BELGIUM: EU expects Kosovo status decision in early February.

A United Nation envoy for Kosovo is likely to present his decision in early February on whether the Serbian province should gain independence, the European Union's foreign policy chief said on Monday (January 15). The envoy, former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, is due to publish his decision soon after Serb elections on Jan. 21, but Serb President Boris Tadic has called for a postponement until a new government has been formed, which could take months. EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said in Brussels after talks with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu that the final status of Kosovo would be settled very soon and after the Serbian elections. But he could not give any precise dates. "It is my impression that president Ahtisaari will present to the parties at the beginning of the month of February a proposal. There will be some time for the discussion about the proposal. I cannot give you dates or durations about this question that belongs to the responsibility of the United Nations. As far as the European Union is concerned we will continue working with Kosovo. We will continue increasing our engagement, increasing our engagement because we want Kosovo stable, in a region which is stable," he added. Solana called for calm and responsibility in Kosovo, where the 90 percent Albanian majority wants independence from Serbia. The province has been administered by the United Nations since the 1999 bloody conflict between ethnic Albanians and Serbs. NATO, which has some 17,000 peacekeepers in Kosovo, and many fear that a significant slippage of the decision on the Kosovo status, which was originally due last year, could exacerbate ethnic tensions there. Sejdiu, reiterating that Kosovo should become independent and integrate with the European Union as soon as possible, vowed to respect the rights of the Serbian minority. Solana said the EU would continue to support Kosovo regardless of what Ahtisaari would propose. Diplomats say the proposal is likely to open the door to a form of independence, supervised by the EU and a NATO peace force. "We expect that after the proposal the Security Council will actually repeal the resolution 1244 and adopt a new resolution. Indeed we want to see the presence of an international civilian mission in Kosovo," Sejdiu said. He added that he wanted the process to go swiftly. "We have the transfer of responsibilities of UNMIK to the Kosovo institutions and we have been preparing for this transitional period which should be quick and expeditious," Sejdiu said. Tadic has said an unfavourable proposal coming soon after this month's general election could bog down coalition talks. The ballot is unlike to give a clear mandate either to pro-EU or nationalistic forces in Serbia.

ITN Source | January 16, 2007

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