EU, UN in talks to share leadership of Kosovo mission

The legal problems encountered by EU-Lex, the EU mission in Kosovo, could soon be solved, with diplomats currently in talks over plans to share the leadership with UNMIK, the United Nations peace-keeping mission.

Under plans originally foreseen by the EU, the 2,200 strong EU-Lex mission would eventually replace UNMIK as the leading rule-of-law mission in the new-born state of Kosovo. 

But faced with rejection from Serbia and Russia, which have both challenged the mission’s legal legitimacy, diplomats are now drawing up plans for the two missions to co-exist under joint command. 

The solution would provide the EU with a face-saving trick, according to diplomats who were speaking to EURACTIV on condition of anonymity. This is because UNMIK has already been accepted by Serbia and Russia, which has a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. 

Now the key word is “reconfiguration” between the two entities, the sources said. Although the political decision has not yet been taken, the UN and the EU are moving in the same direction, a spokesperson for UNMIK told EURACTIV. 

Conveniently enough, Joachim Ruecker, the special representative of the UN Secretary General in UNMIK, happens to originate from Germany, an EU member country. Speaking in a recent interview with the Associated Press, Ruecker said EU-Lex would likely come under “a UN umbrella”. 

Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief, discussed the issue with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Stockholm today (29 May). Ban Ki-moon, who hopes to be re-appointed to his current role, recently bowed to Russian pressure by refusing to hand over the Kosovo mission to EU-Lex, bypassing the UN Security Council. 

This time, however, he will need to strike a broader deal if he wants to retain the support of the UN’s Western members, an EU diplomat said. 

But the horse-trading is far from over, since the chains of command and reporting, as well as the division of responsibilities, remains blurred, the sources commented. 

The suggestion to have the same person heading both the EU-Lex and UNMIK missions initially came from Goran Svilanovic, a former Serbian Foreign Minister, in a recent interview with EURACTIV (see EURACTIV 08/05/08).

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