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Asset Publisher

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN KOSOVO AND THE WESTERN BALKANS

This paper aims to address the impact of COVID-19 on economic indicators and FDI flows in the Western Balkan countries, possible scenarios of events and their reflections in Kosovo. This research paper comes in the wake of another paper by IETL, namely Foreign Direct Investment in Kosovo: Investment Climate, Potential and Barriers, published at the end of 2019, providing valuable information regarding the barriers to FDI flows as encountered by foreign investors in Kosovo even before COVID-19, the reforms that the Government needs to make for the overall economic growth and to attract FDIs. Additionally, this paper is supported by the desk research of secondary data (documents, local and international reports produced by the IMF, World Bank (WB), Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK), Kosovo Investment and Enterprise Support Agency (KIESA), scientific and professional magazine articles, statistical data).

Inter-ethnic Relations in Kosovo from the Perspective of RAE Communities

With an overall population of fewer than 1.8 million inhabitants, the Kosovo population is rather diverse. Thirty-three out of 38 municipalities in Kosovo are multi-ethnic, composed of several ethnic groups legally recognized as “communities”. To this day, Kosovo is lacking in regards to the full integration of minorities in the political, social, and economic life of the country and compliance with the national legal framework and the international standards on minority rights. This policy brief argues that the most under represented, discriminated-against, second-class citizens on almost all indicators are the three ethnic groups of the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians (hereinafter, RAE). Thus, it aims to analyze the current situation of the RAE communities as a backdrop for analyzing inter-community relations in Kosovo and provide recommendations for the relevant stakeholders and the general public.

Political Foundations: Models for the Case of Kosovo

Due to the crucial significance of political parties in shaping the process of decision-making and policy-making, the role of political foundations may often be largely overlooked. Yet, such viewpoint may be subject to fallacy. Political foundations affiliated with political parties have become important actors in the post-World War II configuration, not only by cooperating with political parties, but also engaging globally in third countries through democratic assistance and support for sister parties. The following report seeks to offer a comprehensive discussion on political foundations, aiming to offer concrete recommendations on how they could be organised in the case of Kosovo. To achieve such aim, different models of political foundations will be described and compared, thus drawing special emphasis on elements such as their scope of work, legal regulations and financing sources.

Post-legislative scrutiny

International principles and oversight in Kosovo

The purpose of this brief is precisely to evaluate the work of the Assembly in terms of oversight on implementation of legislation. The highest legislative body in the country has been subject to repeated criticism in the European Commission Country Report on Kosovo, for poor performance in its oversight role. The brief starts with an analysis of the legal framework that vests the Assembly with legislative oversight powers, to establish if there are gaps in this regard, and follows with a comparative analysis of different legislatures since 2008. Lastly, there is a review of reports adopted by the Assembly covering the oversight on implementation of legislation and an examination whether the provisions that could not be implemented in practice have been identified. Additionally, this paper examines the international practices in the oversight on implementation of legislation, respectively the efforts being made by parliaments in developed democracies, parliaments in neighboring countries and those aspiring European Union (EU) membership.

Public Policy and Governance

This book discusses the main dimensions in the study of governance and public policy, such as the historical trajectory and development of the discipline, the relationships with the main areas and sub-areas of its study as well as many essential aspects related to policies and governance.

Survey: International Politics and Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue

The survey aims to offer a set of data and results on people's perceptions on international politics and the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION - A PILLAR OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Inevitably, similar to other countries in the world, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the Kosovo economy, leading to economic decline since the lockdown of the economy. Thus, Covid-19 had a major impact on businesses, society and the economy in general and has significantly accelerated the need for digital transformation of companies. Among other things, Covid-19 has built a new narrative of how to do business taking into account the changes caused to companies of all sectors. Therefore, it is important to discuss ways for companies to orient themselves towards mitigating the economic consequences of the pandemic and to adapt accordingly in order to cope with it.

Estonian Foreign Ministry / flickr / CC BY 2.0 / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Unstable Political Situation in Kosovo

The Kosovo Special Tribunal Confirms the Most Important Charges

On 5 November, Hashim Thaçi, President of the Republic of Kosovo and former political leader of the UÇK (Kosovo Liberation Army), resigned from office as State President following confirmation of his indictment by the Kosovo Special Tribunal in the Hague. During a press conference, Thaçi explained that he would step down as President to safeguard the integrity of Kosovo and would present himself to the Hague. A few hours earlier, Kadri Veseli, Leader of the PDK (Democratic Party of Kosovo, third strongest party in the 2019 elections), former President of the Parliament and Chief of the Kosovo Secret Service during the war, declared that the indictment against him had also been confirmed in the Hague, and that he would voluntarily present himself to the Special Tribunal.

EU-mediated Kosovo-Serbia dialogue

A new attempt or resumption with the old approach?

The paper aims to analyze the process of mediation of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia by the EU, through the common foreign and security policy. Based on the analysis, the paper provides a series of recommendations for the current stage when the EU has already appointed a special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and other Western Balkan issues, underlining the need for greater support for this process by the member states

Political Parties

Functions and Organisation in Democratic Societies

KAS in cooperation with PIPS publishes the second edition of the book "Political Parties" by Wilhelm Hofmeister and Karsten Grabow in Albanian, with the updated chapter "Political Parties in Kosovo"