euro|topics - Chris Patten

22/11/2008

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Patten, Chris

2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.

Le Temps - Switzerland | 15/11/2007

Kosovo's future in the ballot box

For Chris Patten, co-president of the International Crisis Group (ICG) and former European Commissioner for External Relations, "after December 10th, [deadline fixed by the UN for an agreement between Serbs and Kosovars], the die will be cast. At the beginning of 2008, we will probably see a unilateral declaration of independence in Pristina. It will be recognised by twenty-two EU members ... but not by four or five other European countries. This division in the heart of Europe is very worrying. ... Romantic tendencies and irrational fears aside, post December 10th remains hazy. Yes it would have been ideal if the UN Security Council had approved the Ahtisaari plan, but alas this is not the case. To avoid growing instability on its borders, the EU has no other choice than to accept the inevitable declaration of Pristina's independence and prepare to deal with the new European member."

Libération - France | 14/08/2007

New talks about Kosovo's status

Chris Patten, former European commissioner for external relations, is vice-chairman of the board of the International Crisis Group. He criticises the Serbian authorities for "hoping that by stalling and delaying Kosovo independence, the Albanians will resort to a unilateral declaration of independence that splits the international community or violence that makes the Serbs look good. In the meantime, the clock is ticking, and Kosovo needs answers. Kosovo Albanians have waited eight years for the international community to ... resolve their status. Although outnumbering all minorities, they have agreed to establish a multiethnic state with the strongest minority protection regime ever seen in Europe. ... Given the Kosovo people's overwhelming desire to be free from the state that tried to eliminate them and the lack of any realistic alternative from Belgrade, the international community has little choice but to give Kosovo its independence."

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