The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) should never have suspended aid to bully Kosovo into changing its foreign policy, U.S. Representative and Head of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Eliot Engel has stated.
Following the MCC announcement on resuming aid to Kosovo, after its government lifted reciprocity measures with Serbia, Engel tweeted:
Chairman @RepEliotEngel: I’m glad the MCC is resuming work in #Kosovo. It should never have been suspended in the first place. Kosovo met the MCC’s tough standards. Freezing MCC to bully Kosovo into changing policies went against what the @MCCgov is supposed to be about. https://t.co/saob9L1ogT
— House Foreign Affairs Committee (@HouseForeign) June 7, 2020
The MCC suspended its aid to Kosovo in March, as part of the increasing pressure by the U.S. administration on the Kurti Government to drop the 100 percent tariffs on Serbian goods immediately and unconditionally.
Engel has criticized the Trump administration for its heavy handed political pressure in Kosovo, calling it an “act of a bully”, which ultimately led to the toppling of the Kurti government. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright also criticized the current U.S. administration for departing from a long-held bipartisan approach on Kosovo.
