An independent expert appointed to investigate allegations of corruption inside the EU’s rule-of-law mission in Kosovo only has a ‘limited’ role, warned Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, to give more powers to the expert tasked with probing the corruption allegations, made by an EU prosecutor, which caused a scandal in Kosovo in October. In the letter which was made public on Monday, HRW’s EU director Lotte Leicht said that legal expert Jean Paul Jacqué’s brief should be wider in order to ensure that the allegations

On 27 December will be 11 months since the arrest of Oliver Ivanović. On the same day expires the decision on the extension of his detention. Defence says it is ready, and representatives of the CI SDP, whose leader is Ivanovic, expect that EULEX will make a fair decision and allow the accused to be released pending trial. In the Basic Court in North Mitrovica, on 18 December will be read the indictment against Oliver Ivanovic and four other accused Serbs from the north.

The EULEX Prosecution has not filed an indictment against Slavisa Ristic, a former president of Zubin Potok, who is suspected of alleged serious crimes. After hours of interrogation, Ristic was determined the measure of mandatory reporting to the Mitrovica and Zubin Potok police station. Ljubomir Pantovic, Ristic's lawyer, says "my client is still under investigation, he is suspected of two events, and even though I know for sure that quite a number of witnesses were interogated, I do not know when the prosecution will conclude its investigation.

The Serb former mayor of the Zubin Potok municipality, Slavisa Ristic, was questioned by EU rule-of-law mission prosecutors over the murder of a Kosovo police officer in 2011. Ristic was questioned by EU rule-of-law mission, EULEX prosecutors at the basic court in Mitrovica on Monday over suspected involvement in an attack in July 2011 in Zubin Potok, in which a member of Kosovo’s police special unit was killed. “Ristic appeared voluntarily before the prosecutors,” EULEX spokesperson Dragana Nikolic-Solomon told BIRN. The ex-mayor was recently elected as the vice-president of the Democratic

Serbian Interior Minister, Nebojsa Stefanovic, said to Gabriele Meucci, the Head of EULEX Mission in Kosovo, that interest of Serbia is achieving full security of the Serbian population in the province. Stefanovic pointed out the expectation that the suspect in the murder of Serbian gendarme Stevan Sinđelić will be found.  He said that Serbia has certain operational knowledge about the tragic murder of Sinđelić and indicated that it is a crime without precedent.

The small nation state has not had a government for six months and corruption and cynicism still rule. Kosovo has been without a government since the inconclusive general election six months ago; yet the remarkable thing is how little difference this has made.

The new head of EULEX, Gabriele Meucci started the first visit to Belgrade yesterday, since the entry into the office, with a meeting with the Head Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Djuric. The press release of EULEX stated that Meucci and Djuric talked about the new mandate of the EU mission, with special emphasis on the north of Kosovo.

EULEX wants me behind bars no matter what, regardless of the fact that the Serbian government has repeatedly provided strong guarantees so I could be released pending trial, says Oliver Ivanovic, leader of the Citizens' Initiative ‘Freedom, Democracy, Justice’ (GI SDP), who has been in remand custody in Kosovo for 10 months now for allegedly committing war crimes during the NATO aggression and bombing of Serbia in 1999. “The government is helping me prepare for the trial, but for some reason EULEX refuses to release me from custody despite the government’s guarantees.

Foreign missions are ostensibly sent to monitor and correct perceived problems on the ground.  They are equipped with the language of appropriate righteousness, and the clothing of good will.  That, at least, is what the operation brief is meant to state.  Often, the language fades.  The mission suffers metamorphosis.  Deals are done on the ground. Money changes hands.