Office for Political Criteria

The Office of Political Criteria is an organisational unit of the Office of the Prime Minister Office in charge of coordination of implementation of reforms for integration into the European Union in areas under Political Criteria (which includes the following ones: parliament, electoral system, public administration, and regional cooperation and international obligations), as well as negotiation chapters 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights), 24 (Justice and Home Affairs), 31 (Foreign, Security and Defence Policy) and 34 (Institutions).

Within the aforementioned areas and chapters, the Office of Political Criteria exercises these functions by aligning policies of the Republic of Kosova with those of the EU in these areas, participating in their drafting and providing professional opinions on their alignment with the requirements of the EU acquis and European standards, monitoring and evaluating their implementation, as well as coordinating the preparation of the main national policy documents for EU integration in these areas and monitoring their implementation.

This office also coordinates the reform dialogue with the EU in these areas and chapters by co-chairing the EU– Kosova Stabilisation and Association Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom and Security and the Sectoral Working Group for European Integration on Governance, as well as by coordinating and providing professional support to their functioning and of EU membership negotiation structures in these areas and chapters.

The Office for Political Criteria also prepares regular reports for the European Commission on implementation of EU integration reforms in the aforementioned areas and chapters.

The following divisions are part of the Office for Political Criteria: