In his last meeting as the co-chair of the Joint Rule of Law Coordination Board, the Head of EULEX Kosovo, Yves de Kermabon, took the opportunity to introduce to the board members the incoming Head and Deputy Head of EULEX Kosovo, Xavier Bout de Marnhac and Andy Sparkes.

De Kermabon, on behalf of himself and the outgoing Deputy Head of EULEX, Roy Reeve, thanked his co-chair Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci and the Ministers of Justice, Internal Affairs and Economy and Finance, for the good cooperation in the Board since it became operational approximately two years ago.

“We have been co-chairing this board with Deputy Prime Minister Kuci, and I am happy with the results we have reached. It was not so easy at the start, as we had too many issues at the table, but we succeeded in establishing a very good cooperation and a very good partnership with the government”, de Kermabon told the media.

Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci expressed the gratitude of the Government of Kosovo for the work of de Kermabon, and said that they are committed to cooperation with the incoming Head of EULEX.

“I would like to thank Mr. de Kermabon for his work and his dedication as he as given a valuable contribution in the area of rule of law. Since EULEX became functional there is more rule of law in Kosovo, as well as an increase in capacity building in justice and police. I also welcome Mr. de Marnhac and wish him a fruitful and successful work, and I ensure him of the full dedication of the Kosovo Government to cooperate”, said Kuci.

In today’s meeting several issues were discussed, such as the selection of Independent Review Board members, the finalization of the recruitment to the Anti-Corruption Task Force within the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office (SPRK) and a general update on the Action Fiches’ tracking mechanisms. The Board was pleased to learn that 25 of the foreseen 30 KP officers have been selected and are already working in the Anti-Corruption Task Force. A concrete example of these officers at work has already been seen during the operation related to the Central Bank investigation.

In the update on Action Fiches, a positive sign was that the new Director of Forensic Medicine has now been appointed. Among the challenges mentioned was the need for improving intelligence-led policing (which to some extent has been delayed due to the reform of the Kosovo Police) and the need for the working group set up between Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Internal Affairs, on cooperation between police and prosecution, to intensify its work.