28 Common Security and Defence Policy:
EULEX Kosovo: allegations of corruption
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared from scrutiny (decision reported on 3 September 2014); further information requested
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| Document details | Council Decision amending the budget of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX KOSOVO) (36259)
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| Legal base | Articles 28, 42(4) and 43(2) TEU; unanimity
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Document number | (36259), —
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Summary and Committee's conclusions
28.1 EULEX Kosovo was established in 2008 to provide support to
Kosovo's fledgling judiciary, police and customs institutions.
It also has an executive mandate to investigate serious crime
including high-level corruption and war crimes. The extension
of its mandate until June 2016 reflected continued difficulties
with the Rule of Law.
28.2 However, some progress having been made, EULEX
is to become a smaller and more focused presence, concentrating
on capacity building throughout Kosovo, security and the implementation
of agreements reached in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue in the
north; and beginning to phase out its executive functions in the
justice sector as part of a handover of responsibility to Kosovo,
while completing its work on ongoing serious cases. [74]
28.3 In September 2014, the Minister for Europe (Mr
David Lidington) confirmed that Kosovo had agreed, in principle,
to create a special court regarding EULEX's Special Investigative
Taskforce.[75] EULEX
would have an important role in assisting Kosovo with the operation
of this court, including discussions with a potential host state
concerning the relocation of judicial proceedings, in order to
prosecute and adjudicate criminal charges arising from SITF investigations.
We had expected to hear from the Minister in the New Year about
how these changes were working out.[76]
28.4 In the meantime, on 6 November, he wrote concerning
recent allegations of corruption within EULEX's ranks made by
a UK national seconded to EULEX as a prosecutor, and "secondary
allegations" relating to "EULEX's handling of this issue
and of the UK staff member concerned". He noted that the
UK, along with other Member States, had quickly made it clear
to the European External Action Service (EEAS) that a thorough
response was needed, which not only investigated the allegations
but also ensured that public confidence was maintained in EULEX's
handling of such cases; that the EU High Representative for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy (HR; Federica Mogherini) had announced
that an external investigation would take place into the matter;
and that the issue was discussed by the European Parliament's
Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday 3 November. Further details
are set out in our previous Report.
28.5 Subsequent to the Minister's letter, the HR
announced that she had appointed Mr. Jean Paul Jacqué as
independent expert to review EULEX Kosovo mandate implementation
with a focus on the handling of the corruption allegations, describing
him as "a distinguished law professor with over 40 years
of experience", adding that "his tenure as Director
of the Council Secretariat legal services offers him a unique
expertise and perspective to review these allegations" and
saying that she had asked Mr. Jacqué to "revert to
me within 4 months with his report and his recommendations".
28.6 The Minister undertook to "update the Committee
in due course as the situation develops". In the first instance,
we asked:
· if
he was satisfied with the steps announced by the High Representative:
in particular, whether the appointment of someone with M. Jacqué's
background, and a four-month mandate, constituted the "thorough
response" he was seeking, in terms of independence, timeliness
and the requirement for "transparency and much-needed external
scrutiny" that he rightly highlighted;
· what
had transpired from the contacts made by his officials with EULEX
and the EEAS, in view of the prosecutor making the allegations
and some of the individuals named in secondary allegations being
UK nationals seconded to EULEX by the FCO; and
· more
generally, whether he in any way shared the reservations some
seemingly had about the real effectiveness of this costly Mission.
28.7 We also asked what the state of play was on
the establishment of a special court, in order to prosecute and
adjudicate criminal charges arising from investigations by EULEX's
Special Investigative Taskforce.
28.8 The Minister said:
· it
was too soon to say how the investigation would proceed or what
its conclusions would be. But it was being conducted by someone
with no connection to EULEX. There were also likely to be complementary
investigations by the European Ombudsman and the EU's Anti-Fraud
Office (OLAF). He was confident that, together, these investigations
were an adequate response "for the time being"; he looked
forward to their findings, and had asked officials to monitor
developments closely;
· in relation
to matters affecting UK secondees, he and his officials had focused
their efforts on ensuring that the welfare and rights of FCO staff
are respected and that due process is followed on any disciplinary
matters, with EULEX remaining in charge of pursuing any appropriate
investigations. Once again, the various EU processes in train
had yet to reach a conclusion, so it was too soon to say what
the consequences for the UK might be; also, it would not be appropriate
to comment in detail on individual cases. But officials were in
regular contact with EULEX and with FCO staff seconded to the
mission, and are prepared to provide assistance as appropriate;
· EULEX
had been in place for many years and had made significant progress
on a number of issues, such as building up the Kosovo police,
dealing with cases of serious crime, and facilitating implementation
of the 19 April agreement between Serbia and Kosovo on matters
concerning customs and border controls. As well as the €20
million cut to EULEX's budget for its new mandate beginning in
October, UK officials had also secured an agreement that the mission
must work towards a handover of responsibilities to the Kosovan
authorities as it headed towards its mandate end date of June
2016, which "sets us on the right track" for further
downsizing if the appropriate conditions could be met. Depending
on how these plans proceeded, they would "go some way"
towards addressing concerns about ongoing cost-effectiveness;
· there
was no further progress to report at this stage in relation to
the establishment of a special court: the prosecution's work in
building its case continues, but establishment of an out-of-country
court, which relied on the Kosovo Assembly passing a number of
laws, had been stymied by the political impasse following the
June parliamentary elections; however, as there were "now
signs that Kosovo will form a government shortly", he expected
progress would "resume in due course".
Our assessment
28.9 Though the Minister was somewhat guarded in
his response concerning the steps announced by the High Representative,
we agreed that it was too soon to draw any conclusions. But a
month had passed since the HR's announcement. We therefore asked
the Minister to write again in two months' time on:
· both
the Jacqué investigation and the others that he anticipated,
updating us on how matters stood and whether they had fulfilled
his criteria, viz., a "thorough response" in terms of
independence, timeliness, transparency and "much-needed external
scrutiny";
· the
matters affecting UK secondees, including the UK national seconded
to EULEX as a prosecutor who made the original allegations;
· the
establishment of the special "out of country" court,
which was central to the effective execution of the remainder
of the mission's mandate and indicative of the commitment of the
Kosovar political establishment to its work.
28.10 In the meantime, we again drew these developments
to the attention of the House because of the degree of interest
in developments in Kosovo.[77]
28.11 The Minister now says about the corruption
allegations:
· the
Jacqué investigation report, initially planned for the
end of January, is now not expected until March;
· he and
his officials are "continuing to encourage the EEAS to release
the report as soon as it is possible for a thorough investigation
to be completed";
· the
European Ombudsman has concluded her own investigation, but has
decided not to comment on the issue until after any criminal investigation
and the Jacqué investigation have been completed;
· there
have been no further complaints or concerns raised by UK secondees
in relation to the corruption allegations;
· while
he cannot comment on individual cases, he can assure the Committee
that "my officials are in regular contact with EULEX and
the FCO staff seconded to the mission and, where appropriate,
with former staff facing ongoing issues as a result of the corruption
allegations".
28.12 With regard to the establishment of a special
court, the Minister says:
"in early January the EEAS met with Kosovo Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Hajredin Kuçi to
discuss the proposed constitutional and legislative amendments
necessary to enable court relocation to a third state. These amendments
have been agreed at a technical level. We understand the Minister
will now be submitting them to the Kosovo Assembly and for consideration
by the Constitutional Court, a process taking 30-60 days. By April,
we anticipate that the EEAS will revert to the Political and Security
Committee and propose a Council Decision to approve a new budget
and any necessary modifications to the EULEX O Plan to allow EULEX
to continue to play a supporting role in the arrangements between
Kosovo and the third state (EULEX's current budget expires in
June). From there, the implementation and ratification of a formal
host state agreement between Kosovo and a third state, which is
essential for a trial to begin, could take twelve months to complete.
We may, however, see early logistical steps for the establishment
of the court to start to be taken in parallel to this process."
28.13 We would like the Minister to write to us
again, once the Jacqué investigation reports. We would
like him to summarise its findings. We would like him then to
say if he regards it as a "thorough response" in terms
of independence, timeliness, transparency and "much-needed
external scrutiny"; and if so, to illustrate how. We would
like him to outline what further steps are then due to take place,
what criminal investigations are under way or what might in other
ways be reasonably holding up publication of the European Ombudsman's
own investigation. We would like his general views on the general
satisfactoriness of the process overall.
28.14 We would also like to know what the position
then is with regard to the UK national seconded to EULEX as a
prosecutor who made the original allegations.
28.15 With regard to the proposed special out-of-country
court, we look forward to hearing more about what happens between
now and then when he submits the next Council Decision on EULEX
Kosovo for scrutiny. At that time, we would like his assessment
of the response of the Kosovar political establishment and what
it means for the prospects for taking further forward Kosovo's
Stabilisation and Association Agreement.[78]
28.16 In the meantime, we again draw these developments
to the attention of the House because of their importance to the
development of the EU's policy in the western Balkans.
Full details of
the document: Council Decision amending
and extending Joint Action 2008/124/CFSP on the European Union
Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX KOSOVO): (36259), —.
Background
28.17 The draft Council Decision concerns an 8-month
budget of €55,820,000, to cover the period 15 October 2014
to 14 June 2015, and thus fund the first year of the latest, two-year
mandate.
28.18 Since then, as noted above, the mission has
been enveloped in allegations of corruption within EULEX's ranks
made by a UK national seconded to EULEX as a prosecutor, and "secondary
allegations" relating to "EULEX's handling of this issue
and of the UK staff member concerned". The Minister was asked
in our most recent Report to respond to a number of questions
(also see above).[79]
His response is summarised above and detailed in our most recent
previous Report.[80]
The Minister's letter of 26 February 2015
28.19 The Minister responds as follows:
"Firstly, in relation to the Jacqué investigation,
the report initially planned for the end of January is now not
expected until March. We are continuing to encourage the EEAS
to release the report as soon as it is possible for a thorough
investigation to be completed. The European Ombudsman has concluded
her own investigation, but has decided not to comment on the issue
until after any criminal investigation and the external investigation
led by Mr Jacqué have been completed.
"In relation to matters affecting UK secondees,
I can confirm that there have been no further complaints or concerns
raised by UK secondees in relation to the corruption allegations.
While I cannot comment on individual cases, I can assure the Committee
that my officials are in regular contact with EULEX and the FCO
staff seconded to the mission and, where appropriate, with former
staff facing ongoing issues as a result of the corruption allegations.
"Finally, in relation to the establishment of
a special court, in early January the EEAS met with Kosovo Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Hajredin Kuçi to
discuss the proposed constitutional and legislative amendments
necessary to enable court relocation to a third state. These amendments
have been agreed at a technical level. We understand the Minister
will now be submitting them to the Kosovo Assembly and for consideration
by the Constitutional Court, a process taking 30-60 days. By April,
we anticipate that the EEAS will revert to the Political and Security
Committee and propose a Council Decision to approve a new budget
and any necessary modifications to the EULEX O Plan to allow EULEX
to continue to play a supporting role in the arrangements between
Kosovo and the third state (EULEX's current budget expires in
June). From there, the implementation and ratification of a formal
host state agreement between Kosovo and a third state, which is
essential for a trial to begin, could take twelve months to complete.
We may, however, see early logistical steps for the establishment
of the court to start to be taken in parallel to this process."
Previous Committee Reports
Twenty-fifth Report HC 219-xviv (2014-15), chapter
14 (10 December 2014), Twentieth Report HC 219-xix (2014-15),
chapter 16 (19 November 2014) and Ninth Report HC 219-ix (2014-15),
chapter 43 (3 September 2014): also see (36004), —: Fiftieth
Report HC 83-xlv (2013-14), chapter 15 (14 May 2014) and the Reports
referred to therein; also see Third Report HC 219-iii (2014-15),
chapter 11 (18 June 2014).
74 See (36004), -: Fiftieth Report HC 83-xlv (2013-14),
chapter 15 (14 May 2014) for full details of the two-year mandate
extension. Back
75
Special Investigative Task Force (SITF): a part of EULEX since
2011, which has been investigating the allegations in the 2010
Council of Europe Marty Report of organ trafficking and other
serious crimes committed immediately after the 1999 conflict. Back
76
See Ninth Report HC 219-ix (2014-15), chapter 43 (3 September
2014) and its Annex for further background and the detailed budget;
also the earlier Reports cited at the end of this chapter of our
Report. Back
77
See Twenty-fifth Report HC 219-xviv (2014-15), chapter 14 (10
December 2014). Back
78
The Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) constitutes
the framework of relations between the European Union and the
Western Balkan countries for implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
The agreements are adapted to the specific situation of each partner
country and, while establishing a free trade area between the
EU and the country concerned, they also identify common political
and economic objectives and encourage regional co-operation*.
In the context of accession to the European Union, the agreement
serves as the basis for implementation of the accession process.
In 2008 the EU repeated its willingness to assist the economic
and political development of Kosovo "through a clear European
perspective". The EU and Kosovo chief negotiators initialled
the SAA between the EU and Kosovo in Brussels on 25 July 2014. Back
79
See Twentieth Report HC 219-xix (2014-15), chapter 16 (19 November
2014). Back
80
See Twenty-fifth Report HC 219-xviv (2014-15), chapter 14 (10
December 2014). Back
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