EU and OSCE regret bulldozing of allegedly illegally-built Serb villas near important lake, urging authorities to respect due process and the property rights of all the communities in the country.
Ardita Zeqiri
Demolition of villas near Ujman/Gazivoda lake in north Kosovo on July 21, 2026. Photo: BIRN
International missions in Kosovo expressed concern on Wednesday over the police’s demolition of 11 villas belonging to local Serbs near Lake Ujman/Gazivoda in the Serb-majority north of the country.
Kosovo authorities said the houses were built illegally on land owned by the public water management company Iber-Lepenc, near the Ujman/Gazivode Lake. The operation began on June 26.
The European Union Office in Kosovo said that it regretted Tuesday’s demolitions, noting that, “the affected residents had already initiated court proceedings within the 15-day deadline provided in notices issued by the public enterprise Iber-Lepenc to vacate the land”.
The EU called for an “immediate halt to any further demolitions, forced removals or takeovers until concerns relating to due process, proportionality, property rights, human rights and effective remedies are adequately addressed.
“Irreversible enforcement measures in the context of pending proceedings and contested property claims raise serious rule-of-law concerns,” the statement added.
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo said that, “any action affecting property rights, including the demolition of illegally constructed buildings, must be carried out strictly within the applicable legal framework, with full respect for due process”.
The mission said affected individuals should be informed promptly and adequately of the legal basis for actions taken against their property. “The rule of law, transparency, and due process must be applied consistently and without distinction to all illegally constructed buildings across Kosovo,” it said.
It added that enforcement measures against unauthorised construction should follow the same legal standards and procedural safeguards for all communities. “Selective or uneven application of the law, whether real or perceived, risks undermining public confidence and negatively affect inter-community relations and trust,” it said.
Faruk Mujka, deputy Mayor of South Mitrovica municipality, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that “11 illegally constructed villas had been removed during Tuesday’s operation”.
Mujka said the action was carried out by the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure with assistance from the police following a request from Iber-Lepenc to return the property to the company’s management.
Ujman/Gazivoda Lake is considered strategic infrastructure for Kosovo. It supplies drinking water to several cities, supports electricity generation and provides water for irrigation.
Fitore Pacolli, acting minister of the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, noted at the start of demolition work in June that the operation was being conducted to return illegally occupied property in northern Kosovo to the administration of Iber-Lepenc.
“The protection of our water resources remains our highest priority. For this reason, we will continue to protect them, manage them responsibly, and develop them as a vital asset for Kosovo,” Pacolli wrote.
But the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo condemned the operation as a “violent demolition” undertaken “without any court verdict”.
“The owners of the villas found out about the demolition of their property, which they had acquired for years, from the notices that were attached to their buildings, and when they asked for court decisions today, they did not receive them,” it said.
“All this indicates that these demolitions were not carried out with the aim of implementing some kind of law, but for a political reason,” it added.
