Standard Twinning Light Project fiche

  1. Basic Information

1.1Programme: 2010 / 022 452

1.2Twinning Number:KS 10 IB OT 01 TWL

1.3Title:Assessment of the capacities and strengthening of the key Kosovo structures for the EU acquis transposition and policy coordination.

1.4Sector:Public Administration Reform

1.5Beneficiary: Kosovo[*]

  1. Objectives

2.1Overall Objective:

The overall objective of this project is effective implementation of the process of transposition of the EU acquis in the Kosovo national legislation and strengthened policy coordination.

2.2Project Purpose:

The purpose of the project is to assess the capacities of the key structures[1] relevant for transposition of the EU acquisandpolicy coordination as well as to develop recruitment and capacity building plan with the aim of increasing institutional and administrative capacity.

2.3Contribution to National Development Plan/Cooperation Agreement /Association Agreement/Action Plan:

This Twinning light project will directly contribute to the objectives mentioned in the Feasibility Study for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and Kosovo (SWD(2012) 339 final) which states that Kosovo needs to continue to implement the necessary reform of the public administration and make progress in implementing the public administration strategy and action plan and related legislation. The objectives mentioned in the above document refer to ensuring a sustainable public administration reform, including the necessary funding and staffing andincreasing the overall share of persons belonging to minorities in the public administration.It is also stated that an efficient and professional public administration is key for the successful implementation of an agreement.

This Twinning light project will provide valuable assistance in assessing the needs for capacity building relevant in the framework of the process of European integration and to such degree this Twinning light project will contribute to establishing efficient and professional public administration which is one of the objectives mentioned above in the Feasibility Study.

Moreover, the Feasibility Study states that Kosovo needs to improve its governance in order to meet its obligations under a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). The focus of Kosovo needs to be on implementing its ambitious EU reform agenda. The government needs to ensure that its legislative agenda adequately corresponds to the capacities of individual ministries and to the available budget. The coordination between the government and the Assembly also needs further strengthening.

This Twinning light project is also in line with thedraft Action Plan on SAA, which under Political Criteria as relevant objectives indicates strengthening of structuresforthecoordinationofthe Stabilisation and AssociationProcess andbuildingcapacityfor harmonization ofnational legislation withtheacquis and policy coordination(deadline 4Q 2013).Indicatorsrelevant for the above mentioned objectives are stipulated as follows:

-Coordinationstructuresestablished;

-Action Plan forthe negotiations approved;

-Law onnormativeacts(including matchingtables, andopinion on the conformitydeclaration) adopted;

-Rules of Procedureforlegalservices approved;

-Rules ofProcedureoftheGovernmentapproved;

-Legaldraftingstandardsdeveloped;

-CapacityassessmentoftheGovernmentfortheharmonizationofnational legislationwiththeacquis and policycoordinationcompleted;

-Capacity buildingandrecruitmentplansdrafted;

-Employees recruited and trainedin the field ofacquis andpolicycoordination.

Program of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo 2011-2014, under public administration reform item, highlights that, among others, the Government will be focused on reorganizing public administration in Kosovo according to international best practices and strengthening administrative capacities for providing services to citizens and fulfilling the criteria for European integration. In addition, the same document states that the harmonization with the acquis will be ensured during supplementation of the legal infrastructure.

This Twinning light project is envisaged to provide capacity assessment of staff involved in the European Integration process and develop corresponding recruitment and capacity building plan. This will ultimately contribute to achievement of priorities and objectives mentioned within the Program of the Government and the Feasibility Study, as competent and capable human resources are prerequisite for addressing priority issues relevant before start of the negotiations as well as successful negotiations and subsequent implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA).

  1. Description

3.1Background and Justification:

Kosovo is a potential European Union candidate country, currently in the initial phase of the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP). Being a potential candidate country, Kosovo is undergoing the process of harmonisation ofits legislation with the directives, primary legislation and with regulations which will later become directly applicable with the prospective membership in the EU. Another priority for Kosovo is effective planning of EU assistance, available through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), with the allocation for the last three years (2010, 2011 and 2012) amounting in average to 68.7 million EUR per programming year.

The complex stabilisation and association process, as well as EU assistance planning is being coordinated by the Ministry of European Integration (MEI), with the following main tasks:

  • Coordination of the European integration process;
  • Donor coordination: EU pre-accession, bilateral and multilateral assistance;
  • Coordination of the approximation of the national legislation with the acquis;
  • Preparation of the national version of the acquis.

The process of legislation drafting can be summarized as follows: Line institutions are responsible for drafting sector legislation which is in line with the acquis. In the Ministries, draft legislation is first checked by their Legal Department (LD), which has the responsibility to provide legal support for the development of legislation as well as monitoring implementation. Chief official(s) responsible for the legal approximation will be situated in the Legal Department. Draft legislation issent to the MEI Legal Department for compatibility check with the EU acquis. However, line institutions only send laws, not systematically bylaws, for compliance check and, according to the Rules of Procedures (RoP) of the Government, do only refer to EU legal acts included in the draft legislation. On this basis, the MEI LD issues an Opinion on Compatibility of the draft legislation.

