The European Union has not shown when it will fully lift the punitive measures against Kosovo, despite the change of local power in the four northern municipalities. In the European Union, they welcome the smooth handover of local governance in the north, but they are unclear about the removal of the punitive measures, reports KosovaPress.

Regarding questions about lifting the punitive measures, the EU emphasizes the importance of the proper conduct of the early elections on December 28, including the participation and certification of all communities.

KosovaPress has also contacted officials from the outgoing government, but they did not respond to questions regarding their commitment to lifting the measures after the transition of power in the four northern municipalities. On the other hand, experts on European integration say that lifting the punitive measures against Kosovo will be problematic, as there are EU member states that are skeptical in this regard.

Last week, the mayors elected by the Serbian community in the local elections were sworn in in the four northern municipalities: South Mitrovica, Zvečan, Zubin Potok, and Leposavić.

The measures against Kosovo were imposed in 2023, in response to the escalation of the security situation in the north of Kosovo, when the Albanian mayors, elected in elections boycotted by the local Serbs, began their duties in the northern municipalities.

In the European Union, they said in a response to KosovaPress that they expect the new mayors in the north to represent the interests of all citizens.

“The Commission has taken the first steps to gradually lift the measures in force in May 2025. As stated before, we intend to further lift these measures. We welcome the smooth handover of local governance in the four northern municipalities and expect the new mayors to represent the interests of all citizens,” their response said.

Furthermore, they also link the December 28 electoral process to the question of lifting the punitive measures.

According to them, the early elections on December 28 must be properly administered and competitive, including participation, certification of political parties, and accreditation of media from all communities.

“We also take into consideration the announcement of new parliamentary elections later in December and emphasize the importance of a well-administered and competitive electoral process, including participation, certification of political parties, and accreditation of media from all communities. The EU is ready to work with Kosovo authorities once they are elected and to continue supporting Kosovo on its path towards the EU. We expect Kosovo to return to the path of necessary reforms related to the EU, for the benefit of its population and to move forward in normalizing relations with Serbia,” it is stated in their response.

On the other hand, European integration expert Dritëro Arifi told KosovaPress that even in the European Union it is recognized that imposing punitive measures against Kosovo was a mistake, but the procedure to remove them is now proving to be a major problem even for the Union itself.

According to him, lifting the punitive measures requires full unanimity of the 27 EU member states.

“In the EU, they have recognized that it was a mistake and it is a mistake. But whether they will be lifted will not depend only on some EU countries, since there are 27 EU countries that must be unanimous for the sanctions to be removed. This is the mistake — that we did not understand that we should not be concise when we should be, but we are reacting because something is happening. This is reactive policy and not proactive,” he said.

The European Union in July of this year began the gradual lifting of the punitive measures. According to the outgoing government, funds for Kosovo have now been unblocked from the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). According to them, after the resumption of meetings under the subcommittees of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), projects with which Kosovo applied in areas such as energy or digitalization have also been approved.

The total cost of the EU’s punitive measures has been reported to be over 600 million euros for the country.