Business news from Ukraine

According to “Serbian Economist”, the first group of prisoners from Denmark is expected to arrive in Kosovo in April 2027, said Ismail Dibran, director of the Kosovo Correctional Service, in an interview with Ekonomia Online. This is part of an agreement under which Denmark will be able to use up to 300 beds in a correctional facility in Kosovo to serve Danish sentences.

An important detail: this does not apply to Danish citizens, but primarily to foreigners convicted in Denmark who are subject to deportation after serving their sentences. Danish citizens convicted of terrorism or war crimes, as well as inmates with mental illnesses, are not to be sent to Kosovo.

The facility will operate under a joint management model: it will be run by a Danish governor and a Kosovar director.

The financial aspect of the agreement is based on a lease model. The agreement provides for an annual fee of 15 million euros once the facility is fully adapted to accommodate 300 inmates, as well as an initial payment of 5 million euros for the transition period. Public statements estimate the total value of the agreement at approximately 210 million euros over a ten-year period.

For Denmark, this is a way to relieve pressure on its overcrowded prison system and reduce the burden on prisons and staff. For Kosovo, it is a source of budget revenue, an opportunity to modernize its own correctional system, and a chance to gain access to Danish prison management practices.

At the same time, the project remains controversial. Human rights organizations have previously warned that such schemes may create a risk of “outsourcing” responsibility for detention conditions.

This practice is not entirely new in Europe. Previously, Belgium and Norway leased prison space in the Netherlands: Belgium used a prison in Tilburg from 2009 to 2016, and Norway leased space in the Netherlands from 2015 to 2018.

The difference with the Danish-Kosovo model is that it transfers the serving of part of the sentences outside the EU and effectively links criminal policy with migration policy: foreign prisoners are to be sent to Kosovo and, after serving their sentences, are not allowed to remain in Denmark. This makes the project not merely a technical solution to a shortage of prison cells, but a political signal of Copenhagen’s tougher approach toward foreign convicts.

Kosovo’s legal status remains disputed. Pristina declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. In 2010, the International Court of Justice concluded that the declaration of independence itself did not violate international law; however, this did not imply automatic recognition of Kosovo by all states.

Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence and considers it to be its autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija. In EU international documents, the term “Kosovo*” is often used with the caveat that this designation does not imply a position on its status and is in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the opinion of the International Court of Justice.

Kosovo has been recognized by the United States, most EU countries, and more than 100 UN member states; however, it is not a member of the UN due to opposition from Serbia and a number of other states. Among the major countries that do not recognize Kosovo’s independence are China, India, Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, and South Africa; within the EU, they include Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, and Slovakia.