EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 12.10.2022 SWD(2022) 334 final COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT KosovoFMT:Style

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This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence./FMT:FN 2022 Report Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2022 Communication on EU Enlargement policy {COM(2022) 528 final} - {SWD(2022) 332 final} - {SWD(2022) 333 final} - {SWD(2022) 335 final} - {SWD(2022) 336 final} - {SWD(2022) 337 final} - {SWD(2022) 338 final}



COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Kosovo 2022 Report Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2022 Communication on EU Enlargement policy









1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. CONTEXT 1.2. SUMMARY OF THE REPORT Cluster 1: The Fundamentals of the Accession Process 2.1.Functioning of democratic institutions and Public Administration Reform 2.1.1Democracy 2.1.2Public administration reform Chapter 23 - Judiciary and fundamental rights Chapter 24 - Justice, freedom and security 2.3. Economic development and competitiveness 2.3.1. The existence of a functioning market economy 2.3.2. The capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union 2.4. Public procurement, statistics and financial control

Chapter 5 - Public procurement Chapter 18 - Statistics Chapter 32 - Financial control 3. Good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation 4. Normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia 5. European standards Cluster 2: Internal Market Chapter 1 - Free movement of goods Chapter 2 - Freedom of movements for workers Chapter 3 - Right of establishment and freedom to provide services Chapter 4 - Free movement of capital Chapter 6 - Company law Chapter 7 - Intellectual property law Chapter 8 - Competition policy Chapter 9 - Financial services Chapter 28 - Consumer and Health Protection Cluster 3: Competitiveness and inclusive growth Chapter 10 – Digital transformation and media Chapter 16 - Taxation Chapter 17 - Economic and monetary policy

Chapter 19 - Social policy and employment Chapter 20 - Enterprise and industrial policy Chapter 25 - Science and research Chapter 26 - Education and culture Chapter 29 - Customs Union Cluster 4: The Green Agenda and sustainable connectivity Chapter 14 - Transport policy Chapter 15 - Energy Chapter 21 - Trans-European Networks Chapter 27 - Environment and climate change Cluster 5: Resources, agriculture and cohesion Chapter 11 - Agriculture and rural development Chapter 12 - Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy Chapter 13 - Fisheries Chapter 22 - Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments Cluster 6: External Relations Chapter 30 - External relations Annex I – Relations between the EU and Kosovo





1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. CONTEXT The EU-Kosovo Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) has been in force since April 2016. A second phase of the European Reform Agenda was adopted in October 2021 to further guide the implementation of EU-related reforms under the SAA framework. The authorities continued to demonstrate visibly their commitment to Kosovo’s European path. The Commission’s proposal to lift visa requirements for Kosovo citizens is still pending

in the Council. The Commission maintains its assessment from July 2018 that Kosovo

has fulfilled all visa liberalisation benchmarks. The European Parliament reconfirmed its support for the Commission’s proposal for visa liberalisation. The EU-facilitated dialogue on the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia

continued with meetings at leaders’ and chief negotiators’ level. The COVID-19 pandemic continued throughout the reporting period. The public health containment measures and other restrictions introduced to limit the severity of the pandemic were lifted in May 2022. During the reporting period, Kosovo adopted two fiscal packages in order to mitigate the severe economic and social impact of the

crisis. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began at the end of February 2022, Kosovo immediately condemned Russia’s war of aggression and expressed support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The government adopted several packages of restrictive measures against Russia and Belarus, mirroring the measures imposed by the EU and the United States. The government also responded to the refugee crisis, suspending its visa regime for citizens of Ukraine. Kosovo declared its readiness to accept up to 5 000 refugees and to host 20 Ukrainian journalists. 1.2. SUMMARY OF THE REPORT The reporting period overlapped with the first full year in office of the Vetëvendosje-led government. Kosovo enjoyed political stability, with the government holding a solid majority in the Assembly. The Assembly’s work continued to be negatively affected by a polarised political atmosphere and difficulties in achieving decision-making quorum, even though the government relies on a strong majority. This is partly due to poor management of the legislative agenda on the part of the majority but also because opposition members of the Assembly (MPs) abstained from voting to prevent legislation from being adopted. The 2021 municipal elections were overall well-organised, transparent and competitive. Kosovo’s electoral process still needs comprehensive strengthening to address long-standing weaknesses throughout the electoral cycle, as identified in successive EU election observation missions since 2014. The situation in the north of Kosovo remains challenging, in particular in terms of corruption,

organised crime, and the conditions for freedom of expression. There is some level of preparation in the area of public administration reform, but limited progress was made in this area. Notably, some key positive steps were taken by developing overarching strategies on public administration reform (PAR) and public finance management (PFM) for 2022-2026, adopting legislation to proceed with the first wave of streamlining of public agencies and launching the development of a new salary law. There has been little progress in implementing the existing legislative framework for public administration reform. Kosovo is still at an early stage in developing a well-functioning judicial system. While some progress was made, the overall administration of justice continues to be slow, inefficient and vulnerable to undue influence. Steps were taken to start implementing the rule of law strategy and action plan and to reform the legislative framework governing the prosecutorial system by amending the Law on the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council. Justice reform should be addressed first and foremost by improving the implementation of existing tools to safeguard the integrity, the independence and the efficiency of the judicial system. The government’s commitment to fully implement the Venice Commission’s Opinion on the concept document on vetting of judges and prosecutors, in close cooperation with the EU, is welcome. Kosovo is at an early stage / has some level of preparation in the fight against corruption.

During the reporting period, some progress was made with the adoption of significant anti-corruption legislation. There is a need to improve the implementation of the overall legal framework. Sustained efforts are needed to achieve more proactive investigations, final court decisions and final confiscation of assets. Despite the efforts already made, there is a need for strong political will to continue to effectively address systemic corruption risks and a robust criminal justice response to high-level corruption. Kosovo is at an early stage in the fight against organised crime and limited progress

was made in investigating and prosecuting organised crime cases. The powerful tools envisaged by the Criminal Code and the Law on Extended Powers of Confiscation are not yet fully utilised. A number of successful operations targeting organised crime took place, involving international and cross-border cooperation. Fighting organised crime in the north of Kosovo continues to be challenging. Some progress was made in the fight against terrorism and the fight against and prevention of violent extremism, in line with the objectives set out in the EU-Kosovo implementing arrangement for the Joint Action Plan on Counter-Terrorism for the Western Balkans. The Kosovo authorities need to be more effective in their efforts to combat money laundering and the applicable law should be brought in line with the EU acquis and international standards. The legal framework broadly guarantees the protection of human and fundamental rights in

line with European standards. Kosovo showed commitment to addressing gender inequality.

More needs to be done to effectively guarantee the rights of persons belonging to

minorities, including Roma and Ashkali and displaced persons, to ensure gender equality in

practice, and to advance the protection of cultural heritage. The lack of administrative instructions to implement the law on child protection hampers further progress in this area. As regards freedom of expression, Kosovo has some level of preparation and benefits from a pluralistic and lively media environment. However, concerns remain regarding public smear campaigns, threats and physical attacks on journalists. The lack of financial self-sustainability leaves the media, including the public broadcaster, vulnerable to political and business interests. The Kosovo authorities continued to make progress in managing migration. Migration governance and asylum should be further strengthened. Kosovo made some progress on the economic criteria, and is at an early stage

of developing a functioning market economy. The economy demonstrated resilience during the pandemic. Nevertheless, long-standing structural challenges, such as the widespread informal economy, the high prevalence of corruption and the overall weak rule of law, continue to hinder the private sector. While the fiscal rule has been suspended since 2020, the economic recovery as well as formalisation gains led to a strong increase in tax revenue and a low public deficit in 2021. Driven by surging commodity prices, inflation increased substantially. The financial sector remained stable, and lending continued to expand. Despite strong political opposition, the government took fiscally prudent positions regarding war veterans’ pensions and the Kosovo Pension Savings Trust.

