CEEOL - Search Result

№01 Serb Integration in Kosovo after the Brussels Agreement

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2015

This report discusses the challenges of Serb integration and how best to overcome them in a manner that strengthens Kosovo’s institutions and respects the interests of its Serb community. It surveys the existing, illegal Serbian institutions throughout Kosovo, which differ in several ways between the relatively homogenous northern municipalities and the scattered southern enclaves; most remain in place, with Serbs still reliant on them. In an unintended effect of Serb participation in Kosovo municipal elections in November 2013, many Serb officials now hold offices in both the Serbian and Kosovo administrations.

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№02 The Association of Serb Municipalities: Understanding conflicting views of Albanians and Serbs

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2017

The Agreement on the Association/Community of Serb Majority Municipalities marks the cornerstone of discord of the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. The General Principles for the establishment of the Association/Community, agreed in August 2015, brought more controversy and caused an unprecedented crisis in Kosovo. Proponents championed it as a tool to integrate northern Kosovo Serbs into Kosovo jurisdiction and advance normalisation of relations between the two states. Yet, the Association has become a complicated matter in practice. Many segments of Kosovo society reject an Association of this kind, the Constitutional Court ruled it to be in violation of the spirit of the Constitution and the government is largely reluctant to implement it until Serbia presents clear plans for withdrawal of the parallel institutions it funds around Kosovo. Kosovo Serbs view an Association from a very practical point of view: a reward instrument for painful integration into Kosovo and a replacement for departing Serbian-funded institutions. Serbs fear the Albanian reactions seen over the last 24 months, feel unwanted in Kosovo and worry that Belgrade will abandon them soon. The Serb community - the party most affected by the dialogue and least included in it - wants the dialogue on normalisation to continue, want the coalition agreement to be adhered to and want a smooth transition from the Serbian to Kosovar system.

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№03 EUROPEAN REFORM AGENDA: GOOD GOVERNANCE AND RULE OF LAW. (Progress Report)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2017

European Reform Agenda (ERA) was introduced as an attempt to increase the attention of the Kosovo Government on pressing issues, related to the Good Governance and Rule of Law; Competitiveness and Investment Climate; Employment and Education. The government recognizes ERA as an important reform generator. Initiated by EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), Johannes Hahn, ERA is also a high-level dialogue between Kosovo and the EU. The document was designed to streamline priority reforms that would improve the performance of institutions and hopefully accelerate the Kosovo’s slow-paced progress toward EU. Yet, almost a year after the launch little was achieved. The institutions were remarkably passive on implementing the priorities and actions. Deadlines in the agenda (action plan) are largely missed. Implementation has slipped for numerous reasons and the process reflects on the weakness of the institutions; lack of will and coordination are key. ERA needs a new momentum; the government should press on the full implementation with a priority and adopt a new timetable.

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№04 The Berlin-Process for the Western Balkans: Gains and Challenges for Kosovo

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2018

The Berlin Process is a German-led European initiative whose goal is to facilitate regional cooperation between the Western Balkans Six (WB6) countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – with a view to help them fulfill criteria to join the European Union (EU). Launched by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2014, its most important component is the so-called “Connectivity Agenda”, which first aimed to link the WB6 together in the fields of transport and energy, and later expanded into youth exchanges and economic connections. Summits in Germany, Austria, France and Italy helped establish communication between Balkans leaders, and design several infrastructure projects and new regional initiatives. Yet, ahead of the next 2018 Berlin Process Summit in London, many pressing issues remain intact, and cooperation between WB6 governments has not improved much.

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№05 Kosovo and Elections. What can be improved?

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2018

This paper examines the last election from a general perspective highlighting the development of a democratic system on one hand, and the political party system on the other. Firstly, it gives a general background on Kosovo’s organization of elections and the political system, coupled by a brief overview of prominent challenges that this system faces. Secondly, the paper moves to discuss the overall progress of the elections, including legal problems, information dissemination to citizens, issues with the administration of election results, and other aspects. Both these aims are pursued through following the principles of independent research and respect for the rules of public policy writing.

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№06 Judiciary in Kosovo: Administration in Disarray

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2019

This report presents an overview of the state of the rule of law and the judiciary in Kosovo, divided into two parts. The first section gives an overview of the key challenges to the effective rule of law, with a focus governance of the judiciary. It delves into the structure and role of the monitoring bodies of courts and prosecution services, the state of judicial independence, and the mechanisms for transparency and accountability. It then moves onto practical issues, such as disciplinary procedures, structures to curb corruption and training and capacity building systems. The section finishes with an overview of the judicial integration of the north of Kosovo, the efforts to reduce the backlog and the Functional Review of the Rule of Law. Equally important, the second section addresses court administration and the performance of the administrative staff. It reviews the size and structure of the courts, the budget of the judicial sector, the effects of the wider education system on the judiciary, the status of the Administration, the existing rules for hiring and performance evaluation, and the decentralization process. The section closes with an analysis of the ongoing judicial digitalization.

