Action Plan Austria - 2016

Presented by Foreign Ministers

Hashim Thaçi and Sebastian Kurz Action Plan Austria - Kosovo 2016

Policy and EU accession: International presence in Kosovo:

• Support in the next steps of EU accession; fi- • Country code: Austria submitted on 4 Janu- nalize remaining preparations on the EU level ary 2016 the application for Kosovo for the in order for the Stabilisation and Association assignment of a country code by the ITU (In- agreement signed on 27 October 2015 to en- ternational Telecommunications Union). Aus- ter into force in spring of 2016. tria will continue to provide further technical assistance in this way. • Support in the visa liberalisation process: re- maining 8 of 95 criteria of the visa roadmap • Continued support by Austria regarding should be fulfilled in the first half of 2016, visa Kosovo’s efforts for attaining membership in liberalisation possible this year. international organisations.

• Integration of Kosovo in improving good- • Holding of a friendly football match between neighbourly relations and the solution of bi- Austria and Kosovo for the first time (following lateral disputes. Holding of an experts con- the 2016 European Championships). ference on the matter in the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign • Continuation of support in the areas of se- Affairs in spring 2016. curity and rule of law by maintaining Austria’s substantial contributions to KFOR and EULEX. • Continued joint efforts in the area of de-radi- calisation and fight against terrorism through Economy and Development: the implementation of the Vienna declaration “Tackling Violent Extremism and Terrorism” • Support of small and medium enterprises: from 21 March 2015. Follow-up conference in Austria will make use of its extensive experi- Sarajewo in the second half of 2016. ence (see e.g. ADA project for rural develop- ment in Suva Reka, Dragas/Strpce) by laun- • Support in the normalisation process bet- ching a new major project in in 2016. ween and Pristina following the four agreements in the run-up to the Vienna Wes- • Facilitation of investment by signing a dual tern Balkans summit. taxation agreement.

• Continuation of the mediation efforts by • Supporting regional economic exchanges by Austria between Kosovo and Bosnia and Her- improving cooperation between the Chamber zegovina, particularly with regards to still re- of Commerce of Kosovo and within the maining visa requirements. framework of the Berlin Process. Administration:

• Participation of Kosovo in Austria’s new Education in May/June, organized by the Visitors Programme (2-3 participants in 2016). Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and the Austrian • Support in the modernisation of public ad- Economic Chamber). ministration by organizing an expert confe- rence in Vienna on Public Administration Re- • Initiatives to support civil society, which form in May 2016. through Austria’s engagement have also been solidly anchored in the Berlin Process, will be Education, Science and Civil Society: continued and further developed: workshops in the region and a Civil Society Forum in the • Assistance in the area of education as princi- margins of the Paris summit this summer, with pal pillar of economic development support by the ERSTE Stiftung among others.

- Support in the implementation of the new • Further development of scientific coopera- higher education law through ADA tion through the Vienna Conference of the (Austrian Development Agency). Academy of Sciences of the Western Balkans together with the Austrian Academy of Scien- - development of dual vocational education ces on 22 to 24 May 2016. (Vienna Conference on Dual Vocational

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