Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
On Tuesday (December 16), Acting Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi said he had received a letter from the European Union's Director-General for Enlargement, Gert Jan Koopman, in which, according to Bislimi, Kosovo has been stripped of most EU measures. (here)
In the letter published by Bislimi, Koopman specifically states: “… The Commission will lift some of the EU measures…”.
But Arlind Manjhuka, spokesperson for the Vetëvendosje Movement, the political entity that governs the country, has said that Kosovo is currently free of EU measures, without clarifying that this is about removing some of the measures.
How does the truth stand?
The letter that Bislimi says he received from Koopman states:
“I want to reiterate our continued commitment to supporting Kosovo on its European path. In May, we began lifting some EU measures following efforts to reduce tensions in the north. More recently, we welcomed the peaceful and orderly transfer of local government following local elections and the removal of police from municipal buildings.”
"Based on the above and in line with the Commission's 2025 Communication on Enlargement, I am pleased to inform you that the Commission will further lift some of the EU measures, namely those related to the programming of EU funds and the contracting of priority projects."
This suggests that only some of the measures that the EU imposed on Kosovo in 2023 will be lifted in the future, which relate to the programming of EU funds and the contracting of priority projects.
The Acting Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, also claims that the EU has lifted the measures imposed on Kosovo (see here).
"Now that the EU has also lifted the measures, the only "measures" that remain are those that the opposition parties PDK/LDK/AAK-Nisma imposed on Kosovo, by not voting for the 882 million euros of the EU Growth Plan, and the 130 million euros agreement with the World Bank."
Meanwhile, the media outlet "Gazeta Express" has contacted the European Commission, an institution that has confirmed that 50% of the measures have been lifted from Kosovo.
"Following the smooth and orderly transfer of local government in the north following the last local elections in December 2025, we will further release around 50% of the financial assistance, amounting to approximately 216 million euros," he said in a response to The Express newspaper a European Commission spokesperson.
But LVV spokesman Arlind Manjhuka, through a Facebook post on Tuesday (December 16), claimed that Kosovo currently has no EU measures.
“North: with rule of law; Kosovo: without EU measures; Beneficiary: Republic”, wrote Manchu (here).
What measures did the EU impose on Kosovo?
EU measures against Kosovo included: temporary suspension of working groups for the Stabilization and Association Agreement, non-invitation of Kosovo to high-level meetings and suspension of bilateral visits.
Also, the programming of funds for Kosovo, which were scheduled to be delivered through the Western Balkans Investment Framework and IPA 2024 (Instruments for Pre-Accession), was suspended.
IPA Program, according to the European Commission, is envisaged as “a way in which the EU supports reforms in 'enlargement countries' with financial and technical assistance”.
Kosovo has benefited from a total of 1.21 billion euros from this program from 2007 until the end of 2022.
Meanwhile, from the Western Balkans Investment Framework program, Kosovo has benefited from around 1.8 billion euros from 2009 to 2021.
But, after the punitive measures, Kosovo remained outside the grants that The EU approved in July of 2023, worth 2.1 billion euros.
Conclusion:
Yesterday, Kosovo's acting Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, published a letter that he said he had received from the European Union's Director-General for Enlargement, Gert Jan Koopman, confirming that Kosovo would be lifted from some of the EU's imposed measures.
But, LVV spokesperson Arlind Manxhuka, through a Facebook post, claimed that Kosovo is currently free of EU measures.
The acting Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, also claimed that the EU has lifted the measures imposed on Kosovo.
The European Commission confirmed to Gazeta Express that 50% of the measures have been lifted for Kosovo.
Therefore, based on the working methodology, Hibrid.info evaluates the claim about the lifting of the measures as a "Half-truth statement".
Reasoning:
In the category of truthfulness, those statements that contain statements related to objective facts, the accuracy of which can be determined through objective verification, are evaluated. Statements treated in this category receive the assessment – false statement, half-truth, or even true statement.