(PRISTINA) - The United Nations mission in Kosovo signed an agreement on Monday handing over to the European Union its property to help the EU deploy in Serbia's breakaway ethnic Albanian majority province.

"The technical agreement gives UNMIK ... the green light for transferring assets to us," including office space, vehicles and other equipment, said Karin Limdal, spokeswoman for the incoming EULEX mission.

The head of EULEX, Yves de Kermabon, plans to have the EU police and justice mission fully in place by the end of autumn.

The changeover is going ahead despite opposition by Serbia and its ally Russia, which reject the move as another breach of international law, just like Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence on February 17.

The United Nations' interim mission UNMIK began scaling down its presence in Kosovo on Monday. It had been the main authority in Kosovo since NATO's 1999 bombing ousted Serbian forces waging a crackdown on Albanian separatists.

Ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo adopted its first constitution in mid-June, and EULEX will help its government with policing, the judiciary and customs services.

So far, the EU mission has deployed 285 officials including police, judges, prosecutors and custom officers in Kosovo. It will eventually have 1,900 international and 1,100 local staff.

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