Leaders fail to reach settlement on Kosovo status

United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari is expected to conclude on Saturday (10 March) that Serbian and Kosovo leaders have been unable to reach a settlement on Kosovo’s future status, marking the beginning of difficult talks about the next diplomatic steps and the EU’s future role in the province.

Ahtisaari will at the end of the month put his own recommendations on the future of the province to the United Nations ­Security Council.

The former Finnish president will recommend that Kosovo gain conditional independence, overseen by the EU. Under his proposals, put forward in February, the EU - via an Inter­national Civilian Office - would have substantial powers to shape Kosovo’s legislation including the ability to sack ministers and veto legislation.

Ahtisaari’s recommendations are opposed by Serbia and Russia, which has hinted it may veto the plan.

During a visit to Brussels on Tuesday (6 March), Serbian President Boris Tadic´ once again rejected the idea that Kosovo could secede from Serbia. "Kosovo’s independence is not ­acceptable for Serbia…it is a problem not only for Serbia but [also] for other regional countries," he said, hinting at Russia.

EU diplomats have ­expressed concern about how Russia, a veto-­yielding member of the Security Council, will ­respond to Ahtisaari’s proposals.

There is growing anxiety that a resolution that avoids an explicit reference to Kosovo’s status would make impossible the EU’s task of overseeing Kosovo’s political transition and deploying a police mission.

EU diplomats fear that a weak resolution could prompt Kosovo’s leaders to declare independence. "Then the EU would be completely ­divided on how to react," said one diplomat.

The discussion evokes memories of the fall of Yugoslavia when EU member states were unable to agree on whether they should recognise the independence of its successor states.

"We do not know what the shape of the final ­resolution will be, we are still working on plan A," said another diplomat, who described other ­options as "very difficult".

"You could envisage a Security Council resolution which [mentions] the International Civilian Office and the ESDP [European Security and Defence Policy] mission and nothing about the rest of the set up in Kosovo," said Judy Batt, of the EU Institute of ­Security Studies in Paris.

According to Batt, such a resolution could lead the EU into a role much like the current UN ­mission, Unmik, which effectively runs Kosovo.

"It would be highly risky for the EU to go into Kosovo [under these conditions]," she said.

EU diplomats will debate the Kosovo issue next week (13 March), when they will receive a briefing from Stefan Lehne, the EU’s special envoy for Kosovo’s future status. According to Lehne, the EU’s focus is on getting a Security Council resolution allowing Ahtisaari’s plans to be implemented.

United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari is expected to conclude on Saturday (10 March) that Serbian and Kosovo leaders have been unable to reach a settlement on Kosovo’s future status, marking the beginning of difficult talks about the next diplomatic steps and the EU’s future role in the province.