The Office of the EULEX Chief Prosecutor organised a two day training last week focused on enhancing the capacity of Kosovo Prosecutors to deal with corruption, focusing specifically on the confiscation aspect, as part of the ongoing specialised trainings for local institutions. In line with its mandate, EULEX has long focused much of its attention and invested many resources in investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating cases of corruption. Currently the Mission is preparing the ground for further transitioning of its monitoring, mentoring and advising activities and gradually handing over remaining cases to local authorities.  For the successful transition, it is essential to ensure sustainability while developing and strengthening specialised capacities, technical skills and expert knowledge among EULEX’s rule of law counterparts. This was the major focus of the workshop that took place on June 2 and 3 in Pristina.

EULEX Head of Mission Ms. Alexandra Papadopoulou during her opening speech emphasised that this is a well-focused and very tangible initiative in the right direction to prevent and fight corruption in Kosovo.

“Over the next two days, Kosovo colleagues from relevant institutions will have the unique opportunity to enhance their capacity and skills by interacting in different thematic training sessions with EULEX prosecutors and other subject matter experts with hands-on experience and expertise in dealing with corruption – with a particular focus on the issue of confiscation of illegally-obtained assets.” said Ms. Papadopoulou.

As one of the main organizers of the project, EULEX Chief Prosecutor, Claudio Pala, welcomed guests and expressed his appreciation that so many colleagues accepted the invitation to attend this training.

Speaking about the EULEX efforts to support and assist the Kosovo rule of law institutions in their path towards European and international standards in the fight against corruption, Pala stated that fighting corruption was, and still is, a top prosecutorial priority and all the available resources should be dedicated in this fight.

“Kosovo is still at an early stage of preparations in the fight against corruption. A comprehensive and strategic approach is therefore necessary to ensure tangible results. One of the aspects of an anti-corruption strategy is to have adequately trained personnel to deal with corruption cases. This would in particular mean to prepare local Prosecutors to deal with corruption cases by using all the effective tools and the legislation in force.” stressed Pala.

Kosovo State Prosecutor, Mr Aleksander Lumezi, welcomed the initiative. While addressing the guests and the participators of the training, he stressed the importance of tackling corruption using the best international practices.

“It is a special honour to be here today as part of my institutional engagement, together with EULEX counterparts, to discuss the challenges that the prosecutorial system is facing” said Mr. Lumezi.  He concluded that the initiative to organise such training should be welcomed and understood as a top priority for Kosovo.