EULEX Head of Mission, Amb. Alexandra Papadopoulou, took part today in the High-level Seminar – ‘Finland and Kosovo Building Future Together: Peace Mediation, Crisis Management and the Ahtisaari Plan – Way Forward’, which was organized by the Embassy of Finland in Pristina as part of ‘Finland 100 Events’ celebrating the centenary of Finland’s independence.

In her speech – delivered during the panel on ‘The Ahtisaari Plan, Peace and Rule of Law’ – Amb. Papadopoulou noted that the Ahtisaari Plan can rightly be considered an everlasting legacy of Finland’s important and positive role in helping Kosovo and the Western Balkans region grow into a democratic and multi-ethnic society with full respect for the rule of law and human rights.

She furthered that the Plan not only provided the fundamental rule of law parameters that were to guide the Kosovo authorities towards further democratic consolidation, but also the main functions and responsibilities of a ‘European Security and Defense Policy Mission in the field of rule of law’. These were later reflected in the EU Council’s decision that established the mission and that still encapsulate the core mandate of EULEX nowadays.

The EULEX Head of Mission also remarked that – ‘while a number of challenges undoubtedly remain – Kosovo has made considerable progress in the rule of law area since the definition of those parameters and the subsequent establishment of EULEX’.