The European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE) continue to assist and provide tailor-made support for the authorities in their sustainable efforts to advance strategic reforms in the areas of human rights, rule of law and democracy.
During the 3rd Beneficiary Steering Committee Meeting of the Horizontal Facility II programme that took place today in Pristina, main beneficiaries, partners, stakeholders and key actors expressed their shared commitment to continue co-operating on initiatives undertaken in the framework of the programme, focused on aligning the efficiency and quality of the justice system with European standards, promoting diversity and equality by fighting hate speech and discrimination, as well as consolidating a free and independent media by protecting freedom of expression.
Andi Batusha, Senior Officer for Development Cooperation Office (NIPAC Representative), Office of Prime Minister, stressed the importance of longstanding co-operation with the Council of Europe and the European Union, in supporting the public authorities to meet their reform goals and comply with the European standards in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy.
For his part, Nicola Scaramuzzo, Rule of Law Team Leader in the European Union Office in Kosovo stated that: “The EU Office remains committed towards achieving the goals of ensuring justice, promoting diversity & equality and freedom of expression and media in Kosovo through joint initiatives such as the projects implemented under the so called Horizontal Facility II.”
Ms Delphine Freymann, Head of Programming Department a.i, Office of the Directorate General of Programmes - Council of Europe, reiterated that the European Union and the Council of Europe have assisted the authorities in their reform process in key areas of rule of law, democracy and human rights. “This long-term support has brought sustainable results for the benefit of citizens’ everyday lives”, stressed Freymann.
For further information, please contact:
Besnik Baka, tel. +355692178430 or
Dusan Vojnović, tel. +33 3 90 21 56 99
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Horizontal Facility II programme
The joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey” was created as a co-operation initiative to assist Beneficiaries in the Western Balkans and Turkey, to comply with European standards in the framework of the enlargement process. The second phase of the programme (2019-2022) funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe in the amount of €41 million follows a two-fold approach: Technical Co-operation, in the form of capacity-building, advice and other forms of technical support tailored to the needs of each Horizontal Facility Beneficiary and the Expertise Co-ordination Mechanism, a flexible tool through which the Council of Europe provides ad hoc legislative expertise and policy advice in response to requests made by the Beneficiaries.
With a fund of over €1.7 million, the Horizontal Facility II actions in Kosovo have achieved tangible results, building on the lessons learned of the first phase and ensuring ownership and sustainability of the beneficiaries in the ongoing reforms.
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In the field of justice and rule of law the programme has assisted the authorities in the process of assessing the justice system, as well as ensuring that the judiciary works with more reliable and specific statistics. The recommendations delivered in the context of the programme, were incorporated into the Rule of Law Strategy adopted by the Government.
In addition, with the support of the programme the development of the Case Management Information Systems (CMIS) for Courts has been accomplished based on CEPEJ recommendations and methodology.
In the field of freedom of speech and freedom of the media, the programme has been closely working with and has ensured a continuous exchange process between a range of local actors, including legal professionals, police officers, as well as representatives of media regulatory authorities, civil society and journalists with the aim to improve the application of freedom of expression based on European standards and best practices. In this framework key capacity building initiatives have been conducted for lawyers and journalists on the access to public documents and information, protection of journalists, media literacy etc.
Concerning the promotion of diversity and equality in the society, important efforts have been undertaken to strengthen the capacities and support the local authorities to improve the implementation of the policy/legal framework related to anti-discrimination, combating hate-speech and protecting the rights of LGBTI persons in line with the standards and recommendations set by the Council of Europe. Thus, as part of the close partnership between the Horizontal Facility II programme and the Office of Good Governance in the Office of the Prime Minister, capacity building for the public officials on reporting and analysing data on discrimination more efficiently has been provided. In addition, the local anti-hate speech awareness-raising initiative “Block the Hatred; Share the Love” has been launched and is now reaching various communities through social media and public activities, to inform them on the risks and the fight against hate speech.
As part of the Expertise Co-ordination Mechanism, which provides expertise within the Council of Europe system to respond to requests for legislative expertise and policy advice, the Venice Commission has shared with the authorities, an important Opinion on the draft amendments to the Law on the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council.
More information about the Horizontal Facility II Programme
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