Are EU sanctions on Kosovo a symbolic warning or do they have true impact?

Since June 2023, the European Union has imposed active punitive measures on Kosovo in response to a string of tensions and escalations that took place in the Serb-majority north of the country.

The measures include the temporary suspension of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), a pre-accession trade agreement signed with Pristina, and limits on Kosovo officials attending meetings with EU officials in Brussels and the suspension of EU funding and the freezing of projects.

They do not include limitations on activities tied to the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Brussels’ attempt to act as a go-between the two in an effort to resolve issues such as customs bans or the mutual recognition of travel documents.

Euronews investigated the impact these punitive measures have had.

According to Petar Đorđević, the President of Young Active Gracanica, the sanctions are largely a symbolic warning sign and have had limited impact on the ground.

"Many projects continued to be implemented. It wasn’t as strict as when the US withdraws something, which is then felt across all levels of society," Đorđević told Euronews.

US joins EU-led ‘political sanctions’

In September, the US said it was indefinitely suspending its planned strategic dialogue with Kosovo.

While Washington would not withdraw from participation in the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, or from broader US support, it would suspend a specific high-level framework that was supposed to deepen ties.

"With the EU, it wasn’t so strongly felt, and I think these measures were more of a warning to Kosovo than something that genuinely causes it to suffer," Đorđević said.

Despite the measures, cooperation between Kosovo and European officials remained uninterrupted, he explained, with meetings taking place in Pristina, Brussels and at various forums and summits across Europe.

"I think this shows most clearly that the measures are not that strict, and that there is still an effort to reach out and establish better communication with Kosovo’s representatives," the president of the NGO stated.

Yet, according to the Pristina-based Institute for Advanced Studies think tank, the measures have suspended projects worth €218 million funded by the EU’s Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA). A total of €7.1 million has been permanently lost due to missed deadlines.

The funds from the Growth Plan, worth over €300 million, are also in question. Because of this, Pristina officials are calling for the lifting of what they describe as undeserved sanctions.

"Countries that are 100% aligned with the European Union should be rewarded, not those that have chosen Moscow as their path forward," Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said, hinting at the political leadership in Belgrade, which has refused to impose sanctions on Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine stating it was following its policy of neutrality.

Kurti insist on pro-EU path despite Brussels’ cold shoulder

"We always demanded that Kosovo be freed from unjust punitive measures, that it be granted candidate status, and that we receive the questionnaire with thousands of questions as soon as possible," Prime Minister Albin Kurti said.

Kurti has insisted that the country will diligently adhere to demands from Brussels on issues tied to pre-accession "because we have no alternative, nor do we want one, to the European Union".

Brussels has requested, among other things, that in order to lift the measures, Pristina must change its policy toward the Kosovo Serb community and implement all agreements with Belgrade, including the establishment of the Association of Serb Municipalities – a body that gives certain political powers to parties in Serb-majority areas which Kurti has been reluctant to do.

This was also emphasised in this year’s European Commission report on Kosovo’s progress toward EU membership.

"The next steps will depend on sustainable de-escalation in the north," Aivo Orav, ambassador of the EU in Kosovo said.

"The Commission intends to further lift these measures on the condition that there is an orderly transfer of local governance in the north. This should happen after local elections, and de-escalation must be maintained," Orav explained.

Brussels’ punitive measures represent a sea-change in its approach to resolving disputes in the Western Balkans, as similar sanctions have never been applied to other EU hopefuls in the region.

These measures are still in force because, as stated by Brussels, Kosovo has not done enough to ease tensions and change the situation that led to their introduction.

In December 2024, the EU Council adopted conclusions stating that the measures will be gradually lifted.

However, the process is slow and, as stated at the time, conditional on further steps by Pristina.