed the sending of mayors of northern municipalities to their offices by police force, amid protests by Serb citizens' groups that boycotted last April's elections.

The European Union has called for lowering tensions in the country's north through a plan envisioning the suspension of police operations in the north, the transfer of mayors to alternative offices, and the proclamation of early elections with unconditional participation of Kosovo Serbs in order to suspend the measures.

Since then, the government said it has reduced the number of police officials in the vicinity of municipal buildings, has drafted a document that enables them through a petitioning the dismissal of elected Albanian mayors in the north, who are opposed by Serbs.

Kosovo leaders are calling on the European Union to remove punitive measures since European requirements have reportedly been met, while demanding that the European integration path not be conditioned with dialogue with Serbia.

The “is a firm position for the measures to be removed as soon as possible, but the most important should be that the process of dialogue should be separated from Kosovo's integration process in the European Union so that we as a country can focus on aspiring advance for integration”, said Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi.

The Voice of America asked European Union spokesman Peter Stano for a comment on Pristina's demands, but until the preparation of this material received no answers. In a statement earlier this month, Mr. Stano said European officials are monitoring the situation very carefully.

“We are also working with partners to help them take the necessary steps to enforce the situation, address problems that contributed to the recent crisis, and when sufficient positive steps have been taken, the EU will review the measures imposed against Kosovo and remove those”, the spokesman Stano said.

The director of the Group for Juridical and Political Studies, the Serbian Loxha Stublla, says Kosovo has already proved that it is seriously addressing European demands.

For us it is very important that the removal of measures take place before the election process in the European Union begins, because otherwise we would risk the measures to remain in force until the process is completed and also shows a kind of improvement of the European Union's approach if it takes positive steps in this direction and shows that it is treating the parties in a more equal or balanced approach”, said Mrs. Loxja Stubla.

Mr Rafuna, meanwhile, says authorities in Kosovo should work closely with European authorities for removing punitive measures.

Our “Our demand has always been for central institutions this case for the Kosovo government, but also the parliament as the government's overseer that as soon as they meet the conditions to remove these measures because Kosovo does not deserve it. There are measures affecting the rise in economic development and increasing social well-being that ultimately are the citizens of Kosovo who observe the consequences of these” measures, said Mr. Rafuna.

The European Union's punitive measures envision the failure to approve projects from the Investment Fund in the Western Balkans, as well as the suspension of meetings at political levels in addition to those related to dialogue for normalising relations with Serbia. / VOA