Kosovo made limited progress and is at an early stage in terms of ability to cope with competitive pressure and market forces in the EU. Little progress was made on improving

the quality of education and addressing skill gaps in the labour market. Kosovo made some

progress in improving road infrastructure and increasing investment in renewables, but the

coal-based, outdated and unreliable energy supply remains a concern. Kosovo still lacks a long-term energy strategy. Kosovo made some progress in digitalising the economy. As regards good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation, Kosovo continued to

participate in most regional fora. Kosovo maintained overall good relations with Albania,

Montenegro and North Macedonia. There has been no change in Kosovo’s formal relations

with Bosnia and Herzegovina, which does not recognise Kosovo’s independence and the two

maintain a strict visa regime. The EU-facilitated Dialogue on the normalisation of relations with Serbia continued with regular monthly meetings on the level of Chief Negotiators and a High-level meeting on 18 August 2022. The Parties adopted an Energy Agreements’ Implementation Roadmap in June 2022 and agreed on travel with only identity cards between Kosovo and Serbia in August 2022. Kosovo needs to engage more constructively and make further substantial efforts on the implementation of all past agreements and contribute to reaching a comprehensive legally binding normalisation agreement with Serbia. Such an agreement is urgent and crucial to enable Kosovo and Serbia to advance on their respective European paths. During the reporting period some progress was made in aligning with European standards in the area of statistics and financial control, while limited progress was achieved in aligning with European standards in the areas of public procurement. In most of the areas related to the internal market, Kosovo has some level of preparation, including on competition. During the reporting period, Kosovo made some progress in all areas, except on consumer policy and health protection, where only limited progress was made. Kosovo made some progress in the areas of competitiveness and inclusive growth (customs, taxation, economic and monetary policy, digital transformation and media, enterprise and industrial policy, social policy and employment, education and culture) and limited progress in the area of research. On the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans and sustainable connectivity, Kosovo made some progress in the area of transport and limited progress in the areas of energy, environment and climate change. In the field of resources and agriculture, Kosovo made some progress on food safety, veterinary policy and phytosanitary policy, but only limited progress on agriculture. On external relations and trade policy, Kosovo made limited progress during the reporting period and is at an early stage of preparation. Kosovo has not yet ratified the Central European Free Trade Agreement’s additional protocols on trade facilitation and trade in services. Kosovo introduced export restrictions on a number of agricultural food products without justifications or prior consultation with the Commission. Overall, Kosovo needs to improve its administrative capacity and coordination, across all sectors, to achieve effective implementation of the EU acquis. Cluster 1: The Fundamentals of the Accession Process 2.1. Functioning of democratic institutions and Public Administration Reform 2.1.1 Democracy The reporting period overlapped with the first full year in office of the Vetëvendosje-led government. Kosovo enjoyed political stability, with the government holding a solid majority in the Assembly. This political enviroment has been conducive to Kosovo stepping up its efforts to strenghten democracy and the rule of law, to fight corruption and to intensify legislative activities, including on EU-related reforms. Opposition parties generally remained actively engaged in the Assembly, and on some occasions supported key EU-related legislation. However, a frequent lack of quorum in the Assembly and boycotts by opposition parties caused delays in adopting key laws. In autumn 2021 Kosovo held regular local elections. Despite shortcomings, the elections were overall well-administered and transparent. They were also competitive, except in Kosovo Serb areas. Women remain under-represented at all levels of participation and decision-making: in political parties, electoral administration, as well as central and local assemblies. Elections The 2021 municipal elections were overall well-organised, transparent and competitive. The campaign was vibrant, and a plurality of contestants offered voters a real choice, with the exception of the Kosovo-Serb municipalities, where political competition was limited. The very low number of women in mayoral races reflects low female political participation in Kosovo. Kosovo should address long-standing weaknesses, as identified by successive EU election observation missions since 2014. Kosovo should implement all the recommendations, in particular regarding procedural shortcomings and disproportionate restrictions that contradict international standards. The Assembly established an ad hoc committee to address these recommendations. Key recommendations should be implemented well in advance of the next elections. The new electoral legislation should contain safeguards that limit political interference in the electoral process. Kosovo held regular mayoral and municipal assembly elections on 17 October 2021 in all 38 municipalities, and 21 mayoral election run-offs on 14 November 2021. Elections were assessed by observers as well-administered and competitive, while the election campaign was peaceful. Vote counting and the tabulation of results were assessed as transparent, yet the process was lengthy and marred by significant weaknesses. In the first round, 17 out of 38 mayors were elected. The run-off mayoral elections took place four weeks later in the remaining 21 municipalities, including in the two biggest cities, Pristina and Prizren. Voter turnout in the first round was 42.72%, and 37.08% in the runoffs. Out of 14 women mayoral candidates, only two were placed in their party’s electoral strongholds and both were elected. A total of 1 937 women (37%) stood for municipal assembly seats, in accordance with the 30% gender quota for including women on electoral lists, and 36 of them (12%) headed lists. Few political parties exceeded the 30% gender quota, and therefore did not meet the 50% target for representation foreseen in the Law on Gender Equality.

The legal framework for elections remains unchanged since 2010. Kosovo should address all shortcomings and contradictory provisions in the law. Almost all recommendations offered by previous EU electoral observation missions remain unaddressed, mainly due to the frequency of early parliamentary elections. Political parties need to deliver on their commitment and to actively participate in the ad hoc committee to address all recommendations from successive EU observation and expert missions in a comprehensive and transparent manner. Political parties need to seriously address the issue of gender inequality in their programmes and statutes, and to take affirmative action to overcome the obstacles that limit women’s participation in political life. Kosovo needs to harmonise verification mechanisms for and restrictions on candidates with criminal records in line with international standards. The Assembly adopted the Law on Political Party Financing and Campaign Financing. Parliament The Assembly’s work continued to be negatively affected by a polarised political atmosphere and a lack of decision-making quorum, despite the fact that the government relies on a solid majority of 67 seats (out of 120). The Assembly increased the use of fast track/accelerated procedures for adoption of key legislation. Efforts are needed to strengthen the role of the Assembly as a forum for constructive political dialogue and consensus-building, particularly regarding the EU reform agenda. The Assembly adopted new rules of procedure. The Assembly still needs to improve its internal management, adopt an annual work plan, swiftly move from a show-of-hand system to electronic voting and strengthen its oversight function. The Assembly remained the main forum for political dialogue between the ruling majority, opposition and non-majority communities. However, inflammatory language against political opponents continued to be used in debates. The majority and the opposition need to improve political dialogue and work together to further advance the EU reform agenda and build consensus around major reforms. Due to the local elections in the autumn of 2021, the Assembly’s work slowed down as MPs engaged in the electoral campaign. Frequent absences of members of the Assembly Presidency in meetings, the non-participation of Srpska Lista, and later the resignation of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Vice-President upon his election as mayor of Mitrovicë/a, made it frequently impossible for the Assembly Presidency to reach a quorum to hold meetings. Regarding the Assembly’s legislative role, it often lacked a decision-making quorum, partly due to poor management of the legislative agenda on the part of the majority but also because opposition members of the Assembly (MPs) abstained from voting in order to prevent the adoption of legislation. As a result, agenda items were delayed for months. During the reporting period, the Assembly approved 77 laws, 27 of which related to the ratification of international agreements. A total of 21 laws, including the Law on Budget 2022 and the Law on Mid-year 2022 Budget Review were approved by accelerated procedure, thereby deviating from the deadlines provided by the rules of procedure. With regard to EU-related reforms, the Assembly adopted a number of significant pieces of legislation, amongst others the law on asset declarations and on political party financing. The Assembly plenary debated regular annual reports of independent bodies. The Assembly should support the work of the independent regulators and institutions more systemically, by appointing their board members in a timely manner and ensuring regular monitoring of the implementation of the recommendations provided by committees. The Assembly has no annual work plan. The Assembly needs to improve the planning and coordination of its work to ensure a more predictable law-making process and attendance of MPs and ministers. For over a year the Assembly has not reinstated the electronic voting technology and continued using a show-of-hand voting system, which on many occasions led to incorrect voting results. More importantly, under the show-of-hands voting system the Assembly does not publish the voting records of MPs, which undermines transparency and accountability to the public. There were efforts to improve parliamentary oversight of all government branches; yet, effective control remains weak. The Assembly exercised its oversight of the executive through sessions for parliamentary questions, ministerial hearings by committees, and monitoring of implementation of laws. The Assembly has to exercise all available tools to hold the government and other institutions to account. Governance During the reporting period, Kosovo enjoyed political and institutional stability, which provided a conductive environment and opportunities to implement EU-related reforms and adopt overdue legislation. In this context, some progress was made in adopting and implementing EU-related reforms. Kosovo adopted the National Programme for the Implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (NIPSAA) and the European Reform Agenda (ERA) II Action Plan. Kosovo has strenghtened its capacity to coordinate the implementation of commitments and obligations arising out of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and ERA II, and has improved reporting mechanisms. To pursue reforms more effectively, it is essential that the government builds on existing achievements, ensures cross-party support for reforms, and decentralises the decision-making process by delegating more responsabilities to the line ministries. Kosovo should use the period without any regular elections to fulfil its obligations under the SAA and ERA II. In August 2021, the government adopted an Action Plan to implement the second phase of the ERA, which was subsequently endorsed by the Assembly in October 2021. In March 2022, the government approved the NIPSAA for the period 2022-2026, which was endorsed by the Assembly in April 2022. During the reporting period, the government made efforts to further strengthen the inter-institutional coordination of EU-related affairs. The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) coordinates and monitors the EU integration process through the First Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Dialogue and Development, as the highest-level political appointee in charge of this process, and the Office of Coordination of the Stabilisation and Association process. Although inter-institutional coordination structures for the European integration process are in place, coordination between line Ministries faces challenges. In early 2022, Kosovo prepared a detailed calendar of activities relating to the implementation of SAA and ERA II to set a clear timeline to fulfil the commitments. More efforts are expected to increase the trust, and in turn, to strengthen coordination between the political and technical-level staff. Coordination, planning and monitoring of donor assistance, as well as project preparation, needs to be further strengthened for Kosovo to benefit from opportunities under the Instrument for pre-Accession and the EU Economic and Investment Plan. As regards local government, disparities between municipalities in their performance and delivery of services continued. Kosovo legislated for the decentralisation of a set of social welfare and social protection competences, but municipalities have still not received funding for the implementation of these services. Moreover, municipalities have a very low own-source revenue base and there is room for improved collection of property taxes in particular. Municipal fiscal autonomy and accountability could also be improved with increasing the size of the general grant or introducing revenue-sharing mechanisms. In terms of governance, municipal assemblies do not play a strong oversight function over the municipal executive. Civil society Overall, civil society continues to operate in an enabling environment. Cooperation with the government needs to improve further through a higher level of engagement and transparency. Efforts remain necessary to enhance the transparency of public funding for civil society organisations (CSOs), as well as to ensure that legal requirements stemming from the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing do not put undue limitations on the financial viability of low-risk CSOs.

