Prishtina, 22 November, 2023
Dear Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Dear citizens,
Tomorrow it will be 32 months since the first day of our government or 2/3 of the four-year mandate. It is dates like these that serve as a moment of reflection on what we have achieved as a team. But they also remind us that the time to fulfill our commitments and to respect the expectations of our citizens within the first term is running out.
And since every day each of us is reminded of what has not been done and what remains to be done, today I am taking the opportunity to mention just a few things, not all, that we have done.
In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, when Kosovo had no vaccine and was the last and the only one in the region that had not started the vaccination process, within the first 100 days of our government we provided over 2 million vaccines. Eight months later, we immunized 60% of the adult population, as we had promised, and from last in the region, we became the first country in the Western Balkans in terms of population vaccination rate.
We redistributed the economic growth and tax revenues to the citizens, especially in the face of inflation and the energy crisis, but not only. We supported subsidizing electricity rates, electricity bills, and energy efficiency equipment. We supported students, families in need, pensioners, and public officials. We supported the employment of young people through the SuperPuna platform, of women, people with disabilities and members of families without anyone employed. We subsidized the increased salary in the private sector; we supported businesses in expanding and increasing production and export capacities; in promoting their products at international fairs; as we ensured that their electricity bills are the cheapest in the region. According to the World Bank, Kosovo has had the largest support package as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product in the region for citizens facing inflation and the energy crisis.
First-time mothers receive allowances for themselves and their newborn children, as do all parents of children under the age of 16. The most recent data show that there are 49,000 new mothers who have so far benefited from the monthly support of the state and over 387,000 children who have felt and continue to feel the hand of the state for vital help.
We have now made public higher education free. 43 thousand students follow their studies at the bachelor and master level, as a right that belongs to you, not as a service for which they have to pay. We are connecting vocational education with the labor market through dual education. This year we have 12 profiles, which are offered in 21 schools, in 14 municipalities of Kosovo. Vocational education and training is one of the biggest transformation projects of our economy.
Our army is stronger than ever. We have allocated more than double the budget compared to what it had, and we are also increasing it every year. We added 1,852 new soldiers and another 600 have already been planned for next year. There is more weaponry because we have increased investments by 191%, almost three times. In addition to boots on the ground, our military now also has eyes in the sky with Bayraktar drones.
With over 214 million euros in financial support so far, the Kosovo farmer today is the most supported farmer in the region. We have increased the subsidy support for farmers and farmers up to 216%, i.e. more than three times, and for the first time we have subsidized oil and agricultural fertilizer. That’s why we have a crop record since after the war.
We managed to bring the 2030 Mediterranean Games to Kosovo. This will be the biggest sporting event that our country organizes as host. For seven years, we have foreseen over 250 million euros of public investments, to welcome 26 participating countries and 23 sports disciplines, thousands of athletes and tens of thousands of tourists.
In addition to roads, we are building railways. Recently, the winning company for the feasibility study and project preparation for the Pristina-Durres line was also announced. Meanwhile, over 200 million euros have been earmarked for the rehabilitation of Railway Line 10, which will enable the operation of trains at speeds over 100 km/h in most sections of the line.
While we are opening new roads that increase movement and promote exchanges, we have closed many illegal roads that were used for smuggling, trafficking and illegal border crossing. A total of 34, of which 26 are only in the north of the country. There, our Police also destroyed nine drug laboratories, out of 16 in total, all over the territory, and 6 crypto currency production laboratories. Today, in our four municipalities in the north there is more security and peace for our citizens. Roads are being paved and new houses are being built, including those of Albanian residents whose property was damaged during the last war in Kosovo. Our Serbian fellow citizens are now freer to decide for themselves, because the criminal groups that once terrorized the residents of those municipalities, now have their hideout somewhere else, but in Serbia. Therefore, even recently, we are seeing a high interest of them to be equipped with documents of the Republic of Kosovo. Only this month, until yesterday, there are over 2100 conversions of car license plates in the RKS, at the same time that the interest in being equipped with a Kosovo passport has also increased.
From January 1 of next year, the passport of our Republic will be many times more powerful, because the European Union’s decision to liberalize visas in the Schengen area comes into force. This achievement, in addition to the great merit of our citizens, is also the result of legality, reforms, the fight against corruption and corrupt practices, and our good governance with an internationally exalted image. Furthermore, by applying for membership in the Council of Europe and the European Union, we translated the aspiration into a process in which we commit ourselves every day.
However, the improvement of the indicators of the fight against corruption and respect for the law is not enough without a real, independent and professional system of justice. This becomes possible only through Veting. For this reason, we have finalized the Constitutional amendments and the first draft of the Draft Law on Veting, which continues to be processed without an answer by the Constitutional Court for nine months now. Our country doesn’t just need justice from now on. There is as much need for justice as for the past. That is why we have the Institute for the Research and Documentation of Crimes Committed during the War in Kosovo, which is being established for the first time through the law, and which will address the crimes of Serbia in the war of 1998-1999.
Dear Government Cabinet,
I thank you for the work so far of each of you and the staff of your ministries.
Without wasting time, let’s continue the work and service in this 174th meeting in which, among other things, six draft laws will be examined for approval, among them the Draft Law on the Register of Beneficial Owners. This Draft Law, as a tool against corruption and money laundering, will show the last owner in the chain and the last address of the benefit of public money through tendering processes. Next, we will consider for approval the Draft Law on Expropriation of Real Estate, this Draft Law drafted in the light of international standards for the protection of human rights and the guidelines for the implementation of these standards of the Council of Europe.
Thank you.
Last modified: November 23, 2023