Shasha: EU can take even more repressive measures if the Kosovo Government doesn't change its position

Demush Shasha, the Director of the EPIK Institute, stated that EU measures could gradually escalate if the Kosovo Government doesn't change its position, as reported by Radio Free Europe.

"Currently, we have measures that suspend funds, but they are not being abolished. The next phase will involve the abolition of funds," Shasha notes.

He further adds that a political meeting, specifically the meeting of the Stabilization and Association Council, which, as he says, is attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, will be canceled.

"If there is no common ground, the EU could take even more repressive measures. It could suspend certain parts of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, for example, by prohibiting the entry of Kosovo products that have the right to enter the EU without any tariffs, primarily wood, metal, and textile products," Shasha states.

He emphasizes that all repressive measures by the EU undermine Kosovo's international credibility.

Emrush Ujkani, the Executive Director of the European Investors Council in Kosovo, also believes that EU sanctions will greatly harm Kosovo.

"Considering that we are a developing economy, still fragile in many aspects, I believe that punitive measures will significantly harm Kosovo," Ujkani stated.

Blerta Deliu, a member of the European Integration Committee in the Assembly of Kosovo, confirmed that two meetings scheduled for the Stabilization and Association Agreement in Brussels have already been canceled.

According to her, these meetings include the Sub-Committee on EU and Kosovo cooperation in the fields of justice, freedom and security, as well as the Sub-Committee on trade, industry, customs, and taxes.

"The non-participation of Kosovo in such forums does not contribute to our agenda of strengthening mechanisms that align Kosovo with the European Union. On the contrary, it undermines Kosovo in its empowerment and on its Euro-Atlantic and Western path," Deliu says.