Serbian PM warns against EU mission to Kosovo

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has urged the EU not to send a mission to Kosovo, which is planning to declare its independence unilaterally just weeks from now.

“Serbia is demanding that the EU not violate the country’s territorial wholeness and give up sending its mission illegally,” Kostunica said on 12 January.

EU leaders in December decided to send a police and administrative mission to Kosovo, taking over from the UN, which has administered the Serbian province since 1999. However, EU members are yet to decide whether to deploy the mission before or after a unilateral declaration of independence, which is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

The Serbian prime minister said he might refuse to sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) – a gateway to candidate status for EU membership – if the EU goes ahead with its plans for the Kosovo mission.

The EU already initialled its SAA with Serbia on 7 November, but its signing still hinges on the country’s cooperation with the ICTY war crimes tribunal in The Hague and the delivery of remaining inductees such as former general Ratko Mladic. Nevertheless, some EU members, as well as the Slovenian EU Presidency, want to press ahead with the signing of the SAA on 28 January, without forcing Serbia to comply with this condition.

Serbia holds its presidential elections on 20 January, but a crucial second round of votes is to take place on 3 February, with the incumbent pro-Western Boris Tadic and the nationalistic opposition leader Tomislav Nikolic the most promising candidates.

Serbia last week banned US and UK election observers from the country following the stated intention of those governments to recognise Kosovo after a unilateral declaration of independence, which is expected to take place after Serbia’s presidential vote.

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