Draft legislation isthen sent to the Legal Office of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM LO) for compatibility checking with the Kosovo legal system. Draft legal acts then go to the government session and later, in case of draft laws, to the Parliament. There, each draft law, before adopted on a plenary session, is discussed in at least one of the functional committees and in the Committee for Legislation and Judiciary. Parliamentary officials within Division of Legal Approximation and Standardisation are checking compliance with EU acquis.

The process as described above wasreviewed and adapted by the Kosovo authorities inDecember 2012. The changes focus on the compatibility checking made by MEI LD which will be based on the Table of Concordance (a new document that lines the draft law and draft bylaw with EU legislative acts article by article and indicates its level of compliance with “full” , “partial” and “not applicable”).

As mentioned above, MEI has an overall coordinative role concerning EU assistance planning, while line Ministries, more specifically Departments for European Integration and Policy Coordination (DEIPC) are responsible for the following tasks:

  • Coordination of the European integration process;
  • Coordination of the strategic planning process;
  • Coordination of external assistance.

MEI has the central role in overall planning, such as preparation of Kosovo’s strategic documents, and also contribution to EU documents which regulates EU assistance for Kosovo. MEI coordinates the programming of EU assistance, which basically includes assistancetothe line institutions indevelopment of projects’ documentation (project fiches, terms of reference). It also does prioritisation of projects and is responsible to align EU assistance with national priorities of Kosovo. Secretary-General of MEI is National IPA Coordinator (NIPAC), and signs the agreements with EU on behalf of Kosovo.

The level of involvement of the DEIPC in policy coordination and EU assistance planning is not the same in all line Ministries. It depends on the specific organisational structure of particular Ministry as well as professional competence of its staff. However, in all ministries, and in most of the independent bodies, a Senior Programming Officer (SPO) is appointed, who serves as a focal point for donors and MEI (when it comes to planning, programming and coordination of foreign assistance). Some of the SPOs have their primary responsibility related directly to programming of foreign assistance, while for many this only represents a secondary assignment.

Among a list of issues recognized and recommendations given by the experts conducting analysis of the European integration process and the legal approximation system[2], those related to capacities of the institutions to cope with the challenges of the acquis transposition and EU assistance planning are seen as priorities which need to be systematically dealt with.

The analyses have shown that majority of staff in various departments of the line ministries do not have sufficient knowledge of official EU languages nor are familiar with the acquis in their policy area, the negative effect of which is supplemented by high staff turnover in line ministries.

The recommendations are focused on creating a professional administration with knowledge of the acquis, EU institutions and Member States and the ability to cope with any kind of monitoring from the EU. Moreover, staff with such knowledge and experience should be kept in their positions despite political changes, because years are needed to reach the desired level of qualification for EU-related duties.

In order to tackle the abovementioned issues and implement recommendations, this project aims at conducting thorough assessment of the capacities of the line Ministries (Legal Departments and Departments for European Integration and Policy Coordination) as well as MEI, which willform a basis for development of competences and skills needed for successful implementation of their specific roles in the EU approximation process. It should be also highlighted that in the course of implementation of this Twinning light project specifics of each line Ministry should be taken into account as they differ in their role, organization and capacities.

The capacity of the overall system is to be enhanced through development of Recruitment and CapacityBuilding plan to be implemented by the Ministries, thus creating foundations for establishment of a sound system necessary for managing the EU integration process and assistance initiatives.

Besides MEI and line Ministries, two additional main stakeholders will be involved in implementation of this Twinning light project: Office of the Prime Minister (OPM LO) and the Ministry of Public Administration (for more information on relevant stakeholders please refer to the point 4. Institutional framework).

In the framework of this Twinning light project strong cooperation between MPA, OPM and MEI is envisaged, both on the organisational level as well as on the level of implementation of particular activity.

3.2 Linked Activities:

IPA 2011 Twinning project “Support to Ministry of European Integration”, implemented by Finland, will start in March 2013. This project will support MEI and line institutions in planning and programming of EU assistance, and overall donor coordination. The project will lastfor two years and will give institutional support in the form of technical assistance, advice and expertise in all EU assistance related issues, particularly focused on the programming period 2014-2020.

”Support to the European Integration Process in Kosovo”, a project financed by the German government and implemented by GIZ, has started in 2011 and will last for three years. The project will mainly support Kosovo institutions in developing a national consensus for Kosovo’s EU integration process. A Strategy on EU integration is the main result expected to be achieved by this project. The project may support any activities that are requested by MEI and/or other institutions related to EU integration process.

