EC report to slam Pristina for corruption, media oppression
Two days ahead of the official release of a European Commission report on Kosovo, media reports in Pristina, quoting a leaked draft, said that the EC would portray a negative picture troubled by corruption and political interference, while acknowledging progress in political stability.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, October 12, 2009
For reasons including its disputed status, Kosovo was omitted from a recent EC recommendation to exempt a number of Western Balkans states, including Serbia, from Schengen visa zone requirements.
According to reports in Kosovo media on October 12 2009, the EC report due on October 14 would say that the bloc believed that corruption was dominant in many areas in Kosovo.
There was political interference in civil service appointments, in courts and the media, the draft was reported to say. Another problem was a lack of transparency in public procurement deals.
Freedom of speech was not fully guaranteed in Kosovo, according to the draft, as quoted in media reports.
Serbia was maintaining "parallel structures" in Kosovo, whose independence it vehemently rejects, encouraging ethnic Serbs in the country not to recognise Pristina's institutions. Kosovo had no effective control over the northern part of the country, the report said.
