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[Luxembourg 2005 Presidency of the Council of the European Union]
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Press Release
Jean Asselborn calls for dialogue between the communities of Kosovo and between Belgrade and Pristina

Date of release : 21-02-2005

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

Event : General Affairs and External Relations Council


The General Affairs and External Relations Council of the European Union met on 21 February 2005 under the Presidency of Jean Asselborn, the Luxembourg Minister for Foreign Affairs. Following the meeting about Kosovo, the Minister made the following statement:

"In the presence of Søren Jessen-Petersen, the head of the international mission of the United Nations Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the Council had an in-depth exchange of views on the situation in Kosovo.

The Presidency wanted to have this debate at the beginning of the year, as 2005 is in many respects a turning point for the future of Kosovo.

We have expressed our complete support for the action of the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN in Kosovo.

The beginning of summer should offer the first opportunity to begin the review of the progress made on the effective respect of the norms issued by the United Nations. 2005 will be the year of the evaluation of the standards.

Any advance towards a process aimed at determining the future status of Kosovo, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1244, will depend on the positive outcome of this evaluation. It is important that this perspective be confirmed: If the conditions are met - that is, if we are able to verify sufficient progress regarding respect for these norms – the process of determining the future status should be launched.

The Thessalonica Summit clearly affirmed that the Western Balkans have a vocation to join the European Union. This is, of course, also true of Kosovo, without prejudging its future status. The Council has clearly reaffirmed this European perspective for Kosovo.

It follows from this European perspective that the Union will be led to play an important role in reviewing the future status of Kosovo, especially to ensure that this status is fully compatible with the process of European integration.

Here I would like to repeat the appeal that we made today for a substantial dialogue to begin between the communities of Kosovo and between the authorities of Belgrade and Pristina. We consider this to be of the greatest importance; it is only through dialogue that we will be able to make progress.

Finally, the Council has decided to grant a mandate to the High Representative for the CFSP and the European Commission, in close cooperation with the Presidency, to make contact with the UN and the other actors involved, in order to examine what future contribution the Union could make to the efforts of the international community in Kosovo. At any rate, the efforts of the European Union and the UN must be complementary."


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This page was last modified on : 21-02-2005

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