Donors generous to Kosovo but Serbia clings to province[fr][de] 

The conference succeded in gathering €1.2bn to help the poorest region of Europe over the next three years. Virtually all the 20 EU countries to recognise Kosovo as an independent state pledged different sums of money for its reconstruction. The sums vary from €100m from Germany to only €2m for France, current holder of the rotating EU presidency. The European Commission is the single largest donor with half a billion euros. Non-EU countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Turkey also contributed sizeable amounts. 

The prime minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, reassured the international community that his government will deal with the sums in a responsible way. "We will enhance the ability of our institutions to absorb development aid effectively. We have installed good governance, zero tolerance against corruption and organised crime," said Thaci. 

In the meantime, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said in Belgrade that his country will never trade Kosovo for faster EU integration. 

"Serbia will ratify the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Kosovo as its integral part, and Serbia will enter the EU with Kosovo," Djelic said. He added: 

"That's the way to enter the EU and defend our territorial integrity at the same time." 

On 8 July, Serbian Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Goran Bogdanovic visited the northern part of Kosovo, virtually under the control of Belgrade, and pledged assistance for "the sustainable survival" of Serbs there as well as for the return of those who were expelled in 1999 and 2004, as he put it.