EU makes move towards "coordinated independence" of Kosovo
Day "D" for Kosovo was marked in Brussels by an hours-long meeting of the EU foreign affairs ministers who made an important step towards a common stand on the so-called "coordinated independence" of Kosovo, an independence which would be declared through cooperation between Pristina and Western countries.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Such a stand is the result of a strong pressure from Washington, from EU members of the Contact Group, but also from the EU envoy in the Troika Wolfgang Ischinger, who informed the ministers that "there would be no agreement between Pristina and Belgrade even if they negotiated for another two, three or five years".
Cyprus was named as the main opponent of such an approach, but several other countries - notably Romania, Slovakia and Spain also had serious concerns.
EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana said the meeting helped move towards a common stand, while the Enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said « it was time for a coordinated process under the leadership of the EU ».
Czech Foreign Minister Karle Scharzenberg was more explicit and said the EU ministers had "more-or-less" agreed on a "coordinated independence" of Kosovo.
« We have coordinated our views (...) Independence is more-or-less agreed and cannot be avoided anymore", Scharzenberg said after the meeting, adding he expected a final agreement in January.
"The only discussion that remains is how to recognize, when to recognize and what measures to bring to avoid trouble", he underlined.
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema also spoke of the "coordinated" approach based on the Martti Ahtisaari plan.
"We will work on the basis of the Ahtisaari plan, and Pristina should decide on when and how (to become independent) in a close collaboration with us", he said.
The Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said the EU would "work hard" on a deal which would lead towards a "coordinated" rather than a "unilateral" declaration of independence of Kosovo.
He said he expected this process to end after the presidential elections in Serbia.
"We have to stay in the process and that process has to end after the elections in Serbia in early February (...) until then we will remain in the process with the Kosovars, with the international community and with the Serbs, because we have to give the Serbs something very concrete", Asselborn said.
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, who was also in Brussels on Monday, said he had told ministers he had met that Serbia was in favor of pursuing talks on the Kosovo status and underlined that an independence of Kosovo, « coordinated or not » would be « absolutely unacceptable for Serbia ».
« I hope there will be no coordinated, uncoordinated or semi-coordinated efforts at destabilizing the region", he said.
Jeremich also warned all countries and organizations which are considering violating the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia that such a move would bring "long-term" damage to their relations with Belgrade.
Speaking later on Monday, after the EU-Russia Partnership Council, Russian Foreign Affairs minister Sergey Lavrov also "strongly urged" for the continuation of talks, arguing these could bring closer the positions of Moscow and Brussels.
But Lavrov also warned against interpreting UNSC resolution 1244 as a basis for a unilateral declaration of independence.
« A unilateral declaration of independence 1244 is dangerous, in particular since it is against international law », the Russian minister said, sending thus a warning to the US and EU countries.
He also warned against manipulating UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon into a dubious interpretation of the resolution, adding that only the UN Security Council had an authority to interpret it.
