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At a time when Germany is re-establishing the border with the Czech Republic and Austria due to the pandemic, visa liberalization or removal of borders for third countries is unimaginable, says the director of the Kosovo Institute for European Policy (EPIK), Demush Shasha.
Some European countries, including France and the Netherlands, think that it is not yet time for visa liberalization for Kosovo citizens.
In the Council of the European Union, they said that most member states agree with the assessment of the European Commission that Kosovo has met all the criteria.
But, according to diplomatic sources, France and the Netherlands, when it comes to visa liberalization for Kosovo, cite the lack of sufficient evidence for the fight against organized crime and high-level corruption.
They think that the Commission in the report on Kosovo, has made the assessment “very formally”, but these countries, as diplomatic sources have said, want more evidence “including through the final verdicts of the courts” for the sentencing of senior officials involved in corruption cases, as well as evidence of confiscation of illegal property.
In the case of France, some sources in Brussels say that there is also a fear of an increase in the number of asylum seekers from Kosovo, in case of visa waiver.
The director of the Kosovo Institute for European Policies (EPIK), Demush Shasha, is extremely skeptical that during 2021 there will be positive developments regarding visa liberalization. According to him, the political environment created after the coronavirus pandemic also influences this.
“Some EU member states continue to think that Kosovo has not met the criteria for visa liberalization, respectively in the fight against high-level corruption and organized crime. “Since the establishment of this criterion five years ago, Kosovo still has zero successful cases in the fight against high-level corruption,” he said.
Shasha said that even during the voting of the last Resolution of the European Parliament for Kosovo on February 23rd, it was noted that there were objections and that MEPs from the ranks of the party of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, “opposed any language that would assess that Kosovo has met the criteria and any language that called for the EU Council decision on visa liberalization for Kosovo ”.
Jehona Lushaku, professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Prishtina, says that the visa liberalization process for Kosovo has remained in the decision of the EU Council of Ministers, where states have the decision-making power.
She adds that many EU member states are skeptical that Kosovo should have visa liberalization and that skepticism is based on law and order criteria and the fight against corruption.
“These countries could change their mind if Kosovo continues to send accurate messages and statistics on the fight against corruption, which is the process of reform and de facto justice system. “Probably, Kosovo is not managing to convince these countries with data that these two criteria have been fully met”, emphasizes Lushaku.
Lushaku says that although the European Parliament has made the recommendation for visa liberalization, this EU institution itself is still hesitant about whether Kosovo should be visa liberalized.
“The European Parliament has its own skepticism about the independence of the judiciary, the transparency and the accountability of the justice system. We know that the requirement is to have as many investigations as possible, to have as many decisions as possible. “Corruption should be an institutional priority of the institutions of law and order, without interfering in politics, but where the people of politics would also be subject to investigations and decisions”, said Lushaku.
The report on Kosovo, adopted on Tuesday, 23 February, in the Foreign Policy Committee of the European Parliament notes that in Kosovo the main court cases have gone too slow and often the sentences, if any, have been lenient.
But most EU member states are of the opinion that Kosovo should gain liberalization because the phenomenon of corruption and organized crime is present in other countries that already have liberalization. Also, with the non-liberalization of visas, it is estimated that I am punishing more citizens than those who are really responsible for the situation.
Authorities in Kosovo last year were criticized by the EU for closing down the Special Anti-Corruption Department, which was part of the Police and aimed at preventing, investigating and detecting criminal offenses against the economy, finance and corruption, but also investigating and fighting high level corruption in Kosovo.
This department was established by decision of the Government of Kosovo, in cooperation with the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, EULEX.
The European Commission’s latest Progress Report noted that Kosovo is “at an early stage” in the fight against organized crime and corruption, adding that “there is no strong political will to effectively address issues that have to be addressed.” they deal with corruption as well as a strong response of the legal system to high-level corruption ”.
The Corruption Perceptions Index for 2020, of the international organization Transparency International, said that Kosovo is ranked 104th with 36 points, marking a deterioration in the fight against corruption, as it has fallen by three positions below the previous year. REL
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