PanARMENIAN.Net

EU to shoulder responsibility for Kosovo
02.02.2008 14:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On February 1, Ambassadors of 27 EU
member states have agreed to dispatch a mission to
Kosovo.

A 1,800-strong mission of policemen, judges,
prosecutors and customs officials is meant to
stabilize Kosovo after the province officially secedes
from Serbia.

European Union Foreign Ministers are expected to give
formal approval.

The EU plans to send a first batch of law and order
officials even before Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leaders
declare independence, a step that some EU diplomats
predict will happen in March. All 27 EU member-states
except Cyprus support the prompt dispatch of the
mission, but Cyprus is expected to object rather than
block the decision, NEWSru.com reports.

Meanwhile, some states, including Spain, Romania,
Greece and Slovakia do not support unilateral
independence of Kosovo. Romanian President Traian
Basescu warned that a declaration of independence
without an agreement with Serbia or full backing from
the United Nations would violate international law and
set a dangerous precedent for separatist groups
elsewhere.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress