
The European Union (EU) has decided to lift all punitive measures against Kosovo by the end of next month, enabling the country to benefit from millions of euros in financial aid as early as 2026, officials from both sides announced late Wednesday.
The decision comes after the peaceful transfer of local government in the Serb-majority north, as it was precisely the tensions in this part of Kosovo that prompted the bloc to impose punitive measures against it in the summer of 2023.
It was Kosovo's president, Vjosa Osmani, who first announced that the EU had decided to lift all measures by the end of January, during the bloc's summit with Western Balkan countries on Wednesday in Brussels.
"During intensive talks with our partners, the decision was made to lift all measures on Kosovo, with a large part being lifted today, and the rest at the end of January," Osmani said late Wednesday on Facebook.
Osmani, who represented Kosovo at the summit, added that "consequently, the funds will also be unblocked, a very large part immediately and another part at the end of January."
Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later wrote on X that the EU is lifting the measures after the transfer of local government in the north following the recent local elections took place peacefully.