Prishtina, November 5, 2025 – Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) held a press conference today to discuss the main findings of the European Commission’s 2025 Country Report for Kosovo. This year’s report assesses Kosovo under two different government contexts, one with a full mandate and another in a caretaker capacity. Despite Kosovo’s continued commitment to EU integration, the report highlights that the political crisis has heavily affected reform momentum across most fields.  

The European Commission notes improvements in four chapters – including food safety, transport policy, social policy and employment, and external relations, yet Kosovo largely remains at some level of preparation. Progress was found to be limited in 17 chapters, some in 11, no progress in 2, and good in only one. According to GLPS, political deadlock has significantly hindered reforms, rendering 2025 a year of lost opportunities for substantial reform.

The report echoes GLPS’ ongoing concerns regarding public administration reform and rule of law. It notes limited progress in implementing the Law on Public Officials and the Law on Salaries, persistent politicization, and an excessive number of acting managerial positions. In the judiciary it calls for immediate and transparent appointment of the Chief State Prosecutor which remains pending, better enforcement of justice reforms, and stronger accountability within judicial institutions. It also raises concerns over political attacks on the judiciary, and alarmingly, it points out increased political pressure on the media freedom.

On the normalization of relations with Serbia, the report stresses that access to the EU Growth Plan funds – estimated at 883 million euro for Kosovo – is conditional on the normalisation process. On the same process, the report emphasizes the fact that Kosovo is yet to benefit from this Plan, given the significant delay of ratification of agreements in the parliament as a result of the ongoing political crisis. Since may, GLPS publicly warned that Kosovo risks losing funding under the Growth Plan due to the political stalemate, urging for a swift political consensus and stronger institutional coordination with the EU to advance Kosovo’s European Agenda.

The full press release in Albanian can be accessed here.

Venue: GLPS Offices, str. Rexhep Luci, 16/1, 10000 Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo.