Francken got the idea last week during a trip to the Balkans. The aim was to establish contacts there in connection with migration and security files.
However, in Kosovo he saw a prison used by Denmark. The Kosovars are holding around 300 detainees for the Scandinavian country for 210 million euros. These are prisoners who were staying illegally in Denmark when they were arrested. Once they have served their sentence, they must return to their country of origin. They are no longer welcome in Europe.
Kosovo is not a member of the European Union and is not even recognized as an independent state by five EU members. The deal with Denmark is controversial because monitoring prison quality – which must be the same as in Denmark – is difficult, despite guarantees in this regard.
The plan for the Kosovo prison is in the N-VA election manifesto. Francken is convinced that the approach will work, as an alternative to the return agreements with countries of origin, such as Morocco. “Crime figures in Denmark are falling sharply,” he tells ‘Het Nieuwsblad’. “Having to serve a prison sentence at such a distance is dissuasive to say the least.”
