By Nenad Radicevic

For the time being, the official Pristina perseveres in refusing for the EULEX, the law-order EU mission, to be deployed in Kosovo in accordance with the six-point plan that has been brought in line by the officials of the United Nations, the European Union and Serbia. Just about the EU officials have managed to convince the official Belgrade to accept the EULEX presence in Kosovo under the certain conditions, the Kosovo officials have taken over the role of a contradictor that had been previously played by the Serbian leaders. However, this diplomatic disagreement, without a peer, makes the first serious conflict between Kosovo and the European Union which 22 out of 27 member states have recognised the Kosovo independence.

"We will not fail or leave you," Daniel Fried, the American Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, has been saying repeatedly at the meetings with the Kosovo officials in Pristina reminding them of the American merits in their dream on independence coming true. Nevertheless, the Pristina leaders have not changed their attitude of refusing anybody, being that even the loudest proponents of independency, to ruin what they have achieved on February 17th.

Pristina has not changed its mind even Fried`s reiterations that Kosovo is an independent state and that the six-point plan indeed "was made with Belgrade, but that plan is not lasting but just temporary," as if "nobody would remember the plan in two years."

After the talks with Fried, the Kosovo president Fatmir Seidiu has read the four-point announcement rejecting six-point plan regarding the parts of Kosovo inhabited by the Serbs.

"We support the EULEX deployment in Kosovo as soon as possible in line with the mandate provided by the independence declaration, president Ahtisaari`s document, the Kosovo constitution, the Kosovo laws, mutual action of February 2008, and the Kosovo institutions` appeal to the EULEX," states the first point of Seidiu`s announcement while already the second one reads that "the Kosovo institutions fully reject the six-point document".

Seidiu added, "The Kosovo institutions will closely co-operate with the EULEX on the whole Kosovo territory on the basis of the mentioned documents and respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo." The President has also stated that the Kosovo institutions would co-operate with the USA, EU, and NATO, as always.

After several days` talks, Fried has said that the Kosovo Government decision should be respected and added he would also continue consultations on the EULEX deployment with the European Union officials.

However, the European Union has no intention of changing its plans for the EULEX to start functioning on December 2nd, regardless Pristina rejection to comply with the UN plan on the UNMIK reconfiguration. Unnamed diplomatic sources confirm that Brussels does not intend to give in to Pristina while the Serbia Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic says, "Belgrade will no longer talk on the EULEX mission deployment since the agreement with the UN has been already achieved with all the member states backing."

The French ambassador in Belgrade Jean-Francois Terrell was more concrete saying "the EULEX is the European Union mission and no one who is for the European Union can be against the EULEX."

However, in the interview for the RTV B92, the Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has stated that "the UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Mun`s six-point document is not the proposal of the international community but the one made by Belgrade and therefore Pristina does not accept it in the existing form and content."

He also specifies that Pristina will not accept new conditions for the EULEX deployment, sending a message that "the Belgrade dream on Kosovo should die once and forever".

In brief, the Kosovo authorities believe that the six-point plan cancels the Ahtisaari`s plan and accepts powers of Serbia in Kosovo while the Serbian side sees it as a document confirming the status neutrality of the international workers in Kosovo and the UN Resolution 1244 functioning. Let us not forget that neither EU document on the EULEX mission mentions the Ahtisaari`s plan application, before all because not all the member states of the Union have recognised the independence of Kosovo.

Although the Balkans political elites have been discussing the UN plan in large, this document has not been published in full. Mentioned is only that its content refers to police, customs, border, the judiciary, transportation and telecommunications, and protection of religious structure and cultural heritage in Kosovo.

According to the recent statement of the Serbian President Boris Tadic, the six-point agreement does not suit the Pristina officials since it bothers them that Belgrade, i.e., Serbia, has to be asked for all dimensions of everyday life, such as the issue of customs, local police, protection of cultural monuments, transport, communications and matters regarding administrative border.

Judging by everything, exactly these details are troubling the Kosovo President and Prime Minister who are under the pressure of Albin Kurti`s "Samoopredeljenje" ("Self-determination") movement and three opposition parties - Ramus Haradinai`s party that has strong infrastructure, many member party of Nedzat Daci and the party of Badzet Pacoli, a very rich man. However, there is a ray of hope Pristina might change its mind considering the statement of the former Kosovo Prime Minister and President of the Social-Democrat Party Agim Ceku. He has said representatives of the Kosovo Government had informed him the Pristina attitude might change in case the content of the plan was altered, meaning some new plan might be offered shortly.

"The new plan is an attempt of establishing the third level of power in Kosovo and initiating new negotiating process. All this brings us to the idea on territorial division of Kosovo," considers Ceku.

Serbian President, on the other hand, asserts that "such idea is not on the agenda at all" and that currently it is neither politically realistic nor it is the intention of the Serbian authorities.

Goran Svilanovic, former Serbian Foreign Minister, maintains that the Kosovo Government has made an immature political decision.

"Small nation - small policy. To an extent it applied not just once to Serbia it applies to even greater extent to the Kosovo politicians who sometimes simply do not see the real situation they are in," said Svilanovic.

The Government in Pristina will definitely get into a challenging situation - refusing energetic demand from Brussels and, at the same time, wishing to start European integrations. However, in case Thaci and Seidiu continue to be completely uncompromising they could challenge European officials to "remind" them that weak institutions in Kosovo can stay alive only with the great financial and personnel help of the European Union. Once again that would establish the rule of "carrot and stick" that the international community has abundantly used on the Balkans during the past two decades.