Prishtina, 11 February 2009
Today, the founding meeting of the Kosovo Security Council was held under the direction of the Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi. The President of Kosovo, Fatmir Sejdiu, the Leader of the Assembly of Kosovo, Jakup Krasniqi, the Deputy of the International Civilian Representative in Kosovo, Mr. Fletcher Burton, Quint state Ambassadors, and representatives of EULEX were also present.
Speech of the Prime Minister in the Kosovo Security Council
Honorable President Sejdiu,
Honorable Mr. Fletcher,
Honorable Ambassadors of the Quint member states,
Honorable representative of EULEX,
Honorable Ministers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today we begin the work of an important institution in the Republic of Kosovo, the Kosovo Security Council.
In the context of the official responsibilities of the Republic of Kosovo, a high priority is the formation and the strengthening of institutions and democratic structures of security, trained well, responsible and ready to prevent and to confront every threat to security that endangers the citizens of Kosovo, in cooperation with international structures of security.
With the functionalizing of the Kosovo Security Council today, we fulfill an important constitutional obligation for the improvement of the security sector in our country.
With its formation, our shared commitment to the completion of contemporary democratic structures in the field of human, public and state security has been surmounted.
The Government of the Republic of Kosovo, together with the Presidency, and Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, will offer all the necessary support to the security structures and for the implementation of law in Kosovo, to Kosovo Police, the Kosovo Security Force, the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, and Kosovo Customs.
In cooperation with these structures, the Security Council will exercise an important coordination and evaluative role during the drafting of security policies in Kosovo.
The institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, through the Council and the structures of public security and intelligence will care for, oversee and guarantee the security of all the people of Kosovo.
The Kosovo Security Council will recommend policies and strategies to the Government of Kosovo; it will offer reports, evaluations and comments for all the issues related to the politics of security in the Republic of Kosovo.
While in normal everyday situations it will exercise an advisory and drafting role, in periods of extraordinary social situations, the Kosovo Security Council will have executive authority and responsibility.
In these cases, the Council will have full competences for the coordination of actions and effective management of situations that may threaten the general security of the country.
In comparison to its members with executive and advisory authority – the permanence of which is limited by a political mandate – the Council is constituted by its own supporting bodies:
- A Secretariat,
- A Situation Centre, and
- An Intelligence Commission.
Honorable participants,
I hope that this first meeting of the Kosovo Security Council marks the opening of a new chapter in domestic and international struggles – to make Kosovo a state which is secure, stable and modern.
In this context, the security institutions of the Republic of Kosovo will cooperate closely with those of countries of the region and the international community in order to fight crime, smuggling, cross border and international trafficking.
Finally, I hope that this important forum will serve our shared and fundamental principles – that a secure Kosovo means prosperity for the people of Kosovo and stability for the region.
Last modified: July 31, 2022