Summary: 18 July 2008, Brussels - Summary of intervention of Javier SOLANA, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, before the meeting of international organisations active on the ground in Kosovo (EU, NATO, UN, OSCE), Palais d'Egmont
"It is a pleasure for me to be here in the Palais d'Egmont with our colleagues from NATO, the OSCE and the United Nations. Today we have the opportunity to discuss Kosovo together in a pragmatic manner. I am pleased.
Since the 15 of February, a sense of responsibility on all sides has prevailed. Today we see relative stability in Kosovo. Pro-European leadership has won the elections in Serbia where a new government has been formed. Serbia has since signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union.
In parallel the Secretary General of the United Nations took the decision to reconfigure and therefore better calibrate the international presence. It is now up to those around this table to make every effort to pursue this positive dynamic. The results obtained since February encourage us. They demonstrate that we can take up these challenges and together accomplish our mission. For that, we must remain mobilised and continue to commit ourselves.
Our common goal in Kosovo remains to guarantee stability in the Balkans. The last report of the Secretary General of the United Nations recalls and again defines the framework in which our action is carried out. Similarly for the EULEX mission, he fixes its framework of operation under the authority of Resolution 1244. Plainly speaking, EULEX will operate under the global authority of the United Nations and I will be mindful to provide all reports necessary to the Secretary General.
I should also like to personally praise the efforts of Ban Ki Moon and in particular his determined contribution. Together we will succeed in finding the right solution for all concerned. Our teams are working on it every day.
From the beginning, the significant progress on the ground has been possible thanks to the close collaboration of MINUK and NATO. It is in this spirit and within the framework of which I just spoke that the European mission is currently being deployed. The objective is to see EULEX fully operational by the Autumn."
As of 16 June, the EULEX Head of Mission Yves de Kermabon has been deployed in Pristina. He has been working very hard with his team to build up EULEX towards its full operational capability. Additional deployment has taken place. There are now around 400 staff with EULEX. For each individual area, until EULEX can deploy, it is our understanding that UNMIK will remain in charge. We do not therefore expect any security gap.
With UNMIK real progress has been made on the ground. We are grateful to the UN in assisting EULEX.
With NATO complementarity is a defining feature in the Kosovo theatre: While KFOR will remain responsible for providing a safe and secure environment in Kosovo, the EU has a key role to play by contributing to the reinforcement of the Rule of Law."
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