Kosovo

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been working in Kosovo since 1999 and has a country office in Pristina. 

Kosovo: progress and challenges

Since declaring independence in 2008, Kosovo has emerged as Europe’s youngest country. Its economy is dynamic, driven by entrepreneurship and a culture of innovation. A growing creative and technology ecosystem is creating new employment and development opportunities for local talent. An active diaspora supports this ecosystem and is shaping the country’s future.

However, Kosovo continues to face challenges, including inefficiencies in the rule of law, deficiencies in coor-dination among public institutions, and limited public administration capacity. The economy struggles with lim-ited access to finance, a mismatch between workforce skills and labour market needs, and an energy supply that remains heavily dependent on coal. Additionally, urban areas face challenges such as uncontrolled growth, environmental degradation, and vulnerability to climate change.

Shaping reforms, creating opportunities: How GIZ works in Kosovo

In Kosovo, GIZ works primarily on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and De-velopment (BMZ). In addition, the European Union, the Government of Kosovo, Switzerland and Denmark fi-nance further projects. GIZ implements these initiatives together with government institutions, civil society, and the private sector.

It focuses on the following areas:

• Economy and employment
• Climate and environmental protection
• Democracy and the rule of law

GIZ supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kosovo. It improves their access to business development services and finance, promotes entrepreneurship, and strengthens the local economy. Together with public and private partners, GIZ modernises vocational education and training and strengthens the link between education providers and labour market needs. It also promotes diaspora engagement, facilitates knowledge and skills transfer through returning experts, and works to enable safe and regular labour mobility.

Kosovo is transitioning towards a more sustainable and climate-resilient economy – and GIZ is working with partners to advance this transition. It promotes renewable energy and energy efficiency, strengthens sustaina-ble urban development, and improves waste management practices. It also works with institutions to address environmental and climate-related challenges.

Together with public institutions, GIZ strengthens transparent, accountable and citizen-oriented governance. It supports public administration reform, improves access to justice, and drives the digital transformation of pub-lic services. It also strengthens capacities so that public institutions can implement reforms in line with Euro-pean standards.

GIZ supports Kosovo on its path towards EU accession. It promotes reform processes and practical solutions, so that the country can meet EU requirements and develop in line with European standards.