Can Kosovo police itself – and keep the EU dream alive?
In recent weeks, more than 10 police officers have been suspended in connection with several cases, including the death of 27-year-old Agon Zejnullahu in Lipljan, near Pristina. Five officers are now facing manslaughter charges.
Kosovo's police force consists of around 10,000 uniformed and civilian staff. Of these, over 15% are women, and around 10% belong to non-Albanian ethnic communities – the rest are ethnic Albanians.
Over the past five years, the EU has invested €3 million in aid and €1.5 million in training for Kosovo's police, alongside broader support via its EULEX rule of law mission. Speaking to Euractiv, one senior EU official described police violence in Kosovo as 'endemic'.
According to the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo (PIK), the number of complaints has increased by more than 20% in three years, mostly from the ethnic Albanian majority in Pristina, where police presence is strongest. Collapsing public trust
Public trust in Kosovo's police is collapsing, particularly among the ethnic Serb population. A 2021 survey revealed that 77% trust of ethnic Albanians trusted the police, compared to just 14% of Serbs.
The tipping point came in November 2022, when over 600 ethnic Serb officers resigned en masse. This followed the government's refusal to implement the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities (ASM), part of a 2015 EU-brokered agreement intended to grant Serbs limited autonomy. Pristina argues the ASM would give Serbia too much influence.
The mass resignation left a major security vacuum in the Serb-majority north – and instead of replacing the officers with new Serb recruits, which officials claim current legislation blocks, the government responded by deploying mostly ethnic Albanian officers to fill the gap.
That move further inflamed tensions. A 2024 study found that just 1% of Serbs supported the increased police presence, while 35% said it made them feel less safe, and 57% were unsure about their sense of security. In contrast, 93% of ethnic Albanians backed the decision, and 85% said it made them feel more secure.
Those Serb officers were never replaced, violating Kosovo's constitutional obligation to ensure ethnic representation in public institutions. Despite EU pressure to find a workaround, officials claim current legislation prevents rehiring those who resigned.
To plug the gap, the government accelerated recruitment: police training was shortened from six months to just three, making it the shortest compared to other the Balkan countries. Most new recruits were ethnic Albanians with no knowledge of Serbian. Some even came from militarised units. Civil society groups and international observers quickly sounded the alarm, especially as reports emerged of officers wearing ethnic or nationalist symbols while on duty, which is in breach of Kosovo's constitution.
In June 2023, the EU froze financial support and cut high-level contacts, citing the impasse over the ASM and the use of excessive force in the north.
A system under strain
Whether the Zejnullahu case results in convictions or not, the broader consequences of rushed training are already apparent, said Mentor Vrajolli, director of the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies. Now, t he problems extend far beyond the country's north, he added.
Miodrag Miličević, director of Serb community NGO Aktiv, said he was personally assaulted by Kosovo police near the Serbian border in 2022. He also brought a case against the PIK, criticising its lack of diversity given that it employs only three ethnic Serbs and two Bosniaks out of a staff of 82. His case is still under re-investigation.
The Kosovo police acknowledged the shortcomings and told Euractiv in an email that basic training will now be extended to six months in the classroom and one year in the field.
But issues remain. In 2023, the US donated over 500 body cameras in an attempt to curb abuse . Yet PIK reports show that only 10% of the border and traffic officers who were given the cameras actually used them. Body cams were introduced in specialised patrols when allegations surfaced of targeted harassment against ethnic Serb women in the north.
Police blamed privacy rules, claiming that the Supreme Court and the Data Protection Agency had restricted camera usage. Both institutions denied this, stating that they had never been consulted beyond the context of border enforcement.
What about the EU?
The European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU's diplomatic service, did not respond to repeated requests regarding the impact of the imposed measures against Kosovo on support for the police.
However, Kosovo's ongoing police actions continue to exacerbate tensions between the EU and Kosovo, which are affecting immediate and future support. These tensions have also raised questions about whether Kosovo's EU membership application will ever be taken seriously.
Although Kosovo formally applied to join the EU in 2022, but recent events have prompted some officials in Brussels to question Kosovo's readiness to uphold the rule of law and protect minority rights – two core accession criteria.
