Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) came into force on 1 April 2016. SAA has sealed Kosovo strategic orientation for joining the EU and established formal and contractual framework to reach this goal. 

SAA in 600 pages, X titles, 7 annexes and 5 protocols, governs virtually every aspect of everyday life of citizens. It is the foundation of Kosovo European integration process. 

Politically, SAA has established a legal framework of cooperation within which Kosovo needs to align and enforce its legislation with the legislation of the EU (acquis). 

Economically, SAA has established a timetable to ensure a full trade liberalization between Kosovo and EU markets.

SAA importance is best represented with the fact that Kosovo and EU will not sign any other agreement until the Treaty of Accession at the end of accession process.

In order to implement the SAA provision, Kosovo adopts annually a National Program for Implementation of the SAA.

EU tracks and asses Kosovo progress in implementing the SAA through the annual publication of Country Reports. Report takes stock of the: (1) overall preparedness to join the EU, and (2) progress made in the course of past 12 months.

Under the SAA, Kosovo has undertaken to implement complex and costly reforms over the period of 10 years. This time-frame is divided in two 5-years periods. After the first 5-years, a first comprehensive assessment will be done.

In order to prioritize the SAA reforms, Kosovo has adopted a short-term European Reform Agenda – a set of key reforms in area of rule of law, competitiveness and education.

In this research area, the institute focuses on:

- Monitoring and analysis of the SAA Program implementation;

- Analysis and contribution to the work of SAA Council, Committee, 7 sub-committees and 2 Special Working Groups;

- Analysis of, and contribution to the Country Report.

Research focus is on the procedures, mechanisms and steps to be followed when Kosovo starts negotiations of acquis chapters with the ultimate goal of becoming an EU member state. 

After showing a credible and persuasive track-record of reforms implemented under the SAA, with a special focus on rule of law, regional cooperation and good neighborly relations, country will submit its application for a candidate status to the EU presidency.

General Affairs Council of the EU will invite the European Commission prepare the opinion on the merits of country's application.

European Council when granting the candidate status will be based on the opinion (avis) of the European Commission.

Eventually, once European Council considers that conditions are met, it will grant to Kosovo a date for the opening of the accession negotiations.

Before actual negotiations start, the Commission delivers screening reports for each chapter.

Negotiations are conducted within the framework of a bilateral Intergovernmental Conferences.

Both, the candidacy status and opening of negotiations require a unanimous vote at the European Council. Unanimous vote is required for opening and closing of each chapter.

After the end of negotiation, and after the European Parliament consent, the European Council unanimously decides to sign the Accession Treaty. 

Treaty is then submitted for ratification to all EU Member States parliaments, in accordance with their constitutional requirements.

Work of the institute in this area focuses on: 

- Contribution to the timely preparation of the answers to the questionnaire;

- Advocating for the early investment in human resources and qualitative merit-based civil service capable of absorbing the administrative burden of the accession process;

- Contribution to a timely appointment of the credible and qualified Chief Negotiator and Negotiating Team;

- Contribution to the preparation of negotiating positions;

- Monitoring of the implementation of commitments undertaken under the accession negotiations;

- Ensuring that civil society plays a key role in accession negotiations.

The idea of EU visa liberalization for Western Balkans countries was introduced at the Thessaloniki Summit in June 2003. Council proposed list of reforms that all countries needed to undertake in order to benefit from a free visa regime. 

Freedom of movement is one of the most important human freedoms, and in the European integration process it is the most practical one that is cherished by the citizens of Kosovo and Western Balkans. 

However, visa liberalisation is also an issue of borders, security and migration. Hence, it is a very sensitive and important issue for the European citizens. 

Being such a delicate and complex issue, the institute recognizes the importance of the visa liberalisation as a multi-faceted public policy instrument in the European integration process that tries to balance promotion of fundamental EU values and security of the EU.

In June 2012, Kosovo received a roadmap for visa liberalisation with a total of 95 criteria to be met in areas such as repatriation and reintegration, document security, border management, asylum, migration, public safety and freedom of movement and fundamental rights. Over the course of 6 years Kosovo met all 95 criteria. 

Meeting the conditions for the visa liberalisation with the EU is hard. However, continuing the implementation of these reforms and strengthening further the track record of reforms, with a particular focus on irregular migration and fight organised crime and corruption, is even harder.

