Prishtinë, 02 JUNE 2021 – The FOL movement has started with the series of “FOL hapur” discussions with the leaders of the opposition parties in the country

Today to the “FOL hapur” Forum was invited Lumir Abdixhiku, chairman of the Democratic League of Kosovo.

During this forum the topics were discussed:

– LDK Opposition to the Kurti Government 2 (with special emphasis on Foreign Policy, the Covid-19 Pandemic Situation and the Rule of Law).

– LDK position on the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

– Local Elections 2021 and LDK reform at the local level.

FOL will continue to organize debates with the opposition. The full debate can be found at this link: https://www.facebook.com/fol.levizja/videos/3906996856021777

Pristine, 21 MAY 2021 – Levizja FOL with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kosovo, has published today the report “Efficiency of State Advocates during 2020”, which includes data about the importance and the work of State Advocacy during  2020.

Mexhide Demolli – Nimani – Executive Director of the FOL Movement, said that FOL with the support of the Dutch Embassy in Kosovo has monitored the work of the State Advocacy for 2020. This institution has a big empact, because it protects the state  from different lawsuits from an individual or a company. “Millions of euros from the state budget can be protected from the efficiency of the work of this institution, just as millions can be lost from their failure”, said Demolli-Nimani.

Albana Hyseni – researcher in the FOL Movement, said that during the period January-December 2020 a total of 2,180 new cases were created where state institutions were represented by the State Advocacy. According to her, the largest number of these cases were from non-contentious procedure (708 cases), followed by administrative procedure cases (632 cases), contentious procedure (599 cases), execution procedure cases (174 cases) and finally, from the criminal procedure cases( 68 cases). From the judgments received in 2020, the State Advocacy had won 516 cases, lost 431 cases, while 99 cases were returned for retrial, 25 cases for reconsideration and 98 cases for reconsideration. From these representations, the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo had earned a total of 12.8 million euros. Meanwhile, the amount paid by state institutions to the parties that have succeeded in court disputes in 2020 was 3.5 million euros “, said Hasani. We recommend to increase the transparency of the State Advocacy on the official website of the Ministry of Justice, by presenting all information and documents of public character, since there is a great lack of their publication “concluded Hasani.

Sami Istrefi – The State Attorney General said that considering the role and function that this institution has, it is well covered by legal acts and that the priority of this institution is to be as open as possible in the work they do. “As an independent institution with a very important role, we face great challenges which also affect our work. Given the large number of cases, over 20 thousand and the small number of staff, a total of 9 lawyers. Mr. Istrefi stressed the need to increase the number of lawyers and support staff, as currently in this institution there are no professional associates and the need for training which is lacking for state attorneys, “said Istrefi. According to him, the lack of proper cooperation with the relevant institutions, which are being sued, is still a concern, a challenge that is affecting the work of this institution and the loss of cases, in which case great financial damage is caused to the state.

FULL LINK:  http://levizjafol.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/EFIKASITETI-I-AVOKATUR%C3%8BS-SHTET%C3%8BRORE.pdf

Pristine, 20 MAY 2021 – Levizja FOL with the support of USAID Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipality has today awarded the prize for journalists “FOL for procurement”. The FOL movement since 2010 monitors public procurement in Kosovo. As part of its work in 2018, it launched the Open and Transparent Procurement Portal. The purpose of this portal is to provide information to institutions, journalists and civil society representatives in order to see how the state budget is spent. At the same time, research in the field of public procurement causes public institutions to continuously improve this field.

Mexhide Demolli – Nimani –  Executive Director of the FOL Movement, stressed that public procurement accounts for approximately 10% of Kosovo’s Gross Domestic Product. Every year, about 30% of the state budget is spent through public procurement, and the fight against corruption and various abuses in this area continues to be a major challenge. Mrs. Demolli said that “reporting on public procurement by journalists is of particular importance. Therefore, to encourage investigative journalism in the field of public procurement, FOL today awarded three prizes for articles published by investigative journalists in this field, who have presented irregularities and abuses through public procurement procedures. The Deputy Director of the Office for Democracy and Governance at USAID in Kosovo, Christine Danton, said that she is proud that today, awards are being presented to honor three journalists who diligently sought, researched, and informed the public about the potential mismanagement of public funds.”The journalists with their work, has raised his voice for public procurement, they have raised their voice for the citizens, if they have to rely on these goods and services. Today’s winners of these awards are true heroes, their work has shed light on cases of suspected fraud and abuse, and has helped seek accountability from the government. The Open and Transparent Procurement Portal, created three years ago by the Speech Movement, sponsored by USAID, has helped these journalists and many others, as nearly as 50,000 people have visited the portal and conducted their research on over 15,000 contracts, with information on 270 buyers and over 3200 suppliers in Kosovo. “When complex procurement data becomes easily searchable and accessible, this transparency portal helps CSOs, investigative journalists, the private sector and public sector oversight bodies to be accountable,” Danton said, adding that the US Government is committed to supporting Kosovo in its fight against corruption. “When the public procurement system works well, and is transparent and accountable, citizens ultimately benefit, and this is the goal of every democratic country,” she said.

The first prize “FOL for Procurement” was awarded to the author Dorentina Kastrati from Kallxo.com, for the story “Suspicious tender for the family of the minister”.This research shows party and family favors during a tendering process in the amount of 400 thousand euros, becoming a legal violation. The research shows how the Municipality of Malisheva had awarded the tender for the construction of a school in this municipality, to the company of the brother of the Minister of Trade and Industry. That there were irregularities during this tendering process has been ascertained twice by Procurement Review Body. The research also shows that documents were manipulated by the contracting authority to the detriment of the companies that competed, in order to favor the company of the minister’s brother. The author said that research in the field of procurement serves as an example of how within a tender there are many violations which are related either politically or family. Among other things, the winner said that through such investigations, we enable prosecutors to deal with such violations, and that such investigations are much easier given the relief given to us by accessing public documents from the OPTP portal.

The second prize was awarded to the author Besnik Krasniqi from Koha Ditore, for the article “Dallavere për hava”. Following the publication of the investigation, the Economic Crimes Police has launched an investigation into the case. The author said that we should remove the masks in procurement cases to be as realistic as possible and that a thank you goes to the civil society who work on this journey.

