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Kosovo elections
The parliamentary elections in Kosovo on 9 February are an opportunity for the EU to raise its profile and to focus attention on the Western Balkan country that is lagging behind in the integration process. The EU has deployed a dedicated Election Observation Mission (EUOM), which began its work on 18 January (Saturday), with the deployment of observers on the ground starting the following day. 18 long-term observers from EU Member States will monitor the election campaign, engage with stakeholders such as political parties, electoral authorities, civil society and the media, and ensure compliance with the Kosovo Election Law and international standards. According to the Head of Mission, Nathalie Loiseau, their presence is important for maintaining the credibility and legitimacy of the elections, stressing that the team will expand to over 100 observers on election day to ensure comprehensive monitoring.
Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has asked the European Union Election Observation Mission to ensure that the right to free voting is fully exercised in Northern Kosovo. She met with the team as part of joint efforts to ensure a free and democratic electoral process for the parliamentary elections in Kosovo on 9 February.
After the elections
If there is no political crisis in connection with the formation of the new government in Kosovo, the EU will routinely focus on reform work in 2025. Last year’s European Commission report on Kosovo stated that it should focus on addressing challenges in the areas of judicial reform, building an effective and independent public administration, combating corruption and organized crime, strengthening freedom of expression, etc.
Kosovo will be required to implement the Reform Agenda, which foresees 7 areas of reform: in the area of energy transition, private sector development, strengthening the efficiency and accountability of the justice system, etc. By March 2025, Kosovo, like the other Western Balkan countries, should submit a request for the first tranche of payments under the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. The EC will assess and approve each payment request (twice a year), provided that the partners meet the qualitative and quantitative steps set out in the respective reform programmes. For Kosovo in particular, as for Serbia, the criterion will be the fulfilment of the commitments made under the European Normalization Agreement and its Annex. The EC is expected to plan the implementation of assistance for Kosovo under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) III for the period 2025-2027, although the 2024 programmes were suspended due to the measures regarding Kosovo introduced in the summer of 2023.
These measures, called “sanctions” by Pristina, remain in force, which is why a package of incentives, positive and negative, will be prepared for Kosovo, the implementation of which should ensure the realization of a significant breakthrough in the process of normalization and acceleration of the process of European integration of Belgrade and Pristina.
In the process of the dialogue for the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, the issue of the formation of the Association of Serbian Municipalities is assessed as “absolutely crucial” by both the EU and the US, which will certainly have a key role in the region.
Given the US-Serbia strategic dialogue and the recent finalization of similar negotiations with Kosovo, these two parallel processes could lead to a new phase in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, based on the synergy between them, which may follow under the Trump administration.
