Kosovo by Ilir Deda

Kosovo by Ilir Deda Capital: Pristina Population: 1.8 million GNI/capita: n/a Source: The data above was provided by The World Bank, World Bank Indicators 2010. Nations in Transit Ratings and Averaged Scores Yugoslavia Kosovo 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Electoral Process 4.75 3.75 3.75 5.25 4.75 4.75 4.75 4.50 4.50 4.25 Civil Society 4.00 3.00 2.75 4.25 4.00 4.25 4.25 4.00 4.00 3.75 Independent Media 4.50 3.50 3.25 5.50 5.50 5.50 5.50 5.50 5.50 5.50 Governance* 5.25 4.25 4.25 6.00 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a National Democratic Governance n/a n/a n/a n/a 5.75 5.75 5.75 5.50 5.25 5.50 Local Democratic Governance n/a n/a n/a n/a 5.50 5.50 5.50 5.50 5.25 5.00 Judicial Framework and Independence 5.50 4.25 4.25 6.00 5.75 5.75 5.75 5.75 5.75 5.75 Corruption 6.25 5.25 5.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 5.75 5.75 5.75 Democracy Score 5.04 4.00 3.88 5.50 5.32 5.36 5.36 5.21 5.11 5.07 * Starting with the 2005 edition, Freedom House introduced separate analysis and ratings for national democratic governance and local democratic governance to provide readers with more detailed and nuanced analysis of these two important subjects. NOTES: The ratings reflect the consensus of Freedom House, its academic advisers, and the author(s) of this report. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s). The ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing the highest level of democratic progress and 7 the lowest. The Democracy Score is an average of ratings for the categories tracked in a given year. 274 Nations in Transit 2010 Executive Summary osovo continued to maintain internal stability and pursue international recognition in 2009. The number of countries recognizing its independence K rose to 64 during the year, with the pace slowing due to proceedings on the issue at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which began on December 1. Thirty states, including Kosovo, participated in the hearings at the court. The ICJ is expected to issue its advisory opinion in the first half of 2010. Meanwhile, in June 2009, Kosovo became a member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The country’s greatest achievement in 2009 was the implementation of decentralization, which was legitimized by sizeable Kosovo Serb participation in local elections in November and December, despite the strong objections of Belgrade. The elections—the first to be organized by Kosovo institutions—were mostly successful, although some violations were reported. While the effective recognition of newly created municipalities by Serb voters diminished the prospects for the partition of Kosovo, the northern part of the country remained beyond the control of Kosovo authorities. The process of building and strengthening Kosovo’s state institutions continued, but without considerable success. There has not been an improvement in the rule of law, though the Constitutional Court became functional in mid-2009, and the new European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) reached full capacity in the areas of police services, customs, and the judiciary. The NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR), which was responsible for overall security, began winding down, as did the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Negative trends were noted with respect to restrictions on freedom of speech and rising corruption; the government tightened its grip on the public broadcaster and independent media, the appointment of senior public servants became increasingly subject to political interference, and the state’s role in the economy grew dramatically. The international presence in Kosovo has not used its leverage over the domestic authorities to reverse the negative trends in governance. Instead, it has focused on implementation of the main provisions of the Comprehensive Status Proposal (CSP) and started plans for its further reconfiguration. National Democratic Governance. Negative governance trends were noted for most of 2009, especially regarding restrictions on freedom of speech and the government’s dominant role in the economy. The consolidation of state institutions deepened divisions along the Ibar River, with the Serb-dominated territory to the north continuing to reject any direct cooperation with the authorities in Pristina. Kosovo 275 Meanwhile, Serbs in the rest of the country worked with the central government and began slowly integrating with the rest of the state. The international missions proceeded with their reconfiguration, with EULEX reaching full operational capacity in April, UNMIK and KFOR downsizing significantly, and the International Civilian Office focusing on implementation of the CSP.Due to the government’s worsening practices in 2009, Kosovo’s national democratic governance rating worsens from 5.25 to 5.50. Electoral Process. The municipal elections held in November and December were the first elections to be managed by Kosovo’s Central Election Commission. Political