EU Kosovo mission finally on track as US joins[

By EurActiv. EULEX, the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo, finally seems to be on track following an historic US decision to join a European Security and Defence (ESDP) mission and concessions by both Serbia and Western allies.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said yesterday (27 October) in Brussels that he expected the EU mission in Kosovo, which was until recently opposed by Serbia, to be fully deployed in December.

Solana said he supported ongoing negotiations between Serbia and the UN on the "reconfiguration" of UNMIK, rather than "replacement" by a fully EU-controlled mission called EULEX.

The shift in vocabulary represents confirmation that a compromise is emerging in the UN over the approval of the EU mission in Kosovo, diplomats told EurActiv.

A recent US decision to join the EULEX mission added to the new developments. US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Dan Fried signed an agreement with Solana in Brussels on 22 October, allowing the US to participate in the EU's European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) mission in Kosovo.

This is the first time that Americans have taken part in such an EU mission.

US participation sets "a precedent for [...] future cooperation between the United States and the European Union," Fried commented after the signing ceremony in Brussels. He said the United States would provide 80 police officers and up to eight judges and prosecutors in the EU-led mission.

Kosovo mission to improve Serbia's EU bid

If confirmed, the agreement on the deployment of the mission is also expected to benefit Serbia's bid to join the EU. Western nations have agreed that the mission should be deployed with the blessing of the UN Security Council and that it will be "status neutral", meaning that it will not make Kosovo's spilt from Serbia official and will not implement the UN's Ahtisaari plan.

Former UN special envoy to Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari, now a Nobel peace prize laureate, proposed internationally-monitored independence for Kosovo in a plan rejected by Serbia.

Under the compromise, Serbia will not hamper the EU mission EULEX from exercising its authority on the entire territory of Kosovo, including the Serb-dominated north, sources said.

Moscow irked

But some statements made by Fried in Brussels irked Moscow. His remarks , published on the website of the US mission to the EU, mention "supervised independence for this new state [Kosovo]".

Belgrade, Moscow and a handful of EU states see the statement as a breach of the "status neutral" statute of EULEX, as they refuse to recognise the independence of Kosovo, diplomats explained.

Officially, the EU had been saying that the deployment of EULEX was not a precondition of Serbia's EU membership bid. But at the same time, EU diplomats have warned Belgrade that it cannot both try to join the Union and oppose its Kosovo mission.

Former Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica reacted angrily to press reports that the new Serbian government was about to recognise EULEX. He warned that the new cabinet, led by Mirko Cvetkovic, was planning to pass the decision "behind the back" of the Serbian Parliament.