Kosovo will be part of what is known a strengthened visa suspension mechanism. To this end, Kosovo will be scrutinized closely by the Commission who is legally obliged to monitor the continuous fulfilment of visa liberalization requirements by non-EU countries and report on those matters to the European Parliament and the Council, at least once a year.

Visa suspension mechanism can be triggered in the following circumstances:

- a substantial increase (more than 50%) of irregular migration, including people found to be staying irregularly, and persons refused entry at the border;

- a substantial increase (more than 50%) of asylum applications with low recognition rate (around 3-4%);

- a decrease of cooperation on readmission, notably in case of an increasing refusal rate for readmission applications;

- an increased risk to the security of Member States, in particular serious criminal offences;

The Commission can also trigger the mechanism in case certain requirements are no longer met as regards the fulfilment of the visa liberalisation benchmarks by third countries that have gone through a visa liberalisation dialogue.

With multidisciplinary team, the research of the institute is focused on:

- Awareness raising about the visa-free regime rules

- Monitoring and analysis of the implementation of the recommendations stemming from the suspensions mechanism

Good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation are main components of the Stabilization and Association process. Historically, it has proven to be often politically thorny issue between a Members State and an acceding country, or between acceding countries themselves.

In this light, Kosovo and Serbia need to normalize their relations with a view of joining the EU. To this end, EU is facilitating a dialogue for normalization of relations.

EU has developed several policy instruments to support regional cooperation such as: Berlin Process/Western Balkans 6, Western Balkans Investment Framework, Regional Cooperation Council, SEETO, Energy Community, etc.

Most recently at Trieste Summit in July 2017, Multi-annual Action Plan for a Regional Economic Area in the Western Balkans (MAP) was endorsed. 

Aim of the MAP is to enable unobstructed flow of goods, services, capital and highly skilled labour; making the region more attractive for investment and trade; and accelerating convergence with the EU, thus bringing prosperity to Western Balkans citizens.

EU provides financial support to the regional cooperation through IPA Multi-beneficiary program. To this end, EU has allocated €2.9 billion for 2014-2020. 

Civil society has the potential to offer a platform for the exchange of opinions and ideas and facilitate establishment of ever-closer relationship between decision-makers, opinion-leaders and everyday citizens.

Institute research in this area focuses on:

- Monitoring of the dialogue for normalisation of relationships between Kosovo and Serbia;

- Monitoring the implementation of the commitments related to the dialogue on normalisation of relations undertaken within the accession process, in particular chapter 35;

- Leading and taking part in regional cooperation initiatives between civil society of the Western Balkans and EU.

In an ever-globalised tiny corner of the universe we call Earth, there is an ever-growing distance between the Governments and those that Government serve. The citizens across the world show decreasing enthusiasm for taking part in the democratic processes.

This holds in particular true for the European Union.

EU is a complex establishment, aspects of which are often difficult to explain even by technicians. 

In this light, we consider that Kosovo as a future member state should take early steps to communicate openly, factually and in a user-friendly manner the benefits of joining the EU.

Literally every aspect of everyday life of Kosovo citizens, the air we breathe, toys our children play and water we drink at our homes, will be touched by the European integration process.

EU has developed several policy instruments that aim to improve everyday life of citizens. In this light, Instrument of Pre-Accession (IPA) is the most important one. 

IPA is an EU financial instrument with an overall goal to assist the country in implementing reforms on its path towards the EU. In a more practical sense, IPA is EU taxpayer money that have generously been offered to improve the lives of Kosovo citizens. In the period 2014-2020, EU has allocated an indicative amount of €602.10 million. 

In order to facilitate the exchange and contact between the EU and Kosovo citizens, in November 2016, parties have signed Framework Agreement on Kosovo Participation in EU programs. This has unlocked to Kosovo access to all EU programs.

EU programs are instruments that finance exchange and cooperation between EU Member States and Kosovo. Maybe, most recognizable program is ERASMUS+ that supports students exchange.

Under this program institute organizes research on the following topics:

- Contribution to the design of the Instrument of Pre-Accession (IPA);

- Promotion of the access to the EU programs by civil society, academia and business;

- Implementation of awareness raising programs about the EU.