On Wednesday, the European Union announced that it will lift all punitive measures against Kosovo by the end of next month, allowing the country to access millions of euros in financial aid starting in early 2026.

The news broke on Wednesday evening when Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani announced the EU decision from Brussels during a video appearance.

“Following intensive discussions in Brussels this evening, I am pleased to share the important news that all EU measures toward Kosovo will be lifted. An important part will be programmed immediately, with the remainder becoming effective in January,” Osmani said in a video message from the summit.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the move on X, stating that the measures are being lifted following the peaceful transfer of local governance in northern Kosovo.

“The transfer of local governance in the north after the recent local elections was peaceful. Thanks to this, I am glad to announce that we are moving forward to lift the measures on Kosovo. We are programming 216 million euros of financial assistance, and we intend to release 205 million euros early next year,” she wrote.

In Kosovo, Bedri Hamza, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, and candidate for Prime Minister in the upcoming elections, welcomed the move, emphasising the need for a new chapter in Kosovo–EU relations.

“Lifting the EU measures against Kosovo is good news and the right decision. Our citizens should not be punished for the mistakes of this government,” Hamza wrote on Facebook on Thursday.

Europarlamentarian Thijs Reuten stated on X that those measures were a major EU policy failure: “Restrictive measures against Kosovo lifted! Major EU policy fail finally corrected. Now it is important to give new energy to Kosovo’s EU membership path by processing their application.”

EU Announces Measures Against Kosovo Over Unrest in North

On December 16, 2025, Kosovo’s acting Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi initially announced that he had received a letter from Gert Jan Koopman, Director-General for Enlargement at the European Commission, confirming that most EU measures against Kosovo would be lifted.

According to Bislimi, the decision includes projects linked to IPA programs worth 34.6 million euros.

“We have consistently pushed for the removal of these measures. There is no reason for any of them to remain in force, especially after the legal and peaceful transfer of power in the four northern municipalities,” he wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

Following this news, The EU Office in Kosovo wrote in a Facebook post that, “with 181 million in additional IPA funding now released, and 882 million earmarked for Kosovo under the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, the EU remains Kosovo’s strongest partner and largest provider of financial assistance.”

The measures against Kosovo were  imposed in June 2023 in response to escalating security tensions in the four northern municipalities, after Albanian mayors began their terms in municipalities where elections were boycotted by local Serbs.

According to an analysis by the local think tank GAP Institute, these measures cost Kosovo approximately 613.4 million euros in suspended or indefinitely postponed projects.