Major EU nations join US in championing Kosovo
Kosovo Albanian musicians play music in Pristina yesterday. After a night of jubilant celebrations, Kosovo becomes the world's newest state as it declared independence from Serbia on Sunday with US and European support.Photo: AFP
Four major European Union nations are expected to swiftly back a declaration of independence by Kosovo, although some fellow member states with their own separatists in mind oppose the move.
Despite Serbia's refusal to let go of its largely ethnic-Albanian territory, Britain, France, Germany and Italy, along with the United States, were expected on Monday to formally endorse an announcement of independence expected from Kosovo's parliament later Sunday.
The move is strongly opposed by Belgrade as well as its ally Russia.
Some of the 27 EU nations will also oppose the setting up of a new Kosovo state, at least in the short term.
Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain are among them, while others like Malta and Portugal would prefer that Kosovo's future be decided in the UN Security Council.
With veto-wielding Russia opposed, there is no chance of a UN Security Council resolution formalising Kosovo's independence.
Some see Kosovo as potentially setting a dangerous precedent of separatist movements getting their way, despite reassurances from Brussels that Kosovo is a unique case.
Cyprus is already a split island, with a Turkey-recognised statelet in the north, and Spain has long been confronted with Basque and Catalan nationalists.
"We do not support a unilateral declaration of independence," Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said on local radio Saturday.
"We think that ... it should have been in agreement with the various parties, which is not the case, or in line with international standards, that is to say with a (UN) Security Council resolution."
All EU foreign ministers are due to meet in Brussels on Monday with the issue at the top of their agenda.
The ministers from the four main countries supporting Kosovo are expected to give their formal backing to the independence move, while seeking to persuade their fellow member states to follow suit, in the knowledge that most of the 27 EU states back the move.
The European Union will want to show as much unity as it can muster, while assuring both Kosovo and Serbia that they have a future within the EU club.
An official with the EU's presidency currently held by Slovenia said the ministers will want to "take note" of the changes in Kosovo, but even this simple task is proving difficult to put to paper in the form of a declaration.
"What's important is the confirmation of the goal the EU has: that Kosovo has a democratic, stable and multi-ethnic future and that this is all based on a European perspective," an EU diplomat said.
Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, after Nato bombed Belgrade to end a bloody crackdown on Albanian separatists, but the province has officially remained part of Serbia.
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