Milic: Pristina without EU funds not only due to the institutional crisis, but primarily because of its escalatory policy

The Program Director of the organization New Third Way, Dimitrije Milic, assessed that the delay in disbursing the first tranche of EU Growth Plan funds for Kosovo can be interpreted as a consequence of the institutional crisis, but is more so a result of Pristina’s escalatory policies.

“I would say that a bigger issue regarding the Growth Plan funds stems from the government in Pristina’s escalatory policy and from the actions of former Prime Minister Kurti. The majority of criticism directed at the government in Pristina has primarily been due to moves made without coordination with Western countries and which caused problems in interethnic relations,” Milic told Kosovo Online.

Commenting on the announcement that Pristina might miss out on the first part of the Growth Plan funds due to the institutional formation crisis, Milic says Brussels wants “clean accounting” when it comes to how that money is spent.

“The institutional crisis is a problem because it raises the question of who is representing the government in discussions with European institutions, who is actually implementing the proposed programs, and who is spending the allocated funds. This creates a kind of unpredictability and instability, which in turn raises doubts in Brussels about whether there are objective, institutional capacities to use the funds properly and for their intended purpose when we talk about the Growth Plan,” Milic said.

Nevertheless, he is convinced that the delay in payment is much more related to Brussels’ distrust in the capacities of the outgoing government in Pristina.

“Western countries have had to deal with resolving this crisis, diverting their limited time and resources to the region, which is not particularly popular at a time when there are wars in Gaza and Ukraine and various other global instabilities. I assume this is more a result of doubts about the previous government’s ability to handle crises or at least avoid creating them, as well as the issue of forming the CSM,” Milic emphasized.

He added that this is also evident in the punitive measures imposed on Pristina.

“I would say that the existing barriers, essentially a soft form of isolation for the Pristina government, have mainly stemmed from a pattern of escalatory policy that Western countries were unwilling to support. This approach is not useful to them in the current international context, nor is it helpful in general relations, especially when it comes to regional stability in the Western Balkans,” Milic explained.