Prishtina, 7 October 2026

Riinvest Institute hosted the launch of the second converge2eu Kosovo Country Report, “Mind the Gap: Kosovo’s Path to EU Living Standards,” in Prishtina on 7 October 2026. The event took place as part of the Berlin Process Civil Society & Think Tank Forum.

The launch opened with remarks from Alban Hashani, Executive Director of Riinvest Institute, Lura Limani, Team Leader at Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans, and H.E. Ragnar Almqvist, Ambassador of Ireland to Hungary and Kosovo.

Key findings

Visar Vokrri, Programme Director at Riinvest Institute, presented the report’s main findings. Kosovo’s overall well-being reached 54.5% of the EU average in 2025. Digitalisation emerged as the strongest-performing area, while significant gaps persist in environmental performance, infrastructure and economic development.

The report assesses Kosovo’s convergence across eight key dimensions of well-being, offering an evidence-based view of the country’s progress towards EU living standards and pointing to areas that need further policy action.

Panel discussion: “Closing the Gap – Kosovo’s Path towards EU Convergence”

The presentation was followed by a panel chaired by Branimir Jovanović (wiiw). Panellists were Jeton Mehmeti, Deputy Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Innovation, Boguslaw Gertruda from the European Union Office in Kosovo, and Agon Maliqi, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.

The discussion covered Kosovo’s convergence challenges, the importance of stronger institutional capacities and economic competitiveness, and the role of EU integration in accelerating reforms. Participants stressed the need for evidence-based policies, deeper regional and European integration, and reforms that turn economic progress into tangible improvements in citizens’ living standards.

The event reinforced the importance of moving beyond formal EU accession benchmarks towards measurable improvements in economic opportunities, public services and overall quality of life.