Report: No Kosovo deal this year

A Pristina daily says Wolfgang Ischinger has told ethnic Albanian leaders the province's status will not be settled this year. Express daily reports in its Saturday edition that the EU envoy to the Contact Group mediating Troika told Albanian representatives in Pristina Friday not to expect the status issue to be solved by the end of 2007. Report: No Kosovo deal this year Ischinger, however, did not address the press, nor commented on the meetings he had with the Kosovo leaders during his visit to the province. According to the daily, this is the first time an international diplomat directly suggested to the Albanians not to have high hopes the status settlement would be finalized this year, after Russia objected to a UN plan envisaging supervised independence, blocking a number of draft resolutions from reaching the UN Security Council. Ischinger met with Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu, prime minister Agim Ceku, assembly president Kol Berisha and opposition leaders Veton Surroi and Hashim Thaci during his two-day stay in Pristina that ended Friday. Kosovo prime minister Agim Ceku, EU envoy Wolfgang Ischinger in Pristina Thursday (FoNet) Ceku calls for EU consensus for recognition of independence Kosovo Premier Agim Ceku on Friday called for a consensus between the European Union and Kosovo institutions regarding the declaration of Kosovo's independence following December 10, when the international mediating troika is to present its report on a new phase of negotiations on Kosovo's status to the United Nations. After a meeting with UNMIK head Joachim Ruecker, Ceku, according to Pristina electronic media, did not mention a date when Kosovo institutions might declare independence. However, he added that in the "period of additional engagement" an agreement with the international community should be reached on this issue. "We do not have one day, we have different proposals, but we should use this 120-day period, among other things, for the achievement of a consensus within the European Union for the declaration of independence right after December 10," Ceku said. "We will use the forthcoming period to jointly determine the date and way and to harmonize and coordinate all this with our friends and partners," Ceku said. Ruecker told a news conference that one should not speculate with dates regarding Kosovo's independence and added that such statements could only be detrimental for the current status process for the resolution of status. "The Kosovo government has set its priorities which should be met by the end of the year," Ceku said. He added that one of the priorities in this period was to prepare for the transfer of competences and implementation of the Martti Ahtisaari draft package in the legislature and regulations. "The transfer of competences and implementation of the Ahtisaari package will begin on the date of declaration of independence." "The plan for the transfer of competences has been completed and we will have all laws prepared and drafted and they will be adopted after the declaration and recognition of independence," Ceku said. “Ahtisaari plan no longer on table” Ahtisaari’s plan has de facto been rejected and partitioning Kosovo should be considered more seriously, an analyst says. Steven Meyer, professor at the U.S. government's National Defense University and Balkans expert, said in an interview with Voice of America that, “with sensible approach from Belgrade and Pristina concerning the partition of the province, satisfactory territorial solution might be found.” In his words, in light of Contact Group envoys' statements that all options will be on the table during a new round of negotiations, the Kosovo issue "has been distanced from the U.S. sphere of influence and shifted to the EU." According to him, European envoy to the Troika Wolfgang Ischinger and Russia made it clear that partition was one of the possible options, together with any other solution both sides find acceptable. ICG, EU stands on Kosovo differ: EU source The proposal of the International Crisis Group (ICG) that the European Union (EU) should take advantage of the period of new negotiations on the future status of Kosovo to set up a so-called coalition of willing states that would, at the end of the year, be ready to recognize a unilateral proclamation of Kosovo's independence does not coincide with the intentions and stands of the EU, a European official said in a statement for Tanjug in Brussels on Friday. The source said they sincerely wanted a solution and would do everything for the negotiations to succeed, and not to condemn them to failure from the very beginning. "The Group stands are being followed and studied, but this lobbying organization is prone to arbitrary interpretations and wrong evaluations, such as the negative predictions about the possibility of the forming of the new Serbian government just days before it was agreed in May," Tanjug quoted its anonymous source as saying. Nevertheless, the EU, as a serious organization, is naturally looking into every possible scenario for the development of the situation, including one in which certain EU countries could agree to recognize the independence of Kosovo, the European diplomat said. Such a scenario exists, but there are too many negative consequences, including, among other things, for the unity of the EU, something that is of key importance, the diplomat said. This week's visits to the region by Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado and EU representative in the mediating troika Wolfgang Ischinger are proof that the EU is stepping up the search for an acceptable solution, and not one that could generate a new crisis, the official said.

