Feith: No “dramatic delays” for Eulex
The EU Special Representative for Kosovo Pieter Feith said in Brussels on Tuesday that the deployment of the Eulex mission is late due to the need for an agreement with the UN on the reconfiguration of the Unmik mission, but he underlined that he did not expect this delay to be “dramatic”.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, June 10, 2008
"Eulex is late, but it will not be a dramatic delay, nor a worrying delay as Unmik will be in the field and there will be no security holes", Feith said.
Feith urged the Kosovo Serbs to abandon parallel institutions in Kosovo and, instead, to start a « direct dialogue on the technical advantages of the Ahtisaari plan ».
« You cannot have parallel institutions and at the same time expect protection clauses from the Ahtisaari plan", the EU representative said, calling for a "unified legal space in Kosovo".
Feith said he was awaiting a report by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on the reconfiguration of the Unmik mission.
« I do not want to prejudge what will be in the report, but we are hoping that it will contain effective arrangements between the UN and Eulex, so that Eulex can deploy around Kosovo and execute its mission as decided by the EU council", Feith said.
« The UN will stay in Kosovo and will have some important residual competencies. For example, it will be in the interest of Kosovo to be represented through the UN in international structures where Serbia would otherwise block it", he added.
Feith added that his function as self-named « International Civilian Representative » will not be a part of the arrangement between the UN and the EU.
