Governor Ismaili: The laws sent to the Constitutional Court are keeping Kosova out of SEPA

Integration into SEPA is not only a financial issue but also a direct step towards integrating Kosova’s financial system with that of the EU

The Governor of the Central Bank of Kosova (CBK), Ahmet Ismaili, said that delays in proclaiming the three contested laws at the Constitutional Court are making it impossible for Kosova to apply for membership in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), causing considerable financial losses to the economy.

According to him, just from the high costs of transfers, businesses and citizens of Kosova are losing around 55 million euro per year.

Ismaili highlighted that the CBK has fulfilled all technical and legal preparations for the application, but the process is blocked for procedural reasons, leaving Kosova outside a system that would significantly reduce the cost and time of payments with the European Union, the country’s main trading partner.

The Governor of the CBK also stated that the preparations for SEPA membership were carried out in record time and with support from the World Bank, while informal comments from the European Commission were also received and addressed. He explained that as soon as the laws are proclaimed, the CBK will immediately proceed with the final application, expecting that approval could come during 2026.

“In one of the upcoming challenges for 2026 remains the issue of membership in SEPA. We have carried out all the preparations regarding the three laws which have been approved by the Assembly but have been contested procedurally at the Constitutional Court. They have not yet been proclaimed, and for this reason we have not been able to make the final application for SEPA. However, we submitted the pre-application in December 2024, and we have received informal comments from the European Commission, which we have also addressed,” stated Governor Ismaili.

“We expect that as soon as the laws are proclaimed, we can proceed further with the final application. In the optimistic case, if the laws are proclaimed at the beginning of the year, then we will have the opportunity to apply during the summer and receive approval in 2026. This would be the latest possible timeline, because unfortunately, for unjustified reasons, these laws were included in the package of laws that went to the Constitutional Court, and consequently made it impossible for us today to benefit from the financial system with the SEPA zone. We would then be together with Albania, Montenegro, and the other countries of the region,” he said.

According to the Governor, integration into SEPA is not only a financial issue but also a direct step towards integrating Kosova’s financial system with that of the EU, without going through the political enlargement process.

“Integration into SEPA, besides financial integration, primarily has the aspect of integration with the payments area of the EU. This is a special case where we are being enabled to integrate into the EU’s financial system without the enlargement process as a political process. This is a process in itself and is a very good opportunity for us to link our payment systems with the EU, which is Kosova’s largest trading partner, where diaspora is, and where our businesses have the most exchanges. This would enable citizens and businesses to make payments with very low costs, high speed, and efficiency,” emphasized the Governor of the CBK.

Ismaili also assessed that SEPA would enable citizens and businesses to make faster, safer payments with significantly lower costs, since currently Kosova citizens pay on average about 6 percent of the transfer amount as transaction costs, while this would fall below 2 percent.

“The assessment that I referred to 55 million euro per year includes both components: the benefit for businesses and the benefit for individuals. Currently, according to a relatively old World Bank study, Kosova citizens have paid as much as the EU average, about 6 percent of the transfer amount, as transaction costs. This is expected to decrease significantly, to around less than 2 percent. So, of these 55 million euro, perhaps about 40 percent would be a contribution that would go as savings for citizens in the case of sending transfers. Even though, over the years, the financial system and the instruments that have emerged from digitalization, and the reforms that are being undertaken in digitalization in financial services, have reduced this cost, SEPA remains unbeatable as the best solution,” assessed Ismaili.

Governor Ismaili also spoke about the modernization of the payment system in the country, saying that the CBK is in the process of advancing the existing system and transitioning to fast 24/7 payments.

He explained that the new system will enable the execution of transactions in real time, including on weekends and holidays, directly affecting an increase in liquidity, a reduction in costs, and a decrease in the use of physical cash. /Ekonomia Online/