JOINING INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THE ROAD AHEAD

Kosovo will have to undergo a series of difficult reforms, to tackle the main obstacles in its path towards prosperity and European Integration. In this endeavor, Kosovo requires the support of the international community. Membership in the International Financial Institutions is one of the assets in this path that Kosovo should use as soon as possible. After the declaration Kosovo would be able to join the two most important financial institutions of the Bretton Woods system, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB). This policy brief recommends the next steps that Kosovo needs to take in order to become a member of the big international financial family. The Kosovo authorities have already started informal discussions with the International Monetary Fund.

Serbia and Russia will try and block Kosovo from international forums. The plan of the UN special representative Marti Ahtisaari did not get through in the Security Council, because of the opposition from the veto-holding member Russia. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that Kosovo will be able to join the UN in the short term. However, there are institutions, membership in which is very important, and where Kosovo’s membership cannot be blocked by one country. IMF and the WB are two such institutions.

In both of the IFI’s that this policy brief talks about, decisions are made by the governing board which consists of member countries, with different voting power in line with their economic power. Decisions to accept new members require the approval of a simple majority of the board of governors (50 + 1 percent). Some of the biggest shareholders of these institutions are the US and several European Countries that support Kosovo’s independence. Decision making powers are proportional with the size of the shares that one country has. Below you can see the latest voting power percentages for the most powerful countries.