An empowered civil society is a key component of any democratic system and continues to be recognised as such by public institutions. Civil society in Kosovo continues to foster democracy and pluralism, participating in decision making processes, monitoring policies and promoting good governance and social progress. They also actively contribute to the design, implementation and monitoring of EU-related reforms, and regularly participate in the policy dialogue platfom foreseen by the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). Civil society organisations are generally free to exercise their rights of association, assembly and to critically express their views without undue pressure from public authorities, including those promoting civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Limited progress has been achieved with the implementation of the strategy for cooperation with civil society 2019-2023. The Government Council for Cooperation with Civil Society met only once in 2021. The work of the Council needs to become more effective and accessible, including through the regular publication of key activities. Public consultations are organised by central-level institutions. The online platform the government uses for this purpose has been improved with features allowing visualisation of key statistics. At municipal level, the number of online consultations has slightly increased but it remains significantly lower than those organised at a central level by relevant ministries. Public participation in the legislative process is still limited and inputs provided by civil society are not systematically reflected in public consultation reports. Public funding for non-profit organisations is reported annually and made publicly accessible through an online database. The government appointed public funds coordinators in each public central institution with the aim of boosting the effectiveness of the process. The regulation on public funding to NGOs requires regular monitoring and follow up by the Ministry of Finance. The existing platform for public financing of CSOs has been upgraded, but public officials have limited capacity to implement public calls. A technical working group was created to review the current regulation. An updated sectoral risk assessment of the civil society sector remains necessary in order to allow for a flexible approach to lower-risk CSOs. No progress was noted regarding the implementation of the 2019 Law on Freedom of Association that would ease organisations’ registration process. The environment for volunteering needs to be improved, including by putting in place an appropriate legislative framework, aligned with international standards, as well as allocating financial and human resources for youth volunteering programmes. 2.1.2 Public administration reform Kosovo remains at some level of preparation and made limited progress in public administration reform (PAR). Notably, some key positive steps were taken by developing overarching strategies on PAR and public finance management (PFM) 2022-2026, while maintaining the implementation of PFM strategy on track, adopting the law on the first wave of streamlining of agencies and launching the development of a draft salary law that needs to be finalised and adopted. While the legislative framework on various aspects of PAR is partially in place, progress is lacking as regards implementation. Following the 2019 rulings of the Constitutional Court, ongoing amendments to the Law on Public Officials need to be aligned with PAR principles prior to adoption. The delay in implementing the Law on Public Officials has undermined the organisation of centralised recruitments. The finalisation of job classifications and the systematisation of positions have been slow, and this has created significant discrepancies in administrative capacity. Insufficient implementation of the Law on the Organisation and Functioning of the State Administration and Independent Agencies (LOFSAIA) has led to an unsatisfactory level of improvement in the administration’s performance and accountability. The process of streamlining agencies has been delayed and, to be successful, needs clearer leadership and strengthened capacities to ensure the delivery of quality results. Strengthening capacities in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to ensure effective implementation of the Law on General Administrative Procedures, is also required. As last year’s recommendations have not been sufficiently implemented, they remain broadly valid. In the coming year, Kosovo should in particular: ®improve the functioning of the civil service by expediting the implementation of the Law on Public Officials in line with the relevant Constitutional Court ruling and with PAR principles, while organising centralised recruitments; ®develop a coherent wage scheme in line with the principles of merit, fairness and equal treatment in the civil service, while finalising the internal organisation of the ministries, by putting in place job classifications and job systematisation in the civil service, which are enabling conditions for a coherent wage scheme; ®improve the legal certainty and reduce the administrative burden of the public administration towards businesses and citizens, by implementing the Administrative Prevention and Burden Reduction Programme and the Law on General Administrative Procedures; ®improve accountability in the public sector by: (1) effectively implementing the Law on Organisation and Functioning of the State Administration and Independent Agencies and (2) expediting the ongoing streamlining of agencies by setting up a steering body and adopting a revised action plan for rationalisation. Strategic framework for public administration reform A new overarching public administration reform (PAR) strategy is under preparation, merging the previous public administration reform strategies on modernisation of the public administration, on policy planning and coordination and on better regulation into one umbrella framework. The Public Administration Modernisation Strategy 2015-2020 expired, but its action plan continued to be implemented in 2021 with an improved but still relatively low implementation rate (37%) in the reporting period. A new monitoring platform is being prepared, to enhance implementation of the strategic indicators and targets and to provide transparent information on progress to the public. Monitoring of reforms has not been systematic as PAR and public finance management (PFM) annual and bi-annual reports for the year 2021 have not been approved. The Ministerial Council on PAR is in charge of internal coordination of the PAR strategic framework at the political level, but more political support is needed in order to make this a functioning body and provide regular monitoring and reporting on PAR. At the technical level, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is in the lead, but its limited capacities prevent it from effectively supervising and leading PAR. A functional analysis of the Ministry has been prepared to serve as a basis for a regulation on its organisational structure. Policy development and coordination As regards policy-making, Kosovo made some progress on further building some foundations for strategic planning. It developed a strategic management framework that, once implemented, should (i) provide a clear hierarchy of objectives; (ii) improve performance measurement with clear targets linked to the medium-term policy planning and budgeting framework and increase managerial accountability. The National Development Strategy 2022-2030 (NDS) is still being developed. Maintaining the hierarchy between priorities of this strategy and sectoral ones requires political support across line ministries. Budgeting and policy planning need to be better integrated, by linking overall policy planning and sectoral strategies’ objectives and medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and budget documents. The capacities of the Strategic Planning Office, under the Office of the Prime Minister, responsible for overall coordination of planning, monitoring and reporting and for regulatory impact assessments, need to be further strengthened. Limited progress was made in further strengthening inclusive and evidence-based policy and legislative development. Upgraded administrative capacities are needed, in the Office of the Prime Minister, to ensure quality control of regulatory and budget impact assessments and of public consultations. The capacity of line ministries also needs to improve in order to increase the use of these tools for policy making and to make the conduct of public consultation and regulatory impact assessments more effective. Public consultations on various draft legislation are organised very late in the process and inputs provided by civil society are not systematically reflected. The government should ensure that the legislative process complies with principles and standards on legislative drafting, including by systematically issuing concept documents as a basis for reform. Public finance management

