This summer was supposed to see a breakthrough for Kosovo’s crippled economy. After eight years in political limbo, the province was finally to have been put on the path towards independence, bringing much-needed investment and economic benefits to a region with 40 per cent unemployment, one of Europe’s highest birth rates and a history of political volatility.

The reality, however, has proved starkly different. The future status of Serbia’s mainly ethnic Albanian breakaway province remains undecided, with an expected surge in international assistance worth up to €1bn ($1.37bn) put on hold.