April 5 (SeeNews) - Kosovo showed small improvements in the judiciary, independent media and corruption during last year, but has to make major systematic changes, independent watchdog organisation Freedom House said.
The press became more influential in Kosovo and the authorities improved the way they handle threats against journalists, Freedom House said in its Nations in Transit 2017 report.
The judicial and prosecutorial councils became more independent, the watchdog said. Changes in the legal framework, the prosecution of high-profile cases, as well as a general increase in public awareness improved the country's score in the category corruption, which is Kosovo's weakest point according to Freedom House. These improvements moved the country from the category of semi-consolidated authoritarian regime to the category transitional/hybrid regime.
"From the lowest starting point in the Balkans, over the past decade Kosovo has made progress towards consolidating statehood and building its own institutions," Nate Schenkkan, project director of Nations in Transit said. "It only gets harder from here, however, as the country’s government and political parties need to enforce accountability for corruption and make difficult policy decisions on issues including minority representation and European integration," he added.
Corruption remains a major concern, following the high unemployment rate, the highest in the region. The leaked conversations from 2011, published by online portal Insajderi, revealed for the first time the degree of informality in Kosovan politics and the extent to which external power structures control the work of state institutions. "The authorities’ anticorruption performance improved somewhat in 2016, although the number of dismissed court cases remained high," Freedom House said.
Kosovo |
2007 |
2016 |
2017 |
National Democratic Governance |
5.75 |
5.50 |
5.50 |
Electoral Process |
4.75 |
4.75 |
4.75 |
Civil Society |
4.25 |
3.75 |
3.75 |
Independent Media |
5.50 |
5.25 |
5.00 |
Local Democratic Governance |
5.50 |
4.50 |
4.50 |
Judicial Framework and Independence |
5.75 |
5.75 |
5.50 |
Corruption |
6.00 |
6.00 |
5.75 |
Democracy Score |
5.36 |
5.07 |
4.96 |
"Most of the year was characterized by turf wars between the ruling coalition of PDK and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and opposition parties, a battle that spilled over from 2015," Freedom House said.
Despite owning two-thirds of the seats in parliament, the coalition government, it is only formally strong, and is losing popularity, Freedom House said. This weakens its position in tackling key policy issues, such as the ratification of the border demarcation with Montenegro. Even though the ratification of the agreement is conditional for visa-free travel, its voting has been postponed several times, because the ruling coalition could not find support even among its own members.
The opposition channeled popular anger over some issues, such as the dialogue with Serbia and demarcation agreement with Montenegro. It organised protests, as some of them turned violent with Molotov cocktails thrown at police and government buildings. The opposition also blocked the work of the parliament. The government responded by arresting some opposition activists and members of parliament on several occasions during the year.
"Throughout the year, civil society and media joined their efforts in demanding accountability, fighting corruption, and exposing wrongdoings by public officials," Freedom House said pointing out to investigative reports and documentaries published by local media.
Freedom House expects that the country's opposition will continue to demand early elections. "Since municipal elections are scheduled for November 2017, the chances are high that early parliamentary elections will take place at the same time," the watchdog said.
The watchdog also expects dialogue with Serbia to be challenged during 2017, due to pre-election rhetoric.