Officially concluded Kosovo's independence supervision

UPDATE - Kosovo's independence supervision today was removed officially. This act was marked with a press release that had the participation of the outgoing head of ICO, Peter Faith and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.

Faith declared that Kosovo, although a new state, has made concrete steps ahead in the construction of a multi-ethinc state.

“The Kosovo government has approved important decisions for a multi-ethnic Kosovo. Kosovo has made important steps ahead and for the EU aspiration. They will always benefit from the friendship with the EU and the USA”, Faith declared.

While Prime Minister Thaci considered this a historical moment for Kosovo.

“The international community gave full support to the Kosovo Institution for the conclusion of supervised independence. This is a historical and important moment for the state of Kosovo, which is being reinforced each day”, Thaci declared.


Kosovo without supervision, today the last procedure

The International Steering Group hosts today the meeting in which Kosovo's independence supervision will end officially. The group is comprised of 23 European states, US and Turkey, who have recognized Kosovo's independence. The decision follows a press conference of PM Hashim Thaçi and the International Civil Representative, Peter Faith, who today ends his mission in Prishtina.

Even though international supervision will be removes, NATO'S peacekeeping forces and EULEX mission will continue their presence in Kosovo. EULEX's mandate has been extended last week with a decision of Kosovo's Assembly, in the session where constitutional amendments were approved, that enable the removal of independence supervision. Kosovo's Assembly is holding a solemn session to declare the end of independence supervision. Among senior personalities in Kosovo for the occasion is the former-Finnish President, Marti Ahtisaari.

As UN envoy for the status, Ahtisaari drafted the Comprehensive Proposal for the Solution of Kosovo's Status in 2007. The independence was declared on February 17, 2008, while the International Steering Group until today has supervised its implementation. Local and international senior officials have appraised that 10 September, when the supervision will end, is an extremely important day for Kosovo. However, analysts claim that big challenges are on the way: political ones that include relations with Serbia, as well as economical ones, due to the high unemployment figures in the country.