Regional interior ministers sign anti-terrorism plan

Minister Gashi made these comments to the European-Western Balkans Union for Internal Affairs, which is being held in Tirana and ministers from the Western Balkans and the EU are participating, with the presence of Commissioner Avramoopoulos, with many personalities of different European law agencies.

At this meeting, Minister Gashi addressed the perspective of the Republic of Kosovo on migration management and presented commitments to combating violent extremism leading to terrorism.

Gashi noted that the Republic of Kosovo has consolidated the migration management system through drafting and implementing the legislative and strategic framework in this area. He said that the path to the European integration process has influenced us to harmonise our legislation and policies with those of the European Union and stressed that Kosovo has special laws for readmission, the Foreign Law and the Asian Law, which have recently been revised and entered into force, thus reconfirming the obligations of our state in managing migration and international co-operation, in full accordance with EU directives.

Kosovo is still not included by major migration movements for various reasons (autography post, etc) but based on migration movements in the countries of the region, as well as indicators by international migration organisations, there is reason to believe that the influx of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers will not be stopped in the near future, and travel will be continuous and there will be changes. The Minister Gashi stressed.

Speaking of the phenomenon of terrorism, Minister Gashi stressed that both the other countries of the region and those beyond it, the Republic of Kosovo continues to face the challenge of efforts to spread and increase the influence of extremist foreign ideology that relies on interreligious, ethnic or other causes aimed at destroying the democratic system and the pro-Western Euro-Atlantic goals of the Republic of Kosovo.

“I would like to present at this meeting in Tirana as a very good example, the extraordinary and successful commitment of the institutions of my country, Kosovo, in dealing with the phenomenon of foreign fighters participating in different armed wars and conflicts. Legal measures taken, planning, implementation law, investigation, prevention, counseling, psychological, etc. and the drafting of strategic forecasting documents have greatly increased appreciation for Kosovo, even calling it a regional leader in this area”, the minister Gashi stressed.

In this case, Minister Gashi stressed that support for this legal infrastructure, Kosovo Police in co-operation with the Kosovo Prosecutor, has been the initiative of many investigative processes that have involved people suspected of organisational and supporting activities for recruiting fighters for the Islamic state, or other criminal groups.

He said that after the measures taken, recent statistics clearly indicate a very visible reduction in this phenomenon. In 2017-2018, the number of people from Kosovo who have gone to conflict zones has been zero, going down by a figure of about a hundred that has been in 2013-2014.

At the end of his speech, Minister Gashi stressed that to further boost regional and international co-operation in the fight against organised crime and terrorism, the Republic of Kosovo must be a member of INTERPOL.

Under this Ministerial, the Ministers of Western Ballknay Internal Affairs together with Commissioner Avramopollos signed the joint “Plan against Terrorism for the Western Balkans”.