A draft annual report by the European Parliament on Kosovo concludes that 2025 was a \u201clost year\u201d for the country, mainly due to the prolonged political crisis that lasted throughout the year.<\/p>\n
The draft report, prepared by the European Parliament\u2019s rapporteur for Kosovo, Riho Terras, welcomes the formation of Kosovo\u2019s new parliament and government following the elections held on December 28. However, it expresses regret that the Assembly failed to elect a new president within the constitutional deadline, a situation that could push the country toward new elections.<\/p>\n
Kosovo had a non-functional parliament and a caretaker government for much of the past year, after the parliamentary elections of February 9 produced no clear winner and political parties failed to reach an agreement to form a majority government.<\/p>\n
As a result, the country held another round of elections on December 28. However, the lack of agreement on electing a president\u2014since the mandate of the current president Vjosa Osmani expires on April 4\u2014could lead Kosovo to a third election within roughly one year.<\/p>\n
The draft report, seen by Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, will be discussed and later voted on in the European Parliament.<\/p>\n
Dialogue Between Kosovo and Serbia<\/p>\n
In the report, Terras notes that the dialogue mediated by the European Union between Kosovo and Serbia has failed to deliver meaningful results.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, which was launched to find a mutually acceptable compromise, unfortunately did not produce the expected outcomes. In essence, the dialogue was inactive throughout 2025. This also happened because Kosovo did not have a government with a full mandate and powers, while negotiations in such a format have no real perspective,\u201d Terras stated.<\/p>\n
In recent years, Kosovo and Serbia have held several rounds of talks at the chief negotiators\u2019 level, but there have been no high-level political meetings since September 2023.<\/p>\n
Terras stressed that the European Commission, the European Parliament, and EU member states must do everything possible to ensure that the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade continues with renewed energy.<\/p>\n
The draft document reiterates that the normalization of relations with Serbia and the implementation of dialogue commitments remain essential for Kosovo\u2019s future in the EU.<\/p>\n
It also highlights the importance of constructive engagement by the authorities of Kosovo and Serbia to reach a comprehensive and legally binding agreement on normalization, which, according to the report, should be based on mutual recognition and in line with international law.<\/p>\n
Both sides are urged to implement the Agreement on the Path to Normalization, reached in Brussels in February 2023, as well as its annex agreed upon in Ohrid in March of the same year.<\/p>\n
Among the obligations mentioned by the European Parliament are:<\/p>\n
Both parties are also urged to avoid unilateral actions that could undermine the dialogue process.<\/p>\n
EU Measures and Recognition<\/p>\n
The document also calls on the five EU member states that have not yet recognized Kosovo\u2019s independence to move toward recognition, enabling Kosovo to progress on equal terms with other EU candidate countries.<\/p>\n
The report welcomes the gradual lifting of EU measures against Kosovo since May 2025 and calls for the urgent removal of the remaining measures, stating that they are no longer justified and continue to have a negative impact on Kosovo\u2019s society\u2014particularly affecting local communities, civil society organizations, and small and medium-sized businesses.<\/p>\n
The draft report will be discussed in the European Parliament\u2019s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on March 17. On the same day, the draft report on Serbia and the report of the European Parliament delegation that visited the country in January will also be discussed.<\/p>\n
Later this year, both documents will be put to a vote in a plenary session and will take the form of official European Parliament resolutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A draft annual report by the European Parliament on Kosovo concludes that 2025 was a \u201clost year\u201d for the country, mainly due to the prolonged political crisis that lasted throughout the year. The draft report, prepared by the European Parliament\u2019s rapporteur for Kosovo, Riho Terras, welcomes the formation of Kosovo\u2019s new parliament and government following […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":83383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163,1803],"tags":[243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n