Last week, the European Union offered strong words of support for Kosovo’s independence from Serbia. But as usual, the EU is counting on defending its position to the last American. It’s tiptoeing backwards toward the door.
Hopes for a peaceful conclusion to the declaration of Kosovo’s independence were fading as the European Union announced it had withdrawn its staff from the north of the fledgling country in the face of increasingly angry Serb protests. …
Yesterday [Feb. 23] Peter Feith, the EU's Kosovo envoy, said security concerns were behind the withdrawal of his staff from northern Kosovo. They had been preparing the ground for a 2,000-strong EU rule of law mission. “I would like to appeal to the Serb community to be generous and to turn the page and look forward to working together with us,” he said. “We hope that conditions will soon allow us to resume our activities.”
Nibbled away. The Europeans say they’re counting on NATO and the United Nations’ KFOR peacekeepers, but the Europeans really are thinking: let the United States handle the hard work, and the likely violent reactions and nasty objections to military force. Right now, the EU is preparing to abandon only northern Kosovo, but this new country is only a quarter the size of Denmark to start. Once it starts giving up pieces, it faces a nibbling annihilation.
Feb. 23 marked six days since Kosovo claimed its independence. It has to be record time for Europe to send up the white flag. The reflex must be well-ingrained.
Frank Warner
Comments