Since 2016, Kosovo has made no progress on its integration path. Since the entry into force of the Stabilization Association Agreement (SAA), Kosovo has not made any advancement,” this was emphasized during the presentation of the 2024 European Reform Barometer by the Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) and the Kosovo Institute for European Policy (EPIK), where the head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Aivo Orav, was also present.
The executive director of GLPS, Arbëresha Loxha-Stublla, emphasized that European integration and the reforms related to this process have not been a high priority on the agendas of past governments, which, as she stated, has led to the loss of momentum for significant changes.
She underlined that the lack of political will has directly impacted the stagnation of reforms, while Kosovo continues to remain under measures from the European Union.
“European integration and the reforms related to European integration have not been high on the agendas of past governments, and in a way, momentum has been lost as a result of the lack of political will. Adding to that the fact that Kosovo is under measures from the EU, and this has negatively affected Kosovo’s ability to fulfill or implement European reforms. Therefore, through this barometer, we aim to stimulate and emphasize to the public opinion, the government, and public institutions the importance of European reforms for Kosovo, initially for its internal issues, for our own good as a state, but also for our path toward the EU,” said Loxha-Stublla.
The head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Aivo Orav, emphasized that the barometer is a very important additional tool in the enlargement process.
“Primarily, the message of these reports is for the governments, to show what they need to do to enter the EU. Ideally, the final report should contain just a few lines: ‘If you fulfill these few remaining points, you will be here.’ But, of course, we don’t live in an ideal world, so there are many issues we talk about, because countries want to see what they are doing right and what should be highlighted positively. But the most important thing is what the European Union says still needs to be done… Now, a new tool – the EU Barometer you have developed – is added to this group of tools. This is another way to track the work of ministries and hold them accountable for their reforms in relation to the EU,” he said.
While adding that for the Ministry of Justice, “in the field of the rule of law, the judiciary and prosecution need to make more efforts to investigate and judge effectively organized crime and high-level corruption cases.”
Present at this event was also the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kosovo, Karin Boven.
Boven expressed that the Netherlands, as one of the founding countries of the EU, remains committed to continuing its support for Kosovo in undertaking the necessary reforms to ease the integration process into the EU.
“Countries wishing to join the European Union must align with its values on democracy, the rule of law, and good governance. The purpose of the EU Barometer is not only to be critical. On the contrary, it aims to contribute constructively to the discussion on how further progress can be made. The barometer serves as encouragement to continue the work being done in Kosovo and, hopefully, as an impetus to be more ambitious in advancing the necessary reforms. This is not only in the interest of the government or civil society, but in the interest of all the citizens of Kosovo and EU member states. The Netherlands, as one of the founding countries of the EU, remains committed to continuing its support for Kosovo in undertaking the necessary reforms to ease the integration process into the EU,” she said.
Meanwhile, the executive director of the EPIK organization, Demush Shasha, said that since 2016, Kosovo has made no progress on its integration path.
“These are the three goals we wanted to achieve with the Barometer. The first goal was to keep the fire of European integration burning. It can be said that since 2016, Kosovo has made no progress on its integration path. Since the entry into force of the Stabilization Association Agreement, fundamentally, Kosovo has made no further progress. We momentarily set aside visa liberalization because it falls outside the integration process. In this context, through the Barometer, we wanted to draw attention back to the integration process,” he said.
On April 1, 2016, the Stabilization Association Agreement between Kosovo and the European Union entered into force.
