Council meeting:EU leaders meet today for talks on the future of Kosovo and the set-up of a new group to reflect on the future challenges facing the European Union.
Fresh from signing the Lisbon Treaty, they will shift their focus from institutional matters to practical issues such as coping with immigration, globalisation and boosting security at home and abroad.
Leaders will try to show a united front in their approach to dealing with the delicate situation in Kosovo, which is gearing up to declare independence from Serbia. Most EU states are prepared to support a managed declaration of independence by the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo. But some EU states, particularly Cyprus, are reluctant to recognise independence, which they feel may encourage other separatist groups.
EU leaders will also discuss the future deployment of an 1,800-member EU police and security mission to Kosovo and the implications of Russian support for Serbia, which staunchly opposes a declaration of independence by Kosovo.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia can
block any future UN resolutions on the
Kosovo issue.
Diplomats said nothing radically new would emerge from the summit on Kosovo, with the conclusions merely stating that "the status quo in Kosovo is unsustainable" and that there is a need to move forward with a settlement.
But the bigger EU states may also agree a plan to co-ordinate
their own recognition of an independent
Kosovo. A plan to be discussed today would see Germany,
France, Italy and Britain recognise Kosovo days after its own
declaration of independence, followed by other EU nations.
The US and others would follow suit after that, according to
diplomats. Another potentially contentious
issue is the membership of the "committee of wise men", a new
EU group that will be formed to reflect on future challenges facing
the union. French president Nicolas Sarkozy initially proposed the
group as a
way to debate the future borders of Europe and principally to
decide if Turkey should be allowed join the EU.
Under pressure from pro-enlargement states, the group's mandate has been watered down somewhat and it will now focus on practical policies such as economic success, globalisation, sustainable development, climate change and migration.
But EU leaders are expected to agree on the name of a chairman for the committee, and possibly the full membership. Several names, including former European Parliament president Pat Cox, are under consideration.
With 27 EU leaders lobbying for their own countrymen, the debate could end up being long and contentious, given that only 10 or 12 individuals are expected to be appointed to the group.