David Miliband

Cold Turkey?

Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland and architect of the UN plan for Kosovo, is leading a cross European group on Turkey and the EU. His points in this piece for the IHT are completely right – we need to up the game.  The strategic significance of Turkey’s accession talks and final accession are impossible to overestimate.  From the Middle East to energy, Turkey is a pivotal player.

Tomorrow I meet the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alexander Downer.  The drive for a settlement needs to pick up momentum this autumn and winter, in the sense that the politics will only get more difficult thereafter.  I think this is one of the most important and soluble frozen conflicts.  I am concerned that the first round of talks has been so painstaking, but now the second round is underway we need a real push from all sides.

Posted at 16:15 14 September 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[5]

58 Recognise Kosovo

Saudi Arabia's landmark decision to recognise Kosovo is a major step forward. The leadership on this issue from one of the world's leading Muslim states should be an inspiration to others.

Posted at 14:48 24 April 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[13]

Kosovo celebrates its first anniversary of independence

This week Kosovo celebrates its first anniversary of independence, and the many milestones it has passed in securing a path to a stable European future. This is real achievement.

The Kosovan government has shown its readiness to set about improving the lives of all Kosovans.  There is strong protection for minority communities in the new constitution.  Kosovo has welcomed the deployment of the EU's biggest ever rule of law mission, EULEX, which is working across the whole of Kosovo to help with policing, justice and other rule of law issues.

And the changes have been met for the most part with restraint by those who find Kosovo's independence difficult - the Government of Serbia has given welcome support to EULEX's deployment. International recognition continues to grow, with 55 countries now formally recognising the new Republic of Kosovo. That number will keep going up.

All this has allowed work to begin on making the world's newest state a better place to live, despite stiff economic challenges at a time of global downturn.  It reinforces the stability of the whole region.  There is further hard work for Kosovo's leaders ahead - and the UK will be there in support

Posted at 21:16 18 February 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[1]

Confounding the sceptics, up to a point

This article from the Economist makes the right point: no news is good news, and no news from Kosovo means it is engaged in laborious but effective state building and nation building. One year after its independence and it is recognised by 54 countries. President Sejdiu addressed the Munich Security Conference to good effect. Long may this continue.

Posted at 17:43 16 February 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[2]

Good news from Kosovo

Thanks to last week's jigsaw of five related resolutions, agreements and letters at the UN and in Brussels trigger important steps on Kosovo. The EU rule of law mission will now be deployed across the whole of the country, serving all citizens of the country, including the protection of minority rights that was at the heart of the Ahtissari Plan. This is now a vital stage in the confidence-building process amongst all communities that there is a secure future for them in Kosovo. The unanimous UN resolution is also an important signal that practicality is taking precedence over theology in the transition from the UN Mission to the EU. Long may it continue.

Posted at 09:58 03 December 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[1]

Kosovo: No News is Good News (kind of....)

Six months ago the threat of instability in the Western Balkans was near the top of the FCO list of political risks. The news of the last six months has been how little news there has been; and in this case no news is good news. And while there is no news, there is real work going on. For example last week there was the first successful Donor Conference for an independent Kosovo, where the government of Kosovo presented its Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and international pledges of 1.2 billion Euros were made to support the programme. The vast majority of donors are EU Member States but Israel, Turkey, Japan and Saudi Arabia also pledged. It is good stuff.

Posted at 01:26 19 July 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[4]

Not a Euro Army

Sometimes eurosceptics are thought to have good tunes because they are the only ones humming.  On reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and the European Union's financial management there is a pro-European case for reform.  But the truth is that these problems are not the fundamental reason for no votes in referenda on Europe - there are bigger questions about the purpose and direction of the EU.  This is what I tried to address in my speech last night.

Security and defence policy is a hard case and a good case for thinking about the appropriate European role.  NATO is the foundation of security but does not act everywhere and needs civilian and policing complements.  But defence policy is a core national authority so this is a matter for intergovernmental work not the "community method".  On this French and British thinking is similar.  What we need are capabilities to act where NATO doesn't (e.g. Bosnia today) or where it needs partners (e.g. Kosovo).

It's not frightening - it's sensible.

Posted at 20:46 04 July 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[6]

Kosovo: Independent, Safer, Stronger

This week marks a critical  point in the move to normalisation in Kosovo. June 15 marked the end of the 120 day period after the declaration of independence by the new country of Kosovo.  It also marks the drive by the UN Secretary General to fulfil  the mandate of Resolution 1244  and deliver a political settlement. This now takes practical form in the reconfiguraiton of the UN mission and the deployment of  an EU Mission -  the biggest and most complex EU mission yet. But a mission so far proceeding in conditions of calm. The fact that Kosovo is not in the news is itself a great success.

