Summary: 10 July 2007, Brussels - Javier Solana, European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and discussed a number of major international issues on which the EU and the UN are co-operating closely, in particular the Middle-East Peace Process, Sudan/Darfur, Somalia, Kosovo, Iran and non proliferation.
After the meeting, Mr Solana told reporters that for the European Union, co-operation with the United Nations was fundamental and that this second visit of Mr Ban Ki-moon in the first six months of his tenure reflected the deep co-operation between the EU and the UN. "We believe in multilateralism and we believe that the UN is the heart of the multilateral system" Javier Solana said. Mr Ban Ki-moon indicated that this second visit was a reflection of his strong commitment to work very
closely with the EU.
The Kosovo issue was discussed at length during the meeting. HR Solana said: "We are prepared to deploy an ESDP mission, in the area of security and the rule of law, but for that we need a UN Security Council resolution. I hope very much that in the process that has been opened, another period of time will be available for discussion between the two sides and that at the end of it, a resolution will be approved by the UN Security Council". Mr Solana insisted on the fact that this could
not be an open-ended process but one that had to be limited in time and in which he expected the parties to get engaged positively. He also stressed the need for unity within the UN Security Council.
On Kosovo, the UN Secretary-General said: "My position is that any further delay or prolongation of this issue will not be beneficial. (…) The leadership of the EU is fundamentally important at this time and I strongly urge the EU to take this leadership. At the same time, I would like to take this opportunity to ask the parties concerned not to take any prematurely unilateral actions which may further complicate this already complicated issue."
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