UN Kosovo Plan 'Will Destabilise Balkans'

Pristina _ The UN’s six-point plan for the deployment of the EU’s new law-and-order mission, EULEX, to Kosovo has the potential to destabilise the Balkans, warns a European Parliament lawmaker.

“This decision would result in Kosovo’s partition, prepared from the United Nations in cooperation with Belgrade. The UN is becoming responsible for border changes in the Western Balkans,” warned the European Green Party member, Angelika Beer.

She joins other critics of the plan who warn that the UN plan could lead to the ‘soft’ partition of Kosovo.
 
Although not explicitly stated in the plan, critics say the reality on the ground will be that police, customs and courts in Serb enclaves will come under United Nations jurisdiction, while EULEX will be in charge in areas with a majority ethnic Albanian population.

According to her, the decision is a sign of UN’s inability to solve the issue and represents a wrong European strategy toward Serbia.

“The de facto partition of (the ethnically-divided city of) Mitrovica’s north, can have consequences for Albanians living in Serbia – the Presevo valley - as they may want to join Kosovo,” added Beer.

She pointed to the passive role of Germany, especially during the time her country led the rotating presidency in the European Union, which according to her did not manage to develop a joint European strategy for the Western Balkans.

Angelika Beer, is member of the Commission for Southeast Europe in the European Parliament.
 
On Wednesday the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s report on wrapping up the world body’s mission in Kosovo and begin the handover to a EU mission. Read more: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/15115/

The six-point plan for the deployment of EULEX, as Ban’s recommendations are called, were initially opposed by Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February and has been recognised by most European Union member states, because the plan is based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

This resolution, passed at the end of the 1998-1999 conflict between Serb forces and Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority, refers to Kosovo as Serbia’s southern province, not as an independent state.

Serbia insists that the EU cannot deploy a new civilian mission in Kosovo to replace the UN administration unless the mission is neutral in status and does not put into action the plan of former UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari – which envisages internationally-supervised independence for Kosovo.

Belgrade also insists that the mission must be confirmed by the UN Security Council, in which it has a strong ally with veto power – Russia.

The plan envisages the gradual replacement of the administrative UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, which has been in the province since 1999, with an EU civilian mission of police and court officials.
 
Pristina had presented its own rival four-point plan which calls for the deployment of EULEX, according to the plan stated in Kosovo’s independence declaration, the Kosovo constitution, and the Ahtisaari plan.