Operational functions are undertaken by the Mission’s Operations Support Pillar which maintains a limited residual capability as second security responder and provides support to Kosovo Police’s crowd-and-riot control operational development. More specifically, EULEX’s Formed Police Unit (FPU), which consists of 105 Polish Police Officers, acts as Kosovo’s second security responder, as part of a three-tiered security responder mechanism, whereby Kosovo Police is the first security responder, EULEX is the second, and the NATO-led KFOR mission is the third security responder. In its role as second security responder, EULEX FPU can only engage at the explicit request of the first security responder in order to contribute to the maintenance and promotion of public order and security in cases of civil disturbance, in order to protect the right to security, life, and property of all communities in Kosovo. To gain situational awareness, the FPU is conducting mobile reconnaissance patrols 24/7, working in shifts. The FPU regularly participates in crowd-and-riot control exercises together with the Kosovo Police and KFOR. The aim of such exercises is to ensure smooth coordination among the three security responders in case of real-life deployment.
EULEX also supports the Kosovo Police in the field of international police cooperation by facilitating the exchange of police information between the Kosovo Police and Interpol, Europol or the Serbian Ministry of Interior. From June 2018 to 14 June 2025, EULEX has received and sent 1,871 requests related to the exchange of information between Europol and the Kosovo Police and 3,653 requests related to the information exchange between the Kosovo Police and the Serbian Ministry of Interior in line with the protocol on police cooperation between the two entities. The Mission also facilitates the exchange of information between the National Central Bureaus of Interpol and the Kosovo Police's International Law Enforcement Cooperation Unit under the umbrella of the Interpol Liaison Office within UNMIK. From June 2018 to 14 June 2025, EULEX Mission Members working in the Interpol Liaison Office within UNMIK received and sent 14,645 requests.
In order for family members of missing persons to realize their right to know the truth, EULEX forensic experts continue to work shoulder to shoulder with their local counterparts at the Institute of Forensic Medicine (IFM) and other relevant institutions to shed light on the fate of missing persons related to the Kosovo conflict, regardless of the circumstances of their disappearance, their ethnic, religious or national origin, or any other characteristic.
EULEX offers expertise and advice in the identification of clandestine or unmarked graves and the exhumation and identification of victims who were reported missing during the period 1 January 1998-31 December 2000, as a consequence of the war in Kosovo during 1998-1999.
From the inception of EULEX’s mandate until 14 June 2025, EULEX has conducted 873 field operations to locate missing persons, including 219 exhumations. The remains of 543 individuals have been identified, including 370 missing persons.
In addition, EULEX experts support the IFM in reviewing the unidentified remains at the Pristina morgue.
The Mission also assists the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor’s Office with logistic and operational support in line with relevant Kosovo legislation.
In addition, the Mission continues to manage its own witness protection programme.
