Supporting dialogue "priority for EULEX"

Supporting dialogue "priority for EULEX"

"EULEX will work on implementation of technical details of the agreement, in particular in the area of the judiciary," Meucci said in an interview with Tanjug, expressing hope that the mission will succeed in integrating the judiciary in northern Kosovo and establish courts with Serb judges and prosecutors.

"We are working together on finding technical solutions for reaching such an agreement - however, integrating two different legal systems is not an easy thing to do, but work on this is under way," Meucci said.

The EULEX chief also said that he is confident that a special court for war crimes committed in Kosovo will be established next year.

Meucci said that he has received confirmation from Pristina's minister of justice that the Kosovo government has prepared a motion to adopt the steps required to set up the court, and that he expects that a law on its jurisdiction will be adopted next year.

The special war crimes court will be established based on the report of Dick Marty, former special rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The report accuses former commanders of the ethnic Albanian so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) of war crimes and trade in human organs.

The court will investigate allegations against individuals - therefore, it will not try groups of people, and it will address sensitive cases - crimes such as crimes against humanity, Meucci said.

Speaking about the scandal resulting from alleged corruption within EULEX, Meucci said that he "did not expect to face such a crisis just a week or two into his tenure."

Meucci said that he has requested help from Brussels and called for the establishment of an independent commission that would investigate the allegations of corruption within EULEX.

Considering the position of the EU high representative and the mandate of the independent expert, Meucci expects the investigation to take around four months, possibly ending in March or April next year.

The performance of international judges in Kosovo, who have so far passed 566 rulings - including 423 convictions in criminal cases related to corruption, war crimes, organized crime and other sensitive issues - as one of EULEX's biggest successes in 2014.