EULEX: EU-Belgrade agreement soon

EULEX Chief Yves de Kermabon says that an agreement with Belgrade for the deployment of his mission in Kosovo “is not very far away”. “That is my feeling, but I am still cautious,” de Kermabon told the AFP news agency. EULEX: EU-Belgrade agreement soon He said that he hoped that EULEX would be fully operational by the beginning of December, and that the mission would be deployed throughout Kosovo by the end of the winter. The EULEX chief hopes that it will be possible to overcome the Serb community’s dislike of the idea of deploying the EU’s judicial and police mission in northern Kosovo. De Kermabon said that EULEX would not be deployed by force, and that EULEX and UNMIK could temporarily be deployed together in the north. “We are working on securing the most painless transition plan… That is not impossible, in the transitional period that should be as short as possible… I hope that by the end of the winter, at the latest, the EULEX mission will be completely deployed in Kosovo,” he said. De Kermabon added that the deployment of EULEX in the north of the province was in the best interests of the Serbian government. The EULEX chief said that “a number of fanatics who are still controlling a part of the population” were opposing the deployment there. If the Serbian government “wants to stop smuggling and corruption in northern Kosovo, it needs to get rid of these fanatics once and for all,” de Kermabon underlined. He said that northern Kosovo was becoming the “largest smuggling zone”, stating that fuel smuggling had shot up in that region. The EULEX chief said that the “fanatics” in the north, however, “are starting to feel more isolated than before", after the formation of the pro-European government in Belgrade in July. De Kermabon said that he wanted to eradicate the “satanization of EULEX among Serbs.” He said that the goal of the EU mission, which will be made up of 2,000 police, court and customs officials, is to improve the “field of law” in Kosovo. “I think that we will really be able to start the mission in early December, in the first, initial phase, knowing that it will take some time for all the personnel to arrive and deploy in Kosovo completely,” the EULEX chief surmised. Yves de Kermabon (FoNet, archive)

EULEX: EU-Belgrade agreement soon

He said that he hoped that EULEX would be fully operational by the beginning of December, and that the mission would be deployed throughout Kosovo by the end of the winter.

The EULEX chief hopes that it will be possible to overcome the Serb community’s dislike of the idea of deploying the EU’s judicial and police mission in northern Kosovo.

De Kermabon said that EULEX would not be deployed by force, and that EULEX and UNMIK could temporarily be deployed together in the north.

“We are working on securing the most painless transition plan… That is not impossible, in the transitional period that should be as short as possible… I hope that by the end of the winter, at the latest, the EULEX mission will be completely deployed in Kosovo,” he said.

De Kermabon added that the deployment of EULEX in the north of the province was in the best interests of the Serbian government.

The EULEX chief said that “a number of fanatics who are still controlling a part of the population” were opposing the deployment there.

If the Serbian government “wants to stop smuggling and corruption in northern Kosovo, it needs to get rid of these fanatics once and for all,” de Kermabon underlined.

He said that northern Kosovo was becoming the “largest smuggling zone”, stating that fuel smuggling had shot up in that region.

The EULEX chief said that the “fanatics” in the north, however, “are starting to feel more isolated than before", after the formation of the pro-European government in Belgrade in July.

De Kermabon said that he wanted to eradicate the “satanization of EULEX among Serbs.”

He said that the goal of the EU mission, which will be made up of 2,000 police, court and customs officials, is to improve the “field of law” in Kosovo.

“I think that we will really be able to start the mission in early December, in the first, initial phase, knowing that it will take some time for all the personnel to arrive and deploy in Kosovo completely,” the EULEX chief surmised.