New government tasks, from dialogue to halt migration

The urgent issue in terms of foreign policy for the new government, according to analysts, will be dialogue with Serbia and reaching a comprehensive and judicial commitment agreement.

While in the internal aspect, analysts say, stopping the migration of young people, economic development, increasing employment, fighting corruption, strengthening the order and the law are just a few issues to be addressed by the new government.

Political Affairs Analyst Artan Muhhaxhiri tells Radio Free Europe that Prime Minister Kurti will lead a government at an extremely delicate moment for Kosovo, both domestic and external.

The first job the Kurti government will have to do, according to Mujahari, is to stop misuse of public money and start restoring state institutions, which, according to Mujajiri, have been greatly damaged in past governments.

The government Kurti, Muhajiri adds, would have to restore the citizens' trust in the state of Kosovo.

“On an international note, the government's main problem, Kurti, will be the issue of the final stage of dialogue with Serbia, and there is expected to be big trouble here because Kurti's approach has been disfellowshipped and has not taken to base the complete performance of dialogue, and it is least expected that his approach to re-evaluating all dialogue will find support in European and American allies who seek an acceleration of the finding”, Muhramir says.

The dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia on normalising relations between the two states, launched in 2011, was interrupted at the end of 2018, when Kosovo has taxed 100 percent of the products imported from Serbia.

Muhhaxhiri adds that the question of dialogue with Serbia is considered to be a problem even for the fact that in this respect there are differences between the ruling coalition.

“in terms of the Vetevendosje dialogue also differs greatly with the Democratic League of Kosovo, and this is the issue that has to be part of negotiations between LVV and LDK, as it will be harmful if we have the creation of a government without an internal agreement for performance in relation to dialogue with Serbia”, Mujariri says.

Great challenges, Kurti Government are also awaiting him economically.

Naim Gashi, an expert on economic issues, says the main problems Kosovo citizens face and which should be addressed by the Government of Kosovo, are employment problems, economic development and the departure of Kosovo citizens abroad.

In recent years, according to data from the Kosovo Statistics Agency, there has been increased migration. More than 220 thousand Kosovo citizens, according to these data, have emigrated in the last decade.

Other priorities must be order and law, when it is known that in Kosovo justice is still bought with money and justice is not valid for those who are powerful and have money. The other problem is, health, where tens of millions of euros of Kosovo citizens are spent abroad seeking services, while the educational system is collusioned because it is not connected to the labour market”, Gashi says.

Gashi adds that national priorities and state budget investments, which so far were oriented to asphalt, social schemes, wages and wages, must turn to creating new jobs and prospects for young people to continue their lives in Kosovo.

“Barazia in the market of private companies and access to public funds fairly by fighting monopolies would create privileges for companies to be included and expanded and create jobs. Kosovo is a country that has the potential to develop, has both human capacities and natural resources, but the activism of these mechanisms has not been done so far and therefore we have remained the poorest country in the region and Europe”, Gashi says.

In reports of international and local organisations, political appointments, nepotism phenomenon and corruption were stressed, distracting Kosovo institutions and society in general.

According to Transparency International's latest report, the Corruption Perception Index for 2019, Kosovo turns out to have noted aggression in the fight against corruption.

High unemployment rates and about 30 per cent, according to data from the Kosovo Statistics Agency, is a problem that has been accompanying Kosovo over the years.

Meanwhile, the education sector for years has faced major problems and without adequate improvement in specific areas.

Albin Kurti, in the publication of the governing programme in the Kosovo Assembly, has said his government will be a “public money savings government”.

He has said that savings will include all areas, boosting economic development, increasing new jobs and halting the migration of Kosovo citizens to other European countries.

Kurti has promised that Kosovo's budget will reach 3 billion euros, up from 2.3 billion euros last year.