Political instability in Kosovo resulted in limited progress regarding implementation of European reforms, the European Commission’s progress report on Kosovo has found.
“Due to this volatile political context and the necessary focus on the pandemic response, there was overall limited progress on EU-related reforms in Kosovo,” the latest report published on Tuesday reads.
Another obstacle for Kosovo is the fight against corruption which, it notes, is widespread and remains an issue of serious concern.
“Kosovo has made limited progress in this area, including on the investigation and prosecution of high level cases, on the confiscation of assets as well as through the creation of the Special Departments handling cases regarding high-level corruption (and organised crime) in the courts,” the report reads.
Regarding the normalization of relations with Serbia, it states that Kosovo needs to make further substantial efforts to reach a comprehensive legally binding agreement.
“Such an agreement is urgent and crucial so that Kosovo and Serbia can advance on their respective European paths,” it notes.
As regarding freedom of expression, it highlights the need for institutions to continue efforts to follow up on threats and attacks against journalists.
It also notes that the public broadcaster “remains vulnerable to political influence and a sustainable solution for its funding still needs to be found”.
On the other hand, good progress is noted in the fight against terrorism, in the areas of taxation, free movement of goods, services and capital, financial services, public procurement and competition.
“Overall, Kosovo needs to improve its administrative capacity and coordination, across all sectors, to ensure effective implementation of the EU acquis,” the European Commission’s progress report reads.
