Lama: Kosovo faces two obstacles to receiving funds from the Growth Plan, one of which is the Brussels dialogue

European integration expert Alma Lama stated that there are two obstacles ahead of Kosovo in order to receive the first tranche of the promised funds from the EU Growth Plan: the ratification of the agreement in the Assembly and the implementation of the agreements reached in the Brussels dialogue.

"The reason Kosovo has not yet started the process of benefiting from the EU Growth Plan is related to the situation in the Kosovo parliament. The agreement must be approved by the parliament for the process to begin. Kosovo received a positive assessment from the EU regarding reform processes, but in order to achieve the financial benefit of seven percent at the start, it is important to have functional institutions. It is a very bad situation for Kosovo that we still do not have a formed parliament or government," Lama told Kosovo Online.

She explained that the procedure for using funds from the Growth Plan is clear and must be approved by the parliament because it is an international agreement that requires ratification.

"Unfortunately, without the constitution of the parliament, that is not possible, and that is why I believe this is a major loss," she emphasized.

She added that the second obstacle for Kosovo is the implementation of what was agreed in the Brussels dialogue.

"The Growth Plan, both for Kosovo and for Serbia, is conditional upon the implementation of the agreements and the building of relations. So, not only on reforms that apply to all Western Balkan countries, but also on dialogue and the implementation of agreements reached within that dialogue. However, at this moment, the most important issue is that the parliament is not functioning," Lama clarified.