Breaking the Stalemate in Kosovo

The International Crisis Group, an independent, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that works to prevent and resolve conflicts around the world, has published a new report on the political stalemate in Kosovo. The report, titled "Breaking the Kosovo Stalemate: Europe's Responsibility," argues that a new Kosovo conflict could erupt unless the European Union assumes responsibility for the process of establishing an independent Kosovo by next year.

The new Crisis Group report takes a look at the role of the European Union with regard to Kosovo's move toward an internationally supervised independent state. The report alleges that the process under the United Nations Security Council has not worked and that the European Union, which has the most at stake in the Balkans, is the most logical place to turn.

Crisis Group's Kosovo Project Director, Alexander Anderson, is quoted in the release as saying, "The EU has a ticking time-bomb in its own backyard. The sooner the EU, or a significant majority of its member states, declares itself ready to back an independent Kosovo, the better the chances of forestalling disaster."

According to the report, recent talks mandated by France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States are likely to lead nowhere because Serbia, which would lose control of Kosovo, will not accept independence. If those talks fail, which the Crisis Group expects to happen, the report argues that the European Union, the United States, and NATO must be prepared to work with the Kosovar government to implement the already established independence plan. Once the transition to independent status was complete, the Crisis Group says, Kosovo would be supervised by the European Union and NATO.