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Maria Bamieh, a British prosecutor at the heart of EULEX corruption revelations, says the only way to restore faith in the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo is by holding an external enquiry. The scandal erupted on Monday (27 October) when Kosovo daily Koha Ditore wrote, citing evidence from leaked EULEX documents, that senior officials colluded with suspects in criminal cases, took bribes to shut down investigations, and quashed internal EULEX probes. …

The so-called EULEX mission, with a staff of roughly 2,500, has cost more than €1 billion since 2008. Nevertheless, the European Court of Auditors finds that levels of organized crime and corruption remain high, while the judiciary is inefficient and suffers from too much political influence. I compare the development of a police force in Kosovo with that of the Obilic power plant near the capital, Pristina. Since NATO drove the Serbs out of Kosovo in 1999, there have been plans to install a filter at the plant. The plant continues to spew pollution unabated into the air. It's the...

PRISTINA, KOSOVO — The trial of seven Kosovars accused of participating in an international organ trafficking ring opened here Tuesday. The suspects are accused of luring victims from Turkey and former Communist countries to Pristina to sell their kidneys with false promises of payments of up to €15,000, or nearly $20,000. The recipients, according to the indictment, paid between €80,000 and €100,000 for the organs. The case has threatened to tarnish the image of the new country as it struggles to establish international credibility three years after declaring independence, and as it seeks integration into the European Union. But the...

A key witness in a war crimes case against a senior Kosovo figure has been found dead in Germany, the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo (EULEX) said Wednesday. "EULEX confirms that Agim Zogaj, known as witness X in the Klecka case, was found dead in a park in Germany," the mission's statement said. It added that the "German authorities are conducting the necessary investigation to determine the circumstances of his death." According to local media reports, Zogaj had agreed to testify in the case of Fatmir Limaj, one of the most prominent commanders of the ethnic Albanian guerrillas...

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- Northern Kosovo Serbs spent the night at the barricades which have been fortified, blocking the road Kosovska Mitrovica-Raška road and all other major roads. At the administrative crossings, they have unloaded large quantities of gravel and dirt in front of the barbed fire put up by KFOR soldiers, stopping all traffic. At both the Brnjak and Jarinje crossings, the gravel blocks are several meters high, and at Jarinje it also blocks the road leading to the KFOR base near the crossing. Barricades have also been fortified in the village of Rudare in the Zvečan municipality. In Zvečan,...

(AP) — PRISTINA, Kosovo - Ethnic Albanians protested Monday in Kosovo's capital over an information-sharing deal between the European Union police mission in Kosovo and Serbian police. The protesters say the deal splits Kosovo along ethnic lines and gives Serbia a say in Kosovo's internal affairs. The 1,000 protesters carried Albanian flags through the streets of Pristina, cheering "Down with EULEX!"-the name for EU's 2,000-strong police and justice mission. Kosovo, which has an ethnic Albanian majority, split from Serbia last year. Serbia has criticized nations like the United States who recognize Kosovo's independence. Albin Kurti, a protest organizer, criticized the...

The EU insists that Kosovo is a tolerant and multi-ethnic society. So why are its minorities leaving?A highly critical report by Minority Rights Group International (MRG) maintains that members of minority communities are beginning to leave Kosovo over a year after its unilateral declaration of independence, due to persistent exclusion and discrimination. In contradicting the conclusions of the EU's general affairs and external relations council, the report once again demonstrates the emptiness and evasiveness of statements by members of the international community asserting Kosovo's supposedly multi-ethnic character. Without urgent measures to improve the position of minorities in Kosovo, such a...

Civilian law-enforcement officials from the European Union, the U.S. and a handful of other countries began working in Kosovo Tuesday to bolster shaky police, courts and customs systems. This unprecedented mission in a country recognized as a major conduit for smuggling drugs and weapons into Europe faces steep challenges. A bombing in Kosovo's capital of Pristina and a murky spy affair involving German agents highlight some of the diplomatic difficulties as the EU begins the ambitious effort in the Balkans...... In the BND report, a copy of which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci...

....Kosovo sits on an elevated plain surrounded by imposing mountains, right in the middle of one of the most lucrative drug - and human - smuggling routes in the world. The region is isolated enough to be practically unconquerable, and certainly untamable, and yet is near enough to historical trade routes (through the North-South Vardar River Valley and the nearby Adriatic coast) to be a perfect smuggler’s haven. Slaves, mainly young girls from Moldova and Ukraine, are transported through the Balkans regularly — and Kosovo is part of that route. The transportation of heroin, however, is Kosovo’s main source of...

Several thousand demonstrators took to the streets of Pristina, Kosovo's capital, on Tuesday to protest the planned deployment of a European Union judicial mission that many ethnic Albanians fear will partition the new country. The protesters marched through the city center holding banners saying "No Partition" and "Kosovo Is Ours," witnesses said. Some chanted "Thaci is a traitor," referring to Kosovo's prime minister, Hashim Thaci. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership declared independence from Serbia in February after nine years of being administered by the United Nations. At issue now is who will control the country. Under a six-point plan agreed to...

BELGRADE -- An group calling itself the Army of the Republic of Kosovo has claimed responsibility for the bombing of the International Civilian Office (ICO) in Priština (on November 14th). Three German nationals were arrested on November 14 over the incident, but will probably be released due to a lack of evidence. The Albanian group sent a message via a personal e-mail account, threatening the Kosovo government, media and international organizations in the province. “As long as the UN plan is in force, we will attack with full might and there will be no security for Serbs that live in...