UN Plans to Stay Longer in Kosovo

There appears to be a change in schedule in Pristina.

The United Nations peacekeeping force, otherwise referred to as the United Nations Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK, was scheduled to depart the newly independent nation on 15 June, when Kosovo’s independence, declared unilaterally in February, will be official.

At that point, the plans were to hand over all peacekeeping operations to the European Union, in the form of their EULEX (European Union Law and Justice Mission) team designed to encourage state-capacity building and democratisation. However, neither organization is forecasting a definitive transition on 15 June, according to BBC News.

While EU missions have already begun to enter the country, the UN is supposedly packing up. But new revelations from the UNMIK head, Joachim Roeker, said that “the mission will continue.”

This causes logistical issues for EULEX, which was due to inherit 400 UNMIK vehicles from the departing mission. It also breeds concern that the dual missions will only duplicate their programs and achieve no real progress.

There is talk of mounting tension between the West and Russia over the incoming EULEX force. The West’s presence in Russia’s “sphere of influence” sits uneasily with Russia, and Putin and Medvedev would much rather retain the UN presence in the region, if a peacekeeping force is necessary. But Western powers are eager to see EULEX assume its role in the Kosovar region.

“We want to see this as a gradual, orderly transition from the UNMIK role to the EU role unfold over the coming weeks,” said a senior State Department (U.S) official.

As the 15 June deadline approaches, concerns are mounting throughout the international community as to how Kosovo’s real break from Serbia will occur. Additional concern is expressed for the visible minority of Kosovar Serbs, who may resort to violence in northern Kosovo, in response to statements from the Serbian government that EULEX occupation is illegal.

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