Contact Group
Encyclopedia
The Contact Group is the name for an informal grouping of influential countries that have a significant interest in policy developments in the Balkans. The Contact Group is composed of United States
, United Kingdom
, France
, Germany
, Italy
, and Russia
. It was first created in response to the war and the crisis in Bosnia
in the early 1990s. The Contact Group includes four of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and the countries that contribute the most in troops and assistance to peacebuilding efforts in the Balkans. Representatives of the EU Council, EU Presidency, European Commission and NATO generally attend Contact Group meetings.
The Contact Group has taken a major interest in the UN-led process to determine the future political status of Kosovo
(i.e., whether it should be independent or remain a part of Serbia). The Contact Group meets regularly with UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari
, who has been charged with running the future status process.
The Contact Group has no Secretariat or permanent staff -- it is simply an informal grouping of countries that meets regularly at various levels to coordinate international policy initiatives in southeast Europe. Contact Group public statements, often negotiated to painstaking detail within the group, are considered to be significant statements of the international community's policy and intentions in the region. The Contact Group usually meets at the level of Balkans director (i.e., the highest-ranking diplomats in charge of the Balkans in each foreign ministry). Occasionally, however, the Contact Group meets at the level of Political Director or even Foreign Minister.
Contact Group foreign ministers met in New York City on September 20, 2006, in New York City on the margins of the UN General Assembly. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
chaired the meeting. After the meeting, the Contact Group issued a press statement restating the goal of achieving a negotiated settlement in the course of 2006.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It was first created in response to the war and the crisis in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
in the early 1990s. The Contact Group includes four of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and the countries that contribute the most in troops and assistance to peacebuilding efforts in the Balkans. Representatives of the EU Council, EU Presidency, European Commission and NATO generally attend Contact Group meetings.
The Contact Group has taken a major interest in the UN-led process to determine the future political status of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
(i.e., whether it should be independent or remain a part of Serbia). The Contact Group meets regularly with UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....
, who has been charged with running the future status process.
The Contact Group has no Secretariat or permanent staff -- it is simply an informal grouping of countries that meets regularly at various levels to coordinate international policy initiatives in southeast Europe. Contact Group public statements, often negotiated to painstaking detail within the group, are considered to be significant statements of the international community's policy and intentions in the region. The Contact Group usually meets at the level of Balkans director (i.e., the highest-ranking diplomats in charge of the Balkans in each foreign ministry). Occasionally, however, the Contact Group meets at the level of Political Director or even Foreign Minister.
2006 Activity
On July 24, 2006, Contact Group representatives observed the first high-level meeting between the prime ministers and presidents of Kosovo and Serbia to discuss Kosovo's future status. A Contact Group statement issued after the meeting praised Kosovo for demonstrating flexibility in the technical talks underway in the Kosovo future status process, but urged Serbia to demonstrate more flexibility than it had so far.Contact Group foreign ministers met in New York City on September 20, 2006, in New York City on the margins of the UN General Assembly. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
chaired the meeting. After the meeting, the Contact Group issued a press statement restating the goal of achieving a negotiated settlement in the course of 2006.
External links
- Guiding principles of the Contact Group for a settlement of the status of Kosovo
- Marit Moe, ‘The Contact Group on Bosnia-Hercegovina and Kosovo: The Institution and its Mediation Role’
- Kosovo Contact Group Statement, January 2006