Meanwhile, the third prize was awarded to co-authors Valon Fana and Vyrtyte Gërvalla, for the article “Municipality of Gazmend Muhaxheri organizes the tender for the family of Ramiz Kelmendi”. This research has addressed a phenomenon that occurs from time to time in public procurement in Kosovo. The research shows how a family of businessmen has been favored in the tender process for the supply of food products to families in need, whose well-being has been aggravated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the publication of the investigation, the Basic Prosecution in Peja has launched an investigation into this matter. The authors said that working in this direction and being evaluated at this award, remains a special feeling and that they will continue their research work in procurement.

Pristine, 18 MAY 2021 – We, the following organizations, are monitoring for the fourth time the selection process of the Commissioner of the Agency for Information and Privacy (AIP), continuously contributing to the development of a fair process and preventing the selection of not worthy candidates. Through this reaction we express our concern about the recent decision of the Commission which determines that each member of this Commission is a participant in the Selection Panel for the evaluation and selection of the shortlist of candidates for the election of the Commissioner of the Agency for Information and Privacy (AIP).This decision was taken at the meeting held on 20.04.2021 with 6 (six) votes FOR and 2 (two) votes against.

The selection of this Panel is regulated by the Law on Personal Data Protection, respectively by Article 60 of this law.

In accordance with paragraph 5 of this article, the Selection Panel submits to the relevant Commission the list of candidates for Commissioner, to then proceed with the selection of the shortlist. The Commission proposal proposes the reason why the Panel has given priority to some candidates, compared to other candidates.

This means that in this case, the shortlist of candidates for Commissioner of the Information and Privacy Agency, the Selection Panel would submit and justify itself.

This action of the deputies of this Commission, in addition to contradicting the previous practice decided by the members of the Commission of previous legislatures, creates a negative precedent that would directly affect the legitimacy of the entire selection process of the Commissioner of the Information Agency and Privacy.

Based on the political representation of the members of this Commission, the composition of the Selection Panel by each member of this Commission would create a presumptive situation of selecting the shortlist of candidates for Commissioner of the Information and Privacy Agency based on the political background of the candidates and not based on their professional background.

Therefore, taking into account the sound democratic principles of decision-making and analogous parliamentary procedures, we call for the withdrawal of this decision, so that in the Selection Panel of candidates for the position of Commissioner are not all members of the Committee on Security and Defense , but in the Panel should be selected only one member for each political entity / parliamentary group represented in the Commission.

Pristine, 11 May 2021 – Levizja FOL has held the next FOL debate Open with the Ministers of Kosovo. The next guest was the Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Mrs. Arberie Negavci.

During this meeting we discussed about the planning of the Government Work Plan for 2021, namely the activities assigned by the Ministry of Education in the work plan, work, priorities and challenges that await the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation during this mandate.

Mrs.Negavci presented some of the priorities that this ministry has set for 2021, where their priority was to manage the situation with the pandemic in the short term.

She said that we have defined 5 strategic goals which are already public and are in our governing program and revealed some of them.

Starting with inclusive and digitized education,

Harmonization of vocational schools with the labor market,

Quality management in higher education,

Early education – Distribution of the meal, removal of grading,

Human resources,

Vocational education and training.

During this debate, various questions were received from journalists as well as from online followers.

Pristine, 07 MAY 2021 – The FOL movement has organized today a roundtable discussion, on which occasion it has published the report “Implementation of the Work Plan of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPK) and the State Prosecutor (PSH) for 2020”.

Mexhide Demolli – Nimani, Executive Director of the FOL Movement, said that given the importance and weight of the responsibility of the holders of the institutions of the prosecutorial system, monitoring and analyzing the work of these institutions is of particular importance to civil society. Therefore, according to her, FOL Movement during these months has monitored the level of implementation of the Work Plan of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council and the State Prosecutor for 2020 without being released in the analysis of their quality and effectiveness but only in quantitative terms.

Albana Hasani, Researcher in the FOL Movement, said that the Work Plan of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council for 2020, based on the answers received from this institution, has managed to be realized about 81% by this institution. Meanwhile, according to the answers received by the State Prosecutor, the Work Plan of the State Prosecutor has managed to be realized about 97%

According to Hasani, the publication of data regarding the work and activities of these institutions on the official website of the Prosecutorial System continues to be a concern. According to her, out of 143 realized activities of KPK, on its official website this institution has published data for the realization of only 18 activities, or only for 13% of them, while from all realized activities of the Plan of PSHP work, this instutition has published only 2 activities.

“This therefore remains one of the challenges of these institutions in this regard, and that undoubtedly the continuous publication of the activities carried out, would increase the transparency of these institutions and strengthen public confidence in the work of the Prosecutorial System in general.”

Jetish Maloku, Chairman of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, said that they have managed to fulfill the work plan exactly, adding that the pandemic has prolonged some of the activities.

“We have in mind the circumstances in 2020, unfortunately the pandemic has been the heaviest stone in the Council, it has negatively affected our work. “There is no dilemma that a halved staff has influenced the updating of our activities with the work plan for 2020”, said Maloku.

“I am just happy to see that 81%. “We will take these findings seriously and a report will be introduced where there is room for improvement,” Maloku concluded.

Bahri Hyseni, from the State Prosecutor, said that the FOL report is very real and will affect the advancement of their work in general. He later said that, despite working with reduced staff due to the pandemic, they managed to seize close to 20 million euros, target 9 cases of corruption and file 10 indictments. “The year 2020 is special and I would like all activities to be realized, but we had problems. The advancement of accountability continues all the time “, said Hyseni.

“There are no statute of limitations for the prosecutor, 50 thousand cases have been completed. Although with reduced staff we have reached 113% to complete more courses than have come to us. Strengthening the fight against corruption, 20 million euros have been seized, but we have a problem with confiscation. “Only this month, the Prosecution has seized about 20 million euros”, concluded Hyseni.

Pristine, 05 MAY 2021 – Levizja FOL has held the next FOL debate Open with the Ministers of Kosovo. During this meeting was discussed about the planning of the Government Work Plan for 2021, respectively the activities which are assigned by the Ministry of Justice in this plan, the work, priorities and challenges that await the Minister Mrs. Albulena Haxhiu during this mandate.

During this debate, Mrs. Haxhiu presented some of the priorities that the Ministry of Justice has set in the Work Plan for 2021, a plan which according to it will be approved on May 7 in the Government.

