European Union leaders are set to offer Serbia a fast track to EU candidacy and pledge to step up preparations for a police mission to stabilise Kosovo.
According to a draft statement for today's EU summit, talks on the breakaway Serbian province have been exhausted, the status quo is untenable and a settlement of Kosovo's future status is essential for Balkan stability.
On Serbia, the EU will say that once Belgrade meets the conditions to sign a first-level agreement on closer ties, there was confidence Serbia's progress on the road towards the EU can be accelerated.
The statement, drafted by the EU's Portuguese presidency after foreign ministers debated Kosovo on Monday, may still be amended during the summit.
It did not spell out support for Kosovo's independence in the light of differences among EU member states. Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia and Romania are all resisting recognition of a declaration of independence without a UN resolution.
However, the draft said: "The European Council agreed with the UN Secretary-General that the status quo in Kosovo is unsustainable and thus stressed the need to move forward towards a Kosovo settlement which is essential for regional stability."
Kosovo, which has been under UN administration since 1999 when a Nato air war drove out Serbian forces to end ethnic cleansing, was a unique case and did not create a precedent, it said.