The EU's awkward mission in Kosovo

A string of recent incidents have underscored the shortcomings of the EU's rule of law mission in Kosovo (Eulex) with respect to the contentious issue of Kosovo's status. While ethnic Serbs and Albanians in the Brdjani neighbourhood of northern Mitrovica again clashed over the controversial and provocative issue of housing reconstruction, members of the ethnic Albanian movement, Vetevendosje (Self-Determination), opposed to the recently announced protocol on co-operation between Eulex and Serbia's interior ministry, damaged around 28 vehicles belonging to the mission. The nature of these events provides a telling insight into the challenges facing Eulex in successfully fulfilling its mandate.

The protocol on police co-operation between Eulex and Serbia's interior ministry is primarily concerned with the exchange of information relevant to the fight against corruption, organised crime, arms smuggling and other illicit trade. Coming at a sensitive time for matters relating to the administrative boundary line, particularly following a spate of attacks in southern Serbia, and war crimes investigations, the protocol constitutes an important and constructive step towards strengthening the rule of law in Kosovo.

It has, however, been vehemently opposed by the Kosovo government, which maintains that Eulex does not have the mandate to sign international agreements on its behalf and complains that it was neither informed nor consulted about the protocol. The cabinet of Kosovo prime minister, Hashim Thaçi, has warned that "by ignoring relevant Kosovo institutions, it [the protocol] will worsen the relations between the European mission and the Kosovo government".

The Joint Action of February 2008, however, which provides the basis for Eulex's mandate, clearly states that the mission can enter into agreements independently of the Kosovo authorities. Having publicly demanded Serbia's constructive engagement with Eulex, the need for a similarly firm stance towards the Kosovo government is becoming increasingly apparent.

With Eulex planning further agreements with Serbia in the areas of customs and the judiciary, attempts to undermine and impair Eulex by Kosovo Albanians will have important ramifications for the EU's crisis management capabilities elsewhere in the region, particularly as the EU contemplates how best to strengthen the role of its special representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The problems facing Eulex - and indeed the entire international community, not only in Kosovo but in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well - stem in part from attempts to impose outcomes, instead of working to lay the foundations for practical arrangements to contentious issues. Developments in the north of Kosovo best elucidate this point, with reconstruction in the highly sensitive Brdjani neighbourhood contributing to sporadic clashes and heightened tensions; tensions that will continue to grow without reciprocal measures to support the safe and sustainable return of Serbs and other non-Albanian minorities, particularly the Roma community. Given Kosovo's contested status, especially in the north, pragmatic steps are required to defuse the current situation with the aim of preventing future outbreaks of violence and laying the basis for further negotiations.

If Eulex is to reinforce its own often ambiguous role, while stabilising Kosovo and strengthening the rule of law, then it must re-emphasize that its legitimacy derives from UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and reassert, both rhetorically and in practice, its neutrality towards Kosovo's status. Steps to impose measures, especially in the north, will only prompt and provoke further confrontations with and between both ethnic Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo, with damaging consequences elsewhere beyond these disputed borders and administrative boundary lines.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/02/eulex-kosovo-eu-mission