EU Boosts Police Presence in North Kosovo After Serbs Quit

EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo has deployed its reserved police force in Serb-majority northern Kosovo following the mass resignation of ethnic Serb police in a dispute with the government.

The EULEX Reserve Formed Police Unit deployed on Tuesday evening. Photo: EULEX Press Office

The EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, on Wednesday announced the deployment of gendarmes from its Reserve Formed Police Unit, RFPU, to ensure security in the Serb-majority North of Kosovo after the mass resignation of Kosovo Serbs from state institutions.

“The RFPU is deployed to Kosovo in response to the Mission’s need to have additional forces on the ground and better support our Kosovo counterparts, if requested and if necessary,” EULEX notified on Wednesday.

The RRPU, temporarily deployed in Kosovo on Tuesday night, consists of 23 gendarmes from the Italian Carabinieri and members of the European Gendarmerie Force, EUROGENDFOR.

The EU High Representative Joseph Borrell tweeted on Tuesday that, “at these tense times in Kosovo, EU’s Rule of Law Mission EULEX fulfils its duty to ensure stability… EULEX will continue supporting a safe and secure environment”.

It is the second time that the EULEX Reserve Formed Police Unit is being deployed in Kosovo. “In March 2022, EULEX temporarily reinforced its FPU with a Reserve Unit of 70 gendarmes from Portugal and France. The gendarmes left Kosovo on 18 July,” EULEX recalled.

EULEX has notified that its regular police unit “consisting of 105 Polish police officers” has been stationed in the northern town of Mitrovica fulfilling its duty as Kosovo’s second security responder.

Kosovo Serbs have quit Kosovo institutions en masse as part of a wider protest which started on Saturday in a meeting called by the Belgrade-backed Serbian party Srspka Lista.

All ten Serb MPs, hundreds of police officers, the mayors of the four Serb-majority northern Kosovo municipalities and judicial officials have resigned since then.

The move came two days after the regional director of police for the Serb-majority north, Nenad Djuric, was suspended for disobeying government orders to reprimand drivers of cars with illegal license plates.

Kosovo media reported that ethnic Serbs employed in EULEX also resigned. However, EULEX, disputed this, telling BIRN: “There are 14 Serbians employed in EULEX and none of them has resigned. However, ‘Balkan International’, an external contractor for security in EULEX, has notified the mission that their staff that offer security services at the EU House in North Mitrovica, have resigned”.

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has met election stakeholders, including the head of the Central Election Commission, to discuss the issue of local elections in four northern municipalities of North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zubin Potok and Zvecan, where the mayors and Serb municipal councilors have resigned.

But on Wednesday, the North Mitrovica-based portal Kosovo Online reported that the heads of municipal election commissions in these municipalities have also resigned, making organization of elections even more difficult.

“We came to that decision after warnings from the Kosovo government to call elections in our municipalities without a political agreement and citizens’ will in Leposavic, Zvecan, Mitrovica North and Zubin Potok,” Slobodan Dimitrijevic, from North Mitrovica’s municipal election commission, said.