Member states split on Kosovo ‘viceroy’ role

Foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on 17 July are to discuss the EU's role in Kosovo after the province's status is determined later this year.

Ministers will consider ideas presented jointly by Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief.

Beforehand, diplomats said consensus was building around sending to Kosovo a joint European Commission and Council of Ministers envoy who will also act as a representative for the international community.

But there are still varying opinions on what powers that representative would have or need. Rehn and Solana are likely to indicate that some executive powers will need to be retained from the United Nations' mission in Kosovo, which is gradually winding down.

The EU is expected to take control of policing and the running of the judiciary in Kosovo after a decision is taken on the province's future and some believe executive powers may be needed in these areas. It is expected to be the EU's biggest and most complex policing mission to date.

But some diplomats are keen to ensure that the post does not create a new EU viceroy similar to the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina - a joint EU-UN representative who wields considerable executive power.

Concern is growing over the lack of progress in UN-mediated talks between Belgrade and Pristina. UN officials and the US administration are pressing for a quick resolution to discussions, fearing further instability in the province.

Since talks began in October last year they have avoided the big constitutional questions that will determine Kosovo's final status.

A seventh round of discussions, focusing on the protection of orthodox churches and other religious sites, is scheduled for 11 July, although this might be delayed. Serbian negotiators asked for the talks to be postponed for logistical reasons, although UN officials played down allegations that this was a delaying tactic, describing the Serbian request as "legitimate".

But there are signs that UN negotiators have taken on board criticism from the US and elsewhere.

Plans are underway to kick-start the talks by bringing together the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo at the end of July. Formal invitations to this 'elephant round' are expected to be delivered later this week, according to a source close to Martti Ahtisaari, the UN special envoy, who leads the talks.

But efforts to press ahead have exacerbated EU fears of provoking a Serbian nationalist revival. Serbia's nationalists were buoyed earlier this year after the EU suspended talks on an agreement that would bring the country one step closer to EU membership.

Diplomats said that senior Serbian politicians might also be invited to hold talks with EU foreign ministers in Brussels on 17 July.

Rehn will today (6 July) start a two-day visit to Montenegro and Serbia.

He will try to offer Serbian leaders an olive branch promising to put forward proposals, before the summer holidays, to ease visa requirements. He will discuss measures to restart talks with Serbia and, in Podgorica, on beginning separate talks with Montenegro. The Commission wants to present its negotiating mandate for separate agreements later this week or early next week.

Foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on 17 July are to discuss the EU's role in Kosovo after the province's status is determined later this year.