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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000489 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/RPM, EUR/ERA, INL, NSC FOR BRAUN, 
USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2017 
TAGS: AORC KCRM KJUS PGOV PINS YI UNMIK KCRS
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: EUPT PROPOSES BROAD TRAINING CONCEPT FOR 
ESDP MISSION 
 
Classified By: COM Tina Kaidanow for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  A recent weeklong course in Finland for 
candidates for the anticipated Kosovo European Security and 
Defense Policy (ESDP) mission covered ESDP concepts, the 
goals of the Kosovo ESDP mission, an overview of rule of law 
sectors in Kosovo, Kosovo-specific case studies, and the 
missions of other principal actors in Kosovo.  The goal of 
the EU Planning Team for Kosovo (EUPT) is for member and 
third party states to provide their contingents with similar 
standardized pre-deployment training; the EDSP mission will 
itself provide an induction training course for both member 
and third party participants upon their arrival in Kosovo or 
transition from UNMIK.  EUPT anticipates that assuming a 
UNSCR by July 1, the bulk of the pre-deployment training 
would occur in August, with induction training beginning in 
September.  The draft concept for training presented recently 
in Brussels outlines a menu of 6-8 different types of 
training requirements for the mission, ranging from 
pre-deployment training to specific policing skills training 
(eg, shooting, driving).  The EUPT anticipates providing the 
standardized training program and materials to EU and 
attending third party states at the ESDP Training Conference 
June 25-26 in Berlin. We will continue to work with EUPT 
officials in Pristina to refine the ESDP training curriculum 
based on best practices from the INL civilian police training 
courses. In particular, we will encourage them to add more 
Kosovo- and mission-specific content.  END SUMMARY. 
 
PILOT PRE-DEPLOYMENT TRAINING COURSE: FOCUSING ON EU CONCEPTS 
 
¶2. (C) USOP staff recently attended the second offering of a 
four and a half day course in Finland to train Finnish 
candidates for the anticipated Kosovo European Security and 
Defense Policy (ESDP) mission.  Finland is the only EU member 
state already offering pre-deployment training to its 
candidates. The course was first offered in March 2007, and 
is viewed by the EU Planning Team for Kosovo (EUPT) as a 
"pilot" for the pre-deployment training of all anticipated 
1,800 members of the ESDP mission. 
 
¶3. (C) In addition to Finnish judges, prosecutors, police, 
and corrections officials, there were also participants from 
Lithuania and Austria.  The pilot course was taught primarily 
by EU, EUPT, and UNMIK staff, who covered the ESDP concept 
and the EU political structure, broad outlines of the goals 
of the ESDP mission for Kosovo, and an overview of the 
justice sector (eg, lessons learned, current capacity and 
issues, structure).  The course also included Kosovo-specific 
case studies and the missions of other principal actors in 
Kosovo, such as the OSCE, the ICO, and NATO/KFOR.  Half of 
the course focused on the structure of the EU Commission and 
Council, the UNMIK pillars, and ESDP concepts.  While this 
provided a thorough grounding in the source and structure of 
ESDP missions, including the requirement for consensus among 
all 27 member states to undertake a mission, there was little 
content on the actual goal and plans for the Kosovo ESDP 
mission, primarily because the plans remain classified.  The 
course did cover two main structural goals of the mission: to 
work side-by-side with locals throughout Kosovo, vice being 
only in Pristina, and to focus on building local capacity. 
(Note: Under UNMIK, all international judges and prosecutors 
are located in Pristina. End note.) 
 
¶4. (C) In the EU modules, lecturers covered the two-year 
mandate of the Kosovo ESDP mission (extendable for an 
additional 1-2 years), the cost (100 million euros annually, 
plus 50 million for start-up), the staffing program (in 
waves, with the first wave later this summer if there is a 
UNSCR by July 1), and hiring policies.  In addition, 
presenters covered the EU's new Stability Instrument, which 
is designed to provide more flexible funding for "crises," 
including the ability to turn around a decision in one to two 
weeks vice an entire year, as more normal mechanisms require. 
 The exit plan for the ESDP mission was presented as a 
transition to EU pre-accession mechanisms. 
 
