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Life in Kosovo discusses regional cooperation

01 07 2010  Life in Kosovo broadcast a debate about the importance of regional cooperation for economic and political life in the Balkans.

Among the questions discussed were: Has Kosovo had the capacity to represent itself as a country in regional conferences and summits so far?

What could Kosovo have done more to contribute to regional cooperation? What is holding Kosovo back when it comes to regional cooperation and European integration? How would Kosovo benefit from the idea of a ‘mini-Schengen zone’?

To discuss these and other topics, host Muhamet Hajrullahu was joined in the studio by:

Lirak Çelaj, national government coordinator for regional cooperation
Shenoll Muharremi, expert on European integration
Mimoza Kusari-Lila, Vice-President of AKR and an expert on the economy
Ylli Hoxha, Executive Director of the Club for Foreign Affairs

The first issue considered was Kosovo’s capacity to be represented as a country in recent conferences and summits in Balkan countries.

Mr Çelaj said that each summit and conference was a separate and unique event, so Kosovo had been represented in each one in a way agreed prior to the event.

He went on to talk about each event specifically, mentioning that, since most had been organised by the European Commission, there had been cases in which a compromise had to be reached between Kosovo and Serbia in terms of Kosovo’s representation.

Mr Çelaj added that Kosovo had nevertheless declared its support for strong regional cooperation, even with Serbia. When asked about Kosovo being represented at events as ‘Kosovo-UNMIK’, he said that he thinks it best to continue participating in summits, while still trying to change that status.


When Mrs Kusari-Lila was asked what more Kosovo could have done regarding regional political cooperation in recent summits and conferences, she said that she thought Kosovo had lost quite a few of its chances to represent itself as a regional actor as well as to increase the number of countries recognising the Republic of Kosovo.

She agreed with Mr Çelaj that Kosovo should participate in such events anyway, but said that Kosovo was not only represented officially as ‘Kosovo-UNMIK’, but has also been treated as such.

“All the backstage formalities have been such that Kosovo fits in with UNMIK, and Kosovo’s reality is such that it is highly dependent on the international body; both their presence in the country and their decision-making,” concluded Mrs Kusari-Lila.

Mr Hoxha, on the other hand, was more sceptical about Kosovo’s progress on European integration, compared to other countries in the region: “The last two years have been characterised by progress of countries in the region towards the EU, while Kosovo’s dealings with the EU have been characterised by stagnation… our neighbours have been granted visa liberalisation, but we have not.

[They] are very close to signing various agreements with the EU, but we don’t even have a contracting capacity with them.” Mr Hoxha continued by saying that such stagnation will be even more evident in the
coming months and years if Kosovo does not gain the capacity to make contracts, on the same level as other countries in the region.

Asked whether Kosovo could have done more about regional cooperation in the political context, Mr Muharremi said that Balkan states are holding each other back.

He went on to mention disagreements between countries at recent summits and conferences, which, he said, “show that the region is not doing well as far as regional cooperation goes; it is not at the necessary level…[for example] Serbia, by holding back Kosovo, is holding back the whole region”.

Mr Muharremi brought up the problem of Kosovo’s lack of suitable staff for representation, both now and as part of Yugoslavia: “the first problem is that we do not have representative capacities, and the second is that we lack a platform and a participation strategy.”

After denying that Kosovo lacks representative capacity, saying that Kosovo has always participated wherever it has received an invitation, Mr Çelaj argued that the topic of European integration is separate from that of regional cooperation.

He said that “regional cooperation is not only a precondition to EU integration, but also something that needs maintaining after integration. It remains a priority within the EU.

There are cases of other countries that are already part of the EU that continue to be devoted to regional cooperation.”

When talking about the way in which Kosovo has been represented, Mr Çelaj said: “we have been very pragmatic because we are aware that we need time to solve the problem [of Kosovo being represented as ‘Kosovo-UNMIK’].

This is not a problem that can be solved overnight.

In the meantime, however, we have not stopped negotiating with the international community to solve this and have tried not to let a vacuum develop from lack of participation. We have always thought that we should participate, even under UNIMIK representation, just to show our will to take part in such initiatives.”

Mr Muharremi agreed that only Kosovo would lose out if it did not participate.

Mr Çelaj declined to discuss the ‘mini-Schengen’ initiative for visa-free travel between Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro, because he did not consider himself appropriate to speak about it.

Mr Hoxha’s opinion was that the initiative contradicts the plans for European immigration because it weakens the borders that the EU would demand a strengthening of in order to progress towards integration.

Mrs Kusari-Lila also said that she thinks the mini-Schengen idea will not make the lives of Kosovo’s citizens better.

Mr Muharremi continued this theme of opposition, arguing that, without first establishing security inside Kosovo’s borders, getting rid of the borders would be dangerous and potentially elevate the crime level.

“We must first consolidate other aspects of security…and then begin to open up to other countries,” he concluded.

Mrs Kusari-Lila then claimed that the mini-Schengen initiative would be irrelevant for the economy, because moving towards the free trade of goods is what the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is for.

Discussing CEFTA, Mr Hoxha said that the existence of such an agreement is a result of a lack of political will and ideas for how to deal with the complicated problems that persist in the region.

He went on to say that “there is EU pressure for Kosovo not to respond in kind way to the obstructions Serbia and Bosnia impose upon us…This is an unprincipled position.”

In conclusion, Mr Muharremi said that the internal situation of a country is reflected in its relationship with its neighbours, so Kosovo must first consolidate itself as a country and create strategies for the goals it sets itself.

Mrs Kusari-Lila on the other hand said: “first, Kosovo’s institutions must be aware of Kosovo’s sovereignty and its status.

There is an apparent lack of confidence since the declaration of independence with respect to external developments, and a huge reliance on the international [community]. Kosovo’s people must be aware that Kosovo is independent and act in accordance with that.”

About the economy, Mrs Kusari-Lisa said that Kosovo needs to become competitive with other countries in the region.

Mr Hoxha’s concluding remark was that Kosovo must be devoted to international relations because it still faces stumbling blocks of the lack of legitimacy ascribed to it as a country, especially by the five EU members that have refused to recognise Kosovo’s independence.

Mr Çelaj, referring to Kosovo’s economic problems, concluded with his belief that the lack of investment in independent Kosovo is, at least in part, a result of the global economic crisis IPA funds analysis

The debate was followed by an analysis by Muhamet Hajrullahu on what the funds for Kosovo’s Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA).

The report highlighted that Prishtina municipality lost 14.5 million euros of IPA-related investment when the EU failed to implement a grant for a new youth sports centre in Prishtina.

Law Firms Reportage

A report by Genc Nimoni tackled the issue of work permission for Kosovo’s law firms. Nimoni spoke about how Prishtina’s municipal government has not required law firms operating there to apply for work permission, even though they are  required to do so by law.

Life in Kosovo is a co-production between Kosovo Public Television,  RTK and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN. It is  broadcast every Thursday, starting at 20:20.