Political Risk:

High

Score:

49/100

Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency

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Q1 42/100

Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?

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Formal rights Score: 75 / 100
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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Effectiveness Score: 0 / 100
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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Independent legislature scrutiny Score: 50 / 100
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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Formal rights Score: 100 / 100
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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Expertise Score: 0 / 100
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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Responsive policymaking Score: 0 / 100
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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Short-term oversight Score: 0 / 100
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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Long-term oversight Score: 0 / 100
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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Institutional outcomes Score: 0 / 100
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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Scope of involvement Score: 25 / 100
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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Scope of debate Score: NA / 100
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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Public consultations Score: 0 / 100
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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Transparency Score: 0 / 100
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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Policy of openness Score: 50 / 100
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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CSO protections Score: 75 / 100
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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Practice of openness Score: 0 / 100
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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Signatory and Ratification status Score: 0 / 100
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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Compliance Score: NA / 100
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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Public debate Score: 75 / 100
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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Government engagement in public discourse Score: 25 / 100
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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Anti-corruption policy Score: 100 / 100
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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Effective implementation Score: 75 / 100
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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Mandate and resources Score: 75 / 100
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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Independence Score: 100 / 100
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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Effectiveness Score: 50 / 100
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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Score: NS / 100
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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Risk assessments Score: 100 / 100
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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Regularity Score: 100 / 100
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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Inputs to anti-corruption policy Score: 50 / 100
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

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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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Acquisition planning process Score: 50 / 100
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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Transparency Score: 0 / 100
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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External oversight Score: 50 / 100
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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Comprehensiveness Score: 50 / 100
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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Timeliness Score: 100 / 100
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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Formal rights Score: 50 / 100
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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Influence on decision-making Score: 0 / 100
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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Proactive publication Score: 50 / 100
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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Comprehensiveness Score: 50 / 100
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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Response to information requests Score: 75 / 100
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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Transparency Score: 100 / 100
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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Institutional scrutiny Score: 100 / 100
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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Public scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
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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Activity Score: 75 / 100
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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Enabling oversight Score: 0 / 100
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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External scrutiny Score: 50 / 100
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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Institutional outcomes Score: 50 / 100
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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Activity Score: 50 / 100
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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Independence Score: 75 / 100
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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Transparency Score: 100 / 100
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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Institutional outcomes Score: 50 / 100
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

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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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Legal framework Score: 0 / 100
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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Defence institutions: Financial or controlling interests in practice Score: 100 / 100
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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Individual defence personnel: Financial or controlling interests in practice Score: 100 / 100
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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Transparency Score: NA / 100
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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Scrutiny Score: NA / 100
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

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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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Penetration of organised crime Score: 100 / 100
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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Government response Score: 50 / 100
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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Existence of policing function Score: 100 / 100
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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Independence Score: 50 / 100
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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Effectiveness Score: 50 / 100
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

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Q21 88/100

Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?

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Independence Score: 100 / 100
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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Effectiveness Score: 75 / 100
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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Objective selection criteria Score: 75 / 100
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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Selection bias Score: 50 / 100
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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Vetting process Score: 25 / 100
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

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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)?

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Signatory and Ratification Score: 0 / 100
Kosovo has neither signed nor ratified the Arms Trade Treaty [1].
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Compliance Score: NA / 100
This indicator has been marked Not Applicable, as Kosovo has neither signed nor ratified the Arms Trade Treaty [1].
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Parliamentary scrutiny Score: NA / 100
This sub-indicator has been scored Not Applicable because Kosovo does not export arms [1]
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Lobbying in Defence

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Q76 0/100

Does the country regulate lobbying of defence institutions?

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Legal framework Score: 0 / 100
Currently, the country does not have a legal framework for regulating lobbying activity [1].
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Disclosure: Public officials Score: NA / 100
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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Lobbyist registration system Score: NA / 100
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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Oversight & enforcement Score: NA / 100
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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