A new public finance management (PFM) reform strategy (2022-2026), including public procurement and public internal financial control, has been drafted but not yet adopted. Reporting on the 2021 transitional action plan was delayed. Despite the negative effects of the pandemic, the implementation rate of the 2017-2021 PFM strategy has remained on track, maintaining the pace of reform albeit better in some areas than others. Building on this, the focus now needs to be on two main elements: strengthening fiscal discipline, notably by improving revenue collection and tax compliance in line with international standards as well as improving the accuracy and credibility of budget planning and execution annually and in the medium-term. Improving public investment management will be key in this respect as well as ensuring coherence between the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and the national development strategy (NDS) 2030, as well as between the MTEF and sectoral strategies. Overall, the Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers should improve ownership of the new PFM strategy and new organic public finance management law, not least as they affect the implementation of the Economic Reform Programme for 2022-2024. In the area of public procurement, expansion of the e-procurement modules progressed and increased linkages between this system and the Kosovan financial management information system support commitment control and proper budget implementation. As regards budget transparency, citizen-friendly budgets continued to be published but updated information on budget implementation is no longer available on the fiscal transparency portal. (See also chapters on public procurement, taxation, customs and financial control) Public service and human resource management The Law on Public Officials (LPO), adopted in 2020, determines the scope of the civil service and the legal basis for merit-based recruitment, promotion and dismissal. However, the Constitutional Court ruled in 2019 that the current LPO was partly unconstitutional. The draft amendments to the law are broader than requested in the ruling, and need to be aligned with merit principles prior to adoption. Irrespective of such amendments, implementation of the current LPO, has been seriously delayed, causing various constraints and gaps in administrative capacities across the public administration. This is due to the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ (MIA) poor ability to steer those processes and organise centralised recruitment for entry positions. An annual recruitment plan has yet to be adopted. The MIA is in charge of implementing the human resources management (HRM) policy throughout the public administration, but its capacities are insufficient to effectively steer public administration reform. Each institution, at both central and local level, has human resources management units, but capacities need to be upgraded. While an information system for human resources management (HRMIS) is functional, but relevant civil service data is lacking, which hampers reporting on the implementation of LPO and coordination of HRM between central and local level and it reduces public transparency. The functioning of the Independent Body for Oversight and Civil Service needs to be ensured, and its capacities improved to better monitor and supervise efficiently civil service procedures and deal with appeals. Kosovo should strengthen the human resource management system by improving job classification and standardisation of positions and by creating an interconnection with the electronic payroll system. Compliance of appointments and dismissals of civil servants with the formal procedures laid down in the LPO still needs to be improved and a consistent rule-based system of selection and merit–based recruitment must be ensured in practice. The representation of non- majority communities in the central administration, as well as the number of women in senior positions, remains insufficient. The legal basis of the remuneration system remains fragmented, resulting in a system that fails to ensure the principles of transparency, merit and equal treatment. Such fragmentation contributes to significant differences in the basic salary for equal positions in public institutions. Following the ruling of the Constitutional Court, a new draft Law on Salaries is currently being developed and should address unfair salary structures, abuse of allowances and discretionary decision-making. However, before adopting a new wage scheme, key reforms on civil service and human resource management need to be done in parallel, in order to ensure a fair and transparent system of equal pay for equal qualifications in the civil service. Those reforms entail finalising the internal organisation of ministries, including definition of job classifications in line with the Law on Public officials and finalising job systematisation. The situation is aggravated by the lack of data, such as an official analysis of civil service salaries. There is no systematic approach to the professional development of civil servants. The Kosovo Institute for Public Administration, which provides training for civil servants, is largely dependent on donor support. The LPO lays down rules and criteria for the development of civil servants, including performance appraisal, mobility and promotion. However, those provisions are not implemented in practice and an effective performance management system still needs to be put in place. Integrity plans to promote integrity in the public service exist, but implementation remains limited. Implementation of the Law on protection of whistle-blowers has started and related crucial secondary legislation developed. However, whistle‑blowing mechanisms and protection requirements still need to be strengthened and effectively implemented. Reports on disciplinary measures against civil servants are published regularly. (See section on the fight against corruption) Accountability of the administration The Law on the organisation and functioning of state administration and independent agencies (LOFSAIA), covering performance and accountability, is not sufficiently implemented. The rationalisation process is delayed because the review of agencies was not done by the end of the transitional period provided for in the law. Generally, reviews of restructuring agencies and establishing new ones, in line with LOFSAIA standards, remain limited due to the weak capacities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to control the quality of these processes. Although the Assembly adopted the Law on the first wave of rationalisation in agencies, there is no strategic and comprehensive approach to steer and monitor the delivery of quality results. Consequently, the lines of accountability in public administration remain blurred, with too many independent agencies sharing executive functions and reporting to the Assembly and many subordinated agencies reporting, inefficiently, to line ministries. The government should take forward the rationalisation process more strategically, by reviewing the action plan on rationalisation of agencies, setting up an inter-governmental working body to steer and upgrade oversight capacities to monitor the process and by providing more guidance - developing the related LOFSAIA methodological framework - to line ministries. In addition, reforming delegation chains in the civil service is key to establishing a system in line with principles of managerial accountability: Rules are needed on the financial and administrative aspects of delegating managerial responsibilities, and middle and high-level managers need to be empowered to take decisions (See Chapter 32). Public scrutiny of the work of government is still limited. The Assembly’s oversight of the government must be strengthened, and a more systematic review of the Assembly’s bills by the government must be put in place. Efficient implementation of the Law on access to public documents remains a challenge. Despite the appointment of a new Commissioner for Information and Privacy, he does not have enough supervisory powers to ensure an independent appeal mechanism if public bodies deny or ignore requests. Public bodies continue to not proactively disclose, on their websites, annual plans, reports, budgets and financial plans. The Kosovo National Audit Office and the Ombudsperson are the key institutions ensuring citizens’ right to good administration. However, their recommendations are not always efficiently implemented by public bodies. The judiciary needs to increase its efficiency in handling administrative disputes to ensure citizens’ rights and access to administrative justice. The Basic Court of Pristina still struggles with a large backlog of administrative cases, with many incoming minor offence cases. Fragmented legislation affects the liability of public authorities in cases of wrongdoing and the right to seek compensation. Service delivery to citizen and businesses The government has been addressing reforms in this area in a piecemeal manner, through progress in individual institutions, rather than comprehensively transforming service delivery. Implementation of the Law on general administrative procedures has been slow. The Administrative Burden Prevention and Reduction Programme 2022-2027, still to be adopted, aims to provide a more comprehensive approach, by both reducing administrative requirements for permits and licenses, by means of legislative simplification and digitalisation, and ensuring better compliance with the Law on General Administrative Procedures (LGAP). Services are also available to citizens and businesses through the e-Kosova digital portal, but this does not address issues with over-the-counter service delivery. Data quality and reliability remain a challenge; the Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible institution for service delivery but lacks a specialised unit to manage and monitor public service delivery policy. Service delivery to groups in socially vulnerable situations, including persons with disabilities, remains inefficient. Chapter 23 - Judiciary and fundamental rights The EU’s founding values include the rule of law and respect for human rights. An effective (independent, high-quality and efficient) judicial system and an effective fight against corruption are of paramount importance, as is the respect for fundamental rights in law and in practice. Kosovo is at an early stage in/has some level of preparation for applying the EU acquis and the European standards in the area of the judiciary and fundamental rights. Limited progress was made, including some progress on the functioning of the judiciary and on investigation and prosecution in certain organised crime and high-level corruption cases. The capacity of the judiciary and prosecution, including for handling cases in a timely manner, remains weak. On fundamental rights, the government needs to: (i) ensure oversight of the legislation’s implementation; (ii) streamline strategies; and (iii) better coordinate policies. Functioning of the judiciary Kosovo is at an early stage in developing a well-functioning judicial system. The overall administration of justice continues to be slow, inefficient and vulnerable to undue influence. During the reporting period, some progress was achieved. Steps were taken to start implementing the rule of law strategy and action plan and initiating the reform of the legislative framework governing the prosecutorial system by amending the Law on the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council. Kosovo completed the roll-out of an electronic Case Management Information System across all courts and prosecution offices and continued to strengthen the central criminal records system, although challenges remain. Kosovo made efforts to implement the Law on Mediation. The Kosovo Judicial Council adopted a protocol to ensure a more effective and efficient implementation of mediation services, and each prosecution office throughout Kosovo has officials handling mediation cases. The government has adopted a concept document setting out its proposal to carry out a comprehensive vetting of judges and prosecutors. A comprehensive approach to justice reform, which is based on a holistic view of the gaps and weaknesses of the judicial system, is necessary to ensure long-term impact. Justice reform should be addressed first and foremost by improving the implementation of existing tools to safeguard the integrity, the independence and the efficiency of the judicial system, including through appropriate legislative changes. These mechanisms include, among other things, an asset-declaration system, disciplinary procedures and consistent performance evaluation, in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission Opinion of 17 June 2022 on the concept document on vetting and relevant European standards. The government has stated its commitment to follow the Venice Commission’s recommendations on justice reform and to cooperate with the EU.

