Blendi Hasaj of the GAP Institute, a public policy think tank, said USAID has suspended funding for 18 projects worth about 157 million euros ($162 million), impacting public institutions involved in taxation, procurement processes and other areas.
The United States has invested $2 billion (1.93 billion euros) in Kosovo since 1999, including over $1 billion (967 million euros) from USAID.
Ariana Qosaj Mustafa of the Kosovo Women’s Network, an umbrella for around 140 nongovernmental organizations, said some organizations have had their funding stopped.
Emina Bosnjak of the Sarajevo Open Center said many marginalized groups will experience negative impacts because discrimination, violence and hate speech were subjects that USAID promoted awareness and engagement on.
Kosovo-Serbia ties remain tense since the end of the 1998-1999 war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, which left about 11,400 dead, mainly ethnic Albanians, and pushed Serbian forces out.
