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P 161632Z JUL 08
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001088 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/ERA, INL/CIV 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EUN UNMIK KV
SUBJECT: EULEX KOSOVO COMMITTEE OF CONTRIBUTORS DISCUSSES 
RECONFIGURATION AND DEPLOYMENT 
 
REF: USEU BRUSSELS 808 
 
This message is Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  During the July 16 EULEX Kosovo Committee 
of Contributors meeting, EU Civilian Operations Commander 
Kees Klompenhouwer told EU member and third-state 
contributors that the EU and the UN were still trying to 
reach agreement on reconfiguration details.  As a result of 
the unexpected delays in this process, EULEX is unlikely to 
reach full operational capability until late 2008. 
Klompenhouwer highlighted the EU's recent agreement on an 
operational plan annex addressing non-majority areas.  The 
U.S. was joined by other contributors in welcoming the annex 
and the commitment to deploy throughout Kosovo implied by its 
adoption.  Many participants emphasized the need for clarity 
from the UN on timing of the transfer of authority, and some 
contributors called on EU members to help positively 
influence the EU-UN negotiations by reminding UN officials 
that the EU remains united on moving EULEX forward, despite 
lack of unanimity in recognizing Kosovo's independence. 
EULEX Head of Police Rainer Kuehn briefed contributors on the 
police deployment timeline, noting that the EU currently has 
300 personnel deployed in all regions of Kosovo, and when 
agreement is reached with the UN, the EU is prepared to 
resume deployments immediately.  A number of participants 
urged the EU to find a more systematic and efficient approach 
to sharing mission-related information with third states. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) EU Civilian Operations Commander Kees Klompenhouwer 
opened the second EULEX Committee of Contributors (CoC) 
meeting on July 16 by welcoming the fifth official 
third-state contributor, Croatia.  (Previous CoC meeting 
reported reftel).  Briefly outlining the current state of 
play on mission planning in Brussels, Klompenhouwer told 
member and third-state participants that the optimism the EU 
felt on June 26 when the UN reconfiguration instructions were 
issued has been mitigated by the complexity of the process, 
which has been slower and more drawn out than expected.  The 
EU is still looking for clarity from the UN on areas of 
reconfiguration, privileges and immunities for mission 
personnel, transfer of assets and transfer of staff. 
Klompenhouwer drew participants' attention to the EULEX 
Operational Plan (OPLAN) annex on Non-Majority Areas (NMAs), 
agreed on July 15 by the Political and Security Committee 
(document e-mailed to EUR/SCE).  Klompenhouwer underscored 
the EU's willingness to hold another CoC meeting to discuss 
this final OPLAN annex if the non-EU contributors wanted to 
do so.  He added that CPCC also hoped to use regular CoC 
meetings to introduce contributors to senior EULEX staff. 
 
Annex for NMAs and Calls for Full Deployment 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) USEU Charge d'Affaires opened the discussion by 
highlighting the need for EULEX to deploy as quickly and 
effectively as possible, and to ensure that there would be no 
security gap during the transition period.  Norway, Croatia, 
and Switzerland agreed with the U.S. position.  Klompenhouwer 
responded, saying that the EU had no indications of a major 
risk to stability from either side.  He further noted that 
UNMIK will retain executive responsibility in Kosovo until 
the EU takes over. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Charge was also joined by the UK, Norway and 
Croatia in welcoming the annex for the NMAs and underscoring 
the importance of EULEX deployment throughout Kosovo. The UK 
official explained that the document provides a meaningful 
demonstration of how the EU is building its presence in 
Kosovo.  He added that that the annex detailed ways in which 
EULEX "might" tackle the NMAs, and emphasized that that the 
EU should be prepared to adjust its approach as necessary to 
address events on the ground.  (Note:  UK rep told Charge 
separately that the idea of producing an annex to define the 
EU presence in the NMAs had been controversial, but the UK 
and others pushed for it to demonstrate the EU's intent to 
deploy throughout Kosovo.)  Most third state contributors and 
many member states agreed with Klompenhouwer's suggestion to 
hold a separate CoC meeting to discuss the annex. 
 
