Political Risk:
High
Score:
49/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
42/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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The legislation package for the transition of the Kosovo Security Force into armed forces was adopted in late December 2018 by the Kosovo Assembly.…
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The Committee on Internal Affairs, Security and Oversight of the Kosovo Security Force (CIASOKSF), responsible for scrutinising defence policy within defence-related institutions (specifically within…
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The close ties between the members of the Committee on Internal Affairs, Security and Oversight of the Kosovo Security Force (CIASOKSF) and the leadership…
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Q2
17/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo has established a functional committee to oversee the Ministry of Defence and the Kosovo Security Force (KSF)…
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Some members of the Committee on Internal Affairs, Security and Oversight of the Kosovo Security Force (CIASOKSF) have knowledge and insight on security and…
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The defence policies are scrutinised by the relevant Kosovo Assembly Committee, although not on regular basis. Following the adoption of the laws to establish…
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Due to lack of expertise and professional capacities, the Committee on Internal Affairs, Security and Oversight can only exercise very limited oversight on the…
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The Law No.03/L-176 on Parliamentary Investigation regulates the functioning and scope of the Investigation Committee, which is established mainly to investigate challenges, problems and…
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The parliamentary oversight of the Kosovo Security Forces has been insufficient over the last three years (from 2017) [1, 2]. Apart from reviewing the…
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Q3
8/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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Kosovo does not have a National Defence Strategy in place. The Kosovo Security Council and the Kosovo Government approved the National Security Strategy in…
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This indicator has been marked Not Applicable, as there is no National Defence Policy for Kosovo. Furthermore, no public debate has taken place until…
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Since 2016 when Governmental Regulation No. 05/2016 on Minimum Standards for Public Consultation Process was approved by the Government [1], the online platform for…
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The National Security Strategy and its Action Plan have not been published by the relevant institutions leading the drafting process of this document. The…
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Q4
42/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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The Kosovo Constitution guarantees the freedom of expression [1], right to access public documents [2], and freedom of association for citizens [3], which is…
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From a legal standpoint, the Law No. 06/L-043 on Freedom of Association in Non-Governmental Organisations states that Kosovo public institutions should not interfere with…
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There is no information available to confirm whether Civil Society Organisations are involved or have been involved with the security and defence institutions to…
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Q5
0/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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The Kosovo institutions have not signed up to the international anti-corruption measures, more specifically to the United Nations Convention against Corruption [1], or the…
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Given that Kosovo has not signed or ratified any relevant conventions, this sub-indicator is not applicable for Kosovo [1].
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Q6
50/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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Since 2014 when Kosovo institutions made attempts to establish the armed forces, until 2018 when the package of draft laws were presented by the…
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Engagement of the Kosovo Government and other state institutions in public discourse on the relevant topic is limited to media debates, press conferences, government…
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Q7
88/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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In July 2019 the Ministry of Defence publicly launched the new Integrity Plan (2019-2022) for the Ministry of Defence and the Kosovo Security Forces…
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The implementation of the previous Integrity Plan (2016-2018) was considered a great success by the Ministry of Defence [1], even though not all measures…
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Q8
75/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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There are no independent bodies within the Ministry of Defence [1]. However, there are internal bodies who deal with integrity issues of the defence…
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The Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) Inspectorate, which is led by the General Inspector of the KSF, reports directly to the Minister of Defence [1].…
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A major challenge evidenced by the Ministry of Defence’s Integrity Plan (2019-2022) to the Kosovo Security Forces Inspectorate and the Internal Audit Unit was…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. The Kosovo Security Force has been ranked the most trusted institution in Kosovo by…
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Q10
83/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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The team involved in drafting the Integrity Plan (2019-2022) assessed the integrity framework of the Ministry of Defence based on a pre-defined methodology applied…
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Reporting on the implementation of the measures and activities laid out in the Integrity Plan (2019-2022) will be conducted every six months by the…
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Based on the Integrity Plan (2019-2022) of the Ministry of Defence, risk management is conducted to identify, analyse and assess the corruption risks within…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
33/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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Based on the current legal framework which regulates public procurement in Kosovo, contracting authorities are required to prepare a preliminary procurement plan and submit…
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Like other state institutions at a central level that do not publish their procurement plans [1], the Ministry of Defence and the Kosovo Security…
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Procurement and acquisition planning are monitored by two external overseeing bodies: the Public Procurement Regulatory Commission (PPRC) and the National Audit Office (NAO). The…
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Q12
75/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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Information on the annual budgets of the Ministry of Defence and the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) is made publicly available, following the Law No.…
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According to the Law No. 03/L-048 on Public Financial Management and Accountability, following the Kosovo Government’s approval of state budget, the Kosovo Government itself…
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Q13
25/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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The Committee on Internal Affairs, Security and Oversight of the Kosovo Armed Forces (CIASOFAK) has the mandate to review the Kosovo Security Forces budget…
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The Committee on Internal Affairs, Security and Oversight of the Kosovo Armed Forces (CIASOFAK) has not influenced decision-making within the Ministry of Defence or…
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Q14
58/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The Kosovo national annual budget is regularly published and easily accessible to the public on the websites of the Official Gazette of Kosovo [1],…
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The Law No. 06/L-133 on the Budget Appropriations for the Budget of the Republic of Kosovo is published on the websites of the Official…
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The Law No. 06/L-081 on Access to Public Documents stipulates that all public entities (citizens, media and Civil Society Organisations) can access public documents…
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Q15
67/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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The Law No. 06/L-133 on the Budget Appropriations for the Budget of the Republic of Kosovo for Year 2019 outlines the state budget allocated…
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According to the current legal framework in Kosovo, the National Audit Office (NAO) is entitled to audit all financial activities; administrative activities; and programmes…
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Media and civil society rarely challenge funding directed to the Ministry of Defence and Kosovo Security Force by the non-government sources.
