Prishtina, 1 July 2026
Dear Ms. Lyra Osmani Ahmeti, Chief Inspector,
Dear Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Dear Ms. Carole Megevand, World Bank Manager for Kosovo and North Macedonia,
Dear Mr. Dudley Tarlton, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Kosovo,
Dear Mr. Markus Delfs, Director of GIZ for Kosovo,
Dear Ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions in Kosovo,
Dear representatives of central and local inspectorates,
Dear civil society and business association representatives,
Dear participants, Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for the invitation to open this important presentation of the work of our country’s inspectorates during the previous calendar year.
During the previous mandate, the Government and the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo took the first legislative step towards a comprehensive reform of the inspection system through the proposal and adoption of the Law on Inspections No. 08/L-067, a law that had been delayed for many years before we took office.
Today we are gathered to discuss the General Report on Inspections for 2025, which shows significant progress in implementing this reform.
The changes introduced in the inspection system aim at full modernization and increased efficiency of Kosovo’s inspectorates, both at central and local level, with a key objective defined by law: “the protection of the public interest, including public health, public safety and the environment.”
One of the most important parts of the reform is a new risk-based approach applied to different inspection subjects. For example, businesses engaged in high-risk activities or those affecting a large number of consumers should, in principle, be inspected more frequently than others.
Likewise, entities with a history of serious violations of legal rules, which repeatedly endanger the life or health of workers and consumers, should be subject to stricter and uncompromising inspections, using all legal instruments available, including fines and even criminal complaints in the most serious cases.
However, the vast majority of businesses in our country are not flagrant or repeat offenders. For this large majority that genuinely seeks to comply with the law, the reform promotes a cooperative approach aimed at reducing the administrative burden on the private sector.
For example, through published inspection checklists, businesses will know exactly the legal criteria against which they will be assessed. Through joint inspections, where two or more inspectorates carry out their work in a single visit, the time and resources spent by businesses will be reduced. And through prior notification of inspections in limited and specific cases, businesses will be able to plan in advance for temporary interruption or reduction of activities.
In addition to these amendments, through which the Government seeks to support and cooperate with the private sector, the legal reform also aims to strengthen and improve the functioning of the inspectorates themselves and the performance of their personnel.
The new law has established the Office of the Chief Inspector within the Office of the Prime Minister, responsible for coordinating and supporting inspectorates at both central and local level. The Law also provides for the elevation of the status of the central inspectorates to executive agencies, which will significantly enhance the capacities and resources available to them for carrying out their mandate.
To improve inspectors’ performance, the Office of the Chief Inspector, in cooperation with the Kosovo Institute for Public Administration, will launch a training and certification programme for all inspectors. Inspectors will also soon have access to a new digital system called “e-Inspection,” which will improve efficiency, accuracy, and consistency.
Through this package of reforms, the objective is to provide greater safety for citizens, greater fairness for honest businesses, and less space for arbitrariness.
Nevertheless, the rule of law is not measured solely by the laws it adopts, but by the implementation of those laws and by the order it establishes in the daily lives of citizens, workers, consumers, and businesses. The law must be clear, applied equally to everyone, and enforceable in practice.
This is why inspections are not merely a technical or administrative matter; they are one of the most tangible ways in which a state governed by the rule of law demonstrates that the law is not merely words on paper, but a standard that applies in the marketplace, in the workplace, to the food we consume, the products we purchase, the services we receive, and the environment in which we live.
Compliance with the law and established rules is the foundation of a fair economy. Where the rules are applied equally to everyone, honest businesses are not harmed by unfair competition; workers are not left without protection; consumers are not deceived; and citizens are not left alone in the face of those who seek profit in violation of the law. Therefore, a well-functioning inspection system safeguards the public interest, protects fair competition, and supports those who conduct their activities honestly and in compliance with the law.
Equally important is that inspections must never become a tool for pressure, favoritism, or abuse. Our governance remains clear: corruption is fought not only by punishing cases after they occur, but by building systems that reduce opportunities for arbitrariness, deal-making, interference, and unequal treatment.
It is equally important that inspections never become a tool of pressure, favoritism or abuse. Our Government has always been, and continues to be, clear on this: corruption is fought not only by sanctioning cases after they occur, but by building systems that reduce the opportunities and scope for arbitrariness, backroom deals, undue interference and unequal treatment. The greater the transparency, the clearer the standards, the more uniform the procedures, and the more extensive the digitalization of state inspections, the less room there is for corruption, abuse of office, and injustice towards citizens or businesses.
Therefore, distinguished participants, the inspection reform is also an integral part of our broader effort to build a high-quality public administration that serves not narrow interests, but the citizen; that does not create shortcuts for the powerful, but ensures equal rules for all; and that regards the law not as an obstacle, but as a guarantee of justice, development and trust in the Republic.
Thank you once again for the invitation to open this highly important presentation, which constitutes, one might say, an internal “progress report” on the implementation of the reform adopted by the Government and the Assembly of the Republic.
I wish you every success and productive work.