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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: CORRUPTION STILL A MAJOR HURDLE IN KOSOVO The EU foreign affairs committee approved a draft European Parliament report on Tuesday (January 31st), calling on EULEX to "increase its efforts" in the country against organised crime and corruption. "Corruption continues to be a very serious concern. There is a need to tackle this challenge more proactively, in particular by law enforcement and judiciary," Fjolla Çeku, information officer at the EC Liaison Office in Pristina, told SETimes. EULEX spokesman Nicholas Hawton said, however, that the mission has accomplished "clear results" in pursuing criminals. The rule of law mission is currently investigating 350 incidences of criminal activities, with the mission's judges already pronouncing as many as 220 verdicts. Of them, 15 judgments have been on organised crime, Hawton said. The report's author, European Parliament Austrian MP Ulrike Lunacek, told EUobserver however, "It would have helped the way [EULEX is] seen in the country to already have indictments on high-level corruption cases." The government's 2012-2016 strategy against corruption, which was approved on January 11th, outlines the objectives and the preventive measures against corruption. Kosovo Agency Against Corruption legislation and education head Burim Sadiku said that the new strategy is based on the assessments of local and international institutions on the level of corruption. Last month, four Kosovo Health Ministry officials -- including Ministry Secretary Ilir Tolaj -- were arrested based on allegations of misuse of official duty or authorisation, tax evasion, money laundering and organised crime related to tenders. Kosovo Police said that the arrests were made after several months of investigation conducted by the Anti-Corruption Task Force, led by Kosovo Special Prosecution's Office. However, despite weeks since the arrests, charges have yet to be filed. The four currently remain in detention. "Having [the justice sector] not in the right level of responsibility means more corruption, because it means lack of action from the legal state [institutions]," Kosovo political analyst and university professor at Universum University College in Pristina, Belul Beqaj tells SETimes. Beqaj says that what is needed most is the right approach of the authorities towards corruption. "Those who build a corrupt system cannot fight corruption. An abusive relationship has been built between the citizens and the institutions. If this relation does not change, corruption cannot be fought," Beqaj says. Pristina resident Malsor Hamiti agrees. "The best word to describe the state of corruption here is catastrophic. If it was up to me, all those corrupted should be arrested and put in prison, and then they would understand how much people are suffering. Corruption means less opportunities and less money for us, the common people," he told SETimes. Southeast European Times 02/02/2012 |
