EU:Foreign ministers are finding that compromise is proving elusive for those with a stake in Kosovo's future, writes Jamie Smythin Viana do Castelo.
EU foreign ministers are struggling to present a united front on the future of Kosovo, an issue that is becoming a key test of the credibility of European foreign policy.
Despite vowing to "stay united" in talks in Portugal at the weekend, member states remain divided over whether to recognise a possible declaration of independence by the Albanian majority in the breakaway Serbian province.
Britain and France are the most likely to follow the US and recognise independence for Kosovo if talks on the future of the troubled province fail by a 10th December deadline.
But several EU states which enjoy close links to Serbia or are fearful of separatist groups' claims for independence in other European countries - Spain, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia and Romania - oppose granting the breakaway region the full sovereignty it is seeking.
Portuguese foreign minister Luis Amado, who chaired the talks as Portugal holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU, said all the foreign ministers agreed that maintaining EU unity was the main factor of stability in the complex matter.
"I cannot conceive that we could have at the end a situation where there is a strong position of Russia, a strong position of the United States, and where Europe simply does not exist," said Mr Amado, who has to try to forge EU unity on the issue in coming months.
But French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner emerged from two days of talks with his EU counterparts saying: "There are divergences, just as there were before."
He also dismissed an idea floated by the Dutch foreign minister, Maxime Verhagen, that the troubled province could be divided between ethnic Serbs and ethnic Albanians.
Kosovo has been under UN control since 1999 following a Nato bombing campaign against Serb targets to stop an escalating conflict in the province.
International peace talks began in 2006 culminating in UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari offering to set Kosovo on the road to independence with security guarantees for the minority Serb population in Kosovo. So far, both sides have rejected the plan.
Russia, which is a key ally of Serbia, is also promising to veto any solution presented to the UN security council that grants Kosovo independence.
With a deadline for a solution fast approaching, this threat raises the possibility of ethnic conflict in the province, which is host to a 16,000 Nato-led Kosovo peace force.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern warned at the talks that any solution that was blocked at the UN would pose problems for Ireland's role in the peacekeeping mission.
Some 220 Irish troops are stationed in Kosovo as part of the mission and a senior Irish soldier, Brig Gen Gerry Hegarty, commands a multinational taskforce.
But Mr Ahern said Ireland would have to withdraw its troops if a solution was not supported by the UN.
"If it comes to that we have to consider the constitutional and legal consequences," he said. "If there is no resolution, there are no troops."
Other contributors to the peacekeeping mission, such as Germany and Sweden, may also encounter problems if Russia exercises its veto at the UN security council.
Such difficulties raise the spectre of the Bosnian war during the 1990s, where Europe failed to prevent conflict breaking out, highlighting its limited influence in security matters.
Serbia has warned that it will reconsider sending troops back into an any "illegal" Kosovo state recognised by western powers.
But ethnic Albanians are also threatening unrest in Kosovo if they are not granted full independence as part of the ongoing mediation talks.
"This is a test case over the European Union's common foreign policy. It's our responsibility and right to steer the process," said Olli Rehn, the EU's Enlargement Commissioner at the weekend talks.
But he rejected an Italian idea to offer Serbia a fast track procedure towards EU accession to get it to back down on Kosovo, citing the need for Belgrade to co-operate with the war crimes tribunal for Yugoslavia.
EU mediator on Kosovo Wolfgang Ischinger, who is participating in talks with Russia and the US to try to broker a deal, told reporters that the Ahtisaari plan remained on the table.
"The difficulties are big and the chances are slim - but they are there," he said. "In diplomacy there are many shades of grey between black and white, and we're looking for the right shade of grey."
However, Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt struck a gloomier note when leaving the talks, noting that compromise does not come easily in the Balkans.