Corruption Wide Spread in Kosovo

Corruption in Kosovo exists in many forms and in all sectors, the European Commission's Liaison Office in Kosovo said, presenting the findings of a study on graft in the country.

The Commission said the study, which is the result of in-depth interviews and consultations with high level officials and other stake-holders, shows corruption is widely accepted as an opportunity for financial gain. The study shows that nepotism and corruption are also very rarely exposed.

It also shows that there is a lack of transparency in relationships between politicians, civil servants, civic leaders, their families and business, creating an environment where the opportunity for corruption is high.

The commission said it published the findings of the study with the aim of raising awareness about corruption with the public.

“The findings of the study should be used constructively to develop an efficient way of fighting corruption,” the Commission said in a statement.

“In Kosovo corruption exists in many different forms and in all sectors. Prevention and the fight against corruption need to be cross-cutting and all Kosovo institutions need to work together in close collaboration,’’ it added.

The Commission said trust must be rebuilt, and resistance against corrupt practices strengthened.

The study is a key part of the EU-funded project Support to the Anti-corruption Institutions of Kosovo.

Commenting on the findings, Merita Mustafa, a manager of anti corruption programs at Kosovo’s Democratic Institute, noted that the survey poured scorn on government anti-corruption claims. She noted that in Transparency International’s country ranking, Kosovo ranked 3.4 in a scale where 1 means a very low public perception of corruption and 5 extreme corruption.

 “We cannot call our country a champion (in fighting corruption) in the Balkans, as the government claims. According to the Global Corruption Barometer Report by Transparency International, a report that the government is proud of, the corruption level in our country is increasing,’’ she told Balkan Insight.

Merita said Kosovo needs to become a member of the Group of States Against Corruption, GRECO, formed by the Council of Europe. GRECO aims to improve the capacities of the member states to fight corruption. She noted that Macedonia is a member.

Kosovo’s Anti-Corruption Agency, AAK, director, Hasan Preteni, noted that Kosovo faces much work in the field.

“While other countries discuss their achievements on anti-corruption day, unfortunately, Kosovo has to do a lot to do, first of all, create a more dynamic legal infrastructure fighting corruption,” Preteni told Balkan Insight.

He said that the agency is receiving more information about corruption, and this year has received two times more complaints than it did in the last two years. He said that there are more than 150 corruption cases submitted to the courts.

Preteni stressed that too few corruption cases are investigated and the number of convictions are not adequate. “I believe that if there are sanctions on corruption cases, then prevention would work better,” Preteni added.

“There is a lack of communications with the public prosecution office,” he added.

He also stressed that the majority of cases are related to public procurement. “We have received corruption information on tenders involving political officials manipulating with public money,” Preteni said, adding that there should be amendments to the Law on Procurement, claiming that discussions are ongoing with Kosovo legislative institutions to do this.