The agreement reached Tuesday (25 August) between Serbia and Kosovo lifted the main obstacle to opening membership negotiations between Serbia and the EU. But no formal decision will be taken soon.
https://euobserver.com/enlargement/130008
Transparency International, a leading NGO, has accused EU law chiefs in Kosovo of “intimidation” of potential whistleblowers. It spoke out on Tuesday (12 August) on the case of Maria Bamieh, a British prosecutor, who used to work for Eulex, the EU’s rule of law mission in Kosovo - the biggest and most expensive EU operation of its kind.
https://euobserver.com/institutional/129879
The Greek crisis poses questions for bank depositors in Kosovo and Montenegro, which use the euro without a safety net.
The EU aspirants unilaterally adopted the single currency in 2002.
It was their third switch in just a few years. They changed the Yugoslav dinar, due to hyperinflation, for the deutschmark in the 1990s. Then the deutschmark ceased to be.
Looking at events in Greece, their finance ministries and central banks say exposure to the crisis is minimal.
Today @ 09:30
EU and Kosovo corruption: Scratching the surface?
MEPs ask tough questions on EU mission in Kosovo
By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - The EU Ombudsman has opened a fresh enquiry into the EU's handling of corruption allegations at Eulex, the EU’s rule of law mission in Kosovo.
Emily O’Reilly, who heads the watchdog, notified Patrick Child, the top official in the European External Action Service (EEAS), which runs Eulex, about her “own-initiative” investigation in a letter last Friday (14 November).
11.11.14 @ 15:57
By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - The EU has asked a 72-year old French academic to look at the recent corruption allegations against Eulex, its rule of law mission in Kosovo.
But former EU officials are asking bigger questions, like: How come Eulex prosecutors failed to convict a single high-level suspect in the past five years?
06.11.14 @ 11:38
By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - Two senior MEPs have, in a letter to the EU foreign service, asked tough questions on corruption allegations against Eulex, the European rule of law mission in Kosovo.
The letter - sent to foreign service chief Federica Mogherini on Wednesday (5 November) - says the European Parliament was “utterly shocked” by the revelations, first published in Kosovo daily Koha Ditore last week.
“If the case had not appeared in the press when would we have found out?” it says.
Today @ 09:30
By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - Two senior EU officials have annoyed MEPs by refusing to give details on the corruption scandal in Eulex, the EU’s rule of law mission in Kosovo.
Fernando Gentilini, the EU foreign service’s top manager on the Western Balkans, and Kenneth Deanne, a Brit who runs its civilian missions, faced questions in the European Parliament on Monday (3 November).
They insisted on meeting the foreign affairs committee “in camera” to exclude press.
30.10.14 @ 19:27
By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - The EU’s rule of law mission in Kosovo, Eulex, is fighting to defend its credibility after allegations of bribe-taking and attempts to gag press.
Eulex’ head, Gabriele Meucci, told reporters in Pristina on Thursday (30 October) his staff are trying to “make Kosovo a better place for its people and their children … they deserve to do their work and go home at night to their families free from the suspicion of corruption”.
By Andrew Rettman and Ekrem Krasniqi
BRUSSELS and PRISTINA - EU efforts to shed light on allegations of organ trafficking in Kosovo risk being delayed by a power struggle in Pristina.
The plan is to create a new court in The Hague in early 2015 on the model of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
It will try suspects on evidence collected by the Special Investigative Task Force (SITF), a Brussels-based unit of Eulex, the European rule of law mission in Kosovo.