The priorities of the work plan of this ministry are: Functional Review of the Justice System, Vetting in the judicial system, Law on Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Property, Domestic Violence, War Crimes, Establishment of the Institute for War Crimes in Kosovo.

FOL will continue to organize debates with ministers during the month of May.

Speech by Minister Haxhiu

Discussion organized by the FOL Movement

Today, Minister Albulena Haxhiu, in a discussion format organized by the FOL Movement, expressed the positions and priorities of the Ministry of Justice.

Minister Haxhiu emphasized that the experience and commitment during the Kurti I government, although in a short period, has enabled the recognition of problems and the scanning of the internal situation within this institution, while returning now, the immediate dynamics regarding the priorities of this government, respectively the Ministry of Justice, while announcing that on Friday this week will be approved the governing program which will go to the Assembly to be discussed and debated with MPs.

Addressing the priorities of the Ministry of Justice, Minister Haxhiu stressed that we are already in the phase of drafting the strategy and completing the Functional Review process. This process started some time ago, and its importance does not allow us to be late, although its implementation remains an obvious challenge. Given the fact that the credibility of citizens in justice institutions has fallen extremely much, vetting is more than necessary to happen as this is already a social requirement and there is no dilemma whether or not there should be vetting. In this regard, the Minister stressed that she has already approved the working group for vetting in the justice system and also thanked the representatives of institutions, as well as representatives of civil society who have applied to be part of this body to make this process as efficient as possible and produce the desired results. More broadly, the Minister said that initially the concept document is being drafted, which will be voted in the government, and then the draft law or constitutional amendments will be drafted.

“The first challenge we will have will be: will we not go to constitutional or legal changes,” said the Minister.

For this reason, according to the ministries, we must inevitably have plan B, taking into account the fact that the constitution changes to make the vote by 2/3 of the assembly, and two / 3 of the vote no larger.

Addressing the fight against organized crime and corruption is the other direction for for which it has already been voted and the concept paper for the confiscation of unjustifiable face, while today a working group will be established for drafting the law.

Addressing war crimes is another area in which the Ministry of Justice will engage. Although more than 20 years have passed since the end of the war, there are only 4 prosecutors dealing with the most monstrous crimes that occurred during that period. In order to strengthen the commitment in this direction, it is expected that sometime in the middle of this month a working group will be established for the institute for crimes committed in Kosovo, while in parallel work is underway to strengthen the special prosecutor’s office to address these crimes, and so far amendment to the code of criminal procedure, which will create the opportunity for trial in absentia.

Addressing domestic violence is also one of the priorities for which there will be a committed commitment so that cases of gender-based violence or domestic violence do not remain as isolated cases, but the state through institutional mechanisms to prevent a phenomenon of such that still continues to follow our society in the Republic of Kosovo. The national coordinator, also Deputy Minister Nita Shala, has already been appointed, and is working with security and justice institutions to take concrete decisions in such cases.

The need for serious action and non-negligence is decisive for making progress in this regard, starting from the police, the prosecution to court decisions.

The Minister had the opportunity to answer various questions that were asked during this discussion.

Pristine, 30 April 2021 – Levizja FOL  hosted today in a friendly meeting the head of the EULEX Mission in Kosovo, Mr. Lars-Gunnar Wigemark. In this meeting was discussed about the activities undertaken and the issues that the FOL Movement has raised and for which it has continuously advocated. Special focus was given to the activities and work of the FOL Movement in the field of rule of law, fight against corruption, as well as the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of projects.

The head of EULEX Mission in Kosovo Mr. Wigemark expressed gratitude and encouragement for the work of the FOL Movement and offered the opportunity for cooperation on the issue of rule of the law and the fight against corruption.

Pristine,  22 April 2021 – Levizja FOL has started today with a series of debates at the FOL Open Forum with Ministers. The first guest of the FOL Open Forum was Mr. Elbert Krasniqi, Minister in the Ministry of Local Government Administration.

The purpose of these discussion and the other discussions that we will hold with the ministers in the upcoming dates will be about the priorities in Government Program, focusing on the Annual Work Plan of the Government for 2021.

In the speech of Mr. Elbert Krasniqi, you can see some of the priorities of this Ministry as well as the promises for its 100 days of work.

The speech for FOL Open

Dear Mr. Demolli – Nimani

Dear Media representatives

Dear Guests

Allow me to first thank you for the invitation, for me and the ministry that I lead is a great honor

my presence today in this format of discussion. Let me begin my speech with the first commitment and priority that the MLGA under my leadership has and will have and that is the cooperation with civil society. It is extremely important that in addition to the institutional overview we also have the critical and analytical perspective from civil society organizations for the development and advancement of local government in the Republic of Kosovo.

The Ministry of Local Government Administration – MLGA has prepared the draft government strategic and operational plan for the years 2021-2025. In this plan for this period of time it is foreseen to achieve, among others, four strategic goals for the advancement of local government in the Republic of Kosovo. This plan is based on scanning the current situation and as a derivative of a comprehensive process within the ministry.

MLGA’s main priority is to support municipalities in managing and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. For this we are at the end of the procedures together with the Ministry of Health for the allocation of an emergency fund especially for the supply of municipalities with drugs from the essential list. We have prepared and planned the strategic goals that require immediate intervention within the first 100 days of this government. The first intervention should be made in the reform of the legal framework for local government through the amendment and drafting of a new legal framework related to the administration of local government. During this 100 days we will be able to complete and amend two basic laws for local government, that of Local Self-Government (LAW NO. 03 / L-040) and the law on Local Government Finance (LAW NO. 03 / L-049). While we will complete the concept papers for the two new laws, namely the Law on the Fourth Government Grant and the Law on the Municipal Performance Grant. The first as a derivative of our electoral promise and the second as a derivative of a long process where the MLGA together with international donors have evaluated and provided grants to municipalities based on their annual performance. The COVID 19 pandemic has also affected the local level, respectively at two levels, the public and the private. In the public sector, the impact has been on limiting the opportunity for public investment, on the limited provision of public and administrative services, the inability of municipalities to undertake public procurement procedures, the cancellation of meetings of municipal collective bodies, and the cancellation of public consultations. While, in the private sector, the most affected are the construction sector, hotel, gastronomy, textile and most services. In order to have an accurate picture of the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic at the local level, MLGA has planned to conduct a study in each municipality respectively in the 38 municipalities of the Republic of Kosovo to identify and address each problem that the pandemic has caused. So, this will be a public policy orienting document regarding the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic at the local level in the Republic of Kosovo. The identified problems will be addressed through the development and implementation of Municipal Emergency Economic Recovery Plans. For this, the MLGA will organize a Conference of local and foreign donors and investors to assist municipalities in implementing those plans. The methodology will be based on RAR – Rapid Assessment and Response techniques. Open, efficient and accountable governance will be the priority of the 100 days of MLGA. This ministry has planned to achieve this by starting the membership procedures in the international organization Open Government Partnership – OGP. Kosovo’s membership in this international mechanism for open government is not an end in itself because the real goal is to draft and implement the National Plan for Open Government 2022-2024. To this end, based on the practices and procedures of the OGP, the MLGA in close coordination with other departments of the Government of Kosovo will establish a National Membership Committee which committee will be chaired by the MLGA (respectively the Government of Kosovo) and co- is led by Civil Society Organizations in Kosovo. This committee will consist of public institutions, non-governmental organizations, representatives of the business sector and other relevant local and foreign actors in the Republic of Kosovo. So, during 2021, the criteria for membership in the OGP will be evaluated, the establishment and functioning of the National Committee for Membership will be done, the drafting of the plan and the government decision for its implementation will take place.

