Zulfaj: Kosovo missed deadline for six growth plan reforms, more than €40 million could be lost

Kosovo's Chief Negotiator with the European Union and Coordinator for the Reform and Growth Instrument, Jeton Zulfaj, has stated that Kosovo failed to meet all of its obligations within the extended deadline under the EU Growth Plan, warning that the failure to implement six reform measures could result in the loss of more than €40 million, Ekonomia Online reports.

Zulfaj said that, of a total of 62 reform steps scheduled for implementation by June 30, only 18 had been completed. He added that Kosovo would submit a request to the European Commission on July 15 for the disbursement of funds corresponding to the reforms that have been implemented.

"As of yesterday, there were a total of 62 implementation steps. Of these, 13 had an extended deadline until June 30, while the remaining 49 are still in the implementation phase, with 27 of them having an extended deadline until the end of the year. Out of the total 62 steps, we consider that 18 have been completed, which is why we will request the disbursement of funds from the European Union on July 15. Under the Reform and Growth Instrument, funding allocated to measures that are not implemented within the extended deadline is forfeited," Zulfaj said, as quoted by Ekonomia Online.

He explained that, of the 13 reform steps whose deadline had been extended until June 30, seven had been completed, while six had not been fully implemented.

"Of those 13 steps included in the Reform Agenda with an extended deadline, seven are considered completed, while six have not been fully implemented. Even in the case of those six steps, some sub-measures have been partially completed, mainly those falling within the government's responsibility, but the obligations have not been fully met," Zulfaj explained.

According to him, the uncompleted measures mainly concern legislation that requires parliamentary approval.

"The measures that had not been completed by yesterday include the laws on energy and electricity, together with the accompanying secondary legislation; the Law on State Aid; the Law on Innovation and the establishment of the National Innovation Council and Innovation Fund; the legislation on bankruptcy and insolvency; the package of six judicial reform laws; and the Strategy for Combating Organised Crime," Zulfaj said.

He stressed that most of the unfulfilled obligations were a direct consequence of the Assembly's inability to function.

"Of the six uncompleted steps, five—or 83 percent—concern the adoption of legislation by the Assembly. The only measure falling within the government's competence is the Strategy for Combating Organised Crime, which cannot be adopted by a caretaker government for procedural reasons, as it requires a government exercising its full constitutional mandate. In other words, almost all of the measures that remained unfulfilled within the extended deadline are the result of the parliamentary deadlock," Zulfaj said.

He added that Kosovo's failure to implement the reforms could cost the country tens of millions of euros, while the final amount would be determined by the European Commission.

"The estimated cost of failing to implement these six measures exceeds €40 million. The exact amount will be determined by the European Commission, depending on whether it also takes into account the partially completed sub-measures. We will present all of our arguments and demonstrate the progress achieved during the assessment process," Zulfaj concluded.