 
PRISTINA 00000489  002 OF 003 
 
 
BURIED TOO MUCH: LESSONS LEARNED AND ANALYSIS OF KOSOVO 
 
¶5. (C) Lessons from the past eight years of UNMIK were 
scattered throughout the lectures, but the course could 
benefit from an initial half-day session providing a 
comprehensive overview of Kosovo and lessons learned.  Topics 
that could be expanded or added include:  Albanian and 
Serbian culture; an overview of Kosovo government 
institutions and international actors' roles now and those 
envisioned for the future; critical potential sources of 
instability; potential triggers for conflict; key actors; and 
lessons learned, particularly those related to the March 2004 
violence.  Topics covered as asides throughout the course 
included how the UNMIK justice system has remained static 
over the past eight years, insufficient emphasis by UNMIK on 
civil justice and institution building -- particularly 
related to local judges and prosecutors, insufficient staff 
training, the dubious quality of internationals seconded by 
UNMIK to Kosovo, and how political influence negatively 
affected the justice system. 
 
CRITICAL ISSUES FOR THE JUSTICE SECTOR PRESENTED 
 
¶6. (C) During the course, several members of the EUPT 
lectured on the justice sector, policing, and the corrections 
system.  They raised a number of issues that they saw as 
critical potential impediments to the success of the ESDP 
mission and to the institutionalization of the rule of law in 
Kosovo.  These include:  addressing property rights, putting 
into place vetting procedures for judges and prosecutors, 
adjudicating socially-owned enterprise claims, passing 
legislation on the enforcement of civil judgments, addressing 
parallel Serbian court structures, developing local rule of 
law capabilities, improving judicial system infrastructure, 
addressing corruption, raising salaries of judges and 
prosecutors, providing legal aid, improving witness 
protection, instituting case management systems, using 
population registration data to determine court 
jurisdictions, and improving the state of applicable law, 
which is currently a mixture of laws from different parts of 
the world. 
 
LITTLE INFORMATION ON SPECIFIC KOSOVO MISSION CONTINGENCIES 
 
¶7. (C) The course included specific case studies on policing, 
corrections, and an overarching study that pulled in elements 
from the entire judicial system.  These cases helped ground 
the theoretical information participants had been receiving 
in the reality of Kosovo.  However, outside of a 
comprehensive briefing on the security environment, there was 
little information given on how participants would be 
expected to react to different contingencies in Kosovo, the 
tasks and responsibilities of ESDP staff in different 
programs, life in Kosovo (health, food, standard of living, 
housing), the working level relationships between the ESDP 
mission and other key actors, such as the International 
Civilian Office (ICO), the Kosovo government, and the 
International Military Presence (IMP).  It also included none 
of the physical and policing skills and stress management 
training that the ten-day U.S. civilian police courses 
contain. 
 
OVERALL TRAINING CONCEPT FOR ESDP MISSION MEMBERS 
 
¶8.  (C) In related news, the EUPT's training concept for the 
overall Kosovo ESDP mission was approved in Brussels the week 
of May 28, but budget ramifications are still being 
determined.  The concept outlines the need for training 
programs and materials for key mission personnel, operational 
heads, trainers, a standard program and material for 
pre-deployment training (to be provided by member and third 
parties states), induction training provided by the ESDP 
mission upon arrival in Kosovo, specific functional training 
in skills like driving and shooting, and training for local 
staff.  Training for key mission personnel will be held in 
Brussels as they are selected; training for operational heads 
will be held no later that 60 days after a UNSCR in Kosovo. 
 
PRISTINA 00000489  003 OF 003 
 
 
The EUPT plans to present the standard program and materials 
for pre-deployment training at a workshop on the sidelines of 
the ESDP Training Conference in Berlin, Germany June 25-26. 
Participating states will be responsible for developing and 
providing pre-deployment training for their contingents, 
drawing upon the standard program and material.  The EUPT has 
extended an invitation for the U.S. to participate in that 
conference.  The bulk of the pre-deployment training will 
likely take place in member states in August, with induction 
training beginning in September as contingents arrive in 
Kosovo.  Current EUPT plans are that U.S. civilian police, 
already operating in Kosovo under UNMIK, would be briefed on 
the ESDP mission specifics during induction training upon 
their transition.  The EUPT has asked for U.S. input on the 
programs and materials for all of the Kosovo ESDP mission 
training courses. 
 
¶9. (C) COMMENT:  To avoid repeating mistakes of the last 
eight years and ensure synchronized, complementary efforts 
across the range of international actors in post-status 
Kosovo, a robust training program for the incoming ESDP 
mission will be essential.  Mission staff must have a shared 
understanding of the environment in Kosovo, critical 
potential impediments to success, lessons and best practices 
and lessons learned from the last eight years, including from 
the March 2004 violence, potential triggers, and how their 
specific actions fit into the overall strategy for Kosovo. 
We will continue to work with EUPT staff to inject best 
practices from U.S. civilian police training.  As the ESDP 
mission goals, strategies, and benchmarks become public, we 
should revise future U.S. pre-deployment training to reflect 
these specifics. 
KAIDANOW