Also the priority of the first 100 days will be the beginning of works on the development of the national platform for local government E-MUNICIPALITIES. With this platform we will be able to reach efficiency of municipal public services through the digitalization of services and increasing the transparency and accountability of the legislature and the executive at the local level. In the framework of the government strategic and operational plan for the years 2021-2025, MLGA is also focused on sustainable and long-term municipal development. We will achieve this through the design and implementation of the National Program for Local Economic Development 2022 – 2029. Such a document would be in line with the European integration agenda by incorporating and adopting the EU Regional Development Strategy where one third of the total EU budget goes to investments for the implementation of this strategy. Last but not least, it helps to harmonize development policies from the central to the local level through the centralization of policies through the IV Government Grant.The whole 8-year process should be done in full coordination between the MLGA, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister for Development and Integration, line ministries, all municipalities and local and international institutions and organizations.

In addition to the change in the legal framework for local government comes the structural change in the functioning of municipalities. In this change we will focus on establishing and advancing human rights mechanisms and communities at the local level. For this, the law on Local Self-Government will provide for the amalgamation of many interconnected offices in the Municipal Directorate for Human and Community Rights. With this, in addition to making this directorate operational, we will also address the ongoing EU recommendations for the local level in the Annual Progress Reports for the Republic of Kosovo. As I mentioned at the beginning this plan is based on a preliminary assessment of the current situation. Two serious interventions are needed to build human capacity for the advancement of local government. One is related to the advancement of the European integration process where we as MLGA will not allow the local level to be an obstacle in this process. For this and given the current level of human capacity dealing with integration at the municipal level we have foreseen the provision of scholarships under the Young Cell Scheme for 2022. Education and systematization in the Municipal Offices for Integration of 38 educated officials within of this scheme for European integration. While within the MLGA the sector for programming, monitoring, contracting and project evaluation will be strengthened through the establishment of the Department for Programming, monitoring, contracting and evaluation of projects within the MLGA.

MLGA will continue awarding grants for socio-economic services and in cooperation with foreign donors the allocation of performance grants and grants through the EU IPA program for cross-border cooperation. Also for the private sector in cooperation with the World Bank will continue to empower young entrepreneurs through the allocation of grants to small and medium enterprises. Through this program, it is foreseen to allocate 4000 grants for the period 2022-2025 and the support of 200 young entrepreneurs with cash, thus realizing our electoral promises.

Thank you and I am open to any questions and other topics for discussion of the interest and local governement area.

These discussions are supported by the MATRA program of the Dutch Embassy in Kosovo and implemented in cooperation with the Prishtina Institute for Political Studies (PIPS).

 

Pristine, 14 April 2021 – Levizja FOL  continues to monitor the publication of judgments for all courts in Kosovo. The Court of Kosovo during March 2021, has published 1801 judgments on the web portal of the Kosovo Judicial Council. According to the FOL monitoring even during March 2021, the court with the most judgements is the Basic Court of Prishtina, which has published a total of 330 judgments.

The Basic Court of Prishtina (together with the branches in Lipjan, Podujeva, Gllogovc, Gracanica) has published 150 civil, 153 criminal and 27 economic cases. Meanwhile regarding the judges with the most judgements published in the Basic Court of Prishtina are: Minir Hoti (45 judgments), Gazmend Bahtiri (42 judgments), Avdirrahman Gashi (24 judgments), Nazmi Neziri (19 judgments) Donikë Dobruna (19 judgements).

The Basic Court of Mitrovica (together with its branches in Skenderaj, Vushtrri, Zubin Potok, Leposavic) in total has published 155 judgements: 87 civil and 68 penal cases. The judges with the most published judgemens are: Agron Maxhuni (25 judgements), Ragip Kadriu (22 judgements), Naim Meholli (22 judgements), Fatos Sejdijaj (11 judgements), Мilos Маrkoviç (11 judgements).

Supreme Court (including The Special Chamber and the Appellate Panel) published a total of 177 judgments. Of these, 129 are civil, 24 criminal, 2 economic and 22 administrative.

5 judges with the most published judgements are: Manusha Karaci (24 judgements), Hasim Sogojeva (21 judgements), Teuta Ibrahimi (18 judgements), Shkelzen Sylaj (17 judgements) si dhe Mejreme Memaj (17 judgements).

The Court of Appeals (together with the Mitrovica Appeals Division) has published a total of 116 judgments: 95 civil, 16 criminal and 5 economic cases.

The judges who have published the most judgments in this court are: Nenad Lazic (22 judgments), Nora Bllaca-Dula (17 judgments), Valon Totaj (16 judgments), Drita Rexhaj (12 judgments) and Kujtim Pasuli (10 judgments).

The Basic Court of Ferizaj (together with its branches in Kaçanik and Shterpce branches) has published a total of 201 judgments: 61 civil and 140 criminal cases.

The five judges with the most published judgments are: Zajrete Muhaxhiri (19 judgments), Fitore Daci (18 judgments), Shabi Idrizi (16 judgments), Burim Çaka (14 judgments) and Adem Shabani (13 judgments).

The Basic Court of Gjakova (together with its branches in Malisheva and Rahovec) has published a total of 252 judgments: 82 civil and 170 criminal cases.