In the coming year, Kosovo should in particular: ®improve the integrity and professionalism in the judicial system by improving the existing tools (asset declaration system, disciplinary proceedings, performance evaluations and integrity checks limited to high judicial institutions), including through appropriate legislative changes. Ensure that any justice reform is carried out in line with relevant Venice Commission recommendations and European standards. ®continue to effectively implement the rule of law strategy and action plan without delay, by means of a regular and structured process that includes proper inter-institutional coordination; ®step up efforts to reduce the backlog of cases based on a revised plan supported by a digitalisation strategy; to that end, ensure the systemic use of the Case Management Information System by judges, prosecutors and support staff for automatic case assignment, and further promote and properly finance the use of alternative dispute resolution tools, such as mediation, supported by a monitoring and evaluation system to follow up on the impact of mediation services. Ensure reliable statistical data, in line with the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) methodology. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the functioning of rule of law institutions and overall performance of the judicial system. There is a need to improve the overall use of digital technologies and adopt necessary legal amendments to facilitate remote court hearings. Efforts were undertaken to address the issue of criminal trials affected by the three-month rule, according to which a trial has to re-start after three months pass without any hearing. This affected prominent corruption and organised crime cases. As the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) does not address this matter, the uncertainty should be urgently addressed. Strategic documents The functional review of the rule of law sector led to a rule of law strategy and action plan, which were adopted by the government in August 2021. The Strategy sets out specific measures that aim to increase the integrity and performance of anti-corruption mechanisms in Kosovo, strengthening the judiciary and prosecution, improving access to justice for all, protecting human rights, ensuring gender equality and reforming the Ministry of Justice to increase its capacities to implement the EU acquis and European standards. While implementation is ongoing, actions already taken under the Strategy include the establishment and bringing into operation of the Commercial Court, the adoption of amendments to the Law on the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, the adoption of laws in the field of anti-corruption, the advancement of the performance evaluation systems within the Kosovo Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils and Council strategic plans. The Strategy calls for the setting-up of a Steering Committee and an inter-institutional body to monitor its implementation, which includes the involvement of both Councils. The Steering Committee, including judicial system stakeholders and civil society, has been set-up, but it needs to ensure consistent monitoring and tracking of progress in implementing the measures set out in the Strategy. In April 2022, the President set up the Council for Democracy and Human Rights, with the Rule of Law Strategy as one of its key components. This high-level coordination forum aims to serve as another layer of oversight and to support the implementation of the Strategy. The Kosovo Prosecutorial and Judicial Councils regularly update strategic plans setting the objectives for the judiciary and prosecution system. Both Councils adopted annual action plans. During the reporting period, the Judicial Council adopted a strategic plan for the efficient solving of cases of corruption and organised crime, a communication strategy for 2022-2024 as well as the Strategic Plan for Access to Justice for 2022-2025. However, these plans do not always contain clear links to the respective strategies. The implementation of the strategies should be effectively monitored. While both Councils initiated coordination with donors and international partners, the Kosovo institutions should set up an effective central mechanism to ensure proper donor coordinationto avoid inefficiencies, inconsistencies and duplication of efforts. Management bodies The Kosovo Judicial and the Prosecutorial Councils are the main bodies responsible for ensuring the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and for managing the judicial system and careers of judges and prosecutors. Their composition and appointment procedures are broadly in line with European standards. In March 2022, the government adopted amendments to the Law on Kosovo Prosecutorial Council with the aim of reducing a trend of corporatism within the Council. These amendments, inter alia, reform the composition of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council by reducing the number of members (from 13 to 7) and changing the balance between the three lay members (appointed by the Assembly) and ten prosecutorial members (elected by their peers) – thus reducing the number of prosecutors to four, including the Chief State Prosecutor. The Venice Commission issued two opinions on these amendments, in December 2021 and March 2022. The second opinion assessed that the revised draft addresses the key issues identified in the December opinion, and provided further recommendations to finalise the draft amendments. The Assembly has addressed the additional Venice Commission recommendations and adopted the amendments in June 2022. A number of MPs submitted the adopted amendments for review by the Constitutional Court. There is a consistent delay from the Assembly of Kosovo in appointing the members of the Councils. The Assembly should regularly ensure the full constitution of both Councils, without any delay. The budget allocated to both Councils was decreased for 2022, compared to 2021. This has further limited the number of positions of professional support staff for courts and prosecution offices. The Councils should make use of statistics made available to the public for policy analysis and development. Since 2017, Kosovo Serb judges and prosecutors are formally integrated in the judicial system. While the integration was a success overall, Kosovo consistently fails to ensure implementation of the provisions on the composition of panels for cases coming from Serb-majority municipalities, especially in the Court of Appeal. Kosovo must also ensure that judicial proceedings can be accessed in all official languages across Kosovo, in line with the Constitution. Immediate action is necessary to address the issue of lack of qualified translators, also to reduce the backlog of cases. Access to judgments and decisions rendered by the Serbian courts in Kosovo between 1999 and up until the integration of Serbian judges in October 2017 remains problematic. More importantly, Kosovo has not yet implemented the agreement providing for the recognition of such judgements and decisions. According to the Constitution of Kosovo, judges may not become involved in any political activity. The same principle is reflected in the Law on Courts and the Code of Ethics of judges. In April, the Kosovo Judicial Council imposed a disciplinary sanction on the President of the Mitrovica Basic Court for participating in a meeting with the President of Serbia, which it considered a political activity. Independence and impartiality The Constitution and the legal framework provide for clear safeguards for the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. Continuous efforts are necessary to ensure this in practice and effectively shield the judicial system from undue pressure and interference. The Councils should promptly react in all cases of alleged political interference in the prosecution and the judiciary. The regulatory framework provides for the random allocation of cases through a case management information system. In practice, a significant number of cases remain manually assigned, especially when a judge is unavailable, which is a concern. Any deviation from the random allocation of cases needs to be explicitly justified and transparently documented. High profile and sensitive cases are not always processed in a timely manner. During the reporting period, there was one request for close protection made by prosecutors, which was granted. There was no request for close protection made by judges. Accountability While codes of ethics are in place for judges, prosecutors and attorneys, continuous efforts and awareness raising are necessary to ensure their effective implementation. The Kosovo Judicial Council has established an Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics. Both Councils continue to conduct disciplinary procedures against judges and prosecutors. There is a slight shift towards imposing less lenient disciplinary sanctions, compared to previous years. The number of imposed suspensions and demotions for judges and prosecutors is higher. The Councils should ensure strict and efficient proceedings in full compliance with the applicable legislation and the necessary procedural safeguards. While there are efforts in ensuring proper implementation of the legal framework regarding disciplinary proceedings, more willingness, diligence and work are needed to ensure consistent and effective application of disciplinary proceedings against judges and prosecutors. During the reporting period, the Kosovo Judicial Council established an electronic database to register all complaints and requests for initiation of disciplinary investigations as required by law. Judges and prosecutors are obliged by law to declare their assets and gifts received, and to report any possible conflict of interest to the Anti-Corruption Agency. In 2021, one prosecutor and two judges failed to submit the asset declaration within the deadline of annual regular declaration.

