EU report: Kosovo police have shown high professionalism in Banjska case

Progress report praised the Kosovo Police's response to the September 24th attack on Banjska last year, saying police have shown high level of professionalism.

The response to the September 2023 attack in Banjska has shown the high level of Kosovo Police professionalism. Kosovo police have recruited two new generations of Kosovo Serb officers, the Special Prosecutorship has recruited nine additional special prosecutors. The number of charges in cases of organised crime has steadily increased. The new Special Prosecutor's Law enables the establishment of multidisciplinary investigative teams in complex cases and provides a legal basis for the Special Police Investigation Unit to handle high-level corruption cases. Kosovo adopted a new drug strategy; the National Drug Observatory became operational. Kosovo improved migration governance and developed an informational campaign for visa-free travel to the EU, which entered into force on January 1st, 2024. Also, Kosovo adopted a new law on the Civil Recording Agency. Commission recommendations from last year have been implemented in part and remain largely valid. ”

Furthermore, it is said that Kosovo must change the law on money laundering and financing terrorism to harmonise it with relevant EU directives and increase the number of penalties for those dealing with money laundering.

“In the next year, Kosovo needs in particular: → to change the Law on Money Cleaning and Financing Terrorism to fully harmonise it with relevant EU directives; and to implement an integrated system of money laundering; to establish a national centre for combating terrorism and violent extremism; → to continue implementing the EU Action Plan for Migration in the Western Balkans; to implement an integrated management system in line with current legislation and better European practices; to change the Law to foreigners in line with EU standards; and to harmonise EU visa policy legislation; to keep its rights in touch with the EU's accession and EU integration bid, and to improve the EU member requirements, without EU member states. ”