By DPA
Brussels : European Union (EU) foreign ministers meeting in Brussels Monday warned Kosovo against a hasty declaration of independence, following the victory of a former freedom fighter in elections.
“Kosovo should have independence, but it should not be an unmanaged, unilateral declaration,” Britain’s Minister of State for Europe Jim Murphy told journalists.
The ministers were meeting in Brussels for talks on global foreign policy issues, with Lebanon, Iraq, Myanmar, and the Middle East peace process all on the agenda.
But Kosovo, which held parliamentary elections Saturday despite a boycott by its Serb minority, looked set to top the agenda as ministers struggle to forge a common EU policy on the issue.
All of Kosovo’s Albanian parties have called for independence from Serbia, and the election winner, former guerrilla Hashim Thachi, promised to declare independence as soon as the UN’s Dec 10 deadline for a deal between Pristina and Belgrade expires.
“The EU has an interest that all parties should proceed warily. This applies to both Belgrade and Pristina,” Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said.
“I don’t think (Kosovo’s Albanians) want to be independent from the international community. They want to be defended and protected by NATO and they want to be supported in one way or another by the EU,” Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt added.
Current negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia are being held under the aegis of the “troika” of the US, Russia and the EU. The US supports independence for Kosovo, while Russia opposes it.
EU states are divided on the issue, with some fearing that a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo could lead to other independence moves across Europe.
“What I fear is that there would be two unilateral declarations of independence – one in Pristina, one in (the ethnic Serb area of) Mitrovica,” Bildt said.
“Even if there is only a small chance of success, we have to give the troika a chance. It is immensely difficult, but it can be done,” Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn added.
But with the deadline approaching, pressure is increasing on EU to find a common position.
“We have to think realistically about the possibility that there will be no agreement,” Plassnik said.