Under the framework of this project two studies have been prepared, which are attached as Annex 3 and 4 to the Twinning light Fiche:

Strengthening the Legal Approximation Process and Structures in Kosovo (GIZ, October 2012)

This Study analysed the current set-up of the legal approximation process in Kosovo, with a special attention to the relations between Legal Department of the Ministry of European Integration (MEI) and the Legal Office of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). The study provided recommendations on institutional set up and procedures relevant for EU acquis transposition specifically, and policy coordination in general.

Strengthening of the European Integration Process and Structures (GIZ, May 2012)

This Study analyzed the current state of play in the MEI and in the line Ministries and to a certain extent commented also on the general situation regarding the European integration process in Kosovo. The study provided recommendations on procedures and internal organisation of the MEI, including specification of relevant number of employees in its organisational units. It was also stated that in coordination and management of the European integration process it should be specifically considered that the majority of staff in various departments of the line ministries do not have sufficient knowledge of official EU languages nor are familiar with the EU acquis in their policy area.

”Young Cell Scheme” is a closely linked project which aims to create a core of professional civil servants by sending abroad a number of students, who will, after finishing their studies, be recruited by Kosovo’s public administration for at least a three year period. The IX round of the project has been part of IPA 2011 programme, and most of the students will return to Kosovo during the year 2013. There will not be a round on 2013, however, the project will continue in the next programming period (2014-2020). Candidates, who will complete their studies during 2013 or the subsequent years, will be employed by the Kosovo public administration, based on recommendation of this Twinning light project.

IPA 2013 project “Support to Public Administration Reform”will support the central government institutions of Kosovo in strengthening strategic planning and policy coordination through the development of an Integrated Planning System (IPS). The project is expected to start in late 2013 and will last for two years. It will be implemented via a service contract. The goal of the project is to advance institutional and human analytical capacities as well as to create an environment where strategic planning documents will be the main instrument for prioritisation, policy and budget planning in the government. The project will be focused on supporting a set of operating principles to ensure that government policy planning and monitoring as a whole takes place in efficient and harmonized way. It will support in advancing the institutional mechanisms, procedures and other necessary conditions for a better and coherent coordination at the centre of the government and line ministries on strategic and policy planning.

The second part of the project will address the weaknesses of the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA) training coordination and implementing bodies – the Department of Civil Service Administration (DCSA) and the Kosovo Institute for Public Administration (KIPA) – by providing a strategic approach which consists of provision of an adequate physical training infrastructure which will both help to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of public administration at central and municipal level.

The project will also assist the Kosovo government in preparing the legislative and organizational set up necessary to effectively manage IPA funds according to the IPA regulations. This will include setting up of authorities, structures and management systems in accordance with the new IPA Regulation (IPA II). Enhanced capacities for managing EU assistance will result in a greater qualitative impact of such assistance to Kosovo’s challenges in its way to EU integration.

“Support to Public Administration Reform”is a linked project financed by UNDP.The project is fully funded for 2011 – 2014 and partially for 2015. This project aims to support the Government of Kosovo (GoK) in furthering the Public Administration Reform (PAR) process. MPAwill be in the focus of the support as the main carrier of the PAR in the policy development and implementation process. All activities of this project are aligned and in compliance with GoK priorities on PAR and the EU integration agenda. Principal linked activity is “Mandatory Training and Examination for Civil Servants”. Planned results for this activity are: completion of legal base that allows training and mandatory examination, drafting of regulation on “Mandatory Training and Mandatory Examination of Civil Servants” that will be based on the actual legislation and drafting of training plan.

3.3. Results:

Component 1: Assessment of the capacities for transposition of the EU acquisandpolicy coordination.

Result 1.1:Administrative capacities of the Ministry of European Integration (MEI) for their coordinative role inthe EU acquis transposition and policy coordinationanalysed and a comprehensive Gaps and NeedsReport providing detailed information on the disparity between the current capacities and the ones needed for adequate coordination of EU acquis transposition and policy coordinationprepared.

The analysis should encompass capacity of the current staff members in terms of education, foreign language expertise, fields of specialization and familiarization with the EU acquis andpolicy coordination.

Result 1.2:Administrative capacities of line Ministries (Legal Departments (LD) and Departments for European Integration and Policy Coordination (DEIPC)) for transposition of the EU acquiandpolicy coordination analysed and a comprehensive Gaps and Needs Report providing detailed information on the disparity between the current capacities and the ones needed for adequate transposition of the EU acquisand policy coordination prepared.

The analysis should encompass capacity of the current staff members in terms of education, foreign language expertise, fields of specialization and familiarization with the EU acquis.

Result 1.3:Line Ministries’ LDs’ and DEIPCs’ staff members’ competences and skills needed for successful implementation and management of the LD and DEIPC main tasks (transposition of the EU acquisandpolicy coordination) defined and recommendations on job descriptions elaborated.

Component 2:Establishment of human resources development plansfor strengtheninginstitutional and administrative capacitiesfor EU acquis transposition and policy coordination.

Result 2.1: Recruitment Plan for the MEI, LDs and DEIPCs within line Ministries prepared with the purpose of acquiring staff members with the required expertize, as shown by the G&N reports.