Rupel: EULEX "more or less" on schedule

Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel says EULEX will have been “more or less” deployed in Kosovo by the time the constitution comes into force on June 15. “The deployment is going slowly, but steadily. I hope the mission will be in Kosovo by the time the constitution comes into force”, said Rupel at the beginning of a EU Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels. Slovenia’s presidency of the EU ends on June 1. Rupel: EULEX "more or less" on schedule EULEX and the problems it faces in Kosovo and in international circles will be one of the main topics of the meeting. The constitution adopted by the Kosovo parliament in Pristina and approved by the EU’s Special Representative Pieter Feith is due to become law on June 15. Owing to the refusal of the Kosovo Serbs and Belgrade officials to accept EULEX’s legitimacy, and the fact that Moscow is blocking the transfer of powers from UNMIK to the EU mission, its full operational capacity has, however, been delayed. Rupel ruled out the possibility of the EULEX mission not being deployed in majority-Serb parts of Kosovo. "It would not be in line with our decision. All decisions in the EU Council of Ministers are aimed at deploying the EULEX mission throughout Kosovo,” underlined the Slovenian foreign minister. Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that he would be talking with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about the international missions in Kosovo, and added that he expected that EULEX and UNMIK could probably work together, at least for a while. "UNMIK is on the ground based on Security Council Resolution 1244, as is our EULEX mission”, Solana said, adding that he was hoping that the issues prolonging the delay of the EU mission would soon be resolved. "The transfer of powers between the two authorities (UNMIK and EULEX) will take some time,” said the EU high representative. Dimitrij Rupel (FoNet, archive)

Rupel: EULEX "more or less" on schedule

EULEX and the problems it faces in Kosovo and in international circles will be one of the main topics of the meeting.

The constitution adopted by the Kosovo parliament in Priština and approved by the EU’s Special Representative Pieter Feith is due to become law on June 15.

Owing to the refusal of the Kosovo Serbs and Belgrade officials to accept EULEX’s legitimacy, and the fact that Moscow is blocking the transfer of powers from UNMIK to the EU mission, its full operational capacity has, however, been delayed.

Rupel ruled out the possibility of the EULEX mission not being deployed in majority-Serb parts of Kosovo.

"It would not be in line with our decision. All decisions in the EU Council of Ministers are aimed at deploying the EULEX mission throughout Kosovo,” underlined the Slovenian foreign minister.

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that he would be talking with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about the international missions in Kosovo, and added that he expected that EULEX and UNMIK could probably work together, at least for a while.

"UNMIK is on the ground based on Security Council Resolution 1244, as is our EULEX mission”, Solana said, adding that he was hoping that the issues prolonging the delay of the EU mission would soon be resolved.

"The transfer of powers between the two authorities (UNMIK and EULEX) will take some time,” said the EU high representative.