Kosovo is a small country, which in 2008 declared its independence.Kosovo is making efforts to become a respected partner in the international arena, as well as to become a full member of the European Union in the coming years, which is why the rule of law and justice are so important here. People in Kosovo support the foundations of democracy, such as freedom of assembly and speech, inclusion and equality, minority rights and other rights. Further efforts are needed to fight organized crime and corruption, and to build administrative capacity in law enforcement and the judiciary in order to make European perspectives a reality.
Kosovo participates in the Stabilization and Association Process in the Balkans and is known as a potential candidate for EU membership, and its EU membership is more and a matter of "when" it will happen than "if" it will happen.
The Republic of Kosovo is the only country in the Western Balkans whose citizens cannot benefit from visa-free movement. The Republic of Kosovo is working unilaterally to meet the preconditions for visa liberalization. Despite the good results, the transformation of a country, especially in the field of law, is a long and difficult process. Corruption is widespread and judicial systems sometimes struggle with inadequate personnel recruited under the previous systems and inefficiency.
The Union says that "it is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities". Therefore, EU integration will not happen until each potential candidate country reach to meet the Copenhagen criteria.
Kosovo's integration into the EU is considered to be the main driver for legal reforms, overall social transformation and significantly for economic development. The closer the rapprochement with the EU takes place, the stronger this approach will be. Therefore, the need to adopt relevant policies that will intensify the process becomes a priority that needs to be addressed.
The EU integration process is a much bigger problem for Kosovo and undoubtedly represents another major one in its overall policy. But now the main is the challenge of realizing his vision and achieving the goal. Therefore, it is widely important to Kosovo policymakers and institutions to seriously work that this vision becomes a reality in the future. In this respect, Kosovo has a great advantage because everyone is united around the vision for EU integration.
Despite all this, if compared to other countries in the Western Balkans, Kosovo is still being to lag behind in the EU integration process. The Government of Kosovo should invest more in education and training of staff but also in existing capacity building programs. The institute defines how human resources are essential and Kosovo is in a miserable position in this regard.
Increasing the number of staff and controlling the management of existing mechanisms is essential to achieving success in achieving the priority goals.
Author: Njomza Hoxha, Local Democracy Agency of Kosovo