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№07 A Decade after EULEX: A New Approach to Improve the Rule of Law in Kosovo

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2019

This report evaluates and identifies possible paths and areas for improvement for rule of law and judicial development under the EU’s planned flagship initiative and corresponding support mechanisms. The analysis and recommendations are based on an assessment of the current state of the rule of law and judicial institutions and of the progress and pitfalls of EULEX. As it prepares to fully dismantle, domestic institutions must prepare to take the driver’s seat, while collaborating early on with the EU to determine the implementation plan for new initiatives.

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№08 Kosovo 2020: A Complex Agenda for the New Government

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2019

The new government that takes office, whatever its colour will inherit a long list of issues from its predecessor. Dysfunctional healthcare and education systems, an untaxed shadow economy, a slow and often ineffective judiciary, weak public administration all require major interventions. The failure of public services is graphically illustrated with the high number of patients being treated abroad and the regular enrolment of politicians’ children in private and international schools.17 To further complicate the matter, despite the generally cordial campaign that preceded the elections, relations between key political actors remain tense; leaders do not trust each other and basic norms of cooperation between actors are still missing. That is especially true for the case of Albin Kurti, the leader of Vetëvendosje, who has spent much of his time in opposition (and before that, as an activist) attacking other parties, including his current potential partner LDK. If Kurti aims to secure the premiership and stay in power he will have to build some relations with both his coalition partner and the opposition, with whom he never tried to reconcile. Any new government will have to create a favourable climate to enact the promised reforms. In the case of Kurti, especially, that would entail making a U-turn and engaging with the opposition from day one. These priorities for the new government listed in this report do not intend to be comprehensive, but to present an outline of the more pressing issues the government will need to work on to ensure progress is made. The composition of the government, domestic politics and international developments can also influence how a priority is defined. Yet, these issues require careful attention and will not disappear from the public agenda in the short term.

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№09 Assembly of Kosovo: Increasing Efficiency by Improving the Rules of Procedure

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2020

In an attempt to critically examine the path dependent trajectory of Kosovo’s non-reformed RoP, this study moves through various parts. Firstly, it gives an insight into Kosovo parliamentary life and analyses the political reasons behind the delay of the draft RoP. Secondly, it draws out important gaps in the existing RoP vis-a-vis their status in the 2018 draft, as well as evaluates the remaining limitations in the 2018 draft through a synopsis of best-practices from the respective equivalent in Germany, Slovenia and Albania. // The report indistinctively uses parliamentary terms specific to the Kosovar system (President of the Assembly, deputy) and terms with origin in the British parliamentary system, often used in social sciences (House Speaker, Member of Parliament). Generally British terms are employed in a comparative context, when analysing the systems and rules of other countries. In any case, if the term employed is specific of the national context and does not match that employed in the British parliamentary system, its correspondence will be provided to ease understanding. // The study focuses its first and much of the second part on a case analysis of domestic issues. It also features a comparative examination of three case studies. In order to gain a better understanding of best-practices and offer a more nuanced discussion of principles (outside of the working group and the committee), the study compares the RoPs of the German Bundestag, the National Assembly of Slovenia and the Parliament of Albania with the current RoP of the Assembly and the proposed draft.

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№10 Public Administration Reform in Kosovo: Constant Struggle to Make It

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2020

Public Administration Reform (PAR) is a dynamic process aimed at improving its capacity to deliver public services. In Kosovo, it is largely driven by external factors, the European Union (EU) perspective and agendas and other donors. Domestically, a number of internal factors work against effective reform; a high level of politicization, inefficient recruitment and evaluation processes, a bloated size, inadequate training and professional development, a barely functional local administration, a chaotic framework for independent agencies, a deficient focus on service delivery and lack of local ownership of the reform process. Kosovo created its own public administration less than two decades ago, and reforms took place simultaneously with its institutional building. Along the way, from UNMIK’s interim administration to the most recent national PAR Strategy, reform could never succeed without the necessary recourses and willpower. The legal framework has advanced substantially in recent years, mostly as a result of it being a requirement to implement the Stabilization and Association Agreement and the European Reform Agenda, but it is rarely respected.

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№11 The Brussels Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Achievements and Challenges

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2020

This report describes the dialogue process in detail; the achieved agreements, their implementation or lack of thereof, and the impact of these agreements. The report treats both technical and political agreements as part of a single process eased by the EU’s involvement. Since the government and other institutions do not have complete information regarding the entire dialogue, this report will serve to create a better institutional memory system for the Government. These descriptions are also significant for the new dialogue phase with Serbia.

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Publisher: BPRG Balkans Policy Research Group