Farizi: Crime and corruption are key challenges in the Balkans, along with the Copenhagen criteria for Kosovo

Political analyst from Skopje, Lulzim Farizi, stated that crime and corruption are the main problems in the Western Balkans, and that Kosovo additionally faces the issue of not meeting the Copenhagen criteria.

"Throughout the Western Balkans, in all countries going through the EU integration process, crime and corruption are the main reasons why many non-governmental organizations rank them the lowest," Farizi told Kosovo Online.

He specified that there are several factors contributing to Kosovo being ranked lower in terms of security compared to other Western Balkan countries.

He explained that many studies take into account whether a country is a member of NATO or the EU, and that for Kosovo, the main issue is its failure to meet the Copenhagen criteria.

"The key issue is that it does not meet the Copenhagen criteria, which include the rule of law and guarantees of peace in the region. In addition, there is the unresolved dispute with Serbia. All of this negatively affects Kosovo's ranking in security indexes," Farizi emphasized.