On 13 September, Kosovo and the European Union signed the first annual financing agreement under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance III (IPA III), worth €63.96 million. Following the signing and entry into force of the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement between the EU and Kosovo, this was one of the last formal steps enabling the gradual disbursement of the EU’s financial assistance to Kosovo under the IPA III framework partnership agreement covering the 2021-2027 period. The Assembly of Kosovo will also need to ratify the agreement.

Through 14 consecutive annual financing programmes from 2007 to 2020, under IPA I and IPA II, the EU has thus far provided Kosovo with more than €1.21 billion in financial assistance.

“The initial €63.96 million from IPA III will be used to enhance the competitiveness of Kosovo’s agri-food sector and to help achieve the EU’s economic accession criteria. Funding will further be directed towards improving the protection of human rights and advancing gender equality, as well as improving the provision of municipal services and security and public safety in Kosovo,” said the EU Ambassador in Kosovo, Tomáš Szunyog.

The annual IPA III funding will be combined with additional €16 million from the Kosovo Government and funding by other partners amounting to €3.8 million. The EU remains Kosovo’s largest trading partner and provider of financial assistance.