Kosovo delays in SAA implementation

The SAA is the first contractual agreement between Kosovo and the European Union, which entered into force on April 1st 2016. Through this agreement, the European Union seeks from a country aimed at EU membership, to ensure that its governing mechanisms and civil society meet EU standards.

Demush Shasha of the Kosovo Institute for European Policy (EPIK) tells Radio Free Europe that Kosovo has failed to achieve reforms in most areas required with this agreement.

The “are at least three indicators on the basis of which we can say Kosovo is failing to implement its SAA-originated obligations. The European Union and Kosovo institutions launched an ambitious agenda for European reform stemming from the SAA and on this agenda identified 22 priorities, which had to be fulfilled in one year and if we look at this indicator and ask how much Kosovo has achieved to meet these priorities, we see that despite what has been spent not one, but three years, Kosovo has achieved only five of the 22” priorities, says Shasha.

The SAA obliges Kosovo to make reforms in the rule of law sector such as judicial independence and fighting corruption, reforms in the economy, education, health and many other areas.

Kosovo's performance in the fight against high-level corruption and organised crime as the most important chapter of the SAA stresses Shasha, since the moment this criteria have been established, has proved that it has not been met, as since so far no case, according to him, has not been completed with a firm decision in court.

And if we take this indicator as well, the lack of results in combating high-level corruption, we can say that Kosovo has not fulfilled the tasks emerging from the SAA. Also, due to the lack of reforms in public administration required by the SAA, Kosovo has also begun to lose funds from the EU”, Shasha points out.

According to him, the failure to implement reforms stemming from the SAA also impedes Kosovo's EU integration path.

The Kosovo government has consistently demanded from the competent ministries seriousness in implementing the SAA.

Minister of European Integration in the Government of Kosovo, Gift Hoxha, tells Radio Free Europe that they are in the process of fulfilling obligations and tasks stemming from the only contractual agreement with the EU

“Caku for 2019 for implementation of the SAA National Plan is 70 per cent and we must achieve the minimum so that budget support can continue. We plan to make it through this year. The reforms we need should be accelerated because they have a direct impact on improving the lives of citizens and we have to make these reforms because our citizens need it, and not only because they are necessarily an integral part of the European integration process”, Hoxha says.