EU moet beslissen hoe nu verder met Kosovo (en)
EUOBSERVER / STRASBOURG - The European Union is preparing a high level donors' conference for Kosovo in June, while itself promising the new state €1 billion in the next four years.
Meanwhile, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn i has argued that after things "settle" in the region, the bloc must also decide how to legally deal with Pristina despite the differing views on its declared independence by EU member states.
"It is important that the financial assistance [to Kosovo] is closely related to political advice that EU is providing" to its officials, Mr Rehn told journalists on the eve of a debate on Kosovo in the European Parliament i on Wednesday (20 February).
He argued that given the promise of EU membership for Kosovo, the bloc should focus on helping the country to reach that goal and progress towards European standards, "so instead of building bridges, we are building institutions."
But the commissioner admitted that "further steps" by the member states would be needed to clarify which concrete framework the EU should apply for dealing with Pristina at the intergovernmental level.
"In the due course, we will have to reflect on which means [the EU] will develop the trading relations, visa facilitation and other concrete measures for Kosovo," Mr Rehn noted.
He said that those decisions are crucial, as it is "essential that we help Kosovo to help itself to stand on its own feet so that we don't have to pour in EU taxpayers' money for ever and to have a black hole in the Western Balkans."
Intergovernmental agreements of this kind have to be endorsed by all EU member states, with analysts warning that some countries could block them as they have not recognised Kosovo's independence.
So far, 18 member states have either officially recognised the new state or announced that they are planning to do so in the coming days. Romania, Cyprus and Spain have signalled they will not make the same move, as it would breach international law.
But Slovak foreign minister Jan Kubis told reporters on Monday (18 February) that although Slovakia has so far also not decided to recognise Kosovo, it will not block decisions aiming to "boost stability" in the region.
Meanwhile, the second day of Kosovo's independence saw a rise in violence there, with NATO troops moving to seal its northern borders due to protests and clashes by Serbs in Kosovo.
KFOR peacekeepers were called in and US soldiers blocked the main road crossing with Serbia, while Estonian and French troops sealed the crossing to Montenegro, following what appeared as the coordinated action by Serbian protesters, who arrived in convoys of cars and buses, BBC reported.
Both EU's top officials and leaders of Kosovo and Serbia urged for calm.