Civil Crisis Management in the Balkans and Especially in Kosovo
Civil Crisis Management in the Balkans and Especially in Kosovo

Summary/Abstract: In Kosovo, crisis management is currently handled by the European Union. The EU replaced the UN mission3 in Europe’s youngest state in December 2008, when EULEX Kosovo (the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo) represented was a further step by the EU in its activity in the Balkans. This had started in Bosnia and was one means by which the EU was attempting to salve its own conscience, having failed so often over the years. We can perhaps modestly call the Balkans one of the most important scenarios of the so-called ESDP (European Security and Defence Policy) of the EU, and Kosovo has particular significance. This small state merits this appraisal (at least in the opinion of the author) on two counts: firstly, it was precisely the Kosovo war of 1999 which led to the birth of the ESDP, and, secondly, EULEX is the largest civil crisis management mission which the EU has ever maintained. However the activity of the EU in Kosovo has a number of features which distinguish EULEX as very special among crisis missions. The aim of this essay is to paint a picture of the activity of the EU in the Balkans, and particularly in Kosovo, by summarising the legal and historical background. It should be born in mind that this essay has not been written to outline the institutional system, decision-making mechanism and budget inside the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the EU or the military crisis management activities of the EU.

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