April 18, Prishtina, Kosovo – On April 18, Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) held the Annual High-level Conference PAR Progress Kosovo 2024, under its traditional title: “Public Administration Reform in Kosovo: challenges, progress and the way forward”, held in Prishtina. GLPS remains actively involved in systemic monitoring of Kosovo’s Public Administration Reform (PAR) efforts, providing insights from a civil society perspective. While there has been noticeable progress in the reform of Kosovo’s public administration over time, the advancements have been limited by numerous challenges and barriers, making the path ahead difficult. Public service is the main promoter in Public Administration which aims to provide services to citizens while protecting the public interest. The EU integration process places the primary responsibility on the public service to manage its demands. To be able to manage these demands, the public service needs continuous modernization.

The Annual Conference PAR Progress Kosovo 2024 gathered more than 150 participants from public institutions, independent bodies, various international organizations and embassies, civil society, academia, experts and media. The conference is designed to foster an extensive discussion among experts on the main facets of PAR, its obstacles, and viable solutions. It will gather important institutional players, both local and international specialists, members of the civil society, and academics. It featured two panels, each dedicated to exploring significant themes of public administration reform in Kosovo. The first panel focused on the challenges and the path forward for the modernization of public services. The second panel was regarding the crossroads between regulation, constitutional independence and practical implementation of the salary system in Kosovo.

The Annual Conference was opened by the Head of the EU Office in Kosovo/EUSR, Mr. Tomas Szunyog and the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Bardhyl Dobra. Both, Mr. Szunyog and Mr. Dobra emphasized the importance of the public administration reform as one of the key processes that requires strong institutional and political willingness, in order to be properly implemented.

Venue: Hotel Swiss Diamond – Dyar Hall (Sqr. Mother Theresa, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo)