Separatists Damper EU Support for Independent Kosovo

European backing for Kosovo's independence has been held back by worries in some EU capitals that it could inspire separatists in their own countries. Some leaders want the UN to rule on Kosovo's status.

While Britain, France, Germany and Italy, along with the United States, were expected to recognize Kosovo's independence from Serbia, several other EU nations have said they will not be sending ambassadors to Pristina soon.

 

Great Britain said it regarded Kosovo's declaration of independence on Sunday, Feb. 17, as "an important development," but it will wait until a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday to make a formal statement, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

 

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on "all parties" to exercise moderation. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he wished Kosovo "good luck" following its vote for independence.

 

Russia strongly opposed to independence

 

While thousands of Kosovars danced in the streets of Pristina waving US, British, French, German, Italian flags in tribute to countries that supported the break Kosovo made from Serbia.

 

"This is the happiest day ever in my life. I'm proud of our nation, which should be thankful eternally to the US, and to the EU too," Gazmend Halimi, 22, told the DPA news agency.

 

But not all the EU is behind Kosovo's decision.

 

Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain oppose recognizing Kosovo. Others, including Malta and Portugal, want Kosovo's future be decided at the UN Security Council. With veto-wielding Russia opposed to Kosovo's independence, there is no chance of a UN Security Council resolution formalizing the Pristina parliament's decision.

 

Some EU members -- as well as Russia -- see Kosovo as potentially setting a dangerous precedent for other separatist movements, despite reassurances from Brussels that Kosovo is a unique case.

 

Cyprus is already split, and Spain has long been confronted with Basque and Catalan nationalists.

 

"We do not support a unilateral declaration of independence," Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said on local radio Saturday. "We think that ... it should have been in agreement with the various parties, which is not the case, or in line with international standards, that is to say with a (UN) Security Council resolution." ...

 

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