European Union Mission in Kosovo Must Operate throughout the Country

20.06.2008

In analyzing the state of affairs in Kosovo, the foreign ministers discussed the implementation of the European Union civil mission, EULEX Kosovo, which, owing to several political reasons, has progressed slower than originally planned. The foreign ministers asserted that the European Union has a key role to fill in guaranteeing stability in Kosovo. “With regards to the European Union mission in Kosovo, there should be an international coordinator on site,” stressed foreign minister Paet. According to the Foreign Minister, it is necessary to acknowledge those actions by the UN Secretary General which have made the actual implantation of the EU mission possible as well as which allow the EU and UN to continue developing cooperative efforts in Kosovo. “It is important that the UN Secretary General gives directions for the reorganization of the operations of the temporary UN administrative mission so that the EU legal mission can begin soon thereafter,” emphasized Paet. “At the same time, it is extremely important that no safety vacuum stem from the onset of the 120 day transition period,” he added. In the same way it is necessary that the mission deals with the whole range of Kosovo, including the northern region more populated by Serbians. According to the Foreign Minister, the supporters’ conference on July 11 is also an important step to guaranteeing national economic security.

With regards to the situation in Sudan, the foreign ministers spoke first and foremost about the cooperation with the government on the issue of international criminals. According to Minister Paet, it is regrettable that the Sudanese government neither cooperates with the arresting of international criminals and offenders, nor the investigation of crimes. The European Council concluded that the Sudanese government should be invited to cooperate constructively on the issue of criminals with the European Union and the international public.

The European Union foreign policy leaders discussed similarly the situation in Cuba, where the main issue was the cancellation of measures taken against the government which began in 2003 and were temporarily stopped in 2005. The foreign ministers emphasised that it is necessary to improve the human rights conditions in Cuba and to grant amnesty to all political prisoners. Similarly the foreign ministers expressed hope that the annulment of measures will help along with the commencement of democracy and human rights discussions with Cuba. According to foreign minister Urmas Paet, the current governmental changes in Cuba cannot be overemphasized, as they have been secondary in comparison to reform, which Cuba needs.

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