| EU and Kosovo recognition: Individual decisions |
| 16 February 2008 | 11:49 -> 16:48
| Source:
B92 |
BRUSSELS --
The EU member states will make their individual decisions regarding the recognition of Kosovo.
The reports from Brussels suggest that the European Union will not recognize ethnic Albanians' decision to unilaterally secede from Serbia, rather, it will leave it to each of its 27 member countries to decide.
Agencies reported from Priština last night that the assembly in Priština will convene tomorrow, to make the declaration of independence. Belgrade rejects this move as illegal, and has the backing of Russia, which will block any attempt to have Kosovo admitted to the UN as an independent country.
As for likely bilateral recognitions, Reuters reports today that 20 of the EU's 27 members will choose this option.
At least six EU countries, the agency said, will not recognize Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence. They are Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, Spain, Bulgaria and Romania.
The EU Council of Ministers will meet on Monday, when the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, joined by the United States, could immediately declare that they accept the secession of the Serbian province and recognize its independence, the sources with the Union said.
In the meanwhile, Spain was the first of the EU countries mentioned to officially confirm it will not recognize Kosovo's independence declaration.
"We do not support unilateral declarations of independence," Spanish Deputy Premier Maria Fernandez de la Vega told reporters in Madrid today.
"Independence should have been proclaimed with the consent of all the parties involved, or with a UN Security Council resolution," she explained.
In the absence of a complete international recognition, and in view of the difficult economic situation in Kosovo, which is viewed as one of Europe's poorest regions, the European Commission and the World Bank are planning to organize a donor conference this summer.
The EU presidency sources say that the EU foreign ministers, due to meet in Brussels Monday, will underscore that the solutions for the region "must be those vital for its stability".
They will also call for a creation of a "democratic, multiethnic Kosovo, dedicated to the rule of law and protection of minorities and cultural and religious heritage".
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