EULEX mandate extended for two years
The Council adopted a decision extending the European Union rule of law mission in Kosovo (EULEX Kosovo) for a period of two years until 14 June 2012. Serbian Ministry for Kosovo State Secretary Oliver Ivanovic said that he expects that EULEX, now with an extended mandate, to continue to investigate crimes against Serbs in Kosovo.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Wednesday, June 09, 2010
This decision underlines the EU's strong commitment to Kosovo, to the rule of law in particular and Kosovo's European perspective.
It will further develop and strengthen an independent and multi-ethnic justice system and a multi-ethnic police and customs service, ensuring that these institutions are free from political interference and adhering to internationally recognised standards and European best practices.
The mission, in full co-operation with the other EU assistance programmes, will implement its mandate through monitoring, mentoring and advising, while retaining certain executive responsibilities.
EULEX Kosovo was established on 4 February 2008 under joint action 2008/124/CFSP, and was due to expire on 14 June 2010.
It reached its full initial capability in December 2008 and its full operational capability in April 2009. The mission is implementing its mandate throughout Kosovo.
In the meantime Serbian Ministry for Kosovo State Secretary Oliver Ivanovic said that he expects that EULEX, now with an extended mandate, to continue to investigate crimes against Serbs in Kosovo.
He also said that the EU mission in the province should make its cooperation with the Serbian prosecution in that respect "more concrete".
"We hope that the EULEX mission will continue investigating the crimes and that the cooperation between the international prosecution and the Serbian special prosecution will be made more concrete in this respect," Ivanovic told Tanjug news agency in Belgrade.
He added that after "a long period of adjusting" and the dilemmas it had regarding the role of the UN and (UN Security Council) Resolution 1244, the mission has "finally focused on the issues that are supposed to be its priority tasks".
Ivanovic explained that it was a "big mistake that EULEX placed the center of its interest in northern Kosovo, whereas the Serbian side insisted on organized crime and corruption as being one of the main problems in Pristina".
"What the Serbian side insisted on the most was shedding light on ethnically motivated crimes, that is crimes against Serbs, particularly those that have been committed after the arrival of the international mission, but also the crimes that took place in 1998 and 1999," Ivanovic said.
