Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) held the conference on "Implementation of the agreement between Pristina and Belgrade - Police Cooperation Dimension”, as part of the project and regional cooperation 'Regional Security Forum: Pristina-Belgrade-Tirana', respectively Kosovar Centre for Security Studies in Kosovo, Belgrade Centre for Security Policy in Serbia, and the Institute for Democracy and Mediation from Albania. The respective panelists were: Jan Braathu, Norwegian Ambassador in Kosovo, Ahmet Isufi, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Affairs, Security and KSF, and Reshat Qalaj, Head of the Department of Operations at Kosovo Police. The panel was moderated by Florian Qehaja, Director of KCSS, and preliminary findings were presented by Fjolla Raifi, Researcher at KCSS.
The conference addressed a very sensitive issue in the context of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, with the focus on police cooperation. The bilateral cooperation between the two countries still remains one of the main challenges of the region as a result of the non-recognition of Kosovo's independence from Serbia. The Serbian police continue to not recognize Kosovo Police as its homologous partner, making EULEX and KFOR in border crossing points the mediators of communication and cooperation. However, EULEX mediation does not constitute a long-term solution given the fact that the mission is expected to be reduced further in the future.
The discussion was open to relevant stakeholders in the field of security, where the participants addressed the need of having a more active Government in strengthening bilateral cooperation with all countries in the region.
