By Prensa Latina
Paris : The delicate issue of Kosovo’s independence might bring catastrophic consequences for Europe, although French analysts said that calculations and predictions were made before that happened.
“There is a political game much beyond the act itself and it is NATO’s military deployment, logistics and the commitment by the US and the European forces of KFOR (a judicial-police mission),” according to an editorial published in Le Monde.
It is like admitting ignorance and absolute lack of respect for history, that Kosovo is an indissoluble part of Serbian territory, said an experts asked by the French newspaper.
A large-scope crisis will break out and will add fuel to the fires in the Basque Country, Corsica, Ulster, Britain or Wallonia, said Renaud Fortuner, a Le Monde reader.
Spain stressed on Monday that it would not recognize the unilateral step taken on Sunday by the government of Pristina. Other members of the European Union (Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus and Greece) took a similar stance.
However, the rest of the European Union followed the United States’ suit, and France welcomed the decision in a press release issued by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who wished good luck and hopes.
In the communiqué, Kouchner said the independence of Kosovo is not a tragedy for anyone, not even for Serbia, and minimized the differences between European countries over the recognition of the new state.
Spain’s strong opposition, which claimed that recognizing Kosovo’s independence would encourage separatists from certain European regions, including the Basque Country, was echoed by Russia and China, in addition to Serbia.
The EU Council of Foreign Ministers is trying to reach a common stance in Brussels, without forcing recognition of that Balkan territory, a decision that would be up to each of the bloc’s 27 members.
About 1,800 police agents, judges and customs officials from the European Union, except Malta, will be deployed in Kosovo over the next 120 days, a decision taken by the EU without UN approval, and disqualified by Russia and Serbia.