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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| EU set for Serbia deal on Kosovo | EU set for Serbia deal on Kosovo |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| European Union leaders are expected to offer Serbia a fast track route towards candidacy for EU membership. | European Union leaders are expected to offer Serbia a fast track route towards candidacy for EU membership. |
| The plan is seen as a way of keeping the Balkans stable, with Kosovo set to declare independence from Serbia, which has already rejected the "trade-off". | The plan is seen as a way of keeping the Balkans stable, with Kosovo set to declare independence from Serbia, which has already rejected the "trade-off". |
| EU leaders, meeting in Brussels, are also likely to pledge to step up preparations for a big police mission in Kosovo if it leaves Serbia. | EU leaders, meeting in Brussels, are also likely to pledge to step up preparations for a big police mission in Kosovo if it leaves Serbia. |
| Kosovo's future is widely seen as the biggest test for EU foreign policy. | Kosovo's future is widely seen as the biggest test for EU foreign policy. |
| Controversial | Controversial |
| A draft summit statement, seen by the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels, says the EU is ready to play a leading part in ensuring stability in the region by stepping up preparations for a mission for Kosovo of up to 1,800 police, judges and prosecutors - the biggest ever undertaken by the bloc. | A draft summit statement, seen by the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels, says the EU is ready to play a leading part in ensuring stability in the region by stepping up preparations for a mission for Kosovo of up to 1,800 police, judges and prosecutors - the biggest ever undertaken by the bloc. |
| It will also promise economic assistance to the breakway Serbian region, and repeat that the future of all the Balkan peoples lies in the EU. | It will also promise economic assistance to the breakway Serbian region, and repeat that the future of all the Balkan peoples lies in the EU. |
| A trade-off is out of question Vuk JeremicSerbian Foreign Minister | A trade-off is out of question Vuk JeremicSerbian Foreign Minister |
| The pledge to accelerate Serbia's EU candidate status is more controversial. | The pledge to accelerate Serbia's EU candidate status is more controversial. |
| Many argue that the EU needs to encourage reformers in Belgrade as they face snap presidential elections next month, but the Dutch insist that Serbia should first deliver all indicted war criminals to the international court in The Hague. | Many argue that the EU needs to encourage reformers in Belgrade as they face snap presidential elections next month, but the Dutch insist that Serbia should first deliver all indicted war criminals to the international court in The Hague. |
| Indecent proposal | Indecent proposal |
| The Serbian Foreign Minister, Vuk Jeremic, said on Friday that his country would not consider giving up Kosovo in exchange for speeding up the process towards joining the EU. | The Serbian Foreign Minister, Vuk Jeremic, said on Friday that his country would not consider giving up Kosovo in exchange for speeding up the process towards joining the EU. |
| "A trade-off is out of question," he said. | "A trade-off is out of question," he said. |
| He told reporters: "It would be an indecent proposal, and European leaders are decent people. They have not made such an offer." | He told reporters: "It would be an indecent proposal, and European leaders are decent people. They have not made such an offer." |
| A majority of Serbs see Kosovo as an historic part of their country and the issue will play a prominent part in the run-up to next month's presidential election in Serbia. | A majority of Serbs see Kosovo as an historic part of their country and the issue will play a prominent part in the run-up to next month's presidential election in Serbia. |
| Protesters unfurled banners and chanted nationalist slogans calling for Kosovo to remain part of Serbia, during a football match in Belgrade last week. | Protesters unfurled banners and chanted nationalist slogans calling for Kosovo to remain part of Serbia, during a football match in Belgrade last week. |
| Serbian President Boris Tadic said he was not prepared to distance himself from the EU if it pushed for independence, even though he opposed it. | |
| Mr Tadic said that those who recommended that Serbia should turn its back on the EU if Kosovan independence came to pass, "go against the vital interests of all our country's citizens and seek to push Serbia towards isolation and economic failure". | Mr Tadic said that those who recommended that Serbia should turn its back on the EU if Kosovan independence came to pass, "go against the vital interests of all our country's citizens and seek to push Serbia towards isolation and economic failure". |
| Some EU member states are against independence for Kosovo. | Some EU member states are against independence for Kosovo. |
| Cyprus is the most strongly opposed, but Greece, Slovakia, Spain and Romania have all expressed concern about the possible repercussions for separatist movements elsewhere in Europe. | Cyprus is the most strongly opposed, but Greece, Slovakia, Spain and Romania have all expressed concern about the possible repercussions for separatist movements elsewhere in Europe. |
| That resistance is likely to deter EU leaders from making any decision on how to react to a possible declaration of independence, says the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels. | That resistance is likely to deter EU leaders from making any decision on how to react to a possible declaration of independence, says the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels. |
| But they will agree that the status quo in Kosovo is unsustainable and the region needs to move towards a settlement. | But they will agree that the status quo in Kosovo is unsustainable and the region needs to move towards a settlement. |