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Kosovo’s hurdles on road to legitimacy
Author: David L. Phillips, Op-Ed, The Boston Globe
Date: Tue Jul 27th 04:30:47 2010
July 27, 2010
Pristina, Kosovo
Kosovars are celebrating last week's International Court of Justice ruling that Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia does not violate international law. While the court's opinion will boost Kosovo's efforts to gain greater global recognition, legitimacy is not just a legal matter. Kosovo must focus on state-building and a more proactive approach to combating corruption and criminality. Transparency and accountability are critical to realizing Kosovo's national aspirations.
Since Kosovo announced its declaration of independence in 2008, 69 countries have established diplomatic relations with it, including 22 of the 27 European Union member states. Spain, Greece, Slovakia, Cyprus, and Romania have not yet recognized.
These holdouts should reverse their position. When they do, the EU, which acts with the consensus of its members, should take steps that would encourage Kosovo to harmonize its conditions with European standards.
Regarding the path to eventual EU membership, the current "tracking mechanism" monitors Kosovo's progress as part of the EU's stabilization and association process. That process should be upgraded to give Kosovo a clear European perspective. The EU should also finalize its visa normalization dialogue allowing visa-free travel for Kosovo passport holders.
The court's opinion also sets the stage for negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia. Belgrade should be given incentives to abandon its partition of Kosovo and defacto annexation of ethnic Serb villages north of the Ibar River. In exchange, the EU would make Serbia a candidate country (as soon as Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb commander wanted for war crimes, is delivered to the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia). As part of the deal, Serbia would see to it that Russia stops obstructing Kosovo's United Nations membership.
Normalizing relations will help Kosovo focus on its domestic challenges, including ineffective governance, a weak judiciary, and widespread corruption. Kosovo's problems are serious but not unique. They are confronted by most post-Communist and post-conflict transition countries.
An honest reckoning by Kosovo of its problems should not overshadow its progress. Prime Minister Hashim Thaci deserves credit for stewarding Kosovo's peaceful emergence as the world's newest nation. Kosovo implemented the so-called Ahtisaari principles enshrining minority rights and decentralization for Kosovo's Serbs. In addition, Kosovo has expanded its infrastructure and launched an ambitious privatization program under his leadership. Kosovo became a member of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund last year.
While membership in international financial institutions is a big step in Kosovo's efforts to secure foreign aid and foreign direct investment, poverty and unemployment are still endemic. Kosovo is the poorest country in Europe. Annual per capita income is $2,500. Ninety percent of Kosovars under age 25 are unemployed. External debt is rising. GDP is in decline, despite large public expenditures and foreign remittances.
Kosovo was ranked 113th overall in the World Bank's 2009 Report on Doing Business. Registration and licensing procedures, especially at the local level, are excessively bureaucratic, politicized, and corrupt. A narrow clique of friends and family close to the government control procurement procedures. Government cronies have been appointed to positions aimed at combating corruption. SHIK--an insidious underground intelligence structure--still generates huge sums from bribery, extortion, and racketeering that end up in the pockets of public officials.
The government can show it is serious about combating corruption by arresting high profile violators, including ministers. It should also draft an anti-Mafia law as well as one on confiscating criminal assets. Harassment of journalists who report on corruption and financial manipulation of independent media must also stop.
While Thaci announced "zero tolerance for corruption," he needs help from the European Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo. It recently showed signs of life by raiding the home and offices of Kosovo's notorious transport minister, but it needs to do more.
The International Court of Justice opinion is a defining moment in the long struggle of Kosovo to realize its independence. With this legal hurdle overcome and greater global recognition sure to follow, Kosovo can now focus on reforms to enhance its good standing in the family of nations.
David L. Phillips is director of the Program on Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding at American University.
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