Michael Moore (Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk, Liberal Democrat)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the (a) security and (b) political situation in Kosovo; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Rhondda, Labour)

There has been a steady improvement of the security environment in Kosovo over the last 18 months and, although there have been minor security incidents during that period, Kosovo remains stable. Against this background, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Defence Ministers agreed in June this year to start transitioning NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) to a deterrent presence. EULEX, the EU Rule of Law Mission, providing policing, customs and justice sector support, has been operating at full operational capacity since April.

Since independence, Kosovo has made steady progress in establishing the legal and institutional framework set out in the Comprehensive Settlement Proposal of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, including in relation to safeguarding the rights of Kosovo's Serb population, and other minority groups.

Kosovo's longer term sustainability and prosperity depends on its EU perspective. The Government fully support the proposals put forward by the European Commission in its study entitled 'Kosovo—Fulfilling its European Perspective', published on 14 October 2009. It is also vital that Kosovo's government addresses the concerns about governance and the rule of law expressed in the European Commission's Progress Report published on the same date.

Kosovo is currently preparing to hold municipal elections on 15 November 2009. Together with partners, we will be contributing to international monitoring of the elections.