The President of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce (KCC), Lulzim Rafuna, has warned that Kosovo is on the verge of missing out on a major financial opportunity from the European Commission’s Growth Plan, due to the ongoing absence of fully functional institutions in the country.
Rafuna stated that delays in ratifying the agreement with the EU to unlock funding are jeopardizing capital investments and efforts to improve living standards.
“From the Growth Plan, a total of €880 million was allocated for Kosovo. A pre-financing amount from the European Commission was supposed to be disbursed to Kosovo, just like to other countries. However, Kosovo has fallen behind because the agreement with the Commission must first be ratified by a two-thirds majority in the Kosovo Assembly. Without this ratification, Kosovo risks losing out on 7% of the total €880 million — that is over €60 million in pre-financing, which should have already been secured,” Rafuna explained.
He emphasized that without a fully functioning Assembly, key financial processes remain blocked, causing delays in investments that were carefully planned as part of broader reforms.
Rafuna called for political consensus, stressing the urgency of resolving the institutional deadlock to avoid losing not only EU funds but also broader opportunities for reform and foreign investment.
“Kosovo must urgently establish fully functional institutions. We urge all political parties in the Assembly to find common ground so that we can move forward and not fall behind in implementing both the Growth Plan and the much-needed domestic reforms. Kosovo cannot afford to miss out on additional funding needed to support our businesses, boost economic growth, and improve the standard of living for our citizens,” Rafuna added.
He also voiced concern over the state budget, highlighting that the absence of ministers and a functioning government has slowed down the implementation of projects already approved under the national budget.
“Another concern is that even the funds already allocated in the state budget are being delayed because ministries are not fully operational. Without a fully functioning government, there has been a slowdown in the implementation of key projects. If Kosovo fails to secure the Growth Plan funds, planned capital investments will be put at risk. Combined with already low levels of foreign investment and the global economic slowdown — partly due to Trump’s new tariffs — I fear our economy could suffer significantly this year,” concluded Rafuna.
