Brussels, 09/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 8 October, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle underlined the need for Kosovo to overcome its political deadlock. In its progress report, the European Commission believes that “the failure to constitute the new legislature smoothly and in a timely manner has been a setback”. In the Commission's opinion, there is an increasingly polarised political environment in Kosovo and a situation of political deadlock, which is delaying certain key reforms. A new government should launch a series of overall reforms, particularly electoral reform and reform of the public administration, the Commission states. The new government will have to maintain commitment to regional cooperation, and active and constructive commitment in the normalisation process with Serbia, the Commission adds - at a time when the situation in the north of Kosovo remains tense.
The Commission states that Kosovo faces numerous challenges, and it underlines that the rule of law, including judicial independence, and limited results in the fight against organised crime and corruption remain a major concern. The Commission also calls for progress to fill the gaps in the dialogue on visas and in job creation, and it calls for reforms in the following sectors: the public administration, the economy, competition and trade. Kosovo needs to work actively on the EU reform programme, the Commission states.
In the Commission's view, completing the stabilisation and association agreement (SAA) and initialling it is a milestone on Kosovo's path to Europe. “Kosovo needs to start preparing for the implementation of the SAA in key sectors”, the Commission states. (CG)