Degert: Partition of Kosovo was not on EU agenda

EU delegation chief in Serbia Vincent Degert has said that a partition of Kosovo was not on EU agenda, but that there were "many ideas" about how to solve the issue.

(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Degert mentioned ideas on solving the Kosovo issue based on models such as that of Germany, Italy and Austria, or Britain and Northern Ireland.

The EU Delegation chief added that, beside those, solutions such as found in Sweden and Finland could also be implemented, but that a partition of Kosovo was not being considered.

Speaking on the same subject, MP of the Presevo Valley Albanian Coalition Riza Halimi said that the "change of borders approach is bad" and that the expected opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the legality of the ethnic Albanian unilateral independence declaration in Kosovo "stirred spirits", for which reason, according to him, the subject of partition and exchange of territories "is being launched again".

Degert was also quoted as saying that no (EU) member state was in favor of the partition, "because they are afraid that it would have negative consequences on security and that it would lead to a domino effect in the region, but also in the world".

"These are exactly the guidelines which should lead us to a long-term, peaceful and sustainable solution for both sides," the EU Delegation chief concluded.