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EU slowly preparing for future Kosovo accession
20.04.2007 - 17:38 CET | By Ekrem Krasniqi and Andrew Rettman

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Brussels is planning to start the slow legal process of Kosovo EU entry after the Serbian region gains independence, enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said on Friday (20 April), with Pristina to follow the same EU accession model as the other Western Balkan states.

"Kosovo has a clear European perspective. As the rest of the region, it will have to meet the same conditions in order to progress on the road of EU integration," Mr Rehn said in an interview with Balkans news agency DTT-NET.COM.


"After the status settlement, a new European partnership for Kosovo will have to be adopted. This would spell out the priorities for action for Kosovo to move closer to the EU," he added, in reference to future talks on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Pristina.

An SAA is a type of bilateral treaty designed by the EU for the specific case of the six Western Balkan countries - Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia - which sets out political and economic reform obligations to bring them closer to the EU.

Once a country has signed an SAA with the European Union and the 27 EU states have ratified the agreement, the country is free to apply for EU membership and launch formal accession talks. There is no fixed time-frame for SAAs, which can be concluded in nine months or over three years, depending on the pace of reform.

Currently, Croatia and Macedonia have concluded SAAs with the EU. Albania and Montenegro have signed the agreements but the EU has not ratified them. Bosnia is still in talks to sign an SAA, while Serbia's talks are frozen due to non-compliance with the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Kosovo's government has already been holding informal political talks with Brussels on EU integration since November 2002, during twice or three times-yearly meetings under the so-called Stabilisation and Association Process Tracking Mechanism (STM).

The region is still legally part of Serbia but has been run by the UN since 1999, when NATO intervened to stop Serb attacks on the majority ethnic Albanian population. The EU and US are now pushing for a UN security council resolution in May, enabling Pristina to declare independence shortly afterward.

Division of labour
Mr Rehn explained that following status settlement, the EU will take a two-pronged approach to the new country, with EU foreign policy head Javier Solana sending diplomats and police officers to ensure Pristina complies with the UN resolution on the rights of ethnic Serbs, while the European Commission will support the SAA process.

"We have a clear division of labour between the International Civilian Office [ICO - the EU diplomatic envoys], the ESDP [police] mission and the commission," the enlargement commissioner said, with EU plans for 1,500 police staff and a €1.5 billion aid package for the region.

"The ICO and ESDP mission will support local authorities to ensure settlement implementation and the consolidation of the area of rule of law, the commission's role will focus on assisting the authorities to increase their capacities to govern Kosovo with a long term European perspective."

"We have no exit strategy, only an entry strategy," Mr Rehn added.

Kosovo currently has a 60 percent unemployment rate and a GDP per capita of less than €1,000 compared to an EU average of over €20,000. The region is still awash with small arms, amid deep mistrust between ethnic Albanians and the isolated pockets of ethnic Serbs.

Calls for Russian 'responsibility'
But with Russia and Serbia voicing strong opposition to the Kosovo independence plan put forward by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari in New York last month, the US and the EU may find it difficult to stick to the US-proposed timetable of a UN resolution in late May.

This week Moscow accused Washington of political "blackmail" after US diplomat R. Nicholas Burns suggested the US might unilaterally recognise the independence of Kosovo even if Moscow uses its UN security council veto to block the Ahtisaari plan.

The Serbian foreign ministry also reported that China - another UN veto power - has joined the Serb and Russian line, although Beijing has declined to confirm the statement. Inside the EU itself, a splinter group led by Slovakia also has reservations about Mr Ahtisaari's ideas.

"The stability of Kosovo and of the Western Balkans is in everybody's interest, including Russia," Mr Rehn said. "Therefore I expect a responsible debate in the UN security council."

EU slowly preparing for future Kosovo accession (http://euobserver.com/9/23907)