Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 419: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position in relation to Kosovo following the failure to reach agreement by the 10 December 2007 deadline; and the view of the Government on the declaration of independence expected to emerge. [34077/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The difficult and sensitive issue of Kosovo's future status is the legacy of the Balkan wars of the 1990s. The framework for post-conflict Kosovo was set out in UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999, which established an interim United Nations civilian administration (UNMIK), and authorised an international security presence (KFOR). The Resolution also provided for a gradual transfer of competences from the UNMIK mission to provisional institutions of self-government.

Ireland, together with our EU partners, has consistently expressed strong support for the work of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, on the issue of Kosovo's final status. In March of this year, Special Envoy Ahtisaari submitted a Comprehensive Proposal to the UN Secretary General. He re commended that Kosovo's status should be independence, supervised by the international community. A key element of the proposed settlement would be a continuing international civilian and military presence in Kosovo, with the KFOR military force remaining and a new civilian ESDP Mission.

Ireland welcomed this proposal, as providing the most practical basis for a settlement of the Kosovo issue. However, intensive efforts within the UN Security Council to agree on a new Resolution on the basis of Ahtisaari were not successful, and on 1 August, the Secretary General announced that a further four months of talks between the two sides would be facilitated by an international Troika. The Troika process has now concluded without agreement and the International Contact Group reported to the UN Secretary General on 10 December. Ireland strongly supported the Troika initiative and we regret that the talks have failed.

The matter now returns to the UN and will be discussed further by the UN Security Council on 19 December. I do not believe that it would be helpful for me to speculate at this stage with regard to specific future developments on this sensitive issue. We recognise that difficult choices may need to be made in the near future which deal with the reality of the situation on the ground and which are necessary to safeguard the future security and stability of Kosovo and the Balkan region as a whole. During my recent visit to the Balkans, I met with the political leadership in both Belgrade and Pristina and urged both sides to refrain from any activities or statements which might jeopardise the security situation in the region at this time. I am pleased to note that such a commitment has been given to the Troika by the parties and is reflected in their final report.

At EU level, the latest developments were discussed yesterday by Foreign Ministers and will be considered further at the forthcoming European Council. Ireland, with its partners in the European Union and the international community, is committed to continuing to play its full part in the efforts to resolve this important European issue. While we will face a more complex and uncertain political and legal environment in the absence of agreement, we very much hope to be in a position to maintain our presence in KFOR, to consider contributing members of the Garda to an ESDP Mission and also to support the future economic development of Kosovo.