The European Commission's 2026 Progress Report has highlighted the stagnation in several sectors of Kosovo. While Minister Mimoza Kusari-Lila focused on the lack of a functional Assembly and delayed reforms, LDK MP Armend Zemaj criticized the health situation, especially the lack of medicines.
The Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Innovation, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, in an interview with Ekonomia Online, assesses that the incomplete functioning of the Parliament over the last two years has been one of the main obstacles to advancing reforms. She says that, despite the challenges, Kosovo has made progress in democracy, the rule of law and the reform process.
"I am convinced that the best determinant of the progress report is the opinions of citizens on how they live in Kosovo. We have different challenges, but the main challenge that has accompanied our country for these two years has been the lack of a functional Assembly. In a parliamentary republic, having a non-functional Assembly is truly a burden, but it also leaves many reforms, draft laws and decisions that could be for the benefit of citizens lacking," said Kusari-Lila.
She added that the failure to constitute the Assembly has directly impacted this year's report.
"I am convinced that if we had a fully functional Assembly and a fully competent Government, we would have a different report. However, we will have the opportunity to discuss with the opposition a specific point about this day, and not only about this report. I believe that it is very important to read and see the facts as they are, both in comparisons with other years and in comparisons with other countries. Kosovo has made progress in terms of democracy, in terms of the rule of law, in terms of the reform process, but of course, now we all need to increase the speed of our actions, in order to compensate for the time lost when we did not have a constituted Assembly," she declared.
Kusari-Lila expressed optimism about the report that will be made for 2027, emphasizing the importance of political cooperation and international developments.
On the other hand, Democratic League of Kosovo MP Armend Zemaj for Ekonomia Online took a significantly more critical approach to the report, focusing particularly on the state of the healthcare system. He said that, despite the budget increase, citizens continue to face a shortage of medicines and are forced to obtain them at their own expense.
Zemaj described this as one of the biggest failures of governance, also mentioning mismanagement, corruption affairs, and monopoly in the pharmaceutical sector.
"There are many points that have been highlighted in the progress report as shortcomings in institutional functioning and in general by the majority or by the government, by the Vetevendosje Movement. But what is, for me, the most important, is the dysfunction of the health system in the Republic of Kosovo, where we start from prevention, but also what is most critical, that citizens must buy their own medicines despite the budget increased by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo and the Assembly of Kosovo. This shows that there is government incompetence, there is mismanagement, corruption affairs and a monopoly on certain medicines, which is now more well-known than there is and the pharmaceutical mafia, both globally, regionally, but especially in Kosovo, where I have continuously raised this issue and, unfortunately, it has now also been highlighted in the progress report for 2025," said Zemaj.
In addition to healthcare, the LDK MP also raised concerns about the justice system, economic policies, investments and capital projects. According to him, the report highlights serious problems related to political interference in independent institutions, especially the prosecution and courts.
"There is no state responsibility that at this stage, or in this year, the progress report has not identified as violations or as interference, whether in the justice system, whether in investment policies, whether in the lack of capital projects, or in budget allocation. That is, there are many points and what is most scandalous is what we have said and is being said continuously: interference in the independence of independent institutions and especially in the justice system, in the prosecution and in the courts. The government's tendency, as you know, has been to seize the Prosecutorial Council, to seize the Judicial Council and turn them into an instrument. It is something that has happened, but we must fight it together with the citizens and maintain the level of democracy in the country", he declared.
Asked about the differences between the Government's assessment and the opposition's criticism, after the report was described as better compared to previous years, Zemaj said that the document should be seen as an assessment of the state and not as a political result of a party.
"We had said it, because this is a report for Kosovo, it is not a report that belongs to a political entity. We had wished it to be better, but, unfortunately, it is worse, with a lot of criticism, with a lot of remarks, which can be translated both as responsibility and as a request to be made to the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo. That is, criticisms should be accepted as easily as possible and as soon as they are accepted, they can be improved. And this would be the best example of a government that enjoys credibility, but also has the political will to advance democracy, economic development, welfare and the rule of law in the Republic of Kosovo," said Zemaj.
Raporti i Progresit i Komisionit Evropian për vitin 2026, në pjesën që i kushtohet Kosovës, evidenton ngecje në disa prej reformave kryesore që lidhen me procesin e integrimit evropian.
The document notes that the judicial system has not made progress, while results in the fight against corruption remain limited. It also mentions the successive political crises, which have affected the functioning of the country's institutions.
The European Commission also highlights the decline in the number of final decisions and convictions in high-level corruption cases. However, the report highlights positive developments in public administration, the expansion of digital services and the de-escalation of the situation in northern Kosovo, which enabled the lifting of punitive measures by the European Union.
Regarding the functioning of institutions, the report states that the Assembly of Kosovo has exercised its powers with considerable shortcomings, while parliamentary oversight of the Government has been very limited.
Meanwhile, in the dialogue process with Serbia, the European Commission notes little progress and emphasizes that a large number of agreed obligations have not yet been implemented.
Overall, the report presents a mixed picture of Kosovo's progress: with some positive developments, but also with significant institutional, political and rule of law challenges that continue to remain obstacles on the country's path towards the European Union.