Civil society organisations are concerned that the EU’s decision to suspend some funding for Kosovo until it complies with Brussels’ prescriptions for defusing tensions in the Serb-majority north could affect NGOs that depend on international grants.
Civil society organisations in Kosovo have expressed concern that their future sustainability might be affected by Brussels’ decision to temporarily suspend funds provided under the European Commission’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, IPA until Pristina complies with the EU’s prescriptions for restoring stability in the country’s Serb-majority north.
Taulant Hoxha, executive director of the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation, KCSF NGO, which supports civil society development, told BIRN that such organisations’ funding could be affected “if these [EU] measures continue for months, and especially beyond 2023”.
Hoxha explained that “the natural cycle of IPA funds management is such that at least one to two years pass from programming to the practical implementation of funds”.
He said that the suspension of IPA 2024 funds, which the EU is threatening, would not affect already-funded civil society projects for this year and next year, but could affect NGOs’ work in 2025.
Kosovo has many civil society organisations – parliament’s website lists 84 – and they are highly dependent on EU, US and Swiss funds.
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