KOSOVO: UNITY TEAM SET TO APPROVE INTERIM PASSPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000380 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, CA, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT FOR ACKER E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2017 TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI SUBJECT: KOSOVO: UNITY TEAM SET TO APPROVE INTERIM PASSPORT REF: PRISTINA 273 Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: After much prodding from UNMIK and USOP, the Kosovo government has scrapped plans to produce an expensive biometric passport in favor of an interim solution, far more practical, that essentially represents a revision of the current UNMIK travel document. UNMIK sources tell us the Interior Minister is poised to sign a sole source procurement order worth around 2.3 million euros, much less costly than the biometric passport option, with the German company that produces the UNMIK document. This is good news, since this interim passport, unlike the costlier version, will be ready for issuance immediately after the 120-day transition period to supervised independence, avoiding the potential of stranding the traveling Kosovar public. The interim passport will either have no symbol on its cover or a non-controversial one, such as the map of Kosovo, precluding the immediate need for a contentious public debate over permanent Kosovo symbols. COM met May 14 with main opposition leader Hashim Thaci to urge him to support the government's proposal; Thaci professed his backing, but the ultimate decision will be made May 18 at the next formal Unity Team session. END SUMMARY. Government moving ahead on interim passport... ¶2. (C) UNMIK Head of Strategic Coordination Bryan Hopkinson confirmed May 8 that the Kosovo government, after much prodding from UNMIK PDSRSG Schook and USOP, has agreed to go with a simpler, less expensive interim passport rather than follow its initial inclination toward a more expensive biometric document. Hopkinson noted that this outcome was favorable for a number of reasons: first, it was much cheaper (2 million euro vs. over 10 million); it did not have to wait until resolution of the highly sensitive debate on state symbols, since the interim passport would have either no symbols or perhaps a non-controversial one like the map of Kosovo; and, most important, it would allow for the immediate issuance of passports after the 120-day transition period to supervised independence, avoiding the potential for stranding Kosovars travelling abroad. Hopkinson asked whether the interim passport would be acceptable to the USG and said the Kosovo government is concerned about this. (Note: We assume that the new passport, given its similarity to the current UNMIK document, would meet U.S. criteria, though -- like with the UNMIK travel document -- it might require that visas be inserted on a separate sheet of paper. We would welcome CA's advice on this to pass to the PISG. End Note.) ¶3. (C) Hopkinson also affirmed that UNMIK had told the PISG it would not ask UN headquarters (DPKO) to extend the validity of existing travel documentation past the 120-day transition period until a clear production plan for the interim passport was in train. (Note: Hopkinson admitted this was primarily for effect, since UNMIK will almost certainly ask that the current document's validity be extended. Otherwise, the number of Kosovars needing new travel documents would overwhelm the capacity to produce them in the timeframe envisioned. End Note.) A subsequent discussion with Kirsten Wambold-Liebling, an UNMIK official embedded with the PISG Ministry of Interior, confirmed that Interior Minister Kuci is poised to sign a sole source procurement deal for the interim passport with the German company that produces the current UNMIK travel document. She and Hopkinson both indicated that the interim passport will essentially be the UNMIK travel document with a different color and different cover designating Kosovo (in three languages). Wambold-Liebling further noted that a detailed plan for the entire process, from design to contract signature to production, is being finalized now and will be conveyed to UNMIK by early next week, as requested by SRSG Ruecker in a May 7 letter to PM Ceku. The only hold-up, she added, was that the Unity Team still had to formally bless the plan, including agreement on which non-controversial symbols, if any, should be used. PRISTINA 00000380 002 OF 002 ...Unity Team expected to agree ¶4. (C) COM raised the passport issue in two conversations with Unity Team members, one with President Sejdiu on May 7, and again on May 14 with opposition leader Hashim Thaci. She urged both to have the Unity Team make a clear decision to proceed on passport production and then convey that consensus to the government. Sejdiu and Thaci each averred they could agree to have the map of Kosovo or no symbol at all. The next meeting of the Unity Team is set for May 18; the Prime Minister's office has confirmed to us that PM Ceku will ask for the Unity Team's formal support at that meeting. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: Though it has been too long in coming, it appears that there is now general agreement between government and opposition to move ahead with the production of an interim passport for Kosovo, one that will solve the immediate problem of ensuring that Kosovars can continue to travel unimpeded immediately following the end of UNMIK's mandate. We will report on the decision of the Unity Team later this week, and follow up on implementation of this effort, which will be key to maintaining social order in the post-transition period. END COMMENT. KAIDANOW