Kosovo's "supervised independence" ends

Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- The International Steering Group (ISG) for Kosovo has announced that it will on Monday officially proclaim the end of Kosovo's "supervised independence".

It and the International Civilian Office (ICO) are set to hold their final session in Priština.
All of the preparations for holding a special Assembly session have been made, and the session will be held in the government building in the afternoon, after the ISG's decision.

The session will be attended by numerous international guests, including former UN special envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari.

In keeping with the Group's decision, on Sept. 7 the Kosovo Assembly adopted 22 amendments to the Kosovo Constitution, which paved the way to ending Kosovo's supervised independence, coupled with a law extending EULEX's mandate until mid-2014.

The ISG - composed of the United States, Turkey, and 22 EU countries that recognized Kosovo - on July 2 decided to allow the Kosovo institutions in Priština to adopt necessary legislation in order to conclude the period of supervised independence.

The meeting's conclusions at the time said that the Ahtisaari plan should continue to be implemented, while the group would in exchange continue with its support to Kosovo with the goal of further international recognition and membership in relevant international organizations.

Meanwhile, Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said that the decision to end supervised independence was "the greatest international recognition".

The EU mission, EULEX, will continue to operate in Kosovo with some 3,000 people, as will the peacekeeping mission of NATO, KFOR, with 5,600 soldiers.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanians unilaterally declared independence in February 2008, and based this the plan put together by Ahtisaari. The plan, however, was never approved by the UN Security Council, while Serbia rejected the proclamation as illegal.

The territory is recognized as independent by 22 out of EU's 27 member-states, as well as by the U.S. - but not by Russia and China, and remains outside the United Nations.