AUSTRIA: KOSOVO RECOGNITION, EU DEPLOYMENT

UNCLAS VIENNA 000228 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV EU AU KV UNMIK SUBJECT: AUSTRIA: KOSOVO RECOGNITION, EU DEPLOYMENT REF: STATE 16319 ¶1. (U) Charge delivered reftel message to MFA Deputy PolDir Ralph Scheide on 2/19. Scheide, noting that FonMin Plassnik had already announced Austria's intention to recognize Kosovo, reported that the formal process of recognition would begin with the Feb. 20 cabinet meeting and be concluded within a few days. Pres. Fischer's 2/20 departure on an African tour could delay recognition into the early part of next week. ¶2. (U) Scheide was confident that, despite differences over recognition, no EU member would place obstacles before the deployment of the ESDP Mission to monitor Kosovo independence. MFA Balkans Department Director Kuglitsch confirmed that Austria would contribute 33 personnel to the ESDP Mission, which he expected to be fully deployed by late June. Although EU states that refuse to recognize Kosovo in the first weeks after 2/17 will not participate in the Mission, Kuglitsch reported that several non-EU states, including Switzerland and Turkey, will do so. ¶3. (U) Scheide emphasized the Austrian view that encouraging Serbian integration into European structures must now be a priority goal for all parties involved in the Balkans. Charge confirmed the importance to the U.S., as expressed by Pres. Bush, of integrating the entire region into Euro-Atlantic structures. Yap