parties representing Kosovo’s various ethnic groups were certified to participate. Some 45 percent of the 1.5 million eligible voters took part in the first round, and apart from those in northern Kosovo, Serb residents turned out in unexpectedly large numbers. Overall, Serb participation was about 10 times higher than in 2007. Over 22,000 local and international observers were registered to monitor the voting, which they deemed mostly free and fair. Political parties challenged some of the initial results, marking the first use of institutions such as the Supreme Court of Kosovo and the Constitutional Court for that purpose. Independent electoral institutions, such as the Election Complaints and Appeals Commission, took steps to ensure the integrity of the elections by annulling the runoff results in three municipalities amid evidence of fraud, and rescheduling them for early 2010. In light of these positive developments, Kosovo’s electoral process rating improves from 4.50 to 4.25. Civil Society. The civil society sector continued to develop in 2009 amid an ongoing proliferation of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). These groups often struggled to develop their own agendas, secure stable funding, and fulfill their strategic visions. Moreover, they remained dependent on foreign donors, many of whom have their own priorities and are unwilling to consider and support local initiatives. However, despite these weaknesses, Kosovo’s NGOs have increased their activities beyond the capital and are much more vigorous in their monitoring and criticism of the government. As a result, Kosovo’s civil society rating improves from 4.00 to 3.75. Independent Media. The sharp restrictions on freedom of press and freedom of expression in 2009, including government pressure on both public and private media, was met with open criticism by various international organizations. The International Steering Group, the European Commission, Reporters Without Borders, and the European Broadcasting Union all noted the problems and called for an improvement in this area. Among other flawed practices, the government continued to use state advertising allocations to favor outlets close to the ruling party. Because of these ongoing abuses, Kosovo’s independent media rating remains at 5.50. 276 Nations in Transit 2010 Local Democratic Governance. Kosovo’s local democratic governance improved in 2009. The number of municipalities increased to 36 after the local elections, with 2 more to be established in the spring of 2010. Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo have continued to function separately, but Serb residents in the south appeared to place some trust in the new Serb-majority municipalities created by Pristina. The Ministry of Local Government Administration found that the majority of municipalities complied with the Law on Local Self-Government. However, the development capacities of the municipalities remained weak. By June 2009, local governments had spent only 28 percent of funds earmarked for capital investment. Due to the overall improvement in municipal administration and representation, Kosovo’s local democratic governance rating improves from 5.25 to 5.00. Judicial Framework and Independence. The justice system, Kosovo’s weakest institutional pillar, remains inefficient and vulnerable to political interference. There is a considerable backlog of cases, and coordination between the judiciary, prosecutors, and the police is inadequate. The rule of law suffers from the prosecutorial service’s structural problems and lack of independence. Both judges and prosecutors are subject to pressure and intimidation. EULEX’s presence has not yet resulted in improvements in these areas. Given this lack of progress, Kosovo’s judicial framework and independence rating remains at 5.75. Corruption. The apparent level of corruption in Kosovo rose in 2009, partly due to better monitoring mechanisms. The implementation of a public procurement law that was not in line with EU standards raised serious concerns, as did rapid increases in single-source tendering and the overall value of public procurement contracts. The Office of the Auditor General found gross mismanagement of the Kosovo budget, and complained that there was no political will to address these shortcomings. Meanwhile, the Kosovo Anticorruption Agency (AKK) signed memorandums of understanding to improve cooperation with the Independent Judicial and Prosecutorial Commission and other local and international agencies. The number of corruption cases reported to the AKK rose significantly in 2009. Given the new indications of corruption and the absence of signiﬁcant progress in combating it, Kosovo’s corruption rating remains at 5.75. Outlook for 2010. Kosovo will face challenges in both international and domestic areas in 2010. Internationally, the advisory opinion of the ICJ may directly affect further recognition of Kosovo’s independence and the legitimacy of the state.

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