en | de |    Press releasesPristina/Brussels 17.02.2008

Kosovo: Dignified independence declaration augurs well for democratic future

Green MEPs Joost Lagendijk (Netherlands), who was draftsman for the European Parliament's report on Kosovo, Angelika Beer (Germany) and Bart Staes (Belgium) are in Pristina on the occasion of Kosovo's declaration of independence. Commenting on the declaration, they said:

"Today's declaration of independence by Kosovo's parliament is a welcome step to ending the uncertainty that has surrounded the status of Kosovo for some time now. The dignified and mature manner of today's declaration augurs well for the democratic future of Kosovo.

"The EU mission to this new state must now be put in place and be operational as soon as possible in order to ensure the peaceful and democratic development of the region. It is also important that the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon endorses the deployment of the EU mission and we call on him to do so.

"It is imperative that the government of Kosovo honour its pledges to respect the rights of ethnic minorities in the new state. This will be crucial to the Kosovo's democratic future and to its progress towards European Union membership, together with the other countries of the Western Balkans."