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From: Armchair Generalist

What is it about the small, isolated states in the Balkans that makes major powers so crazy?

The tortuous break-up of the former Yugoslavia that began in the 1990s produced another country on Sunday. Nine years after NATO troops forced Serbia out of the province, Kosovo has unilaterally declared independence. Many Western countries are now on the verge of recognizing Kosovo as Europe's latest country but Serbia and its ally Russia regard the declaration as illegal. And many countries with their own separatist groups, from Spain to Sri Lanka, are reluctant to set a precedent by recognizing this new state.

On Monday EU foreign ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss the declaration. While it is left to separate countries rather than the EU to recognize new nations, the bloc is hoping for a show of some unity in how it reacts to the new situation in the Balkans. Before going into the meeting, Slovenia's Foreign Minister Dimitri Rupel, who is hosting the meeting, said he believes "many" of the 27 EU nations would recognize Kosovo as an independent state.

The United Kingdom, France and Germany are expected to announce recognition as early as Monday. Arriving at the meeting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that the failure of talks between the Serbs and Kosovo-Albanians had made the declaraion inevitable. "A negotiated solution was not possible. That is why we cannot now escape this event," he said.

 

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