EU:EU foreign ministers said they were moving towards a common position on the future of Kosovo yesterday as the deadline for a negotiated solution with Serbia passed.
But EU diplomats said Cyprus still opposed supporting a declaration of independence by the Albanian Kosovars and several other states continued to have reservations.
"Our positions were further apart in the past but we are moving towards a common position that will be an element of stability for the region," said Portuguese foreign minister Luís Amado, who chaired the talks as his country holds the six-month rotating EU presidency.
British foreign secretary David Miliband described the talks in Brussels as "encouraging", while Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt said there was "virtual unity" among the bloc.
Most EU states support a co-ordinated process that would see Kosovo declare its independence next year rather than issue a unilateral declaration in December that could provoke a hostile response from Serbia and its key international ally, Russia.
Protracted talks between the Albanian Kosovars and Serbia failed to produce a negotiated solution by yesterday's UN deadline. But Kosovo's Albanian leaders pledged to start talks with their key allies before making any moves towards declaring independence.
"From today, Kosovo begins consultations with key international partners to co-ordinate the next steps to a declaration of independence," said Skender Hyseni, spokesman of Kosovo's negotiating team with Serbia.
Serbia staunchly opposes Kosovo's independence and says this is a matter to be decided only by the UN Security Council.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said the Government was uneasy about the danger of setting precedents for other regions by recognising Kosovo. But he said it had to be realistic about the issue given that the vast majority of EU states were moving that way.
"We have to deal with the cards that are dealt," said Mr Ahern, who added that it may have important consequences for 350 Irish troops in Kosovo.
The Irish troops are in Kosovo as part of a Nato-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) peacekeeping mission, which has deployed in the region under a UN mandate provided by Security Council resolution 1244. Russia claims that a declaration of independence by Kosovo is in breach of this UN resolution, which stipulated that Kosovo remained part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but under UN administration.
This raises questions over whether Irish troops can legally stay in Kosovo if the Government recognises a declaration of independence by the Albanian Kosovars.
Mr Ahern said yesterday that legal advice from several other EU states in a similar position to Ireland stated that their troops could remain under the existing UN resolution. But he said he expected a report from the Attorney General shortly, which would address the legal questions surrounding deployment.
Aside from the major debate about whether the EU should support Kosovo's independence, EU states also differ on the question of how much encouragement Serbia should be given in its own bid to join the Union.