The EU civil mission was formally approved at midnight on Friday, after none of the 27 bloc members objected to the mission's plan.
Once Kosovar leaders declare independence, the EU will take over responsibility for supervising police, judicial and civil administration from the current UN mission after a 120-day transition period.
Kosovo is expected to announce independence on Sunday, Feb 17, though Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci would not confirm the date.
"It is already more or less clear," Slovenian Prime Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country holds the EU presidency, told a Polish daily
Dziennik in an interview published on Friday. Kosovo Showdown Looms Large as Serbia Heads to Polls ...
Serbia's EU Bid Hinges on Mladic Arrest, Says del Ponte ... "The European Union will send a mission to Kosovo to replace the United Nations."
Serbia and Russia both strongly oppose the mission, saying it would be illegal without the backing of an explicit mandate from the UN Security Council.
Kosovo has been under UN administration for 10 years since a NATO bombing campaign ended ethnic violence there.
Easing the road to independence
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: German peacekeepers in Kosovo The EU's mission will consist of a political entity to supervise the transfer of powers from the UN mission to the local authorities. EU experts will train and mentor police, justice and customs officials and have wide-ranging legal powers for the transition period. Some 100 members of an advanced planning team are already in Pristina.
The European Commission and the World Bank are also planning an international donors' conference to help build Kosovo's economy. Kosovo, which will not be admitted to the United Nations because of Russian and Serbian opposition to its independence, faces huge challenges to tackle mass unemployment and become a viable state.
The EU rejects Russian arguments that the EU presence will be illegal. It argues the existing UN Security Council resolution 1244 on Kosovo provides a legal basis for the mission and cites a Jan. 3 report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noting the EU's readiness to play "an enhanced role."
Not speaking with one voice?
Though most EU states as well as the United States plan to recognize Kosovo, at least six EU members -- Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, Spain, Bulgaria and Romania -- have said they will not do so immediately.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: EU members agree Kosovo's future should be democratic, stable and multi-ethnic "Our position remains the same: we will not recognize a unilateral declaration of independence," Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Marcoullis told Reuters news agency. "Our position is based on principles of the UN charter, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and the role of the UN Security Council."
Kosovo, home to 2 million ethnic Albanians, has raised fears in some European capitals that separatist movements in their countries may use the Serbian province as a precedent for their own unilateral decelerations of independence.
EU supporters of Kosovar independence say Serbia has no moral right to rule the province because of the brutality it perpetrated against the province's ethnic Albanian majority under the late Slobodan Milosevic.
Rupel sought to play down differences in the EU over recognizing Kosovo.
"It is not the independence declaration that is most important," he said. "Of course, there have been doubts or negative feelings in some countries. But there are not that many after all. When the moment comes, I think the EU will speak with one voice."
Serbia remains opposed
Serbia, backed by Russia, has vowed that it will never accept Kosovo's independence.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Tadic has pledged never to recognise Kosovo's independence On Friday, Boris Tadic who was sworn in as president of Serbia reiterated his opposition.
"I will never give up fighting for our Kosovo and I will, with all my might, fight for Serbia to join the European Union," Tadic said.
Tadic is at odds with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica over Serbia continuing to pursue EU membership if EU states approve Kosovo's secession.
Kostunica called the EU's mission plans as a "brutal violation" of international law, and his government has already officially "annulled" in advance Kosovo's independence move.
But Tadic has said Serbia would risk losing its international influence if it cut ties to countries and institutions that recognize Kosovo.
"If some countries, including some European Union members, recognize Kosovo, it is in my opinion that we will certainly enter a frozen conflict," he said. "It will be a challenge for Serbia, but also for the EU and the international community."
(Deutsche Welle)
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