EU mandate similar to UNMIK’s

EU mandate similar to UNMIK’s

“The mandate of this mission should not be greater than UNMIK’s mandate. When determining the mandate, the greatest concern will be the ability to implement it,” the UN’s special envoy for the Kosovo status crisis stated.

Ahtisaari warned that a mandate with too many facets and dimensions “could put the EU at the risk of not being able to take care of its responsibilities.”

He also said that Kosovo “has a future in Europe,” adding that this is the “goal of all of Kosovo’s leaders and its citizens, regardless of ethnicity.”

In the case of a lack of a “European Perspective,” Kosovo could “slide into chaos and uncertainty, without hope for economic growth, and its internal instability could pour out into the region.” Ahtisaari warned.

The future EU mission in Kosovo will have a budget of in between 145 and 150 million euros, said Bruno Hanses from the Office for Civilian Crisis Managment in the EU’s General Secretariat.

He also said that there will be 800 police officers and 150 people in the court system, along with a yet undecided amount of people designated to offer logistical help.