Brussels: Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini yesterday stated that EULEX, the EU Mission will be deployed in Kosovo by the fall.

Frattini made the statement a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers in Brussels. Frattini said, “it is necessary to work so that we can deploy the EULEX mission on the ground during September and October.”

Launched by the EU in accordance with the plan of UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, the EULEX mission is opposed by Serbia and Russia, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council that can veto such decisions.

According to the Italian foreign minister, there are three things to consider; these include a “new intervention by the United Nations, which could ensure security in the transitional phase, a new Security Council resolution, though some countries are reluctant in this respect, or a declaration from the UN Secretary General or the Security Council president.”

Frattini said, “These are the issues we are dealing with, because we want the transitional phase to have firm ground rules.” ANSA points out that Russia and China, who are both permanent members of the Security Council, oppose the changes to Resolution 1244.