Brussels, 18/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 17 May, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and Kosovo's Prime Minister Isa Mustafa announced the creation of a working group which will be aimed at establishing a roadmap on the reforms needed in the country.
“We agreed to set up a joint working group (…) in order to set up a roadmap dealing with the immediate necessary needs in the area of economic development, and related to the rule of law, because we believe [an] accountable and reliable judiciary rule of law structure is decisive to attract foreign investors” and reassure local investors, Hahn said at a joint press conference in Pristina. In his view, the issues of the fight against corruption and organised crime, appointments to some posts without political interference, the qualification of judicial staff (judges, prosecutors and lawyers), “adequate” time periods to take decisions, and the functioning of the court are subjects on which the EU and Kosovo “can work together”. These issues “should be part of the roadmap”, he added.
The working group will be coordinated by Kosovo's Minister for European Integration Bekim Collaku and EU Ambassador to Kosovo Samuel Zbogar, Hahn said.
Stating that Kosovo had shown its ability to make progress on key reforms, Hahn said at a high level conference on the stabilisation and association agreement that Pristina now needed to focus on a certain number of reform priorities of common interest. “Together we must monitor the progress made in these priority areas over the next 12 months”, he said. In his view, implementation of the stabilisation and association agreement, which has been in force since 1 April, should take place alongside the economic reforms and rule of law. “Strong and effective institutions are crucial for successful implementation of the stabilisation and association agreement”, he said, stating that some recurrent issues, such as independence of the judiciary, political interference in the judicial process and the fight against serious forms of organised crime and corruption, should be addressed. “The country's economic development should be the main priority”, he said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)