Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology of the Republic of Kosovo (MEST) has today signed agreements with ten municipalities in Republic of Kosovo for financial reform of schools, sponsored by MEST, assisted by the Institutional Development of Education and funded by the World Bank Office in Prishtina.

Under these agreements, schools in Prishtina, Prizren, Peja, Gjakova, Ferizaj, Mitrovica, Theranda, Kline, and Shtime, will have financial autonomy from the start of the new fiscal year, January 2010. This way, schools will gain full autonomy in making decisions on spending public money, train for budget management, and have direct management by the government regarding budgets allocated to education through specific grants. While, amongst others, schools will benefit from school development grants from the Institutional Development of Education Project.

Minister of Education, Enver Hoxhaj, thanked the Minostry of Economy and Finance, the World Bank, and other institutions, for the funding and project support, saying that the financial autonomy of schools will have budget and finance management, which will further strengthen the role of the schools. "Financial autonomy of the schools is a new approach that aims to enable each school to complete independence in managinf budgets distributed by the municipalities. In addition, financial autonomy helps to accelerate the procedures for purchasing goods and delivering services," explained Minister Hoxhaj. He continued to say that, "With this, our schools will change in content, form, and school management. Schools of the Republic of Kosovo, with the new curriculum, will be integrated, which will ensure better conditions for students and at work for teachers, and at the same time have greater accounts or scores of schools, particularly the school director of the community, the community, and MAST."

Ranjit Nayak, World Bank Representative in Kosovo, at the Europe and Central Asia Vice-Presidency of the World Bank, said that this international financial institution will continue to support the education sector in Kosovo. "Working with you, it has become very clear that school principals, school teachers, and students themselves, are those who know best their needs, " he said. Nayak pointed out that, for the first time, Kosovo has started a process where full responsibility of financial management was given to schools. " This means that the needs are defined at school levels, and they will have an opportunity to better manage their funds and make better use of their public funds, " said Nayak.

Alush Istogu, Director of the Department of Administration for pre-university education, unveiled details of the project. He said that financial autonomy also benefits municipalities, which among other managers can sucessfuly identify and stimulate in different ways.

After sucessful results coming from pilotage of independent school funding in municipalities of Gjilan, Istog, and Kaçanik during this fiscal year, this is the second phase of the transfer of financial responsibility to schools in ten nunicipalities. This reform is expected to take place in all municipalities of Republic of Kosovo in 2011.

The representatives of the World Bank, Cora Shaw, the head of the project and Gavin Adlington, head of the land administration, during the meeting with Minister of Public Administration of the Republic of Kosovo empaphasized the continues support of the world bank for the Kosovo Cadastral Agency (KCA). The Real Estate Cadastre and Registration Project  (RECAP follows the implementation of the Business Environment Technical Assistance project that has to do with the right of the property and technical assistance in the environmental issues.

Mrs. Shaw has informed the Minister Bajrami for the meetings with the officials of the Ministry of Finance and Economy and with the representatives of the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning of the Republic of Kosovo (MESP) with whom has discussed regarding with legal base and the implementation procedures of the RECAP project, the amount of which is increased from 5 to 12, 25 million dollars.

After recommendation approval by the Government of the Republic of the Kosovo, in which is foreseen that within 6 month period to be done the transferring of the KCA within the MESP according to the recommendations of the Government of the Republic of the Kosovo, when the MESP and MPA will be engaged with this issue, implementing the work plan approved also by the Republic of the Kosovo Government, for what the to ministries have assured the World Bank. The Minister Bajrmai thanked the representatives of the world bank for the continues support, expressing the political support in the name of the MPA and the Government. “The MPA is leaded the changes regarding of the functional reviewing of the Government.

Within foreseen term we will reviewing that where will the KCA will be functional. After all, disregard that when will be located, the Kosovo Government has declared its readiness for the continual support of the Cadastral Agency” Minister Bajrami also has expressed the Government vision that in long term the KCA to be able to self-financed, being independent. The Project will support the Kosovo Cadastral Agency, to build capacities for the modernization of the Kosovo cadastre, to create the municipal cadastral offices. Also this project covered and the network of the permanent stations of the GPS-(KOPOS), the building cadastre of the biggest 7 cities and the reconstruction of the cadastre for the 80 cadastral zones.

The World Bank expect of this project, in the same time reviewing with the Republic of the Kosovo Government the project for the modernization of the public sector, in which the MPA also is expected to have the leading role.

The European Parliament delegation led by the new rapporteur for Kosovo Ulrike Lunacek in a meeting with the Kosovo Interior Minister, Zenun Pajaziti said that EP supports liberalization of visas for the Republic of Kosovo citizens.

“It is very encouraging the progress achieved in the field of rule of law in the country, but there is still a need to continue this commitment with the purpose to deepen the reforms and implementation of requested criteria,” said Lunacek.

Kosovo's biggest daily newspaper, Koha Ditore reports that the Director of Directorate for Enlargement of the European Union, Michael Lee, has announced that on 14th of October European Commission will publish the report for the progress of Balkan countries, Turkey and Iceland in the process of integration, while specifying that for Kosovo it is about a special document. “The feasibility study about the ways how Kosovo can approach the EU in the comprehensive policy framework for the region will be published this year,” said Lee.

“This study will include fields like trade, free movement of citizens and the participation in the EU agencies and in regulatory bodies, therefore it can be induced economic development and further stability in Kosovo”, said Lee in an interview for Voice of America.