(155) Kosovo The province of Kosovo was under Serbian control until 1999, when a NATO-led intervention came to the rescue of a predominantly ethnic Albanian population. In the aftermath of this military confrontation, Kosovo came under the control of the United Nations with the establishment of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). In 2007 the UN envoy Marti Ahtisaari proposed full independence with protective rights for the minority of ethnic Serbs. The Serbian government (as well as the majority of Serbian public opinion) rejected the proposal. The government of Kosovo nonetheless declared independence in February 2008. Within the European Union, France, the UK, and Germany were backing independence, while Greece, Romania, and Cyprus were not. In October 2008 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for advice on the legality of Kosovo’s declaration of independence. Two years later, the ICJ indeed stated that Kosovo had not broken international law, although it seems likely that Russia will use its veto in the Security Council to prevent Kosovo’s admission into the United Nations. As to the EU, it has no contractual relations with Kosovo as such, although individual member states have formed closer bilateral relations. Nonetheless, in December 2008, the EU has taken over from the UN with the establishment of an administrative apparatus called EULEX (European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo), which supports rule-of-law institutions (customs, police, and judiciary) with a staff of nineteen hundred internationals and eleven hundred locals.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 06:55:36 +0000
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