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PP RUEHAG RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHBS #0809/01 1621035
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 111035Z JUN 09
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PRIORITY
RUEHPS/AMEMBASSY PRISTINA PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORSFIZQQQX\IASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFITT/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 000809 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2019 
TAGS: PREL EUN SR KK
SUBJECT: EU OFFICIALS ON NEXT STEPS IN KOSOVO 
 
Classified By: CDA Christopher Murray for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C/NF) Summary: International Civilian Representative 
Pieter Feith and EULEX Kosovo Head of Mission Yves de 
Kermabon met with USEU CDA on June 10 to provide an overview 
of upcoming challenges and opportunities in the country. 
Suggesting that the coming months would be "decisive," Feith 
said that his top priority was integrating Kosovo's Serb 
community into the country.  To do so, Feith said that 
encouraging Serb participation in municipal elections, 
completion of the Government of Kosovo's decentralization 
plan, and protection of cultural sites would be essential. 
Feith also reported that easing out the UN's presence in the 
north was important, with municipalities, rather than EULEX, 
stepping up to fill any political void.  De Kermabon 
highlighted that dealing with Kosovo's north and fighting 
against organized crime and corruption would be the key 
challenges for EULEX moving forward.  Following de Kermabon's 
suggestion that Serbia "controlled everything in the north," 
Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability Commander Kees 
Klompenhouwer suggested that visa liberalization for Serbia 
be contingent upon full cooperation with EULEX and asked that 
the U.S. suggest to the European Commission that the USG also 
shares this view. 
 
¶2.  (C/NF) Summary (cont'd) Speaking broadly, Feith observed 
that while the U.S. sees stability as the priority for Kosovo 
and elsewhere in the Balkans, many EU officials view Kosovo 
through the lens of a "European perspective" that stresses 
development of civil institutions that can qualify these 
countries for eventual EU membership.  End Summary. 
 
Progress and Challenges in the Political Arena 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3.  (C/NF) International Civilian Representative (ICR) Pieter 
Feith and EULEX Kosovo Head of Mission (HOM) Yves de Kermabon 
briefed EU and NATO officials in Brussels on developments in 
Kosovo June 9-10.  On June 10, Feith, de Kermabon and 
Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) Commander 
Kees Klompenhouwer met with USEU Charge and Poloff to provide 
a readout of their discussions and an overview of upcoming 
challenges and opportunities in the country.  Suggesting that 
the coming months would be "decisive," Feith said that his 
top priority would be to integrate Kosovo's Serb community 
into the country.  To do so, Feith said that encouraging Serb 
participation in municipal elections, completion of the 
Government of Kosovo's (GoK) decentralization plan, and 
protection of cultural sites would be essential.  Feith saw 
this as "an International Civilian Office (ICO) and EU 
responsibility." 
 
¶4.  (C/NF) Concerning the north, Feith reported that he was 
not convinced that EULEX becoming involved in civil 
administration and other tasks was a good idea for 
operational reasons.  According to Feith, "running down" the 
UN's presence in the north was essential as its staff - 
mostly Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian - operated "in 
league" with Serb parallel structures.  To address the 
situation without destabilizing it, Feith suggested that 
municipalities - not EULEX - should take over for the UN as 
envisioned in the Ahtisaari Plan.  In addition to fostering 
local ownership and unity, Feith said that an added benefit 
would be that EULEX's OPLAN would not have to be reopened, 
something both Feith and Klompenhouwer said should be kept in 
mind. 
 
¶5.  (C/NF) Stressing that EULEX was a technical mission, de 
Kermabon added that EULEX had enjoyed success in the north 
because of its efforts to seek pragmatic solutions and by not 
becoming identified with UNMIK.  De Kermabon worried that if 
EULEX were forced to insert itself into the political arena, 
cooperation with Kosovo Serbs and Belgrade would grind to a 
halt.  Feith reported that Serbs in the north increasingly 
sought ICO's assistance (through its South Mitrovica office) 
for ID cards, social benefits, and other forms of assistance. 
 Noting "an increasing openess on the part of Kosovo Serbs to 
engaging Kosovo institutions," Feith said that it was 
essential to continue fostering this trend.  He reported the 
financial crisis and Serbia's inability to continue funding 
Serb parallel structures in the north to be helping in this 
process.  Kosovo Serbs were rethinking engagement with GoK 
structures as a result. 
 
