Re-appointment of Kosovo judges and prosecutors launched

The Independent Judicial and Prosecutorial Commission (IJPC) announced the preliminary application phase for Kosovo judges and prosecutors, thus launching in February the re-appointment process for them. This commission will give a comprehensive review of all applicants for permanent appointments as judges and prosecutors. Essential to the establishment of the rule of law, this project will strengthen the respect and support for the work of judges and prosecutors in Kosovo.

To be considered for a judicial or prosecutorial position, interested persons need to submit a preliminary application form to the IJPC Secretariat. Applicants will be evaluated and recommended for appointment on the basis of merit, with emphasis on their qualifications and experience, as well as their professional and personal integrity. Uniform criteria will be used to evaluate all applicants.

The €5,8m project is jointly funded by the European Commission (€5m) and the US government (€775,458). Information about the application process can be found on the IJPC web site, www.ijpc-kos.org.

Regional Development Agencies established

To promote socio-economic and regional development, inter-municipal co-operation as well as an enhanced cohesion of Kosovo, the Kosovo Government and municipalities signed the establishment of five Regional Development Agencies in Kosovo in December 2008.

The regional development agencies in Prishtinë/Priština, Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, Peja/Pec, Prizren and Gjilan/Gnjilane are independent organisations whose mission is to guide and strengthen regional economic development, including surrounding areas. The EC Liaison Office has initially allocated almost €7m from the IPA programme to support this process and additional funding is being discussed. This assistance will finance the operational cost of the agencies, the required technical assistance and specific investment projects defined in regional development strategies.

Kosovo’s civil society encouraged to support democracy and human rights

The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) grant for Kosovo administered by ECLO is one of the strongest forms of support for local civil society in Kosovo. In December 2008 ECLO announced the nine recipients for the 2007 grants. The selected projects include media activities, protection of minority rights and empowerment of disadvantaged groups, promoting respect for human rights in detention centres and the prevention of trafficking of human beings.

This is the first time Kosovo was eligible to benefit from the EIDHR under its country-based support scheme. The instruments aims to strengthen the role of civil society by promoting human rights and democratic reform, supporting conflict prevention and by consolidating political participation and representation.

The European Commission contributed around €804,000 for 2007 under the EIDHR Instrument. A similar amount has been made available to Kosovo civil society organisations for 2008.

The EIDHR call for proposal along with other necessary information is published in the ECLO web site, in the tenders section: http://delprn.ec.europa.eu/?cid=2,121. The deadline for submission of project concepts is 21 April 2009.

EU helps local journalists improve their professional skills

“I was always curious about journalism, to write news, to tell it. I couldn’t learn anything about it in my university in Kosovo so this was my chance” says Besnik Pireva, one of the students who were offered journalistic courses at Kosovo Media Institute (KMI), a project supported by ECLO.

The diploma courses that began in January finished on 20 March 2009. Twenty students were offered courses in print and broadcast journalism, and those who successfully finished their exams will be continuing with an internship with one of the local media outlets. The main advantages of these courses were instructions in local languages, with a heavy emphasis on practical sides of journalism, as exercised in the local context.

Enlarge your vision - The 2009 European Young Journalist Award is on!

Following the success of last year’s competition, the Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement with the European Youth Press association and Café Babel, launched the 2009 European Young Journalist Award. This diverse award offers aspiring journalists aged 17 – 35 from all over Europe to reflect and express their views on Europe and the European Union’s enlargement.

National competitions will be offered in the 27 EU member states, EU candidate countries and EU potential candidates. The competition will be open from 1 February until 31 May 2009.

For more information, visit http://www.eujournalist-award.eu/your-award-2009.html

6th Round of Young Cell Scheme, EU postgraduate studies programme launched

TECLO and the Agency for Coordination of Development and European Integration in the Prime Minister’s Office of the Government of Kosovo, have opened the 6th round of applications for the Young Cell Scheme. This scholarship programme will offer up to 50 full grants for Kosovo students to study in a master’s programme at Universities within EU Member States.

Applications are open from 13th February and until 30th March 2009 Application forms and the full set of accompanying documents are available for download on internet, at the following website: www.ycs2009.eu.

New call for proposals: TEMPUS IV and Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window

Continuing to support the higher education in Kosovo, ECLO announced the new call for proposals for the EU funded Higher Education Programmes TEMPUS IV and Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window in February 2009.

The Tempus programme is designed to support Higher Education institutions across Europe as well as to support the Bologna Process, which aims to create a common European Higher Education Area by 2010. Funding available in 2009 for Tempus in Kosovo is €1.8 million, and the deadline for the call is 28 April 2009. For more information on this call, please visit http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/tempus/call09_en.html

The Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window programme supports partnership between local universities and their counterparts in the EU, which makes possible exchanges between students, researchers and academic staff. The deadline for Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window deadline was 13 March 2009. For more information please visit http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/tempus/call09_en.html.

Five years of an enlarged EU

On 1 May 2004, the European Union welcomed 10 more Member States: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. This was the fifth time that the EU accepted new members, bringing the total from 15 to 25 Member States. On 1 January 2007, this latest round of enlargement came to its conclusion with the accession of two more countries, Bulgaria and Romania.

Please visit http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/5years/ where you will find analysis and information on what the impact of enlargement has been on the EU and its citizens. It will also keep you up-to-date with topical news and events related to the fifth anniversary of the 2004 enlargement.

Czech Republic takes EU presidency in 2009

TFor the first time in its history on January 1st 2009, the Czech Republic assumed the six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union. For latest information about the presidency, please visit http://www.eu2009.cz/.

Kosovo Journalist wins Lorenzo Natali Prize

Hyrë Tejeci, a Kosovan journalist and editor working in Radio Kosova, recently won the 2008 Lorenzo Natali special prize for radio journalism, in a world-wide competition with more than 1500 submissions from over 150 countries. Tejeci won the prize with her story on female victims of rape during the 1999 conflict in Kosovo. As a follow up on her investigative journalism since 2002 about this issue, Tejeci interviewed one of her previous subjects, showing changes in the victim’s life over the years, by also interviewing key experts on the issue, as well as government officials. “The prize has given me a responsibility and obligation to do stories with greater care and quality. There is no sense to win a prize of this high level and then continue making stories of lower quality, ” said Tejeci. The Lorenzo Natali Prize rewards journalists committed to Human Rights, Democracy and Development. Originally reserved for print and online press, the Lorenzo Natali Prize opened in 2008 to radio and television journalists. Created in 1992 by the European Commission to promote dedicated journalism of the highest quality, it was named after Lorenzo Natali for his dedication to his work as former vice-president of the European Commission, in charge of cooperation and development between 1985 and 1989. To learn more about the competition visit: http://www.nataliprize2008.eu/.

For further information:

ec-liaison-office-kosovo@ec.europa.eu