Kosovo and Serbia, after years of worsening rhetoric and failed negotiations, have made significant progress in the comprehensive dialogue facilitated by European Union, says the newest report of the Freedom House titled “Nations in Transit 2014”.
Freedom House recalls that in February 2013, President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, and her Serbian counterpart, Tomislav Nikolic, met in Brussels and that this marked the first meeting between presidents of the two countries since Kosovo declared independence.
The report also makes mention of the 19 April agreement on normalizing of relations between Kosovo and Serbia as well as the commitment expressed by the two sides not to obstruct one another on the road to European Union integration.
“There has also been progress in Kosovo: one of them is of course the landmark agreement between Kosovo and Serbia facilitated by the European Union, especially with regards to addressing the situation in the north”, said for Radio Free Europe, Sylvana Habdank-Kolaczkowska, director of the project.
However, as far as democracy is concerned, Kosovo continues to be among the countries with semi-authoritarian regime. In a seven-point chart, where one is the highest level of democracy, Kosovo has scored 5.14. Last year, its rating was at 5.25.
As far as independent media are concerned, Kosovo has scored 5.75 points; 5.50 on national governance and 4.75 on local governance. As for corruption, Kosovo is one point away from the poorest score with 6 points. It has a rating of 3.75 on the way the civil society functions and 5.50 on the judicial framework.
