Maximising Synergies Between the 2030 Agenda and Kosovo’s European Agenda

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the European Union (EU) Reform Agenda are both aimed at supporting development reforms and long-term prosperity, presenting important areas of complementarity and synergy. As a result, there is an opportunity to capitalise on the areas of complementarity and synergy that underlie these mutual efforts in Kosovo. The issue of sustainable development features heavily in EU strategic frameworks and policies: the 2030 Agenda is integrated systematically into the EU’s foreign policy, and sustainable development is a prevailing objective of the EU in Kosovo. Given this shared commitment to the SDGs, there is potential to collaborate more closely in Kosovo and expand on existing initiatives with the aim to facilitate Kosovo’s progress towards SDG achievement and further its development and progress on its European path.

This report illustrates how Kosovo’s development trajectory is directly intertwined with progress towards its EU aspirations. A comparison between the chapters of the EU acquis and the SDGs reveals over 60 per cent alignment. The framework for EU enlargement could help contribute to improved outcomes with respect to the SDGs and Kosovo development objectives. At the same time, if cross-sectoral intersections between the SGDs and the EU Reform Agenda are developed, Kosovo development outcomes would be further supported.