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First visit since appointment as EU Enlargement Commissioner/ Marta Kos, next week in Kosovo

2026-05-09 17:07:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

First visit since appointment as EU Enlargement Commissioner/ Marta Kos, next

European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, will make her first visit to Kosovo on Friday, May 15.

This was announced by informal sources in European institutions to Radio Free Europe, while the visit is expected to be officially confirmed in the coming days.

This will be Kos's first visit to Kosovo since she took office as Commissioner for Enlargement at the European Commission on December 1, 2024.

Since taking office, she has visited all other countries involved in the European Union's enlargement process, both in the Western Balkans and in the Eastern Partnership, some of them more than once.

During 2025, the lack of her visit to Kosovo was justified by European officials with the lack of functional institutions in the country, due to the political crisis that has accompanied Kosovo in recent months.

A visit by Kos to Pristina was planned for March 12, but it was canceled after former Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani decided on March 6 to dissolve the Kosovo Assembly.

However, according to sources in Brussels, it is now assessed that the visit should take place regardless of the political situation, as the situation in Kosovo is not expected to change fundamentally in a short period of time.

At the end of April, Kos stated in the European Parliament that he expects to visit Kosovo soon to discuss reforms related to the European Union's Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

"We have lifted the measures and expect the Government to continue with the necessary reforms to benefit from EU support. I will soon be in Pristina to take this issue forward," she stated.

Kosovo on April 16 received 61.8 million euros in pre-financing from the European Union under the Growth Plan, after ratifying the relevant agreements and submitting the necessary documentation to the European Commission.

The EU package for the Western Balkans for the period 2024-2027 is worth 6 billion euros. According to the budget allocations, Kosovo is entitled to around 882 million euros, of which 253 million euros are grants and 629 million euros are loans.

During a hearing at the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee in April, Kos also spoke about the five European Union member states that do not recognize Kosovo's independence.

Asked by the rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament, Riho Terras, regarding contacts with non-recognizing states, she said that developments in this regard are "encouraging", without providing further details.

Greece, Spain, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus continue to not recognize Kosovo's independence, declared in 2008, which is considered an obstacle to Kosovo's advancement on the path towards European integration. /REL