Posted at 09:58 26 June 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[2]

All eyes on Luxembourg

EU Foreign Ministers meet in Luxembourg today. There is one unplanned item on the agenda – the rejection by Irish voters of the Lisbon reform Treaty.  We will do our business from Kosovo to Zimbabwe but all eyes and ears will be trained on the next steps on the Treaty. It’s not pretty but it is necessary for the EU to give Ireland first of all time to take stock of how they want to respond to the no vote and what they want to do with their ratification process.  Instant answers are not usually thoughtful answers in this area. It is clear that if the Irish do not ratify the Treaty then the Treaty will not pass into law.

 I don’t understand the argument that the Irish vote means we should abandon our ratification. We need a view. The Irish have said they think we should carry on. I spoke on Saturday to foreign ministers from Sweden, Spain and Holland, all of whom are part way through their ratification process, and all of whom plan to proceed with ratification. Last Wednesday’s debate in the House of Lords included powerful speeches from Lord Howe, Lord Brittan and Lord Patten  about the virtues of parliamentary accountability except in unusual cases of major constitutional change. 

I have not detected a great drive either to exclude the Irish or to enter a new institutional negotiation or to revive an ‘inner core’ of European countries. In fact I have detected a great sucking of teeth; there really was not a plan B in a cupboard. I explored this on the Marr Programme yesterday

Posted at 10:49 16 June 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[16]

From Russia

I joined hundreds of Brits (and foreigners) for the late night opening of the From Russia exhibition at the Royal Academy on Friday. I think it is great that the exhibition of the unique combination of four Moscow and St Petersburg collections has come to London, and the response of the public (as well as the fabulous layout by the Academy) has spoken for itself.(I was lucky enough to visit the astonishing State Hermitage musuem in St Petersburg when I went there in 2001.)

The exhibition covers a febrile cultural (and political) period spanning the last quarter of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th.  It speaks to state as well as private passion for art and collecting as well as the strength of Russian culture and its openness to the outside world (especially the rest of Europe: see below). The diversity as well as the continuities from impressionism through to cubism (to "suprematism" - I am ashamed to say I had never heard of this movement) are beautifully laid out.

I suppose one striking point through all the changes is the cultural engagement westward - especially to France (there are beautiful pictures of Paris) but not only there. It's a good reminder about the common historical and cultural reference points, as well as the distinctive parts of Russian history and culture.

Dead in the Water?

The European Council on Thursday/Friday actually achieved something - including some BBC red faces after morning news programmes announced that the UK had "lost" in its argument for the Commission to look at varying VAT rates for environmentally friendly goods - fridges, light bulbs etc. I think the phrase used in the morning on the radio was "dead in the water".  Mark Mardell's blog is decently up front about this - though I am told it was not him who said 'dead in the water'.

But the wider point is why is every European Council turned into a great battle of rebuffed (in this case not) British initiatives. I am sure people can find instances when the government has not covered itself in glory but there must be a better way to report things.

Actualy there is a real discussion - not Britain versus the rest but about whether it pays or loses to be leaders in the environmental race to low carbon.  This is in fact a proxy for the wider debate about how to win/lose from globalisation. But the rise of 'green protectionism' - resisting regulation and standards on the grounds that the pollution will come from elsewhere if it does not come from us - is both real, pointing to real issues, and a real problem.  One thing that will kill hopes of a global deal is if Europe goes soft on its commitments - and as the communique said on Friday a global deal is the best way to prevent the 'leakage' of carbon from one polluting continent to another.

The pain of globalisation is immediate and visible and the benefits medium term and invisible but if you are not a leader you are a loser.

Serbia's Choice

"Kosovo made a historic choice for independence last month.  Serbia will soon have a chance to make its own historic choice - either for a better future as part of the EU or for isolation, stagnation and decline". So said the International Herald Tribune on 13 March - and it is right.

Longer standing readers will remember the last Serbian election - for the Presidency.  Now the government has been dissolved and there are to be Parliamenary elections.  This matters. Serbia's future depends on stability in the western balkans and its engagement with the European Union and voters supported that in February. Kosovo does not change that.  Nor does it change the need for the EU to continue to reach out to the whole of the western balkans including serbia.

