The mandate of former EULEX chief, Bernd Borchardt, had been extended by the German Foreign Minister and the EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton,for another year in Kosovo as Berlin wanted to see concrete results in the fight against corruption. However, despite Borchardt’s great efforts, desirable results were not achieved. Furthermore, after major conflicts appeared inside the mission, especially amongst its prosecutors, Borchardt had informed Berlin and was instructed to leave the mission as quickly as possible despite the duration of his contract.
At the same time, Berlin immediately agreed for the Italian, Gabriele Meucci, to take on the post of new EULEX chief not only because the post of the EU High Representative will be assumed by the former Italian foreign minister but also because it did not wish to have EULEX without a chief when the media storm breaks out. Nevertheless, Germany is now expected not only to ask for accountability in Brussels for the alleged cases of corruption but will also demand a complete transformation of the mission by reducing its competencies even further. An unnamed German diplomat told GazetaBlic that Berlin will present these requests no later than November.
“Kosovo is a country and we want Pristina to be more engaged in fighting corruption on its own. The special war crimes court will function outside the country while corruption will be a task for the locals and a precondition for EU integration. We don’t have to spend the taxpayers’ money on something that is not working. We will therefore close this mission as soon as possible”, the source said.
