In an opinion editorial for the New Year’s edition of the paper, the EU Special Representative to Kosovo Samuel Zbogar states that Kosovo has a clear European perspective and the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) are a testament of this. “The more Kosovo implements the SAA, the closer it will bring its standards to those of the EU,” Zbogar writes. He says he is hopeful that Kosovo will be able to implement the outstanding criteria from the visa liberalization roadmap by early next year and pave the way for the European Commission to propose lifting visas for the people of Kosovo. “Unfortunately, in the recent months, Kosovo politicians have wasted their time and energy more on dealing with themselves instead of dealing with what the people expect them to: improve the economy and create opportunities for new jobs.” This, according to Zbogar, needs to change in 2016 and the politicians needs to fight with ideas and not teargas. 2015 was also the year when Kosovo made two significant achievements: Brussels agreements within the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue and the establishment of specialist chambers. “2016 will be a year full of events for Kosovo… it will not be an easy year but I am optimistic about the future,” concludes Zbogar.
