In his draft annual report on Kosovo for 2025, the European Parliament (EP) rapporteur for the country, Riho Terras, criticized the political deadlock in the country over the past year and called it a "lost year" for Kosovo, the news agency „Economy Online“ reported, BTA reported.
„I express my regret for the paralyzed political process in 2025, which led to a lost year for Kosovo“, the draft report, published on March 6, says.
The document prepared by Terras includes assessments and criticisms of both political developments in Kosovo and the situation with the rule of law, the economy, corruption, the dialogue with Serbia under the auspices of the EU and Kosovo's European integration process.
Terras states in his report that he supports the country's application for membership and at the same time calls on the countries that have not recognized Kosovo's statehood to do so in order to allow the country to progress equally with other candidate countries.
The draft report also criticizes the unsuccessful election of a president in parliament within the framework of the Kosovo's constitution has a deadline that could push the country to new elections.
Kosovo fell into a political crisis after the parliamentary elections on February 9, 2025, as it failed to form a government. For this reason, a second parliamentary vote was held in the country on December 28, which resulted in a new, third cabinet of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
After the failure of the procedure to elect a new president last week, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani dissolved parliament. Prime Minister Kurti's ruling "Self-Determination" Movement filed an appeal against Osmani's decision with the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, arguing that it was unconstitutional. This led to the Court's decision to temporarily suspend the presidential decree dissolving parliament until March 31. If the Constitutional Court rules that the decree dissolving parliament is in line with the country's constitution, it will be the third parliamentary vote in Kosovo in just over a year.
In his draft report, Terras also points out that progress on EU-related reforms is insufficient and calls for them to be accelerated, especially in the areas of the rule of law and fundamental freedoms.
The document also states that limited progress has been made in the fight against corruption and organised crime, calling for the adoption of a national anti-crime strategy.
The draft report cites the peaceful conduct of the country's parliamentary and local elections as a positive aspect, but the rapporteur regrets the “continuous attempts to politicise independent institutions, including pressure on the Central Election Commission (CEC)“.
In his draft report, Terras expresses concern about the lack of progress in ensuring freedom of expression, Kosovo's fall of 24 places to 99th in the World Press Freedom Index in 2025, as well as "attacks and threats against journalists and media watchers". The document calls for the approximation of Kosovo's media-related legislation with that of the EU, as well as other relevant international standards in this area.
In relation to the EU-mediated dialogue with Serbia, Terras calls in his draft report on both sides to engage constructively in the process in order to reach a “comprehensive and legally binding agreement on the normalisation (of relations between Belgrade and Pristina), based on mutual recognition and in accordance with international law“.
The document calls on both countries to respect the Brussels and Ohrid agreements they negotiated, which include, among other things, the establishment of a Union of Serbian Municipalities (USM) by Kosovo, Serbia not to oppose Kosovo's membership in international organisations, and the parties to avoid unilateral actions that could harm the dialogue.
Kosovo submitted an official application for membership of the European Union on 15 December 2022. Since then, the country has been waiting for the decision of the member states on whether to grant it candidate status, the main obstacle being the fact that five EU countries - Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain - have not yet recognized Kosovo's independence.
In early February this year, the European Union expressed "serious concern" after the Kosovo CEC failed to confirm the results of the largest Kosovo Serb party, the "Serbian List", in the early parliamentary elections in Kosovo on December 28, 2025. The EU called for the work of the CEC to be depoliticized and for all parties to work together in accordance with the country's constitution.
The draft report on Kosovo is expected to be considered in the EP and voted on March 16 and 17 by the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET), the agency notes.