The Parliament of Kosovo, a small Balkan nation, approved the Prison Cell Lease Agreement signed with Denmark in 2021.
According to Reuters, the Parliament of Kosovo voted on a bill to lease 300 prison cells to Denmark, with 84 out of 120 members voting in favor.
Although Kosovo had agreed to the contract with Denmark in 2021, the bill had consistently been thwarted due to opposition from the minority party.
With the passage of this bill, Kosovo will lease 300 prison cells in the village of Gyallan, about 31 miles (50 kilometers) from the capital, Pristina. It will receive the support of 210 million euros ($227 million) from Denmark over the next ten years. This amount equals 2.4% of Kosovo’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), approximately 8.9 billion euros ($9.7 billion) as of 2022.
The Kosovo government has announced that it will use these funds to improve prison conditions and invest in environmentally friendly energy projects. Denmark plans to send non-European Union (EU) prisoners, who are scheduled to be deported after serving their sentences, to prisons in Kosovo. Kosovo has promised to treat these individuals according to Danish law.
This agreement results from the aligned interests between Denmark, grappling with overcrowded jails, and Kosovo, seeking economic support abroad. Since 2015, the number of prisoners in Denmark has increased by nearly 20%, causing prison occupancy rates to exceed 100%. Peter Hummelgaard, the Danish Minister of Justice, welcomed the decision, stating, “This is crucial for us to secure more Danish prison places and will help bring our hard-pressed prison system back into balance. At the same time, it sends a clear signal to criminal foreigners that their future is not in Denmark, and therefore, they should not serve their time here.”
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