The European Commission transferred today to Kosovo’s budget a further EUR 5.25 million to help it mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and rapidly increasing energy and food prices.
Today’s transfer brings the EU’s direct support to Kosovo’s budget under the Resilience contract signed in 2020, to a total of almost EUR 26 million.
“While the worst of the pandemic crisis is behind us, Kosovo and the EU are impacted by the rise in food and energy prices. Through this budget support payment we assist Kosovo’s financial liquidity for the actions taken to support small businesses, agriculture and vulnerable groups, coping with financial hardships during the current difficult situation.”
Budget support is a form of EU support, where the EU rewards progress governments make in implementing their own strategies and in achieving targets they have set for themselves. The previous EU payment related to the Resilience contract was EUR 20.5 million, disbursed in December 2020.
The EU encourages the Kosovo government to address weaknesses in the social security system to better target poor households, some of which are currently not eligible for support. As disposable incomes decrease in particular for vulnerable groups, budgetary allocations of support should be well targeted and transparent.
