Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2006 - 2007

government priority. The government established an agency for European integration and
adopted an action plan to address European Partnership priorities.
As regards public administration, the provisional institutions have set up an independent
oversight board and a senior public appointments committee. They have established new
ministries of justice and of the interior. The government has made some progress in
improving its coordination and policy-making capacities. The authorities exercise limited
control over certain Kosovo Serb areas, particularly in the northern municipalities. However,
Kosovo’s administrative capacity remains weak and the civil service overstaffed. A
comprehensive reform of the civil service is needed. Appointments in the administration
continue to be politically influenced.
As regards the judicial system, the Kosovo Judicial Council and the Kosovo Judicial Institute
were set up. Substantial responsibilities were transferred to the provisional institutions in
order to increase local ownership and accountability. The current role of the Assembly in the
appointment of judges and prosecutors undermines the independence of the judiciary and
allows political and ethnical considerations to interfere in what should be an objective and
technical recruitment process. Kosovo’s judicial institutions have made little progress in civil
and criminal justice. The backlog of cases has increased and judgements are not always
enforced. Rendering judgements in the high profile cases in relation to the March 2004 riots
remains problematic due to a lack of diligence in case investigations by the police, lenient
sentencing and a lack of cooperation from witnesses.
In response to a key European Partnership priority, the government approved an anticorruption
action plan, an anti-corruption council was established and the Assembly
appointed the director of the anti-corruption agency. Nevertheless, corruption in Kosovo is
still widespread and little progress has been made in effectively tackling corruption.
In the area of human rights and the protection of minorities an advisory panel has been
established to deal with complaints from persons claiming to be the victims of human rights
violations by UNMIK. The mandate of the international ombudsperson expired at the end of
2005 and the assembly nominated a Kosovan acting ombudsperson.
In spring 2006, the President and the Prime Minister started a highly visible outreach
campaign towards minorities. Both called on minority communities to consider Kosovo their
home and to work together with Kosovo’s provisional institutions of self government.
However, minorities continue to be in a disadvantaged position and further efforts are needed
to combat intolerance. There have been a number of violent attacks against Kosovo Serbs
particularly during the summer of 2006. The conditions remain difficult for a sustainable
return of refugees and displaced persons.
Relations between Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Albanians have remained strained. Belgrade has
discouraged the Kosovo Serbs' participation in the provisional institutions and Kosovo Serbs
have continued to boycott them.
Concerning regional issues and international obligations, Kosovo has enhanced its
participation in regional fora and cooperation initiatives, a key European Partnership priority,
particularly in the areas of transport and energy. A free trade agreement with the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia entered into force and free trade agreements were signed
with Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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