PRISTINA – In the meeting for the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) for the years 2018 and 2019, the Minister of European Integration of Kosovo Dhurata Hoxha stated that the assistance from the European Union through the pre-accession instrument should focus in the fields that have direct impact in the improvement of citizens’ well-being, especially by focusing on the sectors of: rule of law, human rights, education and employment.
“In order to invest more in the relevant sectors, in cooperation with the EU Office in Kosovo, are supported with an amount of 81.6 million euros the sectors of: Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights, Energy, Environment, Education, Employment and Social Policies (with focus on education). In addition, individual projects that are considered to assist the democracy and governance, will also be supported”, said Hoxha.
Whereas, Hoxha stated, that IPA 2019 program will have an approximate amount to IPA 2018 and will continue to support the same sectors, but it will be added agriculture, rural development, competitiveness and innovation.
The EU office has invited us to send any proposals that we have, emphasised Minister, and to commence the consultation process even before the official deadline.
Present were also the institutions that have not yet developed projects within the aforementioned sectors but are under development. Minister invited the representatives of the institutions to submit as soon as possible the proposals, and the proposals that should have priority should be the projects that directly assist the citizens, promote entrepreneurship especially among youth and promote competitiveness in the market.
“We expect projects to be initiated as soon as possible and those that are not approved under IPA 2019, we will intend to include them within IPA 2020, and therefore you are invited to present these proposals today as well. The Ministry of Integration will provide support to all institutions in this process but certainly inter-institutional cooperation is indispensable”, she stated.
Hoxha also noted that the assistance that is provided through these programs is an ideal opportunity for the same to be used to address the challenges in the respective sectors and to enable the reforms that are necessary to advance the integration process.
The projects in favor of Strengthening the Rule of Law through consolidation of the use of diagnostic tools and methods of the Council of Europe in Kosovo (GRECO, MONEYVAL), whereas the Minister of Internal Affairs spoke about the Support for Internal Affairs- Support for Police. Projects regarding education, employment and social policies were submitted and reviewed by the Minister of Education, namely by the Minister of Social Welfare, Shyqiri Bytyqi and Skender Reçica.