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Q16
44/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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Based on the Law No. 06/L-021 on Public Internal Financial Control, the Internal Audit Unit (IAU), which operates within the Kosovo institutions, including the…
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The current Rules of Procedure of the Kosovo Assembly do not imply any duty or responsibility of the respective parliamentary committee to oversee internal…
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The National Audit Office (NAO) determines whether internal controls and internal audit functions (notably within the Ministry of Defence) are appropriate and efficient [1].…
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The Law No. 06/L-021 on Public Internal Financial Control stipulates that the Chief Administrating Officer of a public sector entity (for instance, the General…
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Q17
69/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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As stipulated by the current legal framework, the National Audit Office carries out on an annual basis a statutory regularity review of the government…
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The National Audit Office is a state institution which is independent from the government and is not subject to direction or influence by any…
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The National Audit Office (NAO) publishes on its website all individual audit reports, the Annual Audit Report, and the Annual Performance Report including the…
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There are cases evidenced by the National Audit Office (NAO) that its recommendations are not regularly addressed and implemented [1]. Based on the 2018…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
67/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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Legislation in Kosovo regarding the Ministry of Defence [1] and the Kosovo Security Forces [2, 3] does not specify any legal provision for controlling…
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There is no evidence that defence institutions in Kosovo (namely the Ministry of Defence and the Kosovo Security Forces) have been involved in businesses…
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There is no evidence that personnel within defence institutions in Kosovo (namely the Ministry of Defence and the Kosovo Security Forces) have been involved…
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There is no evidence that defence institutions in Kosovo (namely the Ministry of Defence and the Kosovo Security Forces) have been involved in businesses…
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There is no evidence that defence institutions in Kosovo (namely the Ministry of Defence and the Kosovo Security Forces) have been involved in businesses…
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Organised Crime
Q19
75/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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Civil Society Organisations and the media have not reported whether organised crime has penetrated within the Ministry of Defence or the Kosovo Security Forces…
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Senior Kosovo Government officials, including the acting Prime Minister, have stated that the executive would immediately take action in case organised crime or organised…
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Q20
67/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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The Kosovo Parliament has a Directorate for the Investigation of Economic Crimes and Corruption which is mandated to fight organised crime and corruption in…
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From 2018 to the present, opposition parties in Kosovo have expressed criticism through media articles towards the management of the Parliament’s Directorate for the…
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There is no proof that police mechanisms, including the Parliament’s Directorate for the Investigation of Economic Crimes and Corruption, is politically influenced when investigating…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
88/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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The Kosovo Assembly has put in place a Committee for the Oversight of Kosovo Intelligence Agency, and whose Chairperson has to be a member…
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According to the Law on Kosovo Intelligence Agency, the parliamentary body holds sessions at least twice a year [1]. That said, the Agency’s Chairperson…
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Q22
50/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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The Law on Kosovo Intelligence Agency precisely stipulates that senior officials within the Agency should be selected based on objective criteria: the Agency’s Director…
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Based on legal provisions of the Law on KIA, its Director (1), Deputy Director (2) and the Inspector General (3) are jointly appointed by…
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The current Law on Kosovo Intelligence Agency does not specifically stipulate that candidates are subject to investigation before or after being appointed to their…
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Export Controls
Q23
0/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
View QuestionLobbying in Defence
Currently, the country does not have a legal framework for regulating lobbying activity [1].
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This sub-indicator has been scored Not Applicable. Currently, the country does not have a legal framework for regulating lobbying activity [1].
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This sub-indicator has been scored Not Applicable. Currently, the country does not have a legal framework for regulating lobbying activity [1].
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This sub-indicator has been scored Not Applicable. Currently, the country does not have a legal framework for regulating lobbying activity [1].
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