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Legal Expert: No Cover-Up At EU Kosovo Mission


A man walks past a wall in Pristina with graffiti that reads, "The shame of EULEX."
A man walks past a wall in Pristina with graffiti that reads, "The shame of EULEX."

A new report concludes that the European Union's law-enforcing mission in Kosovo did not try to cover up corruption allegations against some of its members.

However, the report, released on April 14, did not tackle the actual allegations of corruption.

Senior EU legal adviser Jean-Paul Jacque, who authored the report, said, "It is not for me to enter into judgment on the allegations of complicity in corruption, which are a matter for the judicial inquiry."

The EULEX mission was launched in 2008 after Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, and was meant to help Pristina build state institutions and assert the rule of law.

An Albanian-language newspaper in Kosovo published allegations in October that senior EULEX officials had taken bribes to secure the acquittal of some defendants and accused the EU mission of trying to suppress the story.

An EULEX prosecutor, Maria Bamieh, also said she was suspended after blowing the whistle on her colleagues.

Jacque said the cover-up allegations "fortunately turned out to be unfounded."

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a written statement that the bloc's institutions "are studying the report carefully and are looking at the best ways to address the recommendations contained in it."

With reporting by dpa and Rikard Jozwiak
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