The EU and the independence of Kosovo

"Two things appear to be unthinkable for Brussels: leaving a problem child on Europe's doorstep [like Kosovo] to its own devices and - more importantly - not letting it into the house of Europe in the long term," Jochen Bittner and Andrea Böhm explain. At the same time they make the following criticism: "No one in Brussels is willing to bet on how long it will take to make Kosovo a member of the European club. Nonetheless, EU diplomats are convinced that the only way to solve the Balkan problem is to gather all the countries of former Yugoslavia under one roof - or in other words, their integration into Europe. Such ambitions not only represent a huge challenge for the expansion-weary Union, they are also a provocation for its disgruntled neighbour, Russia. From Moscow's point of view the EU's efforts in the Balkans are an arrogant invasion of Russia's traditional zones of influence. Therefore it's very possible that a frozen conflict between Europe and Russia will crystallise in Kosovo."

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