By Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Despite Russian objections, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report made public on Thursday he was pushing ahead with a plan to hand over policing functions in Kosovo to the European Union.
The United Nations has run the former Serbian province since 1999, when NATO bombing drove out Serb forces engaged in a ruthless counterinsurgency against Albanian guerrillas.
But a declaration of independence in February by Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority left the U.N. mission in limbo. The Security Council has been split on how to proceed because Western states have recognized Kosovo while veto-holding Russia follows its ally Serbia in opposing independence.
Ban said last month he intended to “reconfigure” the mission and in his latest report to the Security Council said because the council was “unable to provide guidance” he had told his Kosovo envoy, Lamberto Zannier of Italy, to go ahead.
“I have instructed UNMIK (the U.N. mission) to cooperate with the European Union, in order for it to assume an enhanced operational role in Kosovo in the area of rule of law under the overall authority of the United Nations,” he said.
A 2,200-member EU police mission is waiting to deploy in Kosovo.
Russia strongly opposes an EU takeover. President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview published this month that Ban had overstepped his authority by scaling back the U.N. mission. Moscow says the issue can be resolved through talks with Belgrade.
Ban’s report said new realities in Kosovo — including the entry into force of a constitution on June 15 — had “fundamentally challenged” the U.N. mission, which could no longer perform most of its tasks as effectively as before.
He cited cases where Kosovo authorities had openly challenged the mission over applying property and traffic law.
Another problem has been a growing boycott of Kosovo’s institutions by the Belgrade-backed Serb minority.
Serbian President Boris Tadic told the Security Council last month Belgrade could not endorse Ban’s plan.
The European Union, however, has been encouraged by this month’s installation of a new pro-Western Serbian government and will call on Belgrade next week to play a constructive role in the bloc’s efforts to stabilize Kosovo.
(Editing by Patricia Zengerle)
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