(cs, de)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euractiv
3 hours ago
- Euractiv
EU environment Commissioner ready to do plastic pollution deal ‘but not at any cost'
The European Union is ready to do a deal to land a groundbreaking treaty on plastic pollution, but not at any cost, the EU's environment commissioner insisted Tuesday. With just over two days left to strike a global accord in talks at the UN in Geneva, Jessika Roswall said it was "time" to clinch a deal between oil-producing countries and more ambitious nations, including EU countries. Five previous rounds of talks over the past two and a half years have failed to seal an agreement, including a supposedly final round in South Korea late last year. The current talks in Geneva opened a week ago but are due to close on Thursday. "The EU is ready to do a deal but not at any cost," Roswall told reporters. "We do like plastic... and we will continue to need it. However, we don't like plastic pollution and it's time to end plastic pollution as quickly as possible," the commissioner said. She said any treaty should give businesses the certainty of a clear global framework in which to operate. Stalled Geneva talks threaten landmark plastic pollution treaty The first week of talks in Geneva fell behind schedule, producing no clear text as countries remained split on step one: the treaty's purpose and scope A cluster of mostly oil-producing states calling themselves the Like-Minded Group – including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia and Iran – want the treaty to focus primarily on waste management. The EU and others want to go much further by reining in plastic production – which on current trends is set to triple by 2060 – and by phasing out certain especially toxic chemicals. Drama in the pipeline Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke admitted that the "wide gap" between the rival camps was making negotiations a challenge but said the work of tackling plastic pollution "will only get harder the longer we wait. So now's the time". "There's going to be a whole lot more drama in the days to come," he said, "but our goal is this drama should end up in a deal", he said, speaking alongside Roswall at the United Nations. He said all parties, including the EU, had to re-examine their red lines and see where they could tweak them in the interests of landing a deal by Thursday. "If we all stick to our red lines then a deal is impossible," he said. "So we have to look at those red lines and we have to negotiate and compromise -- because we will be worse off if we don't succeed in making a deal. "That's not me saying 'a deal at any price': Not at all. But a deal that is legally binding and has strong text and lays the ground for our work in the years ahead in order to tackle plastic pollution." (cp) Plastic promises: EU enters tough talks with petrostates over global treaty No result will be achieved without shifts in position from all sides, an EU official said
Euractiv
3 hours ago
- Euractiv
Commission updates guidance on anti-deforestation law
The European Commission on Tuesday clarified definitions and exemptions related to its anti-deforestation regulation, while maintaining the timeline for enforcement. Under the new anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR), certain products such as soy, cocoa, coffee, livestock, palm oil, timber, and rubber will be banned from entering the European Union – unless they are 'deforestation-free.' After pressure from EU countries and trade partners, the European Commission previously delayed the regulations to December. The updated guidance document follows the current timeline, with micro- and small companies needing to apply the rules as of 30 June 2026. It also clarifies key definitions such as 'negligible risk' – which means that there is solid proof that a product is compliant with the EUDR rules – and reiterates that converting forest to land for non-agricultural use is not considered deforestation under the regulation. Just last week, food importers were seeking clarity on the EUDR, amid speculation about the possibility of re-opening the file. In a June vote, the European Parliament backed the relaxation of the rules, and EU farming chief Christophe Hansen told Euractiv he would support this – especially for products made in the EU. However, Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall has the final say and Hansen confirmed in July that no decision had been made on easing or delaying the regulation. Potential changes could be included in a simplification package aimed at farmers and foresters due this autumn. Environmental groups hope that this won't happen. 'The update of the guidance is a positive sign that the Commission is still working on supporting the implementation of the EUDR. We hope it means that credibility and legal certainty will prevail over attempts to reopen the EUDR, and that it won't be included in a [simplification] omnibus of any sort,' the NGO Rainforest Alliance told Euractiv. Farming ministers resume push to delay EU deforestation rules Following pressure from EU capitals, the European Commission previously delayed the entry into force of the EU's anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR) to December 2025. But agriculture ministers are now calling for further simplifications. (vib)
Euractiv
3 hours ago
- Euractiv
Europe's game developers took a hit in 2023 – and the pain's not over
Europe's video game developers saw revenues fall in 2023 for the first time, even as the broader European gaming market continued to grow, according to a report published by their trade association on Tuesday. Worth more than €100 billion globally each year, the industry's European market, which includes overseas companies active in the region, grew to €25.7 billion in 2023. But revenue from Europe's own developers fell from €18.9 billion to €18.7 billion, with the report from the European Games Developer Federation (EGDF) citing layoffs and studio closures. The Europe-wide figures were delayed because they rely on slower national-level data, and development hotspots France and Poland are still missing. EGDF Managing Director Jari-Pekka Kaleva said gaps in some national associations' work are hampering collection, and called for more public investment to avoid flying blind on video game policy in Europe. Despite the downturn, developer employment increased from 90,000 in 2022 to 91,000 to 2023. But Kaleva said he is not optimistic about a rebound. Germany's games industry association recently reported a drop in the number of game companies in 2025, following what its managing director, Felix Falk, called 'another very difficult' year. He blamed the former government's U-turns in funding policy, despite the country's gaming market growing. The EGDF report also highlights the fragmented nature of state support for game developers, with countries such as France and Belgium offering extensive funding schemes, while others provide little or none. Kaleva also raised concerns over incoming EU consumer protection rules, though he welcomed the European Commission's approach to the planned Digital Fairness Act. Gamers have coordinated their responses to the Act's public consultation process to press for tougher regulation, including measures to prevent developers from shutting down games. A recent technical glitch revealed that the Commission is preparing a dedicated communication on the video game sector. (de)