The five judges with the most published judgments are: Mizahir Shabani (43 judgments), Diana Sina (33 judgments), Jonuz Bugari (25 judgments), Iliriana Hoti (24 judgments) and Ilir Rashkaj (22 judgments).

The Basic Court of Gjilan (together with its branches in Viti, Kamenica and Novobërdë) has published a In the Basic Court of Gjilan, the judges with the most published judgments are: Rilind Sermaxhaj (32 judgments), Mirvete Alidemi (29 judgments), Florije Qerimi (11 judgments), Sadri Krasniqi (6 judgments) and Emine Salihi, Aziz Shaqiri, Naser Maliqi and Venhar Salihu (with 4 judgments each).

The Basic Court of Prizren (together with its branches in Dragash and Suhareka branches) has published a total of 265 judgments on the web portal. However, in the FOL database, 264 judgments were recorded, because 1 was a ruling, which is not recorded in our database. Out of 265 judgments, 43 are civil and 221 criminal cases .

The judges with the most published judgments are: Qemail Suka (34 judgments), Lavdim Bajraktari (33 judgments), Robert Tunaj (32 judgments), Shpresa Emra (25 judgments) and Vjollca Buzhala (18 judgments).

The Basic Court of Peja (together with its branches in Klina and Istog branches) has published 204 judgments: 70 civil and 134 criminal cases.

The judges with the most published judgments are: Arben Mustafaj (25 judgments), Sabrije Rraci (23 judgments), Murat Hulaj (19 judgments), Shaqë Curri (18 judgments) and Nexhat Musaj (16 judgments) total of 102 judgments: 48 civil and 54 criminal cases.

Pristine, 08 April 2021 – The FOL movement held a press conference on which occasion it published the report “Performance of the Prosecution in the Fight against Corruption 2020”.

Albana Hasani from FOL said that out of 646 corruption cases that were at work in all prosecutions of the Republic of Kosovo for 2020, prosecutors have managed to deal with 329 of them or 51%. Meanwhile, 317 cases have remained unprocessed and have been transferred for 2021. According to her, “the transfer of a large number of cases from year to year still remains a concern, where in 2020 alone a total of 267 corruption cases were transferred from the previous year “, said she.

The rate of resolving corruption cases in all Prosecution Offices of the Republic of Kosovo for 2020 has reached 87%. This result is due to the fact that the number of cases resolved during this period was lower than the number of new cases – created during 2020.

According to the methodology, “354 days are needed for the State Prosecutor to solve all corruption cases that have remained unsolved in 2020,” said Hasani.

The Basic Prosecution of Prishtina faced the largest influx of corruption cases during this period, which had a total of 221 cases at work, 115 of which it resolved. Whereas, the lowest influx of corruption cases during 2020 was faced by the Basic Prosecution of Gjakova, which had a total of 27 corruption cases at work, 15 of which it solved.

In the terms of the performance “The Prosecution that has achieved the best results in dealing with corruption cases during 2020, is the Basic Prosecution of Gjilan which during this period has achieved the highest turnover rate, and the lowest index of the collected materials “, she said. Out of 41 corruption cases at work, this prosecution has managed to solve 33 of them, while only 8 have been transferred for 2021.

Always referring to the statistics of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, the prosecution with the lowest results in handling corruption cases during 2020 is the Basic Prosecution of Mitrovica, which out of 100 cases at work during 2020, has managed to handle only 17. So this prosecution during this period has reached the lowest rate of turnover of cases, as well as the highest index of collected cases.

Based on the above findings, FOL makes the following recommendations:

Increase the number of prosecutors in the Serious Crimes Department dealing with corruption cases;

Corruption cases, especially high profile ones, should be treated with absolute priority;

To strictly respect the obligations in handling corruption cases according to the deadlines and obligations set out in the law;

Continuously increase the transparency of the State Prosecutor and the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council regarding the provision of access to public documents in accordance with the obligations arising from the law;

Continuously publish statistical reports on the official website of the Prosecutorial System regarding the number of solved cases and the handling of corruption cases.

Pristine, 07 April 2021 – Today, The Democracy in Action (DiA) network of local election observation organizations published final reports on the assessment of the February 14th snap parliamentary elections.

Eugen Cakolli from DiA, assessed that the elections were conducted in accordance with democratic standards for free and fair elections. “The exception to this qualification is voting in the Serb-majority community, orchestrated voting for two political entities from the community has been identified, as well as unusual turnout and voter turnout of up to 85%.” Added Cakolli.

Election day was assessed as smooth, without any incidents that could affect the integrity of the election process. Although the voting process was regular, it was said to be characterized by some recurring problems from previous election cycles, as well as unsatisfactory levels of compliance with anti-COVID measures.

The process of counting the votes, especially of the candidates of political entities, was considered as one of the main problems of the electoral process. The involvement of persons of suspected of criminal offenses of falsification and manipulation of election results in the QNR, proven through the publication of a video recording, was said to have diminished the credibility of this process. Regarding the recounts, it was emphasized that although the number of recounted polling stations is significantly lower than in the 2019 elections, again, the recount of about 700 ballot boxes or 29% of the total number of polling stations, followed by the repetition of the count conditional and postal voting for a political entity, reveals the deep politicization and lack of integrity among some commissioners and CRC staff. Although the work of the CEC was assessed as transparent, it was emphasized that unlike previous processes, in these elections the work of the CEC was accompanied by polarization and verbal clashes between CEC members. Also, the work and independence of the CEC were said to have been violated by external interventions. Whereas, the Chairperson of the CEC has been the target of numerous attacks by Levizja Vetëvendosje, but also by other parties.

The voting operation abroad and the process of certification of political entities and their candidates were considered as the two most sensitive and problematic links of these elections. Whereas, the institutions responsible for handling complaints and appeals related to the elections, were considered to have acted professionally and impartially in handling complaints and appeals, respecting all legal deadlines.

On the other hand, DiA also launched a report on the monitoring of the election campaign, the findings of which were presented by Visar Xhambazi from DiA. The main assessment of this report is that the election campaign was smooth and without any serious incidents. Whereas, it was emphasized that a significant part of the events organized by political entities were not reported to the relevant institutions (MEC). “The most common activity during the campaign were visits to citizens, door-to-door and visits to certain institutions. “These activities were accompanied by large gatherings of citizens, not respecting the rules for physical distance and wearing masks properly.” said Xhambazi.