Report: No Kosovo deal this year

Ischinger, however, did not address the press, nor commented on the meetings he had with the Kosovo leaders during his visit to the province.

According to the daily, this is the first time an international diplomat directly suggested to the Albanians not to have high hopes the status settlement would be finalized this year, after Russia objected to a UN plan envisaging supervised independence, blocking a number of draft resolutions from reaching the UN Security Council.

Ischinger met with Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu, prime minister Agim Ceku, assembly president Kol Berisha and opposition leaders Veton Surroi and Hashim Thaci during his two-day stay in Priština that ended Friday.

Ceku calls for EU consensus for recognition of independence

Kosovo Premier Agim Ceku on Friday called for a consensus between the European Union and Kosovo institutions regarding the declaration of Kosovo's independence following December 10, when the international mediating troika is to present its report on a new phase of negotiations on Kosovo's status to the United Nations.

After a meeting with UNMIK head Joachim Ruecker, Ceku, according to Priština electronic media, did not mention a date when Kosovo institutions might declare independence.

However, he added that in the "period of additional engagement" an agreement with the international community should be reached on this issue.

"We do not have one day, we have different proposals, but we should use this 120-day period, among other things, for the achievement of a consensus within the European Union for the declaration of independence right after December 10," Ceku said.

"We will use the forthcoming period to jointly determine the date and way and to harmonize and coordinate all this with our friends and partners," Ceku said.

Ruecker told a news conference that one should not speculate with dates regarding Kosovo's independence and added that such statements could only be detrimental for the current status process for the resolution of status.

"The Kosovo government has set its priorities which should be met by the end of the year," Ceku said.

He added that one of the priorities in this period was to prepare for the transfer of competences and implementation of the Martti Ahtisaari draft package in the legislature and regulations.

"The transfer of competences and implementation of the Ahtisaari package will begin on the date of declaration of independence."

"The plan for the transfer of competences has been completed and we will have all laws prepared and drafted and they will be adopted after the declaration and recognition of independence," Ceku said.

“Ahtisaari plan no longer on table”

Ahtisaari’s plan has de facto been rejected and partitioning Kosovo should be considered more seriously, an analyst says.

Steven Meyer, professor at the U.S. government's National Defense University and Balkans expert, said in an interview with Voice of America that, “with sensible approach from Belgrade and Priština concerning the partition of the province, satisfactory territorial solution might be found.”

In his words, in light of Contact Group envoys' statements that all options will be on the table during a new round of negotiations, the Kosovo issue "has been distanced from the U.S. sphere of influence and shifted to the EU."

According to him, European envoy to the Troika Wolfgang Ischinger and Russia made it clear that partition was one of the possible options, together with any other solution both sides find acceptable.

ICG, EU stands on Kosovo differ: EU source

The proposal of the International Crisis Group (ICG) that the European Union (EU) should take advantage of the period of new negotiations on the future status of Kosovo to set up a so-called coalition of willing states that would, at the end of the year, be ready to recognize a unilateral proclamation of Kosovo's independence does not coincide with the intentions and stands of the EU, a European official said in a statement for Tanjug in Brussels on Friday.

The source said they sincerely wanted a solution and would do everything for the negotiations to succeed, and not to condemn them to failure from the very beginning.

"The Group stands are being followed and studied, but this lobbying organization is prone to arbitrary interpretations and wrong evaluations, such as the negative predictions about the possibility of the forming of the new Serbian government just days before it was agreed in May," Tanjug quoted its anonymous source as saying.

Nevertheless, the EU, as a serious organization, is naturally looking into every possible scenario for the development of the situation, including one in which certain EU countries could agree to recognize the independence of Kosovo, the European diplomat said.

Such a scenario exists, but there are too many negative consequences, including, among other things, for the unity of the EU, something that is of key importance, the diplomat said.

This week's visits to the region by Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado and EU representative in the mediating troika Wolfgang Ischinger are proof that the EU is stepping up the search for an acceptable solution, and not one that could generate a new crisis, the official said.