The Kosovo government continued work on setting up a vetting system of the judiciary, in particular by adopting a concept document on vetting. The Venice Commission adopted, at its plenary session of 17-18th June 2022, an Opinion on this concept document. While the Venice Commission acknowledges the challenges facing the current judicial system, it concluded that the time is not ripe for the introduction of a large-scale vetting of all judges and prosecutors since “an important part of the problem is related to inefficient application of and gaps in the legislation on existing bodies”. Kosovo should fully align with the Venice Commission recommendations by first exploring other avenues, including through legislative changes, such as ensuring a proper legal and regulatory basis for verification units within the Councils, making a more active use of asset declarations of judges and prosecutors, ensuring that irregularities in the asset declarations trigger disciplinary action and the set-up of integrity checks for high-level judicial institutions (in particular the Councils). Such concrete measures would represent an effective way to strengthen independence and accountability of the judicial system through legislative changes. Continued dialogue with the Venice Commission and the European Commission on the next stages of designing and implementing the envisaged justice reform should be ensured. Consultations with all relevant stakeholders, including the Councils, should continue. Finally, any reform aimed at improving the quality and independence of the system should not further deteriorate the efficiency of the judicial system. Professionalism and competence The Councils independently organise recruitment processes for judges and prosecutors on the basis of merit-based criteria, after which successful candidates are appointed by the President for an initial three-year term. During the reporting period, the Kosovo Judicial Council initiated the recruitment process for 54 new judges, among which eight positions for the Serb community in Kosovo. The President decreed 48 judges, out of which three are Kosovo Serb and one is Bosnian. The recruitment process was conducted in accordance with the legislative framework. The Kosovo Judicial Council has appointed the President of the Court of Appeals and the Basic Courts of Prizren and Gjilan. The Kosovo Judicial Council recruited a significant number of legal associates to support the work in the Basic Courts . In addition, the Council is in the process of certifying judicial experts. Any initiative in this regard should be properly coordinated amongst the relevant institutions. The Kosovo Prosecutorial Council conducted the selection of the new Chief State Prosecutor as the term of office of the previous one expired in April. The EU, other international actors including the USA and German embassies in Kosovo, and civil society, publicly expressed disappointment over lack of fairness, transparency and merit principles in the process carried out by the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council. During the reporting period, the Council initiated the recruitment process for 16 new prosecutors, which resulted in 7 candidates being decreed by the the President. The process of appointment and reappointment after the initial term of office of judges and prosecutors must fully respect the principle of independent functioning of the judiciary and prosecution system, in line with the Constitution. The Councils are required to carry out performance evaluations of prosecutors and judges with a permanent mandate every 3 years. While both Councils have revised the regulatory framework governing the performance evaluation of judges and prosecutors in the previous years, the impact is yet to be seen. Councils must ensure rightful and objective application of these regulations, leading to performance evaluations based on clear criteria and indicators. Quality of justice The Academy of Justice is responsible for delivering initial and in‑service training for all legal professionals. In response to the pandemic, the Academy continued to provide online training. Since July 2021, the Academy has allowed participation to hybrid-type trainings. The curriculum for initial training is being revised. A new approach of trainings, supported by an EU-funded project, was adopted in November 2021 and is now implemented, in line with the requirements of the Rule of Law Strategy. Further in‑service training is needed as regards ethics and integrity and professional skills, in particular in the field of management and administration. Oversight and reporting lines of the Academy should be strengthened in line with European best practices. Overall, the level of professionalism and competence, especially of prosecutors, remains a matter of concern, despite efforts to increase the available training. On jurisprudence, some progress has been made regarding the legal obligation for all courts to publish their judgments on an accessible and searchable web portal within 60 days, in all official languages. While there are improvements in the publication of judgments, timely and consistent publication has to be ensured. The prosecution offices publish relevant information on indictments on the website of the State Prosecutor within 24 hours. The Academy of Justice maintains a database of legislation, commentaries and other legal material accessible to all judges and prosecutors. Kosovo had 432 judges (148 women and 284 men), 24 per 100 000 inhabitants, and 183 prosecutors (78 women and 105 men), 10 per 100 000 inhabitants in 2021. According to the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the European averages are 21 judges/12 prosecutors per 100 000 inhabitants. Kosovo still has a low percentage of female judges and prosecutors in comparison with most other European countries. Although the number of professional associates in all Kosovo courts has increased in 2021, the number of legal staff directly assisting judges and prosecutors remains insufficient. A number of vacancies remain open as the Assembly did not approve the full request of the judiciary budget for 2022. The budget approved for the judiciary for 2021 and 2022 is slightly higher than in 2020, rising from EUR 61.9 million in 2021 to EUR 67.2 million for 2022 (EUR 59.5 million in 2020), or respectively 2.46% and 2.45% of the general budget (2.27% in 2020). For e-justice tools, the implementation of the case management information system (CMIS) is in an advanced phase. The roll out of CMIS in the Supreme Court marks the implementation of the automatic case assignment in all courts, instead of manual allocation. At the level of the prosecution, the implementation of CMIS remains a challenge. While formally, all Basic prosecution offices are using the CMIS, certain cases are still handled manually. The Appeals Prosecution and Chief State Prosecutor Offices are working towards full connectivity with CMIS. The police system is connected to the CMIS for exchange of data in criminal cases. The connection with the Civil Registration Agency and the Business Registration Agency is functioning well. Consistent use of the system is needed and should be encouraged by the management to ensure that the system is applied systematically and that the data entered is accurate and complete, in particular so that the automatically obtained statistical data on the performance of the judiciary and prosecution is reliable (in line with CEPEJ recommendations and methodology). Administrative staff require further training. Work on a National Centralised Criminal Records Registry (NCCR) is progressing, with nearly all cases and convicted persons entered into the system. However, the Kosovo Judicial Council and the courts need to ensure the systems’ sustainability, including the proper use of CMIS, so that the data is properly inserted in the NCCR. The two IT systems still need to be made inter-operable. Legislation concerning procedures and responsibility over the NCCR still needs to be developed. There is a tracking mechanism for high-level corruption and organised crime cases, which currently includes 82 cases. (See section on fight against corruption) The mediation system has been operational since 2008. A mediation mechanism, in place since 2018, is implemented by both the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils. There is a need for a monitoring and evaluation system to assess the overall impact of mediation services, the allocation and acceptance procedures, and the impact on the reduction of pending and backlog of cases. Both Councils have adopted internal regulations and protocols to support the mediation system. Proper budget allocation is seen as a challenge for both Councils. In 2021, the courts referred 3 119 cases to mediation, marking a slight decrease compared to 2020 (3 135 cases). The State Prosecutor and the prosecution offices solved 2,153 cases by employing alternative procedures, a decrease compared to 2020 (2 902). The number of licensed mediators remained the same, at 190 (67 women, 123 men), of whom 14 were from the Serb-majority municipalities. Public awareness of and familiarity with alternative dispute resolution tools remains low. The mediation system needs further strengthening, and this can be achieved through full implementation of the Law on Mediation and allocation of a sufficient budget. The Ministry of Justice has adopted two administrative instructions aiming at further improving free professions system and increasing the overall efficiency of the judicial system. The Kosovo Judicial Council published a protocol for referring appropriate civil cases to mediation. Efficiency The efficiency of the judicial system remains of concern. The clearance rate is particularly low for civil and commercial cases at first instance - 53% in 2021 (85% in 2019 and 70% in 2020) - and second instance - 66% in 2021 ((123% in 2019 and 115% in 2020) - and for administrative cases at second instance - 74% in 2021 (80% in 2019 and 78% in 2020). While the clearance rate for severe criminal cases at first instance was 105% in 2021 (107% in 2020), several factors hamper the efficiency of criminal justice. The capacity of judges to manage court proceedings efficiently needs to be significantly improved to avoid unproductive hearings, unreasonably protracted proceedings and ultimately low-quality decisions. In all case categories, there is a backlog with a sizeable number of pending cases older than two years. The newly established Commercial Court is functional as of August 2022. Also, the time taken for judgements (i.e. the average time from filing a court case to receiving a judgment) remains a cause for concern as they are overall far too long. In 2021, the disposition time stands at 1 339 days for civil/commercial cases in first instance and 798 days for administrative cases in first instance. At second instance, that is 646 for civil/commercial cases and 426 days for administrative cases. Severe criminal cases take 613 days in first instance and 99 days in second instance. These delays in proceedings, in combination with a preference for detention over other restrictive measures, have led again to overly long detention cases. During the reporting period, the Ombudsperson continued to receive complaints against courts and prosecutors with allegations of unjustifiable delays in judicial proceedings. The authorities need to consider introducing an effective judicial legal remedy to address such delays, including compensation. The authorities also need to ensure proper managerial follow up on the deadlines, including reacting to delays with proper and timely managerial actions. To further improve the quality and efficiency of the judicial system in Kosovo, judges, prosecutors and support staff should make full use of CMIS and related trainings. In addition, monitoring and evaluation of courts’ activities and giving judicial systems adequate funding and human resources needs to be prioritised. The revised Criminal Procedure Code, pending in the Assembly for adoption, would address shortcomings in the criminal proceedings. The sentencing policy in relation to organised crime and corruption remains erratic, with courts not systematically implementing the Supreme Court’s 2018 sentencing guidelines, despite the fact that the Court has established a committee to monitor its implementation. Finally, continuous efforts are needed to introduce reliable statistical systems for the judiciary based on CEPEJ indicators, and to use the findings for the management and policy-making purposes.

