Denmark to outsource prisoners in Kosovo

BarcelonaThe European Union's tendency to outsource complex social problems to third countries has continued to grow in recent years. While The agreement between Italy and Albania to detain migrants awaiting asylum in detention centers While Denmark was attracting international attention, another pact between Denmark and Kosovo went more quietly.

The Danish government plans to move forward with the transfer of 300 inmates from third countries to Gjilan prison in eastern Kosovo. The inmates have committed crimes on Danish territory and will serve their sentences there before being deported to their countries of origin. In exchange for renting the cells, Pristina will receive €210 million over the next ten years.

With this strategy, Denmark wants to alleviate the collapse of the prison facilities that it claims it suffers, but also intends to send a message of deterrence: "[This decision] Sends an unequivocal and clear message to the deported criminals that their future, even in their sentence, ard, during a visit to the penitentiary center at the end of September. However, the law in no case authorizes the Kosovar authorities to directly return prisoners to their countries of origin or trafficking. Rather, to comply with the extradition sentence, they must first go through Denmark.

To send inmates, however, the Danish authorities must rehabilitate the cells to adapt them to their standards, a renovation estimated at 5 million euros. This is one of the reasons that have delayed the plan, which was already announced in 2021. Initially, the transfer to Gjilan—about fifty kilometers from Pristina—was planned for 2023. But the schedule was pushed back. The Kosovo parliament didn't approve the project until May 2024, after more than two years of intense debate and after receiving an initial transfer of Danish funds for renewable energy aid. The signing of the agreement between the two countries wasn't made official until February 2025. A milestone that the Danish government describes as a "decisive step towards the prison's operationalization." According to the latest agreement, the prison won't be ready until 2027.

But there's also an implementation problem, says Federico Baccini of the Balkan and Caucasus Observatory, speaking to ARA. In the Kosovar prison that was supposed to host the inmates from Denmark, there are currently around 200 local prisoners who will have to be relocated. The country's judicial system is still deciding where to transfer them, as the other prisons do not seem able to accommodate them all.

Copenhagen's decision to send inmates to Kosovo has put human rights groups in both countries on alert, as the UN and the Council of Europe have reported cases of torture in the Kosovar prison system. "There have been credible allegations of abuse in the past," Therese Rytter, director of Dignity, a Danish human rights organization, told the local press. Meanwhile, Fatmire Haliti, of the Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Survivors, warned that the arrival of prisoners from Denmark "would affect the rights of prisoners in Kosovo."

The initiative has been promoted by the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, who has become an example of a tough line on immigration from the social democratic system In a Europe shifting to the right. With the stated goal of achieving "zero refugees," Frederiksen has tightened family reunification rules, intensified deportations, and cut benefits for immigrants. In fact, when the agreement between Italy and Albania was announced, the Danish leader welcomed Giorgia Meloni's plan and asserted that Europeans were "tired" of aiding "people from outside who commit crimes." "This cannot continue," she insisted.

Example to follow

After Brussels has opened the door to deporting irregular migrants to prisons in third countries. Following Italy's example, other European states are considering joining the same model. In May, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner met with the Danish Minister of Justice to learn the details of the procedures that will allow the transfer of criminals from third countries to Kosovo. "Detention facilities like the one Denmark is planning in Kosovo are also part of the Austria plan "of Chancellor Karl Nehammer," Karner declared at the time. But he is not the only one. The new Belgian Prime Minister, Bart De Wever, has also explicitly referred to Denmark's plan as a model to follow. "As long as prison capacity remains insufficient in our own country, we will try, following the example in which prisoners who have been definitively convicted for crimes and misdemeanors and are in an irregular situation can serve all or part of their sentence," the government agreement states.

For Kosovo, in addition to the economic incentive, the pact represents an "opportunity for the minister in the link as the link." For Albania, the pact fuels hopes of joining the European club. The truth is that, despite being officially considered a "potential candidate" for the European Union, Kosovo only has the recognition of 22 of the 27 member states. So any gesture that resembles a rapprochement with Brussels is viewed favorably by Pristina, especially in a context of withdrawal from its other ally. historical, United States.