Serbia, EU, UN discuss EULEX framework

EU officials have made it clear that the goal of the talks between Serbia, the EU and the UN is to have the EULEX mission deployed throughout Kosovo. According to one senior diplomat in the EU Council of Ministers in Brussels, the talks are continuing and it is by no means clear whether the green light will be given for the “very beginning“ of the operation with the deployment of 2,000 EULEX police, judges and prosecutors by November 7, when the UN Security Council is due to convene. Serbia, EU, UN discuss EULEX framework “The conditions set out by President Boris Tadic are entirely clear and we should wait for the outcome of the talks,“ said the senior EU official close to the talks with Belgrade. He stressed that the EU mission, according to Brussels’ objectives, would mean the implementation of the rule of law throughout the province, including both the region north of the Ibar river and the Serb-populated enclaves in the south. The diplomat dismissed the interpretation whereby the basis for the entire Serbia-EU-UN agreement would see northern Kosovo and the Serb enclaves functioning in line with Resolution 1244, with an EU presence in the form of a civil office, while EULEX would operate in line with the constitutional provisions adopted by the Pristina authorities in the rest of the province, with all EULEX forces deployed there. “No, that’s an entirely mistaken interpretation. The correct interpretation would be that everything in the mission is based on UN SC Resolution 1244 and that everything works under overall authority—that of the UN.“ The goal is for the EULEX mission, together and under the auspices of the UN, to work throughout Kosovo, the official explained. “What is also key in this is Belgrade’s goal. It’s all open, we are open to an agreement. The new government in Belgrade has opened a path that could, with clear conditions, lead to a solution, which was not the case with the previous government,“ the diplomat told Beta. In a parallel statement to Beta, Cristina Gallach, EU High Representative Javier Solana’s spokeswoman, said that Solana had had a series of meetings in previous days with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and that he had spoken to Tadic too. She explained that “that whole issue is complex and efforts to find a solution have been ongoing for some time.“ Gallach added that it was true that the Security Council was expected to rubber-stamp any UN-Serbia or Serbia-EU agreement by way of an announcement from the chairman, adding that the Security Council was first waiting to receive an UNMIK report on the outcome of the negotiations with Serbia on the six-point proposal sent by Ban to Tadic in July this year.

Serbia, EU, UN discuss EULEX framework

“The conditions set out by President Boris Tadić are entirely clear and we should wait for the outcome of the talks,“ said the senior EU official close to the talks with Belgrade.

He stressed that the EU mission, according to Brussels’ objectives, would mean the implementation of the rule of law throughout the province, including both the region north of the Ibar river and the Serb-populated enclaves in the south.

The diplomat dismissed the interpretation whereby the basis for the entire Serbia-EU-UN agreement would see northern Kosovo and the Serb enclaves functioning in line with Resolution 1244, with an EU presence in the form of a civil office, while EULEX would operate in line with the constitutional provisions adopted by the Priština authorities in the rest of the province, with all EULEX forces deployed there.

“No, that’s an entirely mistaken interpretation. The correct interpretation would be that everything in the mission is based on UN SC Resolution 1244 and that everything works under overall authority—that of the UN.“

The goal is for the EULEX mission, together and under the auspices of the UN, to work throughout Kosovo, the official explained.

“What is also key in this is Belgrade’s goal. It’s all open, we are open to an agreement. The new government in Belgrade has opened a path that could, with clear conditions, lead to a solution, which was not the case with the previous government,“ the diplomat told Beta.

In a parallel statement to Beta, Cristina Gallach, EU High Representative Javier Solana’s spokeswoman, said that Solana had had a series of meetings in previous days with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and that he had spoken to Tadić too.

She explained that “that whole issue is complex and efforts to find a solution have been ongoing for some time.“

Gallach added that it was true that the Security Council was expected to rubber-stamp any UN-Serbia or Serbia-EU agreement by way of an announcement from the chairman, adding that the Security Council was first waiting to receive an UNMIK report on the outcome of the negotiations with Serbia on the six-point proposal sent by Ban to Tadić in July this year.