Vienna: Meeting to discuss Feith’s mandate

The International Steering Group (ISG) for Kosovo will meet in Vienna to discuss the mandate of International Civilian Office (ICO) chief Pieter Feith. The political directors of the foreign ministries of 25 member-states of the group will be meeting in Austria today to talk behind closed doors about the extension of Feith’s mandate. Vienna: Meeting to discuss Feith’s mandate It is expected that Feith’s authorities, which were increased in the fields from the Ahtisaari plan, could be scaled down, with the goal of gradually handing over these responsibilities from the plan to the Kosovo government in Pristina. The ISG named Feith as the ICO chief in the southern Serbian province on February 28, 2008. He is in charge of overlooking the implementation of the Ahtisaari plan on Kosovo's supervised independence, and can intervene and "remove the moves" that he believes go against the plan. The Ahtisaari plan, which was not approved by the UN Security Council and is not accepted by Serbia, calls for the ISG to discuss the authorities of the ICO chief two years after the plan takes effect, with the goal of gradually decreasing the ICO chief’s authorities and frequency of interventions. The province's ethnic Albanians unilaterally proclaimed independence two years ago. Belgrade rejected this as an illegal act of secession. "ISG conclusions irrelevant" Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration Bozidar Djelic stated on Monday that Serbia does not recognize the International Steering Group (ISG) for Kosovo since it is illegal, being created on the basis of Martti Ahtisaari's plan, which was not accepted either by Serbia or the UN Security Council. “Any conclusion of the ISG is irrelevant,” Djelic said in Belgrade today, during an international conference at which the cooperation between Serbia and EU was discussed.

Vienna: Meeting to discuss Feith’s mandate

It is expected that Feith’s authorities, which were increased in the fields from the Ahtisaari plan, could be scaled down, with the goal of gradually handing over these responsibilities from the plan to the Kosovo government in Priština.

The ISG named Feith as the ICO chief in the southern Serbian province on February 28, 2008.

He is in charge of overlooking the implementation of the Ahtisaari plan on Kosovo's supervised independence, and can intervene and "remove the moves" that he believes go against the plan.

The Ahtisaari plan, which was not approved by the UN Security Council and is not accepted by Serbia, calls for the ISG to discuss the authorities of the ICO chief two years after the plan takes effect, with the goal of gradually decreasing the ICO chief’s authorities and frequency of interventions.

The province's ethnic Albanians unilaterally proclaimed independence two years ago. Belgrade rejected this as an illegal act of secession.

"ISG conclusions irrelevant"

Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration Božidar Đelić stated on Monday that Serbia does not recognize the International Steering Group (ISG) for Kosovo since it is illegal, being created on the basis of Martti Ahtisaari's plan, which was not accepted either by Serbia or the UN Security Council.

“Any conclusion of the ISG is irrelevant,” Đelić said in Belgrade today, during an international conference at which the cooperation between Serbia and EU was discussed.