Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-02-04-Speech-3-221"
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"en.20090204.15.3-221"2
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"Madam President, just one year after the declaration of independence, the situation in Kosovo, and in the whole Western Balkans region, is overall stable and under control, in spite of some incidents.
We are grateful for the additional amount under this heading which is also allocated in this year’s budget. Under the 2007 Instrument for Pre-Accession, the Commission is implementing projects to facilitate the return and reintegration of internally displaced people and refugees in Kosovo, for a total of amount of EUR 3.3 million. We have envisaged further funding –EUR 4 million under the 2008 Instrument for Pre-Accession, and EUR 2 million under the 2009 Instrument for Pre-Accession. This money will also contribute to improving the local capacity to reintegrate returnees into the local social and economic environment.
Gender equality is high on our agenda as well. The Commission has provided technical assistance to the Kosovo Gender Equality Agency. It has also supported the activities of several local NGOs working in the field of gender equality and women’s rights through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights.
As regards public administration capacity, the Commission monitors the implementation of Kosovo’s public administration reform strategy and action plan. We have stressed with the authorities the urgency of adopting the Civil Service Law. Through our involvement in setting up the regional school for public administration we also cooperate with the Kosovo Institute for Public Administration. Special attention is paid to the Ministry of Local Government and Administration, with a support project for almost EUR 1 million.
The Commission is making significant efforts to help reform the education system in Kosovo. Our financial assistance is comprehensive. It aims at improving both material conditions and the quality of teaching at primary, secondary and tertiary levels and in the vocational sector, as well as strengthening the multicultural aspects as a basic condition for reconciliation.
Following the July donors’ conference, a multi-donor trust fund was set up by the World Bank for the broader social sector, including education. With EUR 5 million, the Commission is among the main contributors to the fund. Altogether, EU assistance to education in Kosovo, over the period 2006-2010, amounts to EUR 30.5 million. The opening of a multi-ethnic European university college will receive our support once all local stakeholders reach an agreement to make this effort a sustainable project.
The plight of Roma families in lead-contaminated refugee camps in the north is an issue of serious concern. The Commission is actively assisting in finding a swift and sustainable solution acceptable to all. We have repeatedly called on all parties to refrain from politicising the issue, and to act only with the best interests of the Roma families in mind.
Finally, Kosovo also benefits from our multi-beneficiary programmes, covering the Western Balkans and Turkey, which fund the process of civil registration of Roma people. Our support for Roma in Kosovo also includes education. Together with the Council of Europe, we support quality education for Roma children, including in their mother tongue.
In my view, all this is very much in line with your proposals. I thank all honourable Members of this Parliament very much for their attention and look forward to your questions.
The European Union presence in Kosovo is progressively materialising, taking over from the United Nations. The EU special representative is residing in Priština, and the EU’s Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) is deployed throughout Kosovo and will be fully operational at the end of March.
A stable and multi-ethnic Kosovo is a key priority for the European Union. The best way for Kosovo to move towards European integration is by creating a democratic and multi-ethnic society, with full respect for the rule of law, cooperating peacefully with its neighbours and contributing to regional and European stability. This includes extensive measures to safeguard the future of all communities in Kosovo, thereby creating a basis for sustainable economic and political development.
The Commission’s progress report of November 2008 was considered by the authorities to be an objective and fair assessment of what was achieved and of the challenges ahead. The Kosovo authorities have committed themselves to working and cooperating with the Commission in meeting these challenges. We allocate significant funding to Kosovo under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (EPA), as part of the overall pledge of EUR 1.2 billion reached at the July 2008 donors’ conference.
In 2008, the Instrument for Pre-Accession supported projects worth EUR 185 million in Kosovo, a three-fold increase compared to the previous year. We will allocate a further EUR 106 million in 2009. The management of this funding is the exclusive responsibility of our Commission Liaison Office in Priština, which is now fully operational with all relevant control systems in place, and takes over from the European Agency for Reconstruction.
The Commission welcomes the draft resolution being discussed here today in the European Parliament. It touches on many issues that we agree are of crucial importance, such as the preservation of Kosovo’s cultural heritage, the improvement of its public administration capacity, better integration among its communities, the importance of multi-ethnic education, and the plight of Roma families in lead-contaminated refugee camps in the north.
The Commission takes all these issues very seriously. Perhaps I can say a few words on each of them in turn.
Since 2004, the Commission has financed the reconstruction of religious and cultural heritage sites – its programme with a budget of EUR 10 million – with the close involvement of the Council of Europe. In 2008 and 2009 funding is continuing, with EUR 2.5 million more for further projects. We consider this a very important aspect of reconciliation and have supported the establishment of Kosovo’s cultural heritage database. Graveyards could also be included in this debate so as to ensure their proper restoration and preservation.
I would like to express our gratitude to the European Parliament for the additional amount of EUR 3 million, within the 2008 EU budget, for cultural heritage reconstruction in the war-affected areas in the Western Balkans. The Commission has allocated half of this amount – EUR 1.5 million – to Kosovo, in a joint project with the Ministry of Culture, in the multi-ethnic town of Prizren."@en1
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