Also, the campaign was said to have been characterized by low participation of women in election campaign events as participants and as speakers. Further, this campaign was characterized by elements of hate speech. Providing access to people with disabilities to facilities where political entities have conducted election campaign activities remains a problem. Meanwhile, no obstacles were reported for the media and civil society organizations to observe and follow the campaign activities.

In the framework of this report it was said that a list of recommendations is included which are based on the findings of the election campaign observation. These recommendations aim at improving the conduct of the election campaign, respecting the legal provisions in force, as well as creating more favorable conditions for marginalized groups.

DiA also published findings from media monitoring during the campaign period. Mexhide Demolli-Nimani from DiA, stated that during the official election campaign (3 – 12 February 2021), the coverage of the activities of certified political entities in their appearances on national televisions were monitored, including election news and advertising spots, broadcast rallies live and livestreams from portals. In these elections, DiA also monitored the activities of political entities and candidates for prime minister on Facebook, through the SentiOne platform.

Demolli-Nimani stated that the main findings from the monitoring show that the monitored televisions were dominated by large political entities which had space in both election reports and televised debates. The media space is characterized by a pronounced discrepancy between male and female candidates. In these elections, 60 commercials on television were identified, for which information was missing if they were sponsored.

The Independent Media Commission during these elections was said to have issued remarks to five televisions about the violations committed by them before the official start of the campaign. “The IMC has also fined 8 televisions for legal violations during the official period of the election campaign, where it had imposed fines ranging from 2,000 euros to 7,500 euros. During the monitoring, 60 advertising spots of political entities were identified, which are longer than 2 minutes, which is contrary to the Law on Elections. ” she declared. Whereas, out of a total of 1,437 monitored Facebook posts, it was pointed out that only six of them had content related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Democracy in Action also provided recommendations for improving the electoral process, which need to be addressed through electoral reform, which is based on the principles of inclusiveness and transparency.

Recommendations addressed by the report include the electoral system, the administration of the electoral process, election management bodies, pandemic election management, out-of-country voting, ballot design and voter information, election campaign, campaign finance, list of voters, gender representation and electoral justice.

The full video of the publication of the reports can be found here.

The final election observation report can be downloaded at the following links: ALB; ENG; SRB.

The election campaign monitoring report can be downloaded at the following links: ALB; ENG; SRB.

The media monitoring report during the election campaign can be downloaded at the following links: ALB; ENG; SRB.

Pristine, 31 March 2021 – Levizja FOL  with the support of the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS) has published the report “Impact of sector strategies on the environment”.

The report reveals the fact that Kosovo is facing major environmental damage as a result of bureaucratic legislation that ultimately ends up unimplemented, as a result of lack of inter-institutional cooperation, abuse of permits and licenses for use, unbridled ambition of EOs to maximize profits to the detriment of the environment and the failure of institutions to monitor and sanction such actions harmful to the environment and the common good. Often, institutions choose to do nothing on the grounds of lack of budget. Thus, they fail to prevent the even greater budget flow that is caused as a result of endangering the health of citizens and further degradation of the environment.

The biggest challenge that Kosovo faces in this regard is balancing current development with preserving the environment for future generations. The policy orientation of each sector is done through long-term strategies which usually do not aim only at development, but aim at sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development basically has the utilization of resources. Given that resources are exhausted and not evenly distributed. Therefore, they must be managed within the limits provided by applicable law and other strategic documents that guide public policy.

This report examines the environmental impact of five strategies:

1. Mining Strategy of the Republic of Kosovo 2012–2025,
2. Forestry Development Strategy 2010–2020,
3. Energy Strategy of the Republic of Kosovo 2017–2026,
4. Strategy of the Republic of Kosovo for Waste Management 2013–2022, and
5. Air Quality Strategy 2013–2022.

Every strategy has at least one specific objective that addresses environmental protection. The commitment to environmental protection, however, begins and ends only on paper. In certain areas (eg air quality or waste management) the situation is getting worse. The costs of implementing or not implementing the Strategies are always just financial calculations. Given the nature of the sectors that are subject to these Strategies, the cost of the impact of the sector (eg energy, or mining and minerals) on the environment and the health of citizens is neglected. As such, the real cost of the ‘do nothing’ option is even higher than the cost of interventions.

Most of the times, monitoring raports on the implementation of these Strategies are not documents published on the website, and as such are not easily accessible to the public. The final and clear version of the Strategies should be published on the website of the responsible institutions, together with the relevant Annexes and implementation monitoring reports. In the absence of such transparency, citizens are deprived of information on whether such Strategies have been implemented. Strategy monitoring is treated as a bureaucratic issue of compliance with a report, and not as a continuing institutional obligation. In light of the deteriorating situation in some sectors, the responsible institutions have failed to take appropriate action either to punish the perpetrators, or to improve inter-institutional cooperation between them.

The largest investments in environmental protection have occurred not from the state budget, but from development assistance. The perception that environmental protection is only an international requirement has largely caused dependence on the financing of such projects mainly from donors. Local ownership and taking the environment seriously will be measured by the allocation of own funds from the Kosovo budget for such projects aimed at protecting the environment.

This activity is supported by the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS).

Pristine, 30 March 2021 – FOL Movement with the support of Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS) held a conference in which case the report “Public Administration Reform in a state of stagnation” was published.

Panelists at this conference were: Luigi Brusa, Head of Cooperation Sector from the EU Office in Kosovo and Ibadete Mehmeti from the Department for Public Administration Reform in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Mexhide Demolli-Nimani, executive director of the FOL Movement said that since October last year FOL has monitored the implementation of the Sectoral Reform Contract for the Public Administration Reform. “The purpose of this report is to support the active engagement of civil society with the Public Administration Reform process, as well as to encourage discussion on the challenges and opportunities to move forward with public administration reforms,” she said. According to her, Kosovo started negotiations with the European Commission to benefit from Sectoral Budget Support in 2017, while in December, 2017 the Sectoral Reform Contract for Public Administration Reform (SRC for PAR) in the amount of € 25 million was ratified by Kosovo and its implementation began in 2018.

Luigi Brusa, Head of the Cooperation Sector from the EU Office said that, we have created a program in order to monitor the real implementation of the reform in general. “Our main goal is to improve the coordination of work, the quality of implementation of the reform in question, but also the creation and implementation of a more efficient regulation. “Increasing transparency and accountability is key in terms of development through this reform,” he said.

