Prishtina, 20 February 2008
Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosova Hashim Thaçi extended his welcome to European Union Special Representative Pieter Feith as head of the new European Mission in Kosova, and expressed the commitment and the engagement of the Government of the Republic of Kosova to strengthen cooperation and partnership in respective fields.
Prime Minister Thaçi pointed out that the Government of the Republic of Kosova will closely cooperate with the head of the European Union mission, and will continue cooperation with him when he will also head the International Civilian Mission in Kosova. “Our cooperation will be in the service of building interethnic tolerance, economic development in Kosova, democratic order, good governance, rule of law, preventing negative phenomena, applying of all democratic criteria and in the service of opening a perspective of integration of Kosova in the European Union and NATO structures,” said Mr. Thaçi.
Prime Minister Thaçi positively assessed the new role of the international presence in Kosova as a monitoring and advising role, adding that the cooperation of the Republic of Kosova and the institutional efforts will be focused on the accomplishment of joint priorities.
European Union Special Representative in Kosova, Pieter Feith, said that he’s had the honor to work in Kosova in the period of 1999-2001, although in a different capacity. Mr. Feith expressed determination to continue the work on reconciliation, tolerance and respect for the values of communities, as he said, like the ones we have in the European Union. “Our mission is encouraged to continue the work in the field of legislation and constitution. We will give a priority to the economic revival, security for all the people and for the Serb community. So, we will support people to feel as close to European institutions as possible. We are committed to making progress in all these issues,” said the head of the EU mission, Pieter Feith.
Meanwhile, talking about the situation in the northern part of Mitrovica, Mr. Feith reiterated what Mr. Solana had said one day before that the EU mission is determined to cover all parts of Kosova, including the northern part and that this will happen in the next four-month period. “As you know we have a transition period and together with the United Nations and NATO we will have the operational control.”
Answering a question, Mr. Pieter Feith said the United Nations Administration in Kosova (UNMIK) will be replaced by the Government of Kosova and not by the European Union Mission.
Last modified: July 31, 2022