Europeanization of the Rule of Law in Western Balkans – the peculiar case of the EU’s transformative power failure in Kosovo Doctoral (Ph.D.) Dissertation written by: Lorik Pustina Supervisor: Dr. habil. Soós Edit University of Szeged Doctoral School of Law and Political Sciences Szeged, March 2021 Table of Contents Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................... 5 Tables............................................................................................................................................................ 7 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... 8 I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 9 I.1. Europeanization of the rule of law in the context of the Western Balkans – what is known so far?........ ............................................................................................................................................ 12 I.2. Historical facts (ending of World War 2 – 1999) ......................................................................... 14 I. 3. The Kosovo – Serbia conflict and the international presence .................................................... 15 1.4. The independence of Kosovo (17 February 2008) ....................................................................... 19 I.5. The impact of Europeanization on the Western Balkans (2008-2019) ....................................... 24 II. Literature review – The theoretical concept of Europeanization ................................................. 26 II.1. Research aims and expected outcome ......................................................................................... 34 II. 2. Contribution to the scientific field ............................................................................................. 35 II.3. Hypothesis and Research Questions ............................................................................................ 36 III. Methodology....................................................................................................................................... 38 III.1. Specific research questions and approach ................................................................................. 38 III.2. Basic approach of data collection ............................................................................................... 39 III.3. Potential Limitations and Contribution of Research ............................................................... 41 IV. The (un)constitutional Constitution of Kosovo: The path toward a modern Constitution? ........ 42 IV.1. Historic development of constitutional changes across the years ............................................ 45 IV.1.1. Constitution of 1974 ................................................................................................................. 46 IV.1.2. Constitutional amendments of 1989 ....................................................................................... 47 IV.1.3. The Constitution of Kaçanik 1990 .......................................................................................... 48 IV.2. The Ahtisaari Constitution – the not well thought provision of minority protection ............ 49 IV.2.1. The drafting and the adoption of the 2008 Constitution ...................................................... 51 IV. 2.2. International and Kosovo’s legal framework for minority’s protection ............................ 53 IV.3. Overlooking the Western Balkans .............................................................................................. 58 IV.3.1. Minorities in Croatia ............................................................................................................... 59 IV.3.2. Minorities in Montenegro ........................................................................................................ 61 IV.3.3. Minorities in North Macedonia .............................................................................................. 62 V. The Milestone – how towards Public Administration and modernization of the public sector institutions in Kosovo ................................................................................................................................ 67 V.1. Developments of the Public Administration (1974-1989)........................................................... 67 V. 2. The UN efficiency – they gave Kosovo freedom but no future? ............................................... 70 V.3. The handover of the “reform and development” baton from UNMIK to the European Union ...................................................................................................................................................... 73 2 V.4. Brief overview on the Administration legal framework of Kosovo........................................... 76 VI. The Europeanization and the Rule of Law in Kosovo – empirical findings .................................. 79 VI.1. The (UN)forgettable Mission in Kosovo .................................................................................... 80 VI. 2. The establishment of International Civilian Office and the EU Rule of Law Mission ......... 85 VI.3. The grim side of the rainbow - cases of Nuhi Uka and Ramadan Muja ................................. 98 VI.3.1. The case of Ramadan Muja ..................................................................................................... 98 VI.3.2. The case of Nuhi Uka ............................................................................................................. 100 VI.4. From EU progress reports to EC country reports: the case of Kosovo (2008 – 2019) ......... 104 VI. 5. Impact of EU instruments and mechanisms on Kosovo ........................................................ 107 VI.5.1. The Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) .................................................. 110 VI.5.2. National Plan for the Implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (NPISAA) ......................................................................................................................... 110 VI.5.3. The European Reform Agenda (ERA) ................................................................................. 112 VI. 5.4. The Economic Reform Program (ERP) .............................................................................. 112 VI.5.5. The annual EU country report ....................................................................................... 113 VI.5.6. Visa liberalization ............................................................................................................ 113 VI.5.7. Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA II) 2014-2020 financial perspective .......................... 114 VII. Challenges of Improving Anti-Corruption Institutional Framework in Kosovo (2008 - 2019)...................................................................................................................................................... 116 VII.1. Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) of Kosovo ........................................................................... 121 VII.2. Kosovo Police: Special Anti-corruption Department ........................................................... 124 VII.3. Kosovo Police: Directorate against Economic Crime and Corruption Investigation (DECCI) 127 VII.4. Police Inspectorate of Kosovo ................................................................................................. 128 VII.5. State Prosecutor, National Coordinator for Combating Economic Crimes, appointed by the State Chief Prosecutor’s Office ................................................................................................... 129 VII.6. Basic Prosecution Office of Pristina: Anti-corruption and Economic Crime Units .......... 131 VII.6. 1. Special Prosecution Office of the Republic of Kosovo (SPRK) ....................................... 131 VII.7. Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) .................................................................................... 133 VII.8. Financial Intelligent Unit (FIU) ............................................................................................. 134 VII.9. The Agency for Managing Seized and Confiscated Assets (AMSCA) ................................ 137 VII.10. The role/impact of the European Union in increasing the oversight and advocacy role of the civil society organizations ............................................................................................................. 142 VIII. The legality of the Pristina - Belgrade political dialogue: the queer case of Kosovo’s Historic Agreement ................................................................................................................................................ 146 VIII.1. From UN to EU – the dialogue endeavors of Kosovo and Serbia (2013-still ongoing) ..... 149 VIII.2. Agreements reached so far between Pristina and Belgrade and their state of implementation .................................................................................................................................... 152 3 VIII.3. The Association of Serb Municipalities (ASM) an NGO or executive body? Its Legal and Constitutional impact within the Europeanization