Media: W. Balkans conference debacle 21 March 2010 | 10:16 | Source: B92 LJUBLJANA -- Slovenian media stated that the summit of the Western Balkans countries held on Saturday did not fulfill any expectations.
Media stated that Slovenia received a lesson in leading European policies, adding that hardly any EU officials were present. Local media have called the conference a diplomatic fiasco and a debacle for the organizers. Slovenian foreign policy analyst Borut Žitnik said that Slovenia received a hard lesson on so-called united European policies, and that the conference hinged on the inability to get Serbia and Kosovo to both attend. He said that Spain, which is presiding over the EU, has not recognized Kosovo, and that Spain is preparing a conference of the same concept in Sarajevo soon, which is why it is understandable that no one other than Slovenia was very interested in the conference on Saturday. Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci was content with the conference, however. He said that Serbian President Boris Tadić's decision not to attend represents a mentality of the past, because boycotts are not a solution, adding that Belgrade is not helping itself by not participating. and that Kosovo will continue to participate in regional and international conferences under its own name. Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said that bilateral questions between the regional countries should be separated from EU integration issues, adding that there was no discussion of those who did not attend. Slovenia Prime Minister Borut Pahor said that by not attending, EU officials showed that they underestimate the region. http://www.b92.net/eng/news/region-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=03&dd=21&nav_id= 65947 _______________________________________________ News mailing list [email protected] http://lists.antic.org/mailman/listinfo/news
