Marta Kos warns Pristina over Specialist Chambers law
The EU enlargement commissioner says changes to the Specialist Chambers law run against Kosovo's obligations to the EU, and that candidates moving backward cannot become members.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said in Luxembourg that the amendments to Kosovo’s Law on the Specialist Chambers, adopted by the assembly in Pristina, run against Kosovo’s core obligations to the European Union. She made the statement to reporters on October 12, on arrival at a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, where the foreign ministers of the member states gather.
Kos called the amendments unacceptable and tied them to the ongoing trial in The Hague:
“I would like to be clear on this too: the amendment of the law on the Specialist Chambers in Kosovo goes against Kosovo’s core obligations to the EU. And that is unacceptable. Changing the rules while court proceedings are under way defies all internationally established standards of the rule of law,” the commissioner said, according to the Radio Free Europe translation.
She added a message she herself described as simple: “European enlargement is moving forward. But if candidates go backward, they are not on the right path and they really will not be able to become EU members.”
What did the assembly in Pristina adopt?
The Assembly of Kosovo adopted the amendments to the Law on the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office on October 6, according to Radio Free Europe, while Danas reports that the vote ended in the night between October 6 and 7. The amendments came after September 16, when Hashim Thaci and three other former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army were convicted at first instance and sentenced to a combined 81 years in prison for war crimes.
The sources differ on the details of the law. RTS reports that the powers of the chambers in The Hague are narrowed, that the maximum sentence is 15 years in prison, that an appeal to the Supreme Court is possible and that sentences are served in Pristina. Radio Free Europe writes about limiting the chambers’ mandate, transferring cases outside their jurisdiction to the Kosovo judiciary, a 15-year cap on sentences, serving sentences in Kosovo and the possibility of a presidential pardon. An appeal to the Supreme Court is not mentioned in that text, and a pardon is not mentioned by RTS.
Why is Brussels reacting to the law on the chambers?
The chambers are based in The Hague but are part of Kosovo’s judicial system. Their legal basis is a 2014 exchange of letters between Kosovo’s then president, Atifete Jahjaga, and the then EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton. The European Union is the chambers’ main funder, with nearly 400 million euros since their founding, according to Radio Free Europe.
Brussels did not wait for Luxembourg to speak up: according to the same source, the EU expressed “deep concern” immediately after the vote and stressed its support for the work of the chambers. The commissioner’s statement continues that line, but it comes from the head of the portfolio responsible for enlargement, and with a clear message about the consequences for membership.
Security as a condition of membership
The law on the chambers was not the only subject of the commissioner’s statement. One item on the ministers’ agenda is the security dimension of enlargement, and the commissioner stressed that the Union cannot afford to admit members that would not add to its security. Strategic alignment with the EU is therefore becoming an ever more important condition, not only in common foreign and security policy but also in sanctions, energy and infrastructure.
Kos also mentioned the Western Balkans, recalling the death of a convicted war criminal. Radio Free Europe reports that she was referring to Ratko Mladic, who died on August 27 in the detention unit in The Hague:
“International law is also essential for peace and security, and this is of particular importance in the Western Balkans, as we saw after the death of the war criminal [Ratko Mladic], when nationalist tendencies are awakened again. And we have seen in the past what can happen if that prevails,” Marta Kos said.
The same source notes that the commissioner expressed full support for the work of the International Criminal Court, a few days after the United States imposed sanctions on October 9 on the court as an institution, not just on its judges and prosecutors.
How many conferences are coming?
In the same appearance, Kos spoke about enlargement having momentum. The sources differ on the details. RTS reports that she announced the possibility of up to four intergovernmental conferences in the coming days, with Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova. Danas, citing Beta, reports that another conference with those four countries is expected soon, the third since June.
“This is clearly a sign that enlargement is on the move, our front-runner candidates are delivering and we are delivering. Especially for Ukraine, it really shows exceptional determination toward EU membership,” Kos said, according to the Danas translation.
