The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Kosovo, Ruairi O’Connell, said during his speech at the opening of the Anti-corruption Week in Kosovo that corruption and nepotism in Kosovo should be fought. He said that no one should be employed based on family connections.

“Professionalism is what is required by the society and you should be working on this direction in order for no one to be employed only because he knows someone, but this requires also political will. Therefore, the British Government has supported a project which helps the government on procuring based on merits, not nepotism,” O’Connell said.

He added that all QUINT ambassadors are aware that corruption exists in Kosovo.

“The presence of the Ambassadors here shows that we are interested and are concerned regarding the level of corruption.”

The Ambassador of the United States of America to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, said at the press conference this morning that he is proud to see a coalition of embassies, donor organizations and, most importantly, Kosovo’s civil society, who are turning up the volume, proposing concrete solutions, and compelling action in the battle against corruption.

The German Ambassador to Kosovo, Angelica Viets, said that the embassies in Kosovo intend to attract investments in Kosovo, and added that this can only be done by fighting corruption.

Public accountability and responsibility relies on transparency and oversight. Trust, but verify!, said the Head of the EU Office/EUSR, Natalia Apostolova at the kick off press conference of Anti-Corruption Week in Kosovo. “Transparency and integrity of political parties are of fundamental importance to the credibility and legitimacy of the democratic system of Kosovo. Therefore, the EU together with the Government of Kosovo included this in the European Reform Agenda.”