The determination of the Kosovo authorities to follow through on the Ahtissari principles respecting minority rights - nine of the 39 key acts of parliament are underway - is wecome and is contributing to stability in Kosovo. That needs to be matched by all concerned.

Posted at 12:11 17 March 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[9]

Kosovo: Is It Legal?

The situation in Kosovo is unique given its history and the extent of Security Council involvement over the last 9 years. The international legal framework for Kosovo stems from UN Security Council Resolution 1244 adopted in 1999. That resolution created a political process as well as establishing an international regime for Kosovo within the territory of Serbia. It was about restoring peace and security. Resolution 1244 does not determine or constrain the final status process, nor exclude outcomes. But it does envisage a final status process and it needs to be brought to a conclusion.

Independence has been declared by Kosovo after a totally exhaustive series of negotiations under which the settlement brokered by the UN Special Envoy could not be agreed because Serbia could not countenance the principle of independence, even with the degree of international supervision and limitations envisaged in the UN Special Envoy's proposal. It is important not to be confused by 1244's references to the "sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia)". This is a qualified preambular reference which in its context clearly refers only to the interim phase of administration in Kosovo. Importantly it is qualified by reference to the Helsinki Final Act, a political declaration, with 10 interacting principles covering human rights as well sovereignty and territorial integrity. We need to balance these claims. Furthermore the reference to Annex 2 of the UN resolution is important - it deals with the interim status of Kosovo, rather than its final status, which is important given the arguments about what the resolution means.

The situation on the ground is moving quite fast, after a couple of months of calm since the end of the discussion process on december 10th. The presence of Nato forces has been an important influence and the political lead from Europe and elsewhere important too. Over the next few hours and days we need to be clear about European determination to speak to the European perspective for all the countries of the former Yugoslavia. It will then be for individual countries to make decisions about recognition.

Centre for European Reform - Great Work, Job Half Done

Thursday marked the tenth birthday party of the Centre for European reform which I helped to found in the 1990s. The CER has done outstanding work under the leadership of Charles Grant. It was set up with two purposes: to help reshape the debate in Europe about the future of the EU, and to help reshape the debate in Britain about its relationship to the EU. The CER has been strikingly more successful in one than the other (you can guess which).

In terms of the debate about the future direction of the EU, there is a different EU than ten years ago - marked by enlargement as well as EMU. The CER has contributed to that - issues like Turkish accession, defence co-operation, and energy security (including relations with Russia) have been led from the CER. But the debate in Britain often seems stuck in a prism of 1940s Europe rather than the present day. Sometimes the EU has contributed to its own difficulties - whether with qualified accounts or interminable institutional wrangling and that is why the Reform word is important in the CER's title. But we also have to update our own way of engaging.

Here are some starters. We don't need to see or describe the EU as a plot from which we are seeking perpetual protection - other countries also want to maintain sovereignty on key issues like foreign policy and the agenda for the EU is now dominated by issues of shared interest not invasions of sovereignty. We can benefit from as well as lead European debate - it is not a one way street. We should trumpet the modern successes of the EU - from climate change to trade and stability on our borders in the new accession countries. We need to see reform as a shared project - negotiating successfully with Russia on a Europe wide basis is in all our interests, so is continuing the reform of the CAP and the greening of the budget.

Posted at 19:47 17 February 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[30]

Serbia not just Kosovo

The future of the Western Balkans is often described in shorthand as a question of Kosovo.  And Kosovo, and the political aspirations of its majority community, are clearly a central issue for the EU.  But the point about the western Balkans is that the future of the countries of ex Yugoslavia need to be seen together and not separate.  So the issue is not just Kosovo; it is Serbia too.

I owe my EU Ministerial Colleagues from close to the region - notably Greece, Romania Hungary - for the emphasis they have put on dealing not just with Kosovo but with Serbia.  They emphasised in July last year the need for a Troika mission to go the extra mile to try to find common ground between the two sides, and they have emphasised since the December 10th deadline for the close of the Troika mission the ened to extend a hand of friendship, and more than friendship, to Serbia.  That is what the EU did on Monday, with the Invitation to an Interim Political Agreement - closer ties as a staging post to eventual membership [http://www.eu2008.si/en/News_and_Documents/Council_Conclusions/January/0128GAERC5.pdf].

The president of Serbia, Foreign  Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have set out how the elections on Sunday amount to a referendum on the way Serbia is to engage with the EU - and whether it is to accept the hand that has been extended.  We await the results with interest.

Posted at 12:27 31 January 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[7]