Government of Republic of Kosovo and European Union sign the Financing Agreement

The annual IPA action programme for Kosovo will support the following sectors: Democracy and Governance, Rule of Law and Fundamental Human Rights, Energy, Competitiveness and Innovation, Agriculture and Rural Development. The projects foreseen to be supported by this programme will commence to be implemented in early 2016.

In terms of democracy and governance, special focus will be given to the efforts for improvement of public administration in Kosovo, in order to enable the transposition, application and implementation of the EU acquis, particularly in the field covered by Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA). The programme will also support the civil society in improving the efficiency and their participation in policy-making process. Also, the programme will assist the capacity building of Kosovo Assembly. Financial amount for this sector will comprise of 17 300 000 Euro.

Regarding the rule of law and fundamental rights, the challenges in three sub-sectors will be addressed: in the sub-sector of “justice” the focus will be on strengthening the legal education for improvement of professionalism level, accountability and efficiency in the judiciary. Regarding internal affairs, the focus will be on strengthening the structures that deal with migration policies in Kosovo and in strengthening the institutions that combat the human trafficking. Whereas in terms of fundamental rights and minorities, the focus will be on improving the respect for human rights, by supporting the inclusion of non-majority communities and vulnerable groups as well as by facilitating and dislocating displaced families from collective centres. Financial amount for this sector will comprise of 4 000 000 Euro.

The activities in the energy sector will be mainly focused on implementation of legislation that transposes the Third Energy Package as well as in reducing carbon emissions and efficiency improvement of energy sector in Kosovo. Financial amount for this sector will comprise of 5 500 000 Euro.

In terms of competitiveness and innovation, the programme will assist in improvement of competitiveness of the private sector in Kosovo, in particular by improving the municipal infrastructure and entrepreneurs support through regional development programme. Financial amount allocated for this sector is 12 150 000 Euro.

Whereas for the agriculture and rural development sector, the foreseen actions will assist the improvement of competitiveness of agro-food sector in Kosovo, living conditions for the population in rural areas, food security and will enhance the export capacity of agro-food sector. Financial amount for this sector will comprise of 10 500 000 Euro.