The European Union is moving ahead with preparations for a civilian mission to stabilize the situation in Kosovo, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Friday, according to dpa. Steinmeier said the 27 EU members were preparing for a decision on independence by the leaders of the breakaway Serbian republic. "It does not take much fantasy to guess what the decision would be," Steinmeier said after talks in Berlin with his Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt, a former EU mediator for Bosnia. Bildt said it was necessary to maintain what he described as the "semi-consensus" by EU members on Kosovo, but predicted a "long period of difficulty" if Kosovo goes ahead and declares independence unilaterally. Serbia is strongly opposed to independence for the province, which is 90 per cent populated by Albanians. Experts warn that declaring independence could trigger further conflicts, with Albanians in Serbia and Serbs in northern Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina following suit. Steinmeier and Bildt renewed the EU's offer of visa-free travel for Serbs, a free trade agreement and money to help more Serbs study in Europe. The minister said he was uncertain whether the offer would affect the outcome of the run-off presidential election in Serbia on Sunday. In the first round of balloting, ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolic, a Eurosceptic, polled the most votes.
