The Strengthening Division, in close coordination with other EU actors in the theatre, supports at the senior management level Kosovo’s rule of law institutions in their progress towards sustainability and accountability. It essentially aims to further strengthen the chain of criminal justice, with an emphasis of fighting political interference, through Monitoring Mentoring and Advising. This includes the monitoring of selected Kosovo cases and support to the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina by assisting the implementation of remaining dialogue agreements in the sphere of rule of law.
The Strengthening Division works closely with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Kosovo Police, Kosovo Customs, Ministry of Justice, Kosovo Judicial Council, Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, as well as Kosovo Correctional Service.
The Division monitors selected Kosovo cases dealing with serious crimes, such as corruption, organised crime, inter-ethnic crimes and war crimes, through the chain of criminal justice and it provides advice concerning prosecution and investigation of these crimes.
In addition, it provides structured support to further develop the capacity and competence of Kosovo Judicial Council and Kosovo Prosecutorial Council. It also supports the Kosovo Correctional Service, including with a mobile capacity, focusing on the handling of high-profile detainees, and the management of prisons and detention centres, including Mitrovica Detention Centre.
The Division provides support to the Kosovo Police senior management, including with a mobile capacity, to address structural and organisational weaknesses to improve targeting of serious criminality, including terrorism, corruption, organised crime, and to further increase capacities of specialised units.
It provides Monitoring, Mentoring and Advising to the Regional Police Directorate in Mitrovica North and its police stations. It monitors and assists Kosovo Border Police/Kosovo Customs in the implementation of the Kosovo IBM and migration strategies, including freedom of movement and IBM agreements, and joint activities with FRONTEX.
The Division supports the Civil Registration Agency in implementing agreements in the framework of the EU-facilitated dialogue.
The Strengthening Division consists of four units: Advisory Unit on Police and Border Matters, Advisory Unit on Internal Matters, Advisory Unit on Justice, and Correctional Unit.
The Head of Strengthening is Martin Cunningham.
