UNMIK/PR/700
SRSG Michael Steiner yesterday visited Madrid, Spain, where he urged the European Union leadership to support the recently formed provisional self-government in Kosovo.
He met with Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Piqué, who heads the European Union Council of Foreign Ministers while Spain holds the rotating EU presidency. SRSG Michael Steiner will address European leaders in Brussels on Monday, at a meeting of EU’s General Affairs Council, following his meeting with NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson.
SRSG Michael Steiner’s message in Brussels will echo the one he gave in Spain: that Kosovo needs sustained political and economic support, especially now that its fledgling provisional self-government has just been elected. The immediate focus of the international community should be on institution and capacity building of the newly established provisional institutions, he said.
“It would be wrong to shift focus and concentrate only on the new crises in the world and forget the unhealed wounds on your own continent,” he told media in Madrid: “That would be very dangerous for Europe.”
Foreign Minister Piqué welcomed the election of the President and Government of Kosovo and said the EU Presidency would continue to support UNMIK's priorities, i.e. economic development, the fight against crime and the creation of a fair and safe society.
Also discussed in the Madrid meeting were the remaining Kosovo Albanian detainees in Serbia proper, the return of refugees and displaced persons and the overall security situation.
Following his meetings in Brussels next week, SRSG Michael Steiner will visit Berlin, Washington, D.C., London and Moscow.
