Kosovo reply from Mr Ralf Grahn

Mr Grahn's hugely informative blog is linked here. His extremely prompt reply to my blog query of this morning is as follows: Dear Mr Cole, Thank you for your kind words concerning my blog, which tries to present the new treaties of the European Union Article by Article and offer some (hopefully helpful) comments on the provisions. I am afraid that I have followed the question of independence for Kosovo only as normal consumer of news. If you want an expert opinion on the tangled questions of independence or secession, you would be better advised to look for someone with a firm grasp of (public) international law. If I have understood the international situation correctly, there seems to be a stalemate at the United Nations Security Council, with protracted negotiations leading nowhere. The USA and a majority of NATO/EU members have apparently reached the conclusion to cut the Gordian knot in support of Kosovo's quest for independence. As far as I understand, there are opposing views and contradictory arguments on the legality of the independence move. It is hard to believe that all or some member states of the EU would take action they themselves deemed or admitted to be contrary to international law. Leaving that question to be answered by others, I will only make the observation that the European Council defines the principles and general guidelines for the common foreign and security policy (CFSP), and that the Council adopts joint actions, such as international operations, according to Articles 13 and 14 of the Treaty on European Union. In other words, the instruments for international operations exist. CFSP operations by the European Union are firmly based on intergovernmental cooperation, and I presume that you would have to look at the responsibilities of the individual participating governments as much as at the role of the EU collectively. My preliminary answer to the questions of redress you mentioned is that they would be settled in accordance with the implementing decisions for the joint action in question (mainly assumed by the participating states). Sincerely yours, Ralf Grahn