Shahini: We do not have much time for planned projects in order to use funds from the Growth Plan

The President of the Alliance for Kosovo Businesses, Agim Shahini, assesses that Kosovo does not have much time to implement planned projects in order to receive the next disbursement from the EU Growth Plan fund, after the pre-financing funds, which are not conditioned by specific requirements.

“We can plan to use the funds allocated to Kosovo, but we do not have much time because we must submit our projects by June and I doubt that we will succeed. So far, other countries, for example Albania, Serbia and Macedonia, have received more than 160 million each, while we have received nothing,” Shahini told Kosovo Online.

He states that there are several criteria for the disbursement of funds to Kosovo, but that the primary criterion should be European integration, which includes administration, human rights, minority rights, and meeting economic quality standards.

“The dialogue with Serbia is also one of the conditions. The condition that representatives of the Serbian community return to northern Kosovo has been fulfilled, but progress must be made with the European Union agenda and with the agenda for a new relationship between Kosovo and the EU,” Shahini notes.

Asked whether, as one of the conditions for disbursement, the EU could require submitting the European statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities to the Constitutional Court for review, Shahini says that this could also happen.

“Several times we have been surprised by various EU demands. We do not know whether that will happen or not, but it is possible. What is important is that we no longer have sanctions. That is a good thing, but it does not mean we cannot return to various sanctions if, as a state and as leaders, we behave in a way that ignores the international factor. Therefore, we must carefully open ourselves toward the European Union and the international community, advance economic growth, ensure that borders are open without problems, with the movement of goods and capital with various countries without delays, and move together toward the EU,” Shahini assessed.