Questions about Timing, Bigger EU Push at the UN 
 
BRUSSELS 00001088  002 OF 003 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On the subject of EU-UN discussions, Turkey, 
Switzerland, and Germany raised questions on anticipated 
timing of the transfer of authority from UNMIK to EULEX. 
Norway and the UK joined the U.S. in urging contributors to 
seek clarity from the UN on the modalities of the 
reconfiguration.  Specifically, the UK noted EU unity on 
EULEX deployment and urged all EU members -- whether they had 
recognized Kosovo or not -- to appeal directly to DPKO and UN 
authorities to disabuse them of any ideas that the EU was 
divided on moving this mission forward.  Norway added that an 
unclear division of labor between the EU and UN risked 
paralyzing Kosovar institutions, and argued that the EU 
should not agree to arrangements that imply that Kosovo's 
status remains unresolved. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Klompenhouwer refused to be drawn into questions 
about the EU's approach to the UN and DPKO.  He said that it 
was a "sensitive area" and that CPCC did not want to be 
unhelpful to the NY process, but would work to keep the UN 
focused on issues that needed to be resolved.  He emphasized 
that the EU would deploy under the umbrella of the UN, but 
would maintain its own autonomous command and control 
procedures.  On timing, Klompenhouwer admitted that there 
would be a delay, and that it would likely be the end of the 
year -- not October as initially hoped -- before EULEX would 
be fully operational. 
 
Police Deployments and Selections 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) EULEX Head of Police Rainer Kuehn briefed the group 
on the status of police deployments, explaining that 300 
EULEX personnel are currently in Kosovo, with small 
contingents deployed throughout the country, including the 
north.  As soon as satisfactory arrangements are reached with 
the UN further deployment can begin, and the next group to be 
deployed will include 60 personnel identified as key staff; a 
list of those positions soon will be provided to 
contributors.  Anticipating a weekly deployment rate of 100 
staff members after that, Kuehn said that by week 8, EULEX 
would have approximately 500 International Police Officers 
(IPOs) in Kosovo.  The EU anticipates that 150 of the 350 
IPOs currently serving in UNMIK who are slated to transfer to 
EULEX will transfer during the 120-day reconfiguration time 
frame  The rest will move to EULEX only upon transfer of 
authority (ToA), so as to better preserve UNMIK's ability to 
perform its executive functions during the interim period. 
Additionally, the 450 officers in Formed Police Units in KFOR 
and UNMIK will stay at their posts until ToA. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Admitting that EULEX has received a number of 
questions about the selection procedures for mission 
personnel, Kuehn explained that the EU approach to staffing 
the mission is very different to that of UNMIK.  While UNMIK 
relies on sending states to provide staff who are assigned 
positions upon arrival in Kosovo, the EU has issued job 
descriptions and requirements for each position in the 
mission, so each candidate must apply for one or multiple 
specific positions.  The EU also conducts interviews for the 
senior-level positions.  Kuehn admitted that the EU's process 
inevitably takes longer than the UNMIK method, but argued 
that the EU was able to ensure it received the best possible 
candidates by adhering to this procedure. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Kuehn asked CoC participants to alert their 
national capitals that the annex on NMAs describes an 
additional 334 positions to reinforce the EULEX presence in 
the north and enclaves, and that the EU will hope to fill 
those slots in a call for contributions to be issued later 
this month.  He added that EULEX and the Civilian Planning 
and Conduct Capability (CPCC) are currently examining 
candidates for the other 160 remaining vacancies in the 
mission, but anticipate that some will go unfilled during 
this round, and therefore, some jobs will be re-issued soon. 
Because of the delay in reaching full operational capability, 
Kuehn also requested that contributing states make available 
their personnel to EULEX for at least six months after ToA. 
A shorter time frame would inhibit officers from developing 
relationships and credibility with local authorities and 
populations, he argued. 
 
 
BRUSSELS 00001088  003 OF 003 
 
 
Requests for More Information Sharing and Policy Details 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Led by Turkey, a number of participants including 
Switzerland, the Netherlands, Finland, and Italy urged the EU 
to implement a more efficient system for the dissemination of 
mission-related information to third states.  Noting previous 
requests to be provided with relevant documents on a timely 
basis, the Turkish rep highlighted the absence of a 
systematic means of delivering the documents.  The Dutch and 
Finnish officials said that frequent briefings from senior 
EULEX officials were useful in maintaining national 
commitment and generating political acceptance in capitals. 
They urged CPCC to conduct frequent briefings for member and 
third-state contributors.  The French Presidency also 
emphasized the importance of the CoC format to disseminate 
information and exchange opinions, as well as to offer French 
support for holding the meetings as often as necessary. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) In response to a U.S. question about whether the 
EU planned to issue a handbook outlining EU policies and 
procedures for police operations, Klompenhouwer told Charge 
privately that Pristina-based staff were working on such a 
document, but because the EU has to try to define one set of 
EU police practices from 27 similar, but not identical, 
national police standards, the handbook has been a challenge 
to complete.  CPCC is attempting to keep the discussion away 
from Brussels, he said, because it would inevitably raise a 
great deal of unhelpful debate among interior ministers. 
 
 
WOHLERS 
.