EU unity on Kosovo is vital, Kouchner tells US
French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner warned the US administration that the European Union unity is vital when it comes to the Kosovo status issue, reiterating the same message that was conveyed to Washington a few days earlier by the EU’s Portuguese presidency
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, September 24, 2007
"Europe's credibility is at stake with respect to the process of the stabilization of the Balkans, and to our identity as a Union open to embrace the Balkans," Kouchner said after with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday.
"That is why it is vital that we remain unified if we wish to avoid having the tragedies from the past repeat themselves," the French diplomat added.
He also said that the support of the U.S. in the process of settling Kosovo's future status was crucial. "I would like to point out how much we [the EU] are counting on the U.S. support for our European solution."
"There have been risks in both maintaining the status quo and in taking action," Kouchner said.
"With that in mind, by supporting conclusions of the Ahtisaari plan and the principle of supervised independence for Kosovo, we believed the latter to be less risky," concluded the French chief of diplomacy.
The current head of the EU's presidency told US President George W. Bush last week that Europe must find a united front on the Kosovo status issue.
Portugal's Prime Minister Jose Socrates said his biggest challenge is to unite the EU on how to deal with Kosovo's push for independence, as there is no consensus on a UN plan for the province. "I guaranteed to the president that the first priority I have in my mind regarding Kosovo is to keep Europe united," Socrates said.
The EU is worried about possible splits in its ranks if the U.S. opts for a recogntion of a possible unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo in breach of the UN system.
