20 Participants from Kosovo Certified by the EU Environmental Academy

20 participants from Kosovo* out of a total of 35 participants from the Western Balkans region who attended the “EU Environmental Academy” course have been certified on European integration issues.

The academy was organized by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SwEPA) in collaboration with the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) from Luxembourg, within the framework of the cooperation project with the Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency.

The aim of the course was to strengthen the knowledge of potential EU members from the Western Balkans on the accession processes to the European Union and the functioning of EU membership.

The participants from Kosovo who attended the course were mainly from the environmental sector of the central institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, but also from civil society and other organizational structures. They have acquired the necessary knowledge about EU enlargement policy and methodology, as well as the approximation strategy, and therefore will be the carriers of the European integration process for the environmental sector in the future.

Capacity building for understanding the requirements of European integration is crucial in the process of implementing these obligations by the Kosovar side, and it will serve Kosovo in its European agenda, namely fulfilling the obligations of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, adapting environmental legislation to EU Directives, as well as meeting EU standards and requirements within the framework of the approximation and integration process.

The Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency is grateful to the Swedish Embassy in Kosovo and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) for the support they have provided to Kosovo through the implementation of this project.