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No exit strategy from Kosovo for us (Lajmi)

Kosovo Assembly MP Blerim Shala writes in an opinion piece that the media and political storm that accompanied the decision of the Kosovo Assembly to extend the mandate for the EU rule of law mission showed the lack of understanding of what the move really encompasses. Shala points out that it was Kosovo institutions that invited the EU to establish a mission in 2008 but notes that in the years to come, Kosovo managed to build sufficient capacities to strengthen the rule of law. However, what neither the Kosovo institutions nor EULEX possessed was the political will to move things forward and do the right thing. And while the lack of action was justified by a number of reasons, maintaining stability of Kosovo was the prevailing one. It is well known how international missions work but very often, the people in Kosovo considered EULEX officials to be real life “super heroes” expecting them to fix everything in a blink of an eye, claims Shala. It is a fact that all international missions are provisional in nature and they all have an exit strategy but for the people of Kosovo there is no such thing possible. “They come and go but we remain because this is our country”, writes Shala. “Neither EULEX nor anyone else for that matter can do our homework on our behalf”, he concludes.

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