22 May 2025
Carnegie Europe, Jacques Delors Institute, Clingendael, DGAP
Kosovo continues to face significant obstacles on its path to EU membership. A new report says that “to move forward, Prishtina must revive its dialogue with Belgrade, while the union should provide a clear road map for easing its punitive measures against the country.” The report, co-authored by Dimitar Bechev, Iliriana Gjoni, Lukáš Macek, Milan Nič, Nikola Xaviereff and Wouter Zweers, says that Kosovo’s situation has stabilized following the 2023 Banjska standoff, with easing tensions and new diplomatic recognitions from Kenya and Sudan. The economy is growing steadily, and despite the ruling party losing seats in the 2025 election, the country maintains a competitive and democratic political landscape.
However, the report says there is no room for complacency, as Kosovo continues to face significant challenges. Its road to EU membership is effectively blocked. Before Prishtina moves forward, Brussels would like to see some initial progress on the creation by Kosovo of the Association of Serb Municipalities (ASM), a planned body that would group Serb-majority entities and grant them some level of self-government. But dialogue with Serbiisa has ground to a halt. Full normalization of ties and Belgrade’s de facto recognition of Kosovo remain elusive.
To overcome these challenges, the authors propose a number of recommendations, which would contribute to progress in Kosovo and therefore to the EU’s credibility as a security actor.
The report outlines the main conclusions of a fact-finding mission to Prishtina and Mitrovica on March 25–28, 2025, that was jointly conducted by experts from four European think tanks: Carnegie Europe, Clingendael, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and the Jacques Delors Institute. The mission was co-organized by Carnegie Europe and Leon Malazogu from the local think tank Democracy for Development Institute (D4D). The mission was partially supported by the Think Tanks for the Future of EU Enlargement Program (TFEP) (www.thenextmile.eu), administered by the Open Society Institute – Sofia.
The article “Overcoming Inertia in Kosovo” by Dimitar Bechev, Iliriana Gjoni, Lukáš Macek, Milan Nič, Nikola Xaviereff and Wouter Zweers can be found here
