ASI Newsletter

As the inter-agency coordinator of democratization programs to support the Assembly of Kosovo, the Assembly Support Initiative (ASI) seeks to strengthen and professionalise the Assembly of Kosovo in developing skills so that it may become a stable, functional and productive legislative assembly, as rapidly as possible, operating in accordance with the rule of law and on behalf of all communities and citizens equally.
Members of the Initiative will work to bring resources together in a common pool in the furtherance of this goal. ASI will work in accordance with the principle that responsibility for the actual work of the Assembly is and must be the responsibility of the Assembly Members.
The work of ASI will focus on a democratic political culture based upon knowledge of and respect for democratic rules of procedure, transparency and accountability to the public, developing and implementing a legislative agenda, oversight over the Executive and respect for multi-linguality of the Assembly.
As the inter-agency coordinator of democratization programs to support the Assembly of Kosovo, ASI supports the Assembly via conferences and training, workshops with the Committees, technical assistance to the Presidency, Committees chairpersons and individual Assembly Members, working visits to other countries and parliaments, training for the legislative staff and interpreters of the Assembly.
The work of advisers and consultants to the Assembly and its Committees is also part of the ASI-coordination.
Currently participating in ASI:
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (FNS), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in cooperation with National Democratic Institute (NDI), OSCE Democratization Department and the Assembly Secretariat with the active support of the country offices in Pristina of USA, UK, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, the EU-pillar and the European Agency of Reconstruction (EAR), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in co-operation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the East-West Parliamentary Practice Project (The Netherlands).