The paper in its front page editorial today writes that the announcement of the new US ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, that his top priority would be combating corruption in Kosovo, is very encouraging and hopeful for Kosovo society.
The level of corruption in Kosovo has continued to rise, said Kosovo think tank Fol based on the results of a poll it recently conducted. The most serious problem for the respondents is unemployment, followed by corruption and government’s performance, the poll further found. 42.2% of the people interviewed said they often bribe public officials in exchange for a service. Kosovo prosecutor, Drita Hajdari, said involvement of judges and prosecutors in corruption is highly concerning and appealed to the civil society and media to help fight it.
Kosovo Justice Institute think tank presented today the findings of a report on Kosovo institutions’ fight of corruption. The report states that although the fight of corruption remains a priority of all Kosovo institutions, the reality is that this remains mainly on paper. KJI director Betim Musliu said Kosovo is still not successfully fighting corruption and while there is immense pressure on institutions to produce tangible results, these results are very few.
The paper on its front page editorial writes that a special court is being established to address alleged war crimes, but that this court doesn’t have competencies to address a very big problem in Kosovo, corruption. “The fight against corruption is considered a challenge already lost for Kosovo, while the main responsible are high level politicians. The special court will not deal with such things, and probably after UNMIK and EULEX, the internationals will not interfere in Kosovo’s internal affairs.
The EU has failed to lay the foundations for fighting corruption in Kosovo, a report has concluded.
Law professor Jean-Paul Jacqué said corruption was ‘omnipresent’ in the region and Kosovo’s judiciary incapable of meeting the challenges of organised crime.
Mr Jacqué made the comments in his report on a scandal involving EULEX, the EU’s mission to establish rule of law in Kosovo.
Whistleblower Maria Bamieh last year accused EULEX of covering up a case of corruption in its own ranks.
The front-page editorial writes that the European Union has spent millions of euros, together with the Kosovo government, to build a facility with proper working conditions for all employees of the judiciary. The paper writes that the inauguration of the Palace of Justice yesterday was a modest step forward, but the main challenge are still there. “The judicial and prosecution systems in Kosovo are not independent. There is a heavy violation of human rights, abuses, massive corruption and organized crime in state institutions.
Representatives of rule of law institutions held a joint meeting on Monday in order to coordinate actions to be taken in combating corruption. The meeting was attended by Acting Head State Prosecutor Syle Hoxha, head of the Kosovo Judicial Council Enver Peci, director of the Kosovo Police, Shpend Maxhuni, representatives of the Supreme Court and EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) judges and prosecutors.
Kosovo’s Interior Minister, Skender Hyseni, on Monday met with head of the Kosovo Judicial Council, Enver Peci. Hyseni and Peci discussed the cooperation between the two institutions with the aim of providing better services to the people of Kosovo, who face different judicial processes. This meeting is the continuation of the excellent cooperation between the two institutions, in the field of combating crime and corruption.
The President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, met on Friday with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, Chairman of the Judicial Council, Enver Peci, Acting Head Chief State Prosecutor Syle Hoxha and Kosovo Police Director Shpend Maxhuni, to discuss steps to be taken in combating corruption and organized crime. Jahjaga said that the fight against corruption and organized crime should be intensified and urgently addressed in order to help Kosovo’s economic development and achieve progress in meeting visa liberalization reforms and European integration.
The paper on its front-page editorial today writes that the policy of ruling the law in Kosovo has brought the justice system on the edge, hence making it very difficult to achieve the required results in the fight against corruption and organized crime. As a consequence, the migration of the dissatisfied people will not stop, thus endangering the process of visa liberalization for Kosovo. The paper writes that Kosovo needs deep reforms and rule of law, not misleading cosmetic changes, if it wants to return hopes for a better future to its people.