02 June – Xhevdet Doda high-school in Pristina

"I am here to spend the money"

"Every single Euro is spent for the people of Kosovo," is what Kjartan Björnsson, Head of Operations Section at the European Commission Liaison Office to Kosovo, explained to 45 pupils at Xhevdet Doda high-school in Pristina. He was referring to the money that was pledged at July 2008 Donor's Conference for Kosovo. "We don't have money in boxes; we only spend it for clear priorities. Every day we are getting new proposals on what Kosovo needs. When we agree on these projects, we build schools, roads and bridges, we buy computers and expensive laboratory equipment, or we pay consultants, clever people who can tell the ministers how things are done in the EU and explain what needs to be done in Kosovo."

Mr. Björnsson also explained that being a member of the EU is difficult. "To become a member of the EU, you need to be European. Kosovo clearly is a part of Europe so this condition is not in question. But the second condition is more complicated. If you wish to join the EU, you must fulfil certain criteria and our task is to help the government of Kosovo and also the people of Kosovo to prepare for this. You have to follow complex rules to become a member. You need to understand and comply with them. For example there are more then 100.000 pages of these rules which are called acquis communautaire. And this is why this is a lengthy process; it simply takes time to become a member."

Amongst other, pupils were interested to hear Mr. Björnsson's opinion on the higher level of school drop-outs in Kosovo. He replied that there were probably various internal and external reasons for this increase and advised: "People who don't get proper education are much more vulnerable in times like this – you can her that due to the economic crisis people are loosing jobs every day and those without qualifications are the first ones to get fired. Education provides skilled workers; it gives technical knowledge on how to solve problems in practice. Knowledge of languages is also important so that you can communicate. There is a strong link between quality of education and economy – the better the education is, the stronger the economic system he have. I strongly advise you to work hard to finish your education because this is an investment in yourself, in your future and also in the future of Kosovo."