"Serbian EU integration, Kosovo should not be linked"

Balkan EU foreign ministers say Serbia’s EU integration should not be tied to the Kosovo status process. “Diplomatic endeavors for reaching agreement on the Kosovo issue have not been exhausted, and resolving this issue should not be linked with Serbia's EU integration process,” Greece's Dora Bakoyannis, Romania's Adrian Cioroianu and Bulgarian Ivailo Kalfin concluded yesterday in Athens. "Serbian EU integration, Kosovo should not be linked" The main topics of their meeting were Kosovo, the European prospects of the western Balkan countries and fostering regional cooperation, news agencies report. “Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, members of NATO and the EU in south-eastern Europe, advocate a sustainable solution for Kosovo’s status in keeping with international law,” the ministers said in a joint declaration. “Although negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina are deadlocked, diplomatic endeavors have not been exhausted and dialogue between the two parties should be resumed,” they added. They insisted that all parties involved in the Kosovo crisis must refrain from violence or any action or statement that might jeopardize security, Bulgarian agency BTA reports. The ministers agreed that prospects for EU membership constituted a factor for regional stability and that Serbia's accession should therefore be accelerated. “This should not, however, be used as some kind of bargaining tool for Kosovo,” the document points out. “The complex Kosovo problem should be resolved wisely and without haste, and dialogue should not be abandoned,” Bakoyannis said. “Diplomacy must be given a chance to reach a valid solution conducive to regional stability,” she said, quoted by Greek agency ANA. Cioroianu told a joint press conference after the meeting that it was not fair to force Serbia to choose between the EU and its territorial integrity, and that the EU should encourage Belgrade to concentrate on European issues, Romanian agency Rompress said. Bakayonnis, Cioroianu (Tanjug)

"Serbian EU integration, Kosovo should not be linked"

The main topics of their meeting were Kosovo, the European prospects of the western Balkan countries and fostering regional cooperation, news agencies report.

“Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, members of NATO and the EU in south-eastern Europe, advocate a sustainable solution for Kosovo’s status in keeping with international law,” the ministers said in a joint declaration.

“Although negotiations between Belgrade and Priština are deadlocked, diplomatic endeavors have not been exhausted and dialogue between the two parties should be resumed,” they added.

They insisted that all parties involved in the Kosovo crisis must refrain from violence or any action or statement that might jeopardize security, Bulgarian agency BTA reports.

The ministers agreed that prospects for EU membership constituted a factor for regional stability and that Serbia's accession should therefore be accelerated.

“This should not, however, be used as some kind of bargaining tool for Kosovo,” the document points out.

“The complex Kosovo problem should be resolved wisely and without haste, and dialogue should not be abandoned,” Bakoyannis said.

“Diplomacy must be given a chance to reach a valid solution conducive to regional stability,” she said, quoted by Greek agency ANA.

Cioroianu told a joint press conference after the meeting that it was not fair to force Serbia to choose between the EU and its territorial integrity, and that the EU should encourage Belgrade to concentrate on European issues, Romanian agency Rompress said.