Lunacek: EU has to put pressure on Serbia to withdraw obsolete arrest warrants (Gazeta Metro)
The European Parliament Vice-President and rapporteur for Kosovo, Urlike Lunacek, hailed the decision of the Colmar Court not to extradite Ramush Haradinaj to Serbia. "I am very pleased that the French judiciary today rejected the extradition of the former Kosovo Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, to Serbia, and that he was released with immediate effect. As a result, the Court of Appeals in Colmar confirmed the acquittal of Haradinaj by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 2008 and 2012 and unequivocally rejected Serbia's request to keep the warrant against Haradinaj (2004).
This Serbian attempt to make a legal case of today's leader of a Kosovar opposition party was completely unacceptable from the beginning. I therefore call on Federica Mogherini, the EU Ombudsman, as well as the governments of the Member States, especially the 23 Kosovo recognizing countries, to be clear on this issue against Serbia and to make pressure. Such arrest warrants, which do not want to accept clearly judged verdicts, must be put aside once and for all. This is essential for the sustained and constructive continuation of the EU-moderated dialogue process between Belgrade and Prishtina, which is committed to the principle of a good neighborhood, " said Ulrike Lunacek.