Le Monde: Eulex ʹ mission known for scandals

The French daily Le Monde has published an article in which wrote how the European mission (EULEX), which in Kosovo is responsible for monitoring the field of justice and dealing with the most sensitive cases of corruption and war crimes, was hit in 2014 by the charges of British prosecutor Maria Bameh, who had accused her colleagues of taking bribes to prevent investigations in various cases. As a result, she was fired.

The European Union had appointed a French expert who had acknowledged that the case had been dealt with wretchedly. But he could not refute the charges. Thus, the case was closed in 2016 in the absence of evidence, writes Periscope.

Asked by Le Monde, the European Foreign Relations Company's spokeswoman has dismissed Simmons' accusations, insisting that the investigation will open in the spring, in line with the Code of Conduct and Discipline.

The case was assigned to a former judge at the European Court of Justice é Aingrias O Caoimh. He's been looking for Mr. “Simmons offers all the evidence he has, but unfortunately, he has refused to do so”, the spokeswoman says.

This new case tells of the grim atmosphere that prevails among judges in Elux. In Brussels, Simmons is believed to have made these charges after complaints against him formulated by two of his colleagues, which would result in a call to the EULEX Discipline Commission.

Simmons refuses to provide this documentation because of the independence of the investigation, while his findings are expected to be offered to his superiors, rather than Federica Moghrini, EU High Representative for Foreign Relations.

European troops are also accused of turning one eye into more sensitive corruption cases in the name of the stability of a still fragility state. This has affected levels so high that 800 employees there who receive large salaries seem to have adopted local practices instead of fighting them.

We cannot have a mission that one day advises the justice minister, while the next day a prosecutor stopped him from minister”, he said in 2015. Andrea Laurenzo Capusela, a former employee of this mission in Kosovo.

But in 2014 the power of this mission was reduced. Since then, it has been limited to supporting Kosovo judges and treating a handful of cases, mainly the most sensitive ones. According to the latest reports, Eulex judges have issued 620 verdicts since 2008. But no weighty political leader in Kosovo has been convicted of corruption./Periscopi