Kosovo without any lobby contract in US

As rarely in the post-war history of Kosovo, state institutions, currently, have no active lobby contracts in the United States. Local and international policy recognisers warn that it risks putting Kosovo under shadow and “saw a seat on table”.

Since 1992, Kosovo has almost repeatedly had lobbie companies contracted to push ahead with its agenda and interests in the US.

For now, no such contract not listed as active on the American Department of Justice Recording Act (FARA).

By last year, Kosovo's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspore (MPJD) has had two such agreements, but they have now expired.

Even though Foreign Minister Donika Grovalla has said that the continuation of those one-year contracts will be considered, this has not been done.

Political analyst Donika Emini warns that Kosovo institutions should not rely solely on conventional diplomacy, so through embassies and consulates, especially at the time, says <x0 geopolitical options are escalating and transatlantic divisions are deepening”.

Kosovo is seeking and expecting political support from the US without offering anything in return. Washington is not a place where you are valued only for good will; it is a battlefield of influence, where lobbies, strategic partnerships and diplomatic capacity determine who takes place at table”, Free Europe Emini, from the European think tank for Balkan Politics, tells Radio Free Europe.

And who's taking a seat on the table? Serbia, Amy says.

She argues that, while Kosovo is failing to present itself as a valid “contributor to the new global sequence”, Serbia “has been positioned as an transactional actress, providing economic co-operation and exploiting its natural resources”.

“If Kosovo does not modernise its diplomatic approach, it risks becoming a secondary player in regional policy, with its increasingly defined destiny not only from the US, but also from its regional rivals, who are much more aggressive, strategic and transactional in their commitment to Washington”, Emni adds.

Currently, Serbia's state institutions have five active lobby contracts in the US. Kosovo institutions have indicated whether such contracts will be signed now, following the US administration's shift.

How do countries in the region lobby?

Serbia state institutions government, Republika, Embassy and Economic Oda have five contracts with American lobbie firms.

One of them has been linked this year to the BlackSummit Capital company, to help Serbia report to “Lately imposed sanctions on energy sector”.

The Value of This Covenant is not specified, while Serbia will pay 65 thousand dollars a month Valcour Company and $60,000 per month KARV Communications company, Serbia Embassy to pay $50,000 a monthBGR Group and Oda Economics Company Will Pay $840,000. For a year the Yorktown Solutions company.

From Bosnia and Herzegovina, meanwhile, there are six contracts all from the entity of the Republic of Srspka (RS).

One of them has been linked this year to the Zell&Assocates International Advocas.

In FARA's published contract Its value has been censored, but it shows that, among other things, the removal of sanctions on RS President Milorad Dodik is aimed.

Northern Macedonia, Montenegro have no lobbiing contract, while from Albania “pro bond” Only politician Lulzim Basha has connected.

Shortly after Kosovo has remained without any lobby contracts in the US, the administration has been changed there, at the helm of which is Republican President Donald Trump.

So far, his only official communication with Kosovo has been a letter of congratulations for the anniversary of Kosovo's independence, sent President Vjosa Osmani.

That letter has come after some criticism that Trump's envoy for special missions, Richard Green, has directed to the Government of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. Green has said the US needs reliable partners in the Balkans, while Kurti's government is not.

Green has also said that relations between the two countries have never been lower.

Just the cause of these tensions in reports between the Government of Kosovo and American officials, Kosovo's first ambassador to the US, Avni Spahiu, says contracting lobbyists in the US would be key.

“I have to say that if we create empty space for Serbia to lobbie, then this is to our detriment. We should not leave any space empty at this time, when we need US support at the most”, Spahiu says.

During Trump's first term as president, in the period 2017-2021, Kosovo and Serbia have signed an agreement in Washington on normalising economic relations.

But that agreement has not been implemented in full on the ground, just as many of the agreements signed between Kosovo and Serbia in the dialogue mediated by the European Union in Brussels.

Now, Kosovo expects to have new government, following the February 9th parliamentary elections, which has won Prime Minister Albin Kurti's ruling party, the Vetevendosje Movement, but without securing the necessary majority of 61 MPs to form the government alone.

Amy hopes the new government will change its approach to the United States. It names this as “diplomatic survival issue”.

“If Kosovo does not take urgent measures, it risks remaining in shadow in Washington, unable to counter Serbia's growing influence and bypassed in key decision-making circles”, Emini warns.

She says that the fact that Kosovo has not given importance to the US is reflected in the small number of diplomats engaged in embassys, compared to Serbia.

Asked by Radio Free Europe if there will be any new lobbie contracts, MPJDs have said they cannot comment on lobbi contracts because “those are confidential”.

These contracts, however, are published in full and unscheduled on the FARH website, as US laws force lobbyists to report all activities undertaken during the time they are contracted from <x0).

From reports on this site, REL reported in the past on the work of two Albanians contracted in 2023 for a year-long mPJD lobe, Avni Mustafaj and Aferdita Rakipi.

Many of the expenses during the first six months of those contracts are reported for lunch and work dinners in Kosovo, though the provision of MPJD's advice and representation “within the United States” is envisioned.

And in the second six months, they have reported almost identical jobs by contacting the same person on the same day, with the same content of e-mails, even though their contracts have been individual.

Although without lobbyists currently contracted, MPJD says it is “dedicated to building and strengthening stable, strategic and long-term relations with the United States of America”.

From this, the minister says that this goal will be achieved through “of diplomacy's various structures, including lobbi contracts”.

The American National Conference of State Legislation defines lobour as “Trying to influence government actions through written or oral communication”.

So through lobeation, foreign states can legitimately try to influence US policies.

In Washington, lobeing is not a luxury; it's a necessity. It's how small countries strengthen their voice in political-powered corridors”, says Emini.

In the past, other state institutions, such as the Presidency and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, have also linked lobby contracts to the US. A week ago, REL has asked both of these institutions why they don't actually have lobbi contracts, but it hasn't been answered.

For millions of euros spent over the years, well-known American lobbi companies, such as Podesta Group and Ballard Partners, have been contracted in Kosovo.

One contract with the Podesta Group has been signed during the time that Avni Spahiu has been Kosovo's ambassador to the US.

Spahiu, who served as Kosovo's ambassador to Washington in 2008-2012, says that even at that time, when Kosovo has enjoyed great support from the US, lobbiery, still has had effect.

I think there should be new efforts to recreate these reports, in terms of reinforcement and improvement, even because of changes in the White House, but also because of some things that have happened in reports between the two countries”, Spahiu says.

He cites lobbiing in the 1990s as the success story of the Albanian lobby in the US and says there must still be such commitment to “the return of US full confidence to Kosovo”.

This is important and I think it should be done as soon as possible. Although it is not only the commitment of any company, but it also needs a more active Kosovo diplomacy, a commitment to the embassy and all diplomatic forces that we currently have”, Spahiu adds.

For Amy, it is disturbing that Kosovo, even 17 years after declaring independence, is based on Washington for security guarantees and political support both in 1990 and early 2000.

“changed since 2008, when US support for Kosovo's independence was steadfast, foreign policy today is driven by what a country can offer, not only what it requires”, says Emini.

It has clear requirements for Kosovo institutions: invest in lobby, expand diplomatic presence in Washington, create clear vision for what Kosovo can offer as an ally, and revive engagement with the diaspora. /Radio Free Europe/