Domestic handling of war crime cases The government has put forward measures to strengthen domestic institutional mechanisms dealing with war crimes. The amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code on the applicable procedure of trial in absentia of war crimes adopted in the Assembly have not been implemented. Despite recent amendments, meeting certain criteria defined by the law remains a challenge, in particular when suspects reside in Serbia. The implementation of the strategy on war crimes adopted by the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council in 2019 continues to be hampered by the political context, lack of resources and the lack of international and regional cooperation. In the reporting period, the Kosovo Police arrested 3 persons suspected of war crimes and initiated 35 new investigations. Following the first conviction for a war crime at first instance since the end of EULEX’s executive judicial mandate, in the reporting period, two other convictions were handed down by the Basic Courts. However, these judgements were later either sent back for re-trial or significantly modified in appeal. Significant obstacles remain in the proper adjudication of war crime cases. More broadly, concerns remain about the willingness to hold former Kosovo Liberation Army members accountable in war crimes cases. In 2021, the Special Prosecution Office of Kosovo indicted one person for war crimes. In 3 cases, 4 persons were convicted. Despite the increase of assigned prosecutors (from three to four), the war crimes department of the Special Prosecution Office continues to struggle in processing the workload, which has constantly increased since 2018. There are over 1000 war crimes cases pending, mainly inherited from EULEX in 2018. There is a need for continuous training and support staff, in particular on police-prosecution cooperation. A number of requests for assistance transmitted through the Office of the EU Special Representative (EUSR) in Kosovo to Serbia were not addressed. Mutual legal assistance between Kosovo and Serbia in war crimes cases remains difficult. Cooperation with the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) in The Hague has resumed during the reporting period. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office (SPO) have continued to investigate and prosecute violations of international law. In the reporting period, pre-trial preparations were ongoing in 2 cases, including against the then President of Kosovo, and 2 cases are in the trial phase. In one case, the Chambers found the chairman and his deputy of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans Association guilty of obstructing official persons in performing official duties, intimidation during criminal proceedings and violating the secrecy of proceedings. Each accused was sentenced to 4.5 years of imprisonment. It is essential that Kosovo institutions provide full cooperation with the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office and Specialist Chambers, enabling them to fulfil their mandate in full independence, without any outside interference. The Government Commission on Recognition and Verification of the Status of Survivors of Sexual Violence during the Conflict continues its work. Still, the aspect of societal stigma that the survivors face and the limited number of cases approved for recognition and compensation might deter future applicants. Since the beginning of the process in February 2018, this Commission received 1 728 applications. So far, 1 274 persons have recognised status of survivors of sexual violence during the conflict. During 2022, this Commission received 107 applications and recognised the status of survivors of sexual violence during the conflict to 224 applicants. The timeframe of the law still excludes those who suffered conflict-related sexual violence after 20 June 1999. Kosovo should develop an overarching strategy for transitional justice, including a comprehensive approach to addressing its past. The Ministry of Justice is in the process of drafting the Transitional Justice Strategy. The same Ministry has started the work on the Draft law for establishment of an Institute for documentation of crimes committed during the war in Kosovo. The Government Commission on Missing Persons, within the Office of the Prime Minister, took over the leading role in the working group for the amendment to the Law on missing persons. The future of an initiative to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission remains unclear. Civil society remains actively engaged in reconciliation initiatives. In 2021, excavation works allowed the identification of the remains of nine victims in Kizevak, Raška municipality in Serbia, and three in Sid in Serbia. The remains of nine victims from the conflict in Kosovo exhumed in Kizevak were handed over to their families in 2021. Three sets of human remains were also repatriated from Kosovo to Serbia. The Pristina delegation to the ICRC-chaired Working Group on the Missing Persons remained engaged during the reporting period. There was no session of the Working Group after April 2021 as the Pristina delegation refused to hold new meetings until the Belgrade delegation changed its head. Nonetheless, lower levels of the mechanism (Sub-Working Group on Forensic Issues and Analytical Team) continued to work on concrete cases and sites and held 13 meetings after April 2021 (of which, 11 in 2021 and 2 in 2022). In May 2022, Serbian authorities conducted excavations in Stavalj in the presence of the Kosovo Commission on Missing Persons, in line with the commitments made in the framework of the ICRC-chaired Working Group. No human remains were found. Fight against corruption Kosovo is at an early stage/has some level of preparation. In the reporting period, some progress was made with the adoption of significant anti-corruption legislation: the Assembly approved the new Criminal Procedure Code, the Law on the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, the new Law on Asset Declaration and legislation on political party financing. Yet there is a need to improve the implementation of the overall legal framework. In spite of the fact that the the Corruption and Financial Crime Department was established during the reporting period, the Special Prosecution Office filed few indictments in high profile cases. The Special Departments in courts handling high-level corruption and organised crime cases would benefit from additional and specialised support staff. Sustained efforts are needed to have more proactive investigations, final court decisions and final confiscation of assets. The legal framework on confiscation continues to be largely unimplemented and the value of finally confiscated assets remains low. The main problem remains the lack of implementation of existing legislation. Overall, corruption is widespread and remains an issue of serious concern. Despite efforts made, there is a need for strong political will to continue to effectively address systemic corruption risks and a robust criminal justice response to high-level corruption. Sectors most vulnerable to corruption require targeted risk assessments and dedicated actions. In the coming year, Kosovo should in particular: ®further strengthen the capacity of the Anti-Corruption Agency, in terms of staff and expertise, to ensure it can effectively carry out its mandate; ®further strengthen the efficiency of confiscation regime by promoting systematic use of both extended and ‘regular’ confiscation by criminal prosecution and police; increase the level of specialisation and expertise in seizure and confiscation of assets; establish a confiscation fund; ®further strengthen law enforcement-prosecution cooperation and encourage multidisciplinary cooperation and the target-based approach to ensure proactive investigations and effectively combat high-level corruption cases; systematically conduct financial investigations during the criminal investigations; ensure the security of judges and prosecutors; ®effectively implement the new legislation on political party financing. Track record Efforts continued with regards to the track record of investigations, prosecutions and convictions in the fight against corruption. However, more political will and resources remain necessary, in particular to tackle high-level corruption. In July 2018, the European Commission confirmed that Kosovo had met the benchmark in its visa liberalisation roadmap to strengthen the track record in the fight against organised crime and corruption. These efforts should continue to improve and the Commission will continue to actively monitor the further development of this specific track record. By the end of the reporting period the track record mechanism for visa liberalisation, established in 2015 to monitor and coordinate high-level corruption and organised crime cases, included 82 cases. By that time, there had been 72 indictments: 31 organised crime cases and 41 corruption cases, out of which 17 cases ended with convictions/partial acquittals, leading to the conviction of 15 individuals for corruption-related offences and 46 individuals convicted for organised crime-related offences. At present, the track record mechanism includes only the cases selected in the specific context of visa liberalisation benchmarks. However, in the future it is expected that the track record will cover all high-level cases relating to organised crime and corruption. To this end, rules governing inclusion of cases in this mechanism should be revised with a view of creating a single and comprehensive track record, including all cases against high-level officials, which should be prioritised and handled with the highest level of scrutiny. The Anti-Corruption Agency handled some 375 cases (similar as in 2020) under preliminary investigation for suspicion of corruption related offenses (314 pending from 2021 and 61 from 2020) out of which 150 reports (involving 142 persons) were submitted to the prosecution and police to initiate criminal proceedings and 71 cases were terminated. The position of the Director of the Anti-Corruption Agency remained vacant for three months. After the expiration of the mandate of the former Director end September 2021, the Assembly appointed the new leadership only in December 2021. Thus far, the new leadership managed to process swiftly the backlog of cases. In 2021, 4 783 officials (97.7%) of the 4 892 officials obliged to submit regular annual declarations of assets did so on time, while 56 officials did so after the deadline and 25 officials did not submit any declaration of assets. The Anti-Corruption Agency included 966 officials under the full assets control procedure, which was completed for 741 officials. More than 200 cases are being investigated due to a false declaration of assets and also for the non-declaration of assets. 190 cases were referred to the prosecution and police for further investigation (50 on suspicion of false declaration carried over from 2020 and 190 for failure to declare assets). There were 26 court decisions in 2021, out of which 25 convictions and one acquittal. Shortcomings persist in the system for declaring and assessing the origin of property belonging to senior public officials. The capacities of the Agency, in terms of number of staff, IT resources and training, should be increased. An electronic declaration system is coming into force in order to simplify the process of declaration and submission as well as increase transparency and accuracy in monitoring and verification. Cooperation and exchange of data with the police, the tax administration, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the cadastral registry and municipal authorities should be strengthened.

In 2021, the Agency handled 101 cases of conflicts of interest. The number of requests of institutions submitted to the Agency for advice and opinion on conflicts of interest has increased. The Agency provided its opinion in 63 cases, 1 case was forwarded for investigation, 1 case for a minor offence procedure and in 10 cases, a conflict of interest was avoided. In 2021, the Agency handled 108 cases of corruption in the field of prevention of corruption in public procurement, out of which 18 opinions were issued, 64 recommendations have been respected and 19 not, and 7 cases were terminated. A new law on the Anti-Corruption Agency aimed at better defining the scope of the Agency’s competencies was adopted (see below on prevention measures). The capacity of the Agency needs to be strengthened, in terms of staff and expertise, considering the new competences of the Agency and to ensure an effective implementation of the applicable legislation. Despite a fairly advanced legal framework in place, criminal asset confiscation remains low. The 2019 Law on Extended Powers of confiscation is in force but is not being consistently applied. Local coordinators for confiscation matters in the Prosecution Offices were appointed. Confiscation as a means of targeting the economic interests of criminal organisations remains underutilised by prosecutors, who remain the weakest link in this regard. Overall, the willingness to confiscate assets remains low. The confiscation of criminal assets should become a strategic priority in the fight against organised crime, terrorism and high-level corruption in the country. In 2021, the value of preliminary confiscated assets amounted to about EUR 14 million (EUR 19 million in 2020) while the value of final confiscated property amounted to about EUR 770,000. Between July 2021 and March 2022, the prosecution offices confiscated assets in the total amount of about EUR 92,000 in three cases related with drugs, tax evasion and organized crime. The Agency for the Management of Sequestrated and Confiscated Assets (handling more than EUR 1.6 million in various assets in 2021) continues to struggle in managing the assets in its portfolio, partially due to the courts not allowing the anticipated sale of assets pending proceedings and partially due to the set-up of the Agency. The value of assets sold in 2021 was about EUR 52,000. The government approved the concept document on the establishment of a Confiscation Fund, which would allocate confiscated funds in part to law enforcement, prosecution and courts and in part to social projects. Kosovo adopted a new regulatory framework on funding for political parties and campaign financing. Overall, it establishes a legal framework to ensure complete reporting, timely disclosure, meaningful oversight and accountability for irregularities. Kosovo should effectively implement the new law. There is lack of regular auditing by the Assembly and selective application of sanctions by the Central Election Commission, which results in an incomplete oversight of campaign finance. There is limited awareness and compliance with campaign finance rules. Most political entities did not establish internal financial control rules. Numerous sources of income and expenditures remain unreported. The process of auditing has failed for two years due to the low budget allocated to hire auditors. Institutional framework Inter-institutional coordination and cooperation between preventive anti-corruption institutions and law enforcement entities is key to effectively implement anti-corruption legislation. Prevention measures The competences of the Anti-Corruption Agency include the verification and control of asset declarations and gifts, dealing with whistle-blowing and the prevention of conflict of interest. A law reorganizing the competences of the Anti-Corruption Agency has been adopted in view of strengthening the Agency’s mandate in the field of prevention of corruption. Specifically, the Agency will be entitled to implement tools such as corruption proofing, corruption risk assessment, and integrity plans in the institutions. Furthermore, the Agency will have the competence to initiate administrative investigations and impose sanctions. It is essential to strengthen the capacity of the Agency, in terms of staff and expertise, and its budget needs to increase, in order to fully and effectively fulfil its mandate and new competences, including the verification of asset declarations and the implementation of the new anti-corruption prevention tools. The Auditor-General, the tax authorities, the customs authorities and the Financial Intelligence Unit also have inspecting and auditing powers. More joint training must be provided for staff of the main anti-corruption bodies (which includes all entities responsible for the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of high-level corruption cases), in particular on financial investigations, asset confiscation, money laundering and cybercrime aiming also to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation and coordination. There is a continuous need to promote the elaboration and adoption of integrity plans in the public service as a tool for preventing corruption and ensuring discipline, including at municipal level. Law enforcement Kosovo has functional specialised institutions to fight corruption, including the National Coordinator for Combating Economic Crimes within the prosecutorial system, the Corruption and Financial Crime Department in the Special Prosecution Office and the relevant Police Directorate. Law enforcement authorities would benefit from additional resources to improve their operational capacity to conduct complex investigations. Police-Prosecution cooperation must be strengthened to ensure proactive investigations and to implement a joint target-based approach to combat high-level corruption cases. Financial investigations need to be launched systematically and in parallel. The use of special investigative measures, when applicable, should be strengthened. Measures and mechanisms to ensure the protection to judges and prosecutors from interference and pressure should be effectively implemented. The Special Investigation Unit within the Kosovo Police, as the successor of the Special Anti-Corruption Task Force abolished in 2020, continued to operate with the same chain of command and under a temporary legal mandate. The government needs to ensure its sound legal and organisational structure, also to cooperate effectively with the Prosecution. The ongoing reform of the Kosovo Police organisational structure should ensure that the Special Investigation Unit maintains sufficient investigation capacity to efficiently fulfil its functions. Following the re-structuring of the Special Prosecution Office in 2020, its capacity increased with the recruitment of prosecutors, professional associates and translators. It is essential to increase the level of specialisation and expertise on prosecuting high-level corruption and financial crimes. In 2021, the total number of indictments was 147 (146 in 2019), while the total number of sentencing decisions was 122 (36 in 2019). The Special Departments in the Basic Court of Pristina and the Court of Appeals, which handle all cases of the Special Prosecution Office, have continued to function albeit with shortages in professional support staff. Additional support staff for the Special Departments are being recruited. Despite the establishment of the Special Department with exclusive jurisdiction on cases of the Special Prosecution Office, the average of time to conclude the proceedings in first instance is lengthy. There is a need to step up efforts to reduce the length of proceedings in these cases. Legal framework Despite not being a party to international anti-corruption conventions (such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Council of Europe’s Criminal Law Convention on Corruption) due to status-related issues, Kosovo’s legislation is generally aligned with these instruments and in line with relevant European standards. In July 2022, Kosovo adopted new anti-corruption legislation consisting of the Law on the New Criminal Procedure Code, the Law on the Agency for Prevention of Corruption and the Law on Asset Declaration. These are included in the European Reform Agenda II and incorporate recommendations from the Rule of Law Strategy. The new law on the Criminal Procedure Code aims at strengthening the criminal proceedings. The anti-corruption legal framework introduces, among other novelties, the preventive measure of suspension of officials from duty in case of obstruction of proceedings. The new Law on the Agency for Prevention of Corruption strengthens the mandate of the Agency in the field of prevention of corruption and in the implementation of the asset declaration law, protection of whistle-blowers law and prevention of conflict of interest law. New tools to prevent corruption are added to the competence of the Agency such as corruption proofing, corruption risk assessments and monitoring of integrity plans in the institutions. The new Law on Asset Declaration adds categories of public officials obliged to declare assets; it includes more complete asset information and data to be declared by officials, increases the number of officials under full control by the Agency and introduces an online system of declaration of assets.

