Special report 18/2012 (2011 discharge): European Union assistance to Kosovo related to the rule of law

Following the publication of the European Court of Auditors Special Report No 18/2012 entitled "European Union Assistance to Kosovo related to the rule of law", the Council adopted a series of conclusions which may be summarised as follows:

- the Council notes the importance of acknowledging the complex political and institutional context in which the EU's assistance has been delivered, especially regarding the north of Kosovo. The effectiveness of EU actions cannot be measured only by quantitative means as it reflects the local and regional political environment and comes in combination with the local authorities' responsibilities in this field;

- it also notes that the Court's report contains valuable recommendations to enhance the efficiency of EU assistance in Kosovo, including the need for:

• better integration of internal and external EU security priorities,
• closer EU coordination to ensure that projects and investments are complementary and effective, and
• EU procedures on procurement to be fit for purpose for CSDP missions

In this regard, the Council indicates that the issues related to force generation and legal framework of CSDP missions need to be further explored by the competent Council bodies.

- Lastly, the Council acknowledges that several of these recommendations have already been acted upon since the Report's reporting period, most notably in regard to integration of EU processes and closer coordination thanks to the successful restructuring and reconfiguring of EULEX in Summer 2012

The Council encourages the EEAS and the Commission to further enhance their efforts to ensure full coordination on rule of law activities.