Alejandro Esteso Perez, Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS), 2024.

In this light, this paper has as foremost goal to draw a comprehensive picture of the EU’s enlargement prospects against the backdrop of an increasingly conservative Union. It will explore what is at play for the Western Balkans, and for Kosovo in particular, after the EP elections, and it will provide a set of recommendations to confront the EU’s new political reality. Following this introduction to the topic, Section 2 provides a political background to the 2024 EP elections through an assessment of the 2019-2024 EU mandate—placing a particular emphasis on the enlargement policy and on the EU’s relations with Kosovo. Against this context, Section 3 goes on to present the ideological positioning of the (currently) seven political groups in the EP vis-à-vis the EU’s enlargement to the Western Balkans, and to Kosovo in particular, and map out the prospective outcomes of the groups’ coalition-building processes. Section 4 turns its attention towards the EC and the European Council, and discusses their potential future configuration—with a focus on the identity of the future Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement. Section 5 makes sense of the potential post-election uncertainties and maps out three scenarios for Kosovo—a best-case, a status quo, and a worst-case—which illustrate three divergent paths for the country’s accession prospects. The paper’s final conclusions and a set of policy recommendations are outlined in Section 6.

Vladimir Spasić, Balkan Green Energy News, 2024.

The Energy Community Secretariat doesn’t have any major objections to Kosovo’s draft National Energy and Climate Plan. However, it called on the contracting party to commit to phasing out coal and achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS), 2024.

The six Western Balkans countries (WB6) – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – are implementing their European Union accession reforms in a rather slow pace, with no vision on membership as the endpoint. On EU’s side there lacks consensus among member states on membership of WB6, including because they their publics’ are against further enlargement of the EU and the EU institutional system is inadequate to accommodate more member states into the already hyper-complex decision-making. Whilethis state of affairs is a disincentive for EU accession reforms in WB6 countries, there are efforts to keep this reform process alive.

Balkans Policy Research Group, 2023.

Balkans Group’s new policy analysis Kosovo’s ProgressBAR in 2022: An 8-dimensional assessment of key policy areas, evaluates Kosovo’s development in critical policy areas. It highlights progress in the rule of law, democratic principles, energy, and international cooperation, along with efforts toward economic reforms. However, significant challenges remain in economic development, poverty reduction, education alignment with labour markets, and efficiency of the functioning of institutions. Judicial efficiency, corruption combat, organised crime, human rights, and environmental sustainability need substantial improvement and strategic action.

International Crisis Group, 2024.

Tensions are rising in Kosovo’s restive Serb-majority north, as Pristina enforces its writ against the backdrop of continuing disputes with Belgrade. The parties and outside supporters should first work on defusing the short-term risk of violence and then look for ways to foster lasting stability.