KOSOVO IN THE PROCESS OF REGIONALIZATION AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

FRANCESCO CITARELLA KOSOVO IN THE PROCESS OF REGIONALIZATION AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT Within the framework of co-operation between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s Regional Headquarters Allied Forces Southern Europe (NATO - AFSOUTH) and the Department of Studies on the Environment and Territory (DiSAT) of the University of Salerno) in consideration of the engagement of NATO in the Balkans – a strategic Region for the peace process and development of the Mediterranean area – on 30 April, 2003, a Memorandum of Co-operation for Research was endorsed by Prof. Francesco Citarella , constituting the first stage in a strategic partnership. Subsequently, in June 2003, the University of Salerno Advanced Research Team (USART), coordinated by Prof. Citarella, was invited by the Kosovo Force (KFOR) to visit Kosovo to start a series of interdisciplinary studies and research on the complex problematic socio-economic and security issues of the Region. The experience and planning capacity acquired in this context on the part of the Author, set the foundations for a Report on Sustainable Development Planning in Kosovo – of which the present volume is a synthesis – preliminary to the drafting of a Feasibility Study for consolidating the peace and development process. Project objectives, parties and context, institutional responsibilities and coordinated actions were defined by the Author in the light of the new international order, imbalances and the multi-directional nature of the forces in the field. At the same time, expected benefits were calculated, commitments and relative costs estimated and the characteristics of the information systems delineated. Methodological approaches and deadlines for completing the studies were also taken into account. The Author specified clearly that consultation on policy or judgment of the work of the parties involved in the Kosovo reconstruction process, was not the remit of the Report. The proposal he pointed out, was to provide a schematic scientific analysis of all the documentation and Reports available regarding the Kosovo issue. In short, he pointed out, the Report was intended as a strategically useful document for the devising of policies, in a perspective of future engagement in the Region. The volume starts with an historical overview of the Region, dealing in particular with the Post Conflict International Community Commitment, and analyzes programs, projects and strategies devised for the reconstruction of the Kosovo Area. The second part of the volume delineates the process of Regionalization and Local Development, the Stabilization and Association Process and the role of Territorial Partnerships in Local Development policies. The section also includes an Operative Plan for Kosovo and a brief outline of the Southern Regions, that highlights the need for a strategic repositioning of European Union policies