Simmons claims EULEX violations and irregularities

The former head of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, Malcolm Simmons, has stated he wants to testify the wrongdoings of EULEX during the time of his service.

Simmons has notified the Parliamentary Commission on Legislation in Kosovo, that during the time he served for EULEX, there have been violations and irregularities.

This was confirmed to BIRN by the chairman of the commission, Shkemb Manaj. “Simmons has asked the formation of an inquiry parliamentary commission to address the violations of EULEX”, Manaj said. He added that “Simmons has shown willingness to testify on the issue”.

In order to raise this commission, a third of parliamentary votes are needed. This means 40 out of 120 MPs Kosovo has.

What happened in 2017?

Simmons was notorious in 2017 when he resigned from his position. At the time, he accused the office of the European Union in Prishtina of corruption. He also claimed they hacked his email and politically influenced the cases in court.

For Le Monde journalist, Hugo Lemonier, Simmons would declare he “didn’t want to be part of that farce anymore”.

Despite the accusations, Simmons didn’t give any other details on the topic. EU’s spokesperson, Maja Kocijančič, replied immediately to Simmons at the time, declaring that “The EU keeps calling him so he can prove the accusations, but he refuses”.

Simmons reappears

In August 2020, after some time he had totally vanished, Simmons reappeared. He let the public know he had taken a contract as advisor of a Ministry of Justice in West Africa. That was one of the biggest projects in the area.

Simmons’ name now also reappeared in Kosovo, in a very delicate situation. The Special Court confirmed accusations of war crimes for some major political names. Kosovo ex-president Hashim Thaçi resigned from his position because of these accusations. The ex-chairman of the Assembly, Kadri Veseli, was accused too.

Other names involved were the ex-inspector of Kosovo Liberation Army, Rexhep Selimi, as well as the ex-spokesperson, Jakup Krasniqi.

One of the biggest claims of Simmons, regards current United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. In 2016, Johnson was Secretary for UK’s Foreign Affairs. At the time, he had admitted the fact that the Special Rooms in the Court of Hague “are just a political body that obeys the desires of Brussels”.