The legal framework on criminal confiscation remains fairly advanced, including through the 2019 Law on Extended Powers of Confiscation. These advanced tools need to be better utilised. The Draft Law on the State Bureau for Verification and Confiscation of Unjustified Assets, which aims to introduce in Kosovo a system of non-conviction-based confiscation, is pending in Parliament. The new Law will incorporate recommendations of the Venice Commission Opinion. Such an advanced system requires clear safeguards against possible misuse and abuse and should respect the principles enshrined in the Constitution and the fundamental rights of individuals. Moreover, such a system should not replace or undermine the application of the existing legal framework on criminal confiscation, including the Law on Extended Powers of Confiscation. The legal framework on money laundering is still not properly implemented. Although the law does not require the proof of a predicate offence to retain a conviction, many prosecutors and judges continue to consider a predicate offence as an essential part of money laundering offences. As a result, many stand-alone money laundering cases are dismissed either by the prosecutor or by the court. The government is reviewing the legislation on prevention of money laundering and combating terrorist financing to fully harmonise it with the 4th and 5th EU Directives and recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) (See also chapter 4 on the free movement of capital and the section on organised crime). The legal framework on the prevention of conflict of interest is in place since 2018 but still needs to be fully implemented. A number of senior public officials still occupy two or more posts, in direct violation of the law. Kosovo has no specific legislation on lobbying. The Law on the Protection of whistle-blowers is in line with the latest EU legislation in this area. Secondary legislation determining the procedure for receiving and handling the cases of whistleblowing is in place. Strengthened whistle‑blowing mechanisms and protection requirements still need to be implemented. The Assembly adopted the legal framework on political parties and election campaign finances in line with the Venice Commission Opinion. Kosovo still needs better functioning, more accountable, more transparent and enforceable party finance and campaign finance legislation. Strategic framework The Rule of Law Strategy and Action Plan (see section on Judiciary) include specific measures aiming to improve the institutional framework against corruption, as well as the assets declaration system and regulations on acceptance of gifts. Since 2018, Kosovo does not have an Anti-Corruption Strategy in force. The Judicial Council adopted a strategic plan for the efficient resolution of cases of corruption and organised crime (2022-2025). Fundamental rights The legal framework guarantees the protection of fundamental rights and is in line with European standards. Kosovo showed commitment to addressing gender equality issues by further implementing the Law on Gender Equality in the public administration recruitment process and by improving inter-institutional coordination on fighting gender-based violence, including by adopting a new strategy and action plan against domestic violence and violence against women. Moreover, additional efforts are needed to effectively enforce fundamental rights. The government’s capacity to streamline and oversee fundamental rights policies and legislation requires improvement, including in coordinating the mechanisms to protect human rights, gender equality and non-majority communities, at both central and local levels. Fundamental rights issues need to feature higher on the political agenda. Human and financial resources are still lacking and relevant authorities are still dependent on donor support and guidance and need to assume greater ownership. More efforts are needed to address the recommendations of the 2021 report, which are still applicable. In the coming year, Kosovo should in particular: ®Set up a sustainable mechanism of coordination and oversight legislation, strategies and policies of fundamental rights; strengthen the implementation of existing instruments; adopt a functional system of measuring and reporting on the implementation of the Human Rights Program and Action Plan; adopt the sub-legal acts deriving from the new Law on Child Protection; adopt the Civil Code; ®strengthen the implementation of the Law on Gender Equality; adopt the Law on Domestic Violence and Violence Against Women; continue efforts to ensure proper functioning of the system of protection, prevention and adjudication of all forms of gender-based violence by implementing the relevant strategy and action plan; ®adopt the Strategy for Return and Communities, the Law on Kosovo Property Comparison Verification Agency addressing the Ombudsperson’s recommendations, appoint a Director and Deputy Director of the Agency; implement the Strategy for the Advancement of the Rights of the Roma and Ashkali communities 2022-2026; ®strengthen child protection and child-friendly justice, including for children belonging to minorities and children with disabilities; ®adopt the Law on Cultural Heritage and the Law on Religious Freedom; advance the protection of cultural heritage by fully enforcing legislation on special protective zones and illegal construction; implement the 2016 Constitutional Court Decision on the Visoki Dečani monastery; re-establish relations with the Serbian Orthodox Church and reconvene the Implementation and Monitoring Council. International human rights instruments form an integral part of Kosovo's legal framework and are directly applicable, as provided for in the Constitution. Kosovo continued to align its legislation with these instruments and maintained its practice of ad hoc reporting. The institutional set-up for the promotion and protection of human rights is in place; however, it does not function well due to conflicting mandates and diluted responsibilities. The government should ensure that the Programme for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (2021-2025) and the related Action Plan (2021-2023) are implemented and monitored in a coordinated manner. Implementing human rights legislation, and overseeing and coordinating existing human rights mechanisms remain a challenge. In general, human rights issues still do not feature high enough on the government’s political agenda. The Office of Good Governance within the Office of the Prime Minister still lacks appropriate human, financial and administrative resources to fulfil its broad mandate, including on drafting, implementing and overseeing policies in the areas of human rights, good governance and anti-discrimination. This Office needs to establish synergies with the Deputy Prime Minister for Minority Issues and Human Rights, the Ombudsperson, and the Assembly’s Committee on Human Rights and the recently established Council for Democracy and Human Rights under the Presidency, to effecively implement and streamline human rights policies and legislation. The Assembly needs to take a more proactive role in overseeing the implementation of human rights legislation. The Ombudsperson’s Institution continues to play an important role in the promotion and protection of human rights at central and local level. The new Human Rights Programme and Action Plan approved in March 2021 strengthened the role of the Ombudsperson’s office in protecting and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Office has further strengthened its capacity to review cases. Although there is an increase in the responsiveness of institutions to the recommendations of the Ombudsperson, consistent implementation remains a challenge. Out of 157 recommendations, 43 have been implemented, 4 have not implemented and 110 are awaiting implementation. In 2021, the Ombudsperson received 1 612 complaints, out of whi