On October 4, Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) and EPIK Institute have launched the EU Reform Barometer, during a launching event held in the Europe House in Prishtina. The launching event was opened by keynote speeches of the Head of the EU Office in Kosovo/EUSR, H.E. Mr. Tomáš Szunyog, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Kosovo, H.E. Ms. Carin Lobbezoo.

The EU Reform Barometer is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kosovo, and is a novelty brought by the civil society, namely, GLPS and EPIK Institute. The aim of the EU Barometer in Kosovo is to provide with an overarching and comprehensive assessment of the Government’s performance in fulfilling the objectives and measures foreseen with the National Plan for European Integration, via six-month EU Reform Barometer editions that will be published in a user-friendly online platform.

The aim of the EU Reform Barometer is to advance public discourse on EU reforms and increase public institutions accountability by publishing regularly EU Reform Barometer that will allow systematic and visible monitoring of EU reforms. Publication of the Barometer will be a kind of “European Championship” competition in the implementation of EU reforms. Ranking and comparisons of different ministers through infographics and visualization will encourage important public discussions about the role of each minister in the EU integration process, as well as their respective performance within the Government. Publication of the Barometer will be seen as European test for each minister.

At the opening remarks, Ms. Loxha Stublla, the Executive Director at GLPS stated that the EU Integration process in Kosovo has lost attention over the past years, and there is a need for a revived approach. “Civil society and the general public have experienced a general fatigue in terms of EU perspective, as well decreased efforts from the political spectrum to engage in the implementation the EU-related reforms”, she stated. Against this background, she emphasized that the objective of the EU Reform Barometer is to advance the public discourse on EU reforms and increase the institutional accountability by regularly publishing the EU Reform Barometer editions that will allow systematic and visible monitoring of EU reforms implementation by relevant ministries.

In addition, the Head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Mr. Szunyog added that the future of the Western Balkan countries lies within the European Union, and there are a number of significant reforms that Kosovo needs to push forward, including in education, health and employment. “The EU Reform Barometer introduced today will serve as a significant and complementary tool to the period EC Country Reports, and will provide for a civil society perspective in terms of institutional performance and progress”, he concluded.

On the other hand, the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Kosovo, Mrs. Carin Lobbezoo, said that the EU Reform Barometer maintains a culture of open dialogue and is an important step for a transparent and accountable state towards the EU path.

Panelists:

H.E. Mr. Tomáš Szunyog – Head of the EU Office in Kosovo/EU Special Representative;

H.E. Ms. Carin Lobbezoo – Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kosovo;

Ms. Arberesha Loxha Stublla – Executive Director at GLPS;

Mr. Demush Shasha – Executive Director at EPIK Institute.

Venue: Europe House, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo.