Press Release No. 13/140

Press Release: IMF Executive Board Completes Third Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement with Kosovo; Approves €4.9 Million Disbursement

April 24, 2013

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the third review of the Republic of Kosovo's economic performance under a program supported by a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The decision, which was taken on a lapse of time basis¹, enables the authorities to draw an additional amount equivalent to SDR 4.251 million (about €4.9 million), bringing the total resources available to the Republic of Kosovo under the arrangement to SDR 82.467 million (about €95.3 million). The authorities have indicated they will not purchase the amount made available by the completion of this review, in line with their intention to treat the SBA as precautionary in 2013.

All but one end-December 2012 and all continuous performance criteria were met. In completing the review, the Executive Board approved a waiver for the nonobservance of the performance criterion on the primary balance of the general government, which was missed by a small amount (less than €1 million), on the basis the non-observance was minor.

The Executive Board approved a 20-month SBA for the Republic of Kosovo on April 27, 2012 (see Press Release No. 12/154) in an amount equivalent to SDR 90.968 million (about €105.1 million or about US$136.6 million). Total disbursements so far amount to SDR 78.216 million (about €90.4 million).

¹The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse-of-time procedure when it is agreed by the Board that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.