Demarkation approved, but corruption now jeopardises visa liberalisation

After ratification of border demarcation with Montenegro on the part of the Kosovo Parliament, another criterion that remains permanent for visa liberalisation is that of fighting organised crime and corruption.

While government officials say it will prove that Kosovo has concrete results showing for fighting corruption, civil society representatives think that this criterion will be very difficult to meet, and that, as well, visa liberalisation problems will arise.

Kosovo Government Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri tells Radio Free Europe that progress has already been noted on this issue and that this progress, according to him, will be taken into account by the European Commission in recommending visa liberalisation.

There are a total of 39 cases, which the European Union closely follows, respectively, the progress we are making in these cases. I consider that we are making progress and will not stop, we will give necessary support to both the Prosecutor and the judges to succeed in completing this process and not be a problem for visa liberalisation”, Tahiri says.

Within the framework of increased activities for meeting this criterion, the Government of Kosovo has approved and the Anti-corruption Strategy and Action Plan 2018-2022.

Improved policies, their more effective implementation and good governance respectively, are the two main conditions for preventing and fighting corruption in Kosovo.

The strategy is divided into four sectors, including the public political sector, public administration, law enforcement and judiciary, as well as public procurement and public finance management.

But despite these efforts, Kosovo Institute for Justice Director Betim Musliu doubts that the justice system can combat organised crime and corruption.

However, he hopes the European Union will have consensus for Kosovo citizens so that they do not remain isolated due to the lack of progress in the work of institutions.

Kosovo's “fighting corruption is a farce and there is no real fight against corruption. Firstly, the lack of fighting corruption and organised crime poses problems for Kosovo citizens and their well-being, and the second poses problems even in the visa liberalisation process”.

But we very much hope that the European Union and its mechanisms will this time have consensus for the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, who will enable them to move freely into the area of Shengen”, Musliu considers.

He says the challenge of fighting corruption remains the sentences for senior institutions officials. It shows that shortly, the Kosovo Law Institute has visited European Union experts, who have released a report that there are no results in fighting high-profile corruption.

The findings of European Union experts are in full compliance with the systematic findings of the Kosovo Institute for Justice. So the fight to be fought against this profile is a war that can only be fought when political influence will not be present in the justice system. And, unfortunately, this is an extremely big challenge, which cannot be done in a few days, months, but maybe within a few years”, Musliu points out.

After ratification of the demarcation agreement with Montenegro, even European Union mission officials in Kosovo have said that the attention of Kosovo institutions should focus on strengthening the results of the fight against organised crime and corruption.

By contrast, since 2016, the European Commission had proposed to the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament, the lifting of visas for Kosovo citizens, and the putting Kosovo on the list of free flow countries in the Schengen area.

From that time on, Kosovo had two criteria to meet -- that of ratifying the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro, which has already ended and the criteria of fighting organised crime and corruption.