IP/04/
Brussels , August 2004
Kosovo: Commission opens Liaison Office in Pristina
The European Commission has opened a new Liaison Office in Kosovo and appointed Mr Giorgio Mamberto as Head of the Office. He will be taking up his new role in Pristina on 1 September 2004 . With the opening of this office, the Commission intends to maintain a closer contact with the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government on the ground. The aim of this direct presence of the Commission in Pristina is to foster Kosovo's approximation to the EU through the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAp) in particular the SAp Tracking Mechanism (STM), the European Partnership, the Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation Programme (CARDS) and other instruments and initiatives under the Thessaloniki agenda for the Western Balkans.
Giorgio Mamberto, is a senior official with 33 years professional experience in the Commission in external relations, development and financial control. Since 1999, he has represented the Commission as Head of the Commission Delegation in N icar agua also accredited to Honduras , El Salvador , Guatemala and Panama .
He will work in close cooperation with Mr Fernando Gentilini, the Personal Representative of the EU High Representative, and will liaise with Pillar IV of UNMIK, the European Agency for Reconstruction and the EU Member States in Pristina to enhance the European perspective of Kosovo.
The opening of this office further demonstrates the EU's long term commitment to Kosovo.
More information on EU-Kosovo relations at
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/see/fry/kosovo/index.htm
Contact:
Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe 02/295.6053
Concha Fernández de la Puente 02/295.2977