Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

EU agrees on Kosovo mission

The European Union has given the political green-light to a 1,800-strong police and civilian mission to be deployed in Serbia's breakaway region of Kosovo, although differences remain over the possible recognition of Kosovo's independence.

"This is the clearest signal that the European Union could possibly give that it intends to lead on the whole issue of Kosovo's future, its status and its role in the region", Portuguese prime minister Jose Socrates - whose country currently holds the EU presidency - said on Friday (14 December), after EU leaders agreed the move on the European Security and Defence Policy mission (ESDP).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • EU leaders remain split on how to deal with Kosovo's likely future independence (Photo: Council of the EU)

According to French president Nicolas Sarkozy, "Europe has saved its unity on the question of Kosovo".

German chancellor Angela Merkel, for her part, said she had "not expected" a decision when she came to the summit Friday morning, while the country's foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier added that the decision was "the real news this evening".

However, it remains unclear when precisely the EU's mission, consisting of 1,800 policemen, prosecutors and judges, can be deployed on the ground.

While Luxembourg's Jean Asselborn said the mission would be deployed "just after Christmas [2007]", Bulgarian foreign minister Ivailo Kalfin indicated a less ambitious time-frame - "before the end of the summer [2008]".

According to Slovakia's foreign minister Jan Kubis, the specifics of the mission should be concluded in January next year, after a round of consultations with the UN body.

The EU mission - designed to strengthen stability in the region and ensure that Kosovo's future settlement observes democratic standards - will be legally based on current UN Resolution 1244.

The same resolution introduced the UN administration over the Serbian province back in 1999.

The costs are estimated at €165 million just for the first year of its presence.

However, EU leaders continue to be divided over the mooted "coordinated" declaration of independence of Kosovo.

Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain have all reiterated their concerns over such a move - each of them worried by possible consequences for their own countries.

Portugal's Jose Socrates stressed that the fact the EU is sending a mission to Kosovo does not mean that the bloc is ready to recognise the province's independence.

According to president of Cyprus Tassos Papadopoulos "the fate of Kosovo must be an agreed solution with the Serbs. If not, it must be a resolution by the Security Council. That's the only accepted path".

Divisions on Serbia

The summit also highlighted the persistent divisions among member states concerning whether to link the further integration of Serbia with the arrest of remaining war crimes suspects, notably general Ratko Mladic.

Last week, outgoing UN chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte called on the EU not to sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) - the first step to EU membership - with Belgrade unless it arrests the general charged with genocide and war crimes.

Some countries, such as the Netherlands, support this stance, but others insist that Serbia's SAA should be signed even if general Mladic is not arrested, provided that Serbia presents enough proof that it has done all it can to capture him.

Bulgarian prime minister Sergei Stanishev called on "some European countries" to show more solidarity and comprehension with member states geographically close to Serbia - such as Bulgaria itself, who have an interest in Serbia's European future becoming a reality as soon as possible.

Bulgaria hopes the SAA with Belgrade could be signed at the end of January and called for more flexibility on the issue of capturing the war crimes suspects.

In their conclusions following the meeting, EU leaders encouraged Serbia to "meet the necessary conditions to allow its SAA rapidly to be signed" and "reiterated [their] confidence that progress on the road towards the EU, including candidate status, can be accelerated".

They stopped short of making a specific reference to the condition of cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal.

EU Kosovo mission 'unacceptable' for Serbia

Serbia has expressed strong opposition to the decision taken last Friday by EU leaders to send an EU mission to Kosovo, saying the mission would ultimately lead to the creation of a "puppet state" out of the Serbian province.

Finnish PM: Russia preparing for 'long conflict with West'

Finland, which shares a border with Russia, has cautioned about the danger of a Russian attack in coming years. Russia is not "invincible" but "self-satisfaction is no longer an option," Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo said.

EU Commission proposes opening Bosnia accession talks

Eight years on, the EU Commission is to recommend on Tuesday that member states open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country took "impressive steps" to meet the bloc's standards, Ursula von der Leyen said.

Opinion

How the EU can raise its game in the Middle East

Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us