BRUSSELS 00000809  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶6.  (C/NF) Saying that in addition to stability the EU sought 
to prepare Kosovo for eventual integration into the union, 
Feith argued that better governance was essential to Kosovo's 
future.  To advance this in the north, Feith said that it was 
essential to ease out the UN's presence.  Since funding for 
the UN's presence in the north is partly paid for out of the 
Kosovo budget, Feith suggested one possibility would be for 
the GoK to seek an audit of UN expenditures in the north. 
Any inconsistencies would lead to negative publicity and, 
hopefully, a UN departure.  If this and other 
decentralization efforts succeed, a municipal preparatory 
team (under GoK auspices and assisted by the ICO) could step 
in to serve Kosovo's Serb population. 
 
¶7.  (C/NF) Returning to economic challenges, Feith said that 
there was no disagreement among the U.S., World Bank, and 
European Commission on how to privatize the energy sector. 
He said that if progress were not made soon, the GoK would be 
vulnerable as Kosovo's budget would be "burdened seriously." 
(Note - Feith said that this would be discussed on the 
fringes of the upcoming ISG meeting.)  Concerning a drop in 
remittances, Feith reported that there was a lag effect and 
any drop would most likely not be visible until the end of 
the year.  Encouraged by Kosovo's gaining membership in the 
World Bank and IMF, Feith said that the ICO was assisting 
Kosovo move toward the EBRD.  Reporting that Greece, Spain or 
Slovakia would have to change their views in order to make 
this a reality, Feith said that he was hopeful Greece would 
change and was heartened by the Spanish Ambassador's comment 
to him that Spain was "looking at the modalities." 
 
Progress and Challenges in Rule of Law 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C/NF) Klompenhouwer said that he fully supported de 
Kermabon's step-by-step approach and suggested that if the 
mission were to push too hard, the resulting backlash would 
"bring things to a standstill."  Reacting to suggestions that 
EULEX needed to move faster and was not active enough, 
Klompenhouwer said that he was "irritated" by the GoK's 
attitude.  Saying that the GoK had become less cooperative 
and resisted reform efforts, Klompenhouwer added that the GoK 
needed to accept that it, too, was a focus of the mission, 
not just the north.  According to Klompenhouwer, the GoK's 
tactic was "to point to the north and tell us to move 
quickly" while seeking to deflect any attention paid it. 
 
¶9.  (C/NF) De Kermabon highlighted two priorities for EULEX: 
how to deal with Kosovo's north and the fight against 
organized crime and corruption.  According to de Kermabon, 
"Belgrade controls everything in the north and they can do 
something if they decide to."  Providing insights into recent 
efforts in the areas of policing, customs, and the courts, de 
Kermabon said that when Belgrade perceived an EULEX-led 
effort as win-win, Kosovo Serbs were cooperative.  However, 
when EULEX efforts sought to address anything perceived by 
Belgrade as touching on sovereignty, "they hesitate."  De 
Kermabon said that organized crime and corruption were a 
challenge throughout the country and, despite good 
cooperation with the GoK, things were "becoming more 
difficult," any efforts to investigate finances and 
corruption becoming "very difficult." 
 
¶10.  (C/NF) To address the challenges EULEX faces in the 
north, Klompenhouwer characterized possible visa 
liberalization for Serbia as "a big carrot" and suggested 
that realizing this would be the "single best gain for the 
government."  He reported that the Council Secretariat was 
currently in discussion with the Commission seeking to 
include full cooperation with EULEX and border management as 
"price tags" for visa liberalization.  Klompenhouwer 
suggested that the help of the U.S. - also suggesting to the 
Commission that it would be useful if visa liberalization for 
Serbia came with a price - would be appreciated. 
 
¶11.  (C/NF) De Kermabon reported that EULEX staffing would 
remain consistent with current levels.  Concerning U.S. 
judicial applicants, de Kermabon said "we will find one to 
two judge positions for U.S. judges" and reported that the 
mission was also carefully considering a U.S. candidate to 
lead the organized crime cell. 
MURRAY 
 
BRUSSELS 00000809  003 OF 003 
 
 
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