EU ministers “very positive” about Ban’s plan for reconfiguration

EU ministers "very positive" about Ban's plan for reconfiguration

Foreign affairs ministers of European Union states have given a "very positive" assessment of the Unmik reconfiguration plan designed by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

At a meeting in Luxembourg, the ministers argued that "the proposal opens the door to the possibility of deploying the Eulex mission", EU spokesman Cristina Gallach said .

She said some 300 members of Eulex had been deployed to date.

The Kosovo Serbs and Belgrade are firmly against the Eulex deployment without a UN Security Council resolution, and the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has called for an urgent session of Serbian parliament this week to express this view.

Meanwhile, in Moscow, the Russian Foreign ministry has slammed Kosovo's new constitution as a violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

"This act continues a string of measures for the arbitrary formalization of the territory's sovereignty and the policy of violating international law, only aggravating the tense situation in Kosovo and isolating the Serb population," the ministry said.

It added that Pristina, by declaring its intention to curtail cooperation with the UN mission in Kosovo, "is in gross violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 that assigns the central role in the Kosovo settlement to the United Nations."

Any change in the mandate or format of international presence, or the deployment of an European Union mission in Kosovo must be realized with the approval of the involved parties and of the UN SC, the ministry said.

Russia urges restoring legality in Kosovo affairs as any other path would entail negative consequences for regional security and international stability, the statement added.

Download PDF document