Ahtisaari's Doomed Proposal

Lessons from UN envoy’s failed “supervised independence”plan

Failures of Ahtisaari’s planLesssons learned
Against the will of a sovereign, democratic state Must respect UN Charter, UN Resolution 1244, 1975 Helsinki Final Act on non-violability of borders, 1992 Badinter Commission (no new states within former Yugoslav republics)
Solution tacitly predetermined from the start No predetermined solutions, otherwise favored side has no incentive to negotiate
Limitation of discussion options Open, unhindered talks.
Time limits No deadlines. Talks continue until agreement is reached.
Controversial choice of mediator Balanced international team of moderators with no direct interest
Legitimizes post-war discrimination of minorities Guarantees for return, safe movement and discrimination reversal. No declarative nor cosmetic human rights policy.
Unwillingness to consider the interests of Belgrade Belgrade and regional interests must be considered
Lack of true compromiseForce both sides to give up something rather than imposing one side's interests over another
Unique case, not a precedent Kosovo is very similar to dozens of other hotspots. Solution must comply with comparable cases in past or future.
Provides Kosovo with prerogatives of a state: constitution, border and air traffic control, army, secret services… Restrain controversial state-building prerogatives
NATO troops beyond any civilian control Reasonable liability and civic control of the international peacekeeping force
Decentralization: small number of Serbian municipalities Larger number of horizontally connected Serbian municipalities with possible vertical links with Belgrade
Pristina retains key control over decision making and relations of K/Serbs with Belgrade , including aid money and nominations of police commanders in Serb areasMaximum self-governance of K/Serbs inside Kosovo and maximum autonomy for K/Albanians within Serbia. Possibility of special relations with neighboring states
Possibility of readjusting municipal borders after 2008 census Pre-war census and cadastre records must be taken into account
Privatization process doesn't take into account nor indemnify Serbia nor Serbian workersReview entire privatization controversy
No restitution of state, social or church propertyAll property must be restored to its rightful owner, unless otherwise agreed
Protected zones guarded by Kosovo police Serbian heritage sites and enclaves must be protected by responsible military forces, international or Serbian

Kosovo's foreign debt is calculated on the principle of successor entities of the former Yugoslavia

Kosovo is not a successor entity of Yugoslavia , Belgrade and Pristina should agree on debt
Controversial aspects hushed up between the lines No confusing phraseology subject to multiple interpretation
Cosmetic upgrades to rejected proposals Meaningful adjustments in case of stalemate
Proposed solution leads to further Balkan instability and away from EU integrationA true solution must pacify and accelerate EU integration of Western Balkans