According to him, the previous governments did not do their job properly and consequently we are behind with the implementation of the Reform. “Targets are not difficult to achieve, but they require discipline in their performance by civilian staff. So far we have seen how previous governments have hired non-deserving staff, increasing nepotism and thus unfinished business, so we hope that the current government will make internal reforms, hiring deserving staff who will be retained responsible for their work, as well as a capable director and managerial staff. I encourage the new government to reform the administration and complete the reform in question. “Public administration is difficult to reform, but not impossible,” said Brusa.

Meanwhile, Ibadete Mehmeti from the Department for Public Administration Reform in the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that given that the administration reform is a priority, we had challenges in achieving the objectives, where the failure to achieve these objectives has significantly affected the political situation in the country as and pandemic. “What should be mentioned is that we have achieved progress in some points, here we should mention the progress for the sector budget reform from the thick fix”, she added, adding that the report presents the real situation in which we are, but it remains to work on achieving of the objectives which we have set for ourselves.

The main findings of the report are:

-The overall objective of the Sectoral Reform Contract for Public Administration Reform is “to assist the Government of Kosovo in increasing the accountability, transparency and effectiveness of public administration, with a focus on the needs of citizens and businesses.” This overall objective is further defined through specific objectives and expected results.

The Sector Reform Contract for Public Administration Reform (SRC for PAR) is a very effective tool for promoting local ownership and providing a focus on key public administration reforms. SRC for PAR contains extremely important reform objectives that are essential for citizens and the business community. As such, this partnership between the Kosovo government and the European Commission needs to continue, however, the reform goals need to be more realistic;

In 2018 the government did relatively well in achieving the reform goals from KRS to PAR by providing € 3.1 million from EU funds that were disbursed directly to the national treasury in 2019. However, this was minus € 2.4 million from the financial assistance of committed by the EU in the amount of € 5.5 million if all reform goals were achieved.

2019 was a sad year for public administration reforms, as only one indicator was assessed by the EU as achieved, resulting in € 420,000 disbursed in variable installments to the Kosovo government. The lack of progress in 2019 resulted in the loss of over € 5 million from the government. Reform targets for 2020 shifted to 2021 due to the impact of Covid-19, giving the government a new opportunity to secure 5.5m euros in EU funding.

The failure to achieve all the agreed reform goals by KRS for PAR for 2018 and 2019 resulted in over 7 million euros that were not disbursed to the national treasury by EU funds.

The public administration reform agenda lacks political leadership, mainly as a result of the merger of the former Ministry of Public Administration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which has not functioned. Lack of political leadership has undermined public administration reforms;

There is not enough political will to implement the main reform goals of the Sectoral Reform Contract for PAR, especially the rationalization of independent agencies and institutions;

The government should approach the implementation of the SRC for PAR as important for its citizens and the business community. Of course, financial incentives from the EU are also important. The year 2021 presents a major opportunity for the government to successfully implement the PAR Sector Reform Contract and receive € 5.5 million;

The Department of Public Administration Reform in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is in charge of coordinating the PAR agenda, is a positive mechanism that works proactively to support, monitor and coordinate the reform process, however the department itself does not is charged with implementing specific reform goals. The department needs the necessary political support to become more effective in advancing the implementation of the reform goals by the responsible institutions.

Pristine, 19 March 2021 – The Law on Protection of Signalers has been adopted for two years now in Kosovo, but this law is not being implemented in the field of the private sector. Apart from not being implemented, there is very little information about the existence of such a law that affects the private sector in the country.

Even, Telegrafi has contacted some local companies and representatives of chambers but the same have said that they have little information about the work and responsibilities of this law.

The Law on Protection of Signalers, which aims to report any irregularities in the private and public sector that are to the detriment of the public interest, was approved by the Assembly of Kosovo on December 18, 2018.

The President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, Arian Zeka for the Telegraf says that the private sector has very little knowledge regarding the Law on Protection of Signalers.

“I think that there is modest knowledge within private sector companies regarding the existence of the Law on Signal Protection, even when I say modest I am emphasizing the need for a slightly more aggressive campaign by business associations and institutions responsible, but why not also civil society organizations. The American Chamber of Commerce in this regard has organized or co-organized several events with the FOL Movement to inform businesses themselves about the existence of such a law, the benefits that arise for private sector employers, respectively managers of private sector enterprises.” said he.

Zeka says that the Labor Inspectorate should continue with its role, but not be punitive.

“I believe that the Labor Inspectorate should continue with its informative role, while in recent years PIK has been active in promoting safety at work and employees, given the incidents that have occurred in this regard. I believe that such campaigns should be carried out in the promotion of the Law on the protection of whistleblowers. “The approach should not be punitive, as we have a relatively new law, about which there was little knowledge, so we should avoid possible sanctions or penalties,” said he.

Florent Spahija from the Democratic Institute of Kosovo has also stated about the functioning of the Law on Protection of Signalers.

Protection of whistleblowers is a very important area and the new law still does not find application, unfortunately in its entirety, because we do not have a regulation, where they are obliged from 6 months immediately after approval to be issued by the Ministry of Justice, in this sense, The unfortunate thing is that our institutions have not yet achieved the law in full. “There have been occasional signals, but both the courts and the institutions themselves have been reluctant to protect them in the sense of the new law,” he told Telegrafi.

Spahija claims that the private sector has very little knowledge about the Law on Protection of Signalers.

“The private sector is not that much knowledge, for the fact that part of the private sector is left a little aside by law, the private sector owes over 50 people and then an official responsible for signaling, on the other hand what we see is that there are no people placed in the institution “, he said.

Meanwhile, the president of the Independent Workers’ Union, Jusuf Azemi says that the situation of workers in the private sector continues to be bad. As for the Law on Protection of Signalers in Kosovo, Azemi says that he does not believe that it will be respected.

“We have always given the picture that the situation of workers in the private sector is very serious and with signs of deterioration, as we have no element that their position will be regulated, on the contrary starting from the lack of contract, from low wages, from lack of legal support, and from the collective agreement, they make the situation of workers worse in the region. I do not believe that the Law on Protection of Signalers will be implemented either “, stressed Azemi.

On the other hand, the Labor Inspectorate, which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Law on Signal Protection, says that due to the pandemic they have not managed to take the necessary actions to implement this law.

