Friday, 22 June 2007EU Ponders Kosovo Mission Without Final Status
As the chances of a UN resolution on Kosovo
recede, Brussels is weighing up the fate of its long-planned mission to the territory.
By Gjeraqina Tuhina in Brussels and Luxembourg (Balkan Insight, 20 June 07)
While some analysts say the EU can find alternatives to a UN resolution to secure its mandate, diplomats and officials have been hinting that the problem might be solved through a "minimum resolution" that would give a green light to the EU but would not regulate the final status.
At a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, Brussels confirmed support for the UN Special Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, and reiterated that his report, submitted to the UN Security Council, provides the only basis for a settlement of the Kosovo issue by a new UN resolution.
"The Council expressed its support for intensified efforts to ensure that the Security Council can adopt such a resolution in a timely manner," the conclusions of the Luxembourg meeting read.
"The Council underlined that the EU stands ready to play a significant role in the implementation of the status settlement," it added. "Preparations for a future EU and international presence in Kosovo are being intensified in coordination with other international actors."
In light of recent hold-ups and signs that an agreed solution for Kosovo may not be in sight, the EU is trying to find a way to start the long-awaited Kosovo mission without waiting for a clear definition of the territory's status.
The European Union is quietly starting strategic preparations to begin its supervisory mission in Kosovo, even without an international agreement on Kosovo's final status.
One EU diplomat told Balkan Insight that at last week's Paris meeting of the so-called Quint countries (the Contact Group, minus Russia), the Europeans "were ready to open Ahtissaari's package and only take the parts that concerned a future European presence and put it into a draft resolution".
At the meeting in Luxembourg, German foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier said "We have established that we need a UN Resolution and we will do all to get it, because Resolution will give ground to future international European presence in Kosovo."
IWPR
20 June 2007 |
Friday, 22 June 2007
EU&Kosovo
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