http://www.eubusiness.com/news_live/1184158811.74
Agence France-Presse July 11, 2007 Europe prepares endgame for Kosovo -"Give us a few months," Kouchner said last week. "But at the end of those few months, it's the red line - we must take a decision." Kouchner, who served as Kosovo's first UN administrator from 1999 to 2001, said he believed there would be a "common European position" on the future of the province. -"We will not play into the hands of someone for ten years," [a European diplomat] said, referring to Russia, which maintains that no decision on Kosovo can be taken without Serbia's consent. PARIS - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner travels to Serbia this week amid signs that Europe is ready to recognize Kosovo's independence if no deal is reached with the province's leaders. Kouchner holds meetings in Belgrade on Thursday and Pristina on Friday to "call on the both parties to become actively engaged" in last-ditch talks on the status of the ethnic Albanian-majority province, the foreign ministry said. France, Britain and the United States have called for a 120-day pause in determining the future of the province after Russia fiercely opposed a report by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari calling for "supervised independence" for Kosovo. "Give us a few months," Kouchner said last week. "But at the end of those few months, it's the red line - we must take a decision." Kouchner, who served as Kosovo's first UN administrator from 1999 to 2001, said he believed there would be a "common European position" on the future of the province. Kosovo has been administered by the UN since 1999, after a NATO bombing campaign helped to drive out Serb forces.... Serbia rejects independence for Kosovo, seen by many Serbs as the cradle of their nation and religion. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority demands independence, but Serbia wants to retain some control. Diplomats said European governments were ready to recognize Kosovo, even without a UN resolution. "We will take responsibility," said a European diplomat. "We will not play into the hands of someone for ten years," he said, referring to Russia, which maintains that no decision on Kosovo can be taken without Serbia's consent. "A European recognition of Kosovo is highly desirable, because the other alternative is simply to leave the situation blocked, which will lead to a crisis on the ground," said Alexander Anderson, director of the Kosovo project at the International Crisis Group, which provides analysis on conflicts. With the United States stating last month that it was ready to unilaterally recognize independent Kosovo, the Europeans were faced with a choice to follow Washington's lead. Already France has laid the groundwork by holding two meetings of the contact group on Kosovo - minus Russia - last month. The contact group is comprised of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States. Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku has pledged that the ethnic Albanian leadership will not unilaterally declare independence without US and European backing.