The Chief Inspector of the Labor Inspectorate, Ekrem Kastrati in an electronic response to the Telegrafi has stated about this topic.

“We inform you that among other things due to the circumstances created by the pandemic, as well as the fact that so far no regulation has been drafted which would regulate the procedure to be followed so far for the above reasons and the small number of inspectors, whose in the first part of 2020 have been engaged in the supervision of antiCOVID-19 measures, we have not managed to take the necessary actions pursuant to Law no. 06 / L-085 on the protection of Signalers.

Except as above based on our information received from employees realized in which IP has been a participating party in relation to this topic, it is understood that it was the obligation of the Ministry of Justice to draft regulations for whistleblowers, but so far it has not approved the regulation in question, which despite the fact that the scope of this regulation is determined to be applicable in the public sector, in our case could have served as a guide for the creation and concretization of rules in the private sector,” says Kryeziu.

However, the Labor Inspectorate says that in the annual work plan for 2021, they have foreseen activities for this topic.

Otherwise, the Law on Signal Protection sets out the rules for signaling, signaling procedure, the rights and protection of whistleblowers and the obligations of public institutions and private entities related to signaling.

A whistleblower is any person who reports or discloses information about a threat or violation of the public interest in the context of his or her employment relationship in the public or private sector.

The FOL movement from February 2020 had started monitoring the implementation of the Law on Signal Protection in the private sector. During this period, FOL has organized numerous information meetings with various businesses, with the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce.

In addition, FOL has drafted the document “Manual with 10 response scenarios for signaling cases in the private sector” which aims to contribute directly to the construction of bridges and communication channels between various institutions and the private sector.

The Guide for Signaling in the Private Sector has been drafted which contains general instructions which facilitate the meaning and content of the Law on Protection of Signalers, related to signaling in the private sector. This guide is designed to help all employees in the private sector, who may signal suspicious actions or practices in their workplace. The guide also contains a Model Regulation which can serve as a guide for drafting private sector law enforcement internal acts.

FOL through various video animations published on television and social networks has promoted and sensitized the public about the importance of signaling and implementation of this law in practice.

This article / story was realized within the project of the FOL Movement “Signalers, the Law to Protect”, which is enabled by the ‘Civil Society Program for Albania and Kosovo’, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by the Foundation Kosovo for Civil Society (KCSF) in partnership with Partners Albania for Change and Development (PA). The content and recommendations presented do not represent the official position of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Kosovo Civil Society Foundation (KCSF). / Telegrafi/.

Pristine, 16 March 2021 – FOL monitored the Annual Work Plan of the Government of Kosovo with its 15 Ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister, which based on the implementation of the plan show that there was a low level of implementation of activities which were scheduled to be completed by 2020. This monitoring shows that The Annual Work Plan of the Government for the period January-December 2020 was realized only 42%.

Erblin Hoxha, project coordinator at the FOL Movement, said that the ministries that managed to implement over 90% of the work plan are; Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Regional Development and Ministry of Returns and Communities.

The Ministry of Economy and Environment within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 9 objectives with 89 activities, of which 38 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry for Communities and Returns within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with 12 activities where only 1 remains unfinished.

The Ministry of Regional Development within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 3 objectives with 18 activities, of which 1 has remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Health within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with a total of 29 activities. Of the 29 planned activities, 14 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 2 objectives with a total of 10 activities. 4 of them have remained unrealized.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives, a total of 71 activities. There are 19 activities left unfinished.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with a total of 56 activities, of which 31 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 8 objectives with a total of 159 activities, of which 72 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 2 objectives with a total of 20 activities. Of the 20 planned activities, 12 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Finance in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with 51 activities throughout the year. Of the 51 planned activities, 10 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Infrastructure within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with a total of 30 activities, of which 16 have remained unfinished.

The Office of the Prime Minister, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 28 objectives with a total of 166 activities, of which it has realized only 73 activities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives with 46 activities, where 33 activities remain unfinished.

The Ministry of Justice, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives. Within these 5 objectives, a total of 52 activities were foreseen to be realized, but 24 activities remained unfulfilled.

The Ministry of Local Government, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 3 objectives within which 23 activities were planned to be realized. Out of 23 activities, only 1 remained unrealized.

The Ministry of Defense, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with a total of 23 activities, of which 7 have remained unfulfilled.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives with 149 activities. Unfortunately, despite our insistence, we have not received a response from the office of the secretary of this ministry regarding the implementation of the work plan.

Pristine, 16 March 2021 – Levizja FOL monitored the Annual Work Plan of the Government of Kosovo with its 15 Ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister, which based on the implementation of the plan show that there was a low level of implementation of activities which were scheduled to be completed by 2020. This monitoring shows that The Annual Work Plan of the Government for the period January-December 2020 was realized only 42%.

Erblin Hoxha, project coordinator at the FOL Movement, said that the ministries that managed to implement over 90% of the work plan are; Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Regional Development and Ministry of Returns and Communities.

The Ministry of Economy and Environment within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 9 objectives with 89 activities, of which 38 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry for Communities and Returns within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with 12 activities where only 1 remains unfinished.

The Ministry of Regional Development within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 3 objectives with 18 activities, of which 1 has remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Health within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with a total of 29 activities. Of the 29 planned activities, 14 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 2 objectives with a total of 10 activities. 4 of them have remained unrealized.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives, a total of 71 activities. There are 19 activities left unfinished.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with a total of 56 activities, of which 31 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 8 objectives with a total of 159 activities, of which 72 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 2 objectives with a total of 20 activities. Of the 20 planned activities, 12 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Finance in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with 51 activities throughout the year. Of the 51 planned activities, 10 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Infrastructure within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with a total of 30 activities, of which 16 have remained unfinished.

The Office of the Prime Minister, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 28 objectives with a total of 166 activities, of which it has realized only 73 activities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives with 46 activities, where 33 activities remain unfinished.

The Ministry of Justice, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives. Within these 5 objectives, a total of 52 activities were foreseen to be realized, but 24 activities remained unfulfilled.

The Ministry of Local Government, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 3 objectives within which 23 activities were planned to be realized. Out of 23 activities, only 1 remained unrealized.

The Ministry of Defense, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with a total of 23 activities, of which 7 have remained unfulfilled.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives with 149 activities. Unfortunately, despite our insistence, we have not received a response from the office of the secretary of this ministry regarding the implementation of the work plan.