Bildt: Kosovo still has no status

Carl Bildt yesterday expanded on his comment that the UN must stay in Kosovo. The Swedish foreign minister told journalists at the Transatlantic Forum in Brussels that UNMIK must continue to be deployed in the province since, "although work is being done to implement the Ahtisaari status plan, there is still no status". Bildt: Kosovo still has no status "The status was supposed to be defined with an agreement or a Security Council resolution, but the problem is that this has not materialized so far," Bildt said. Citizens of Kosovo will, he continued, still have to use UNMIK documents to travel to those countries that have not recognized the province's unilateral secession. At the same time UNMIK will continue to represent Kosovo in international organizations, as its accession will not be possible without a UN Security Council resolution. At the same time, the UN will have to take over those "areas linked to minorities", the Swedish diplomat said. "In February last year, Martti Ahtisaari submitted his plan for Kosovo's future status. We are still working within that framework, but there is no status. This is why it's necessary to preserve the role of the UN in some fields. This is not what we envisaged a year ago," Bildt said, and then repeated that the "situation has changed compared to a year ago". As for EULEX, the EU's mission to the province, which Serbia and Russia reject as illegal, since it lacks an invitation from the UN – a necessary precondition for the legality of any international presence under the only valid document arranging the post-1999 Kosovo, UN Resolution 1244 – Bildt said it was formed with an EU Council of Ministers decision, "based on 1244". He added that the Kosovo authorities have accepted the mission as well. Asked whether he believed an official decision by the UN secretary-general was necessary for EULEX to take over from UNMIK, based on 1244 so as to respect international law, Bildt said: "The international representative has very wide executive jurisdiction that he can use in Kosovo. And that is what, in the end, could become some kind of agreement, that would for many of us would be based on Resolution 1244." When it comes to the relationship between EULEX and NATO, "it is crystal clear", he continued, but added that the "relationships with other organizations are still not apparent". "This, I would say, is work in progress, but the existing reality is different than the one a year ago, including to some extent the situation in the field. We are facing a daunting task in Kosovo to secure the rule of law and build state institutions, and this will primarily be up to EULEX," Bildt concluded.

Bildt: Kosovo still has no status

"The status was supposed to be defined with an agreement or a Security Council resolution, but the problem is that this has not materialized so far," Bildt said.

Citizens of Kosovo will, he continued, still have to use UNMIK documents to travel to those countries that have not recognized the province's unilateral secession.

At the same time UNMIK will continue to represent Kosovo in international organizations, as its accession will not be possible without a UN Security Council resolution. At the same time, the UN will have to take over those "areas linked to minorities", the Swedish diplomat said.

"In February last year, Martti Ahtisaari submitted his plan for Kosovo's future status. We are still working within that framework, but there is no status. This is why it's necessary to preserve the role of the UN in some fields. This is not what we envisaged a year ago," Bildt said, and then repeated that the "situation has changed compared to a year ago".

As for EULEX, the EU's mission to the province, which Serbia and Russia reject as illegal, since it lacks an invitation from the UN – a necessary precondition for the legality of any international presence under the only valid document arranging the post-1999 Kosovo, UN Resolution 1244 – Bildt said it was formed with an EU Council of Ministers decision, "based on 1244".

He added that the Kosovo authorities have accepted the mission as well.

Asked whether he believed an official decision by the UN secretary-general was necessary for EULEX to take over from UNMIK, based on 1244 so as to respect international law, Bildt said:

"The international representative has very wide executive jurisdiction that he can use in Kosovo. And that is what, in the end, could become some kind of agreement, that would for many of us would be based on Resolution 1244."

When it comes to the relationship between EULEX and NATO, "it is crystal clear", he continued, but added that the "relationships with other organizations are still not apparent".

"This, I would say, is work in progress, but the existing reality is different than the one a year ago, including to some extent the situation in the field. We are facing a daunting task in Kosovo to secure the rule of law and build state institutions, and this will primarily be up to EULEX," Bildt concluded.