A new EU policy on Kosovo 

The December paper argues that the summit is the time for the EU to act decisively now that the 'Troika' has delivered the conclusions of the failed negotiations with Belgrade and Pristina to the UN Security Council.

The Council should not wait until the Security Council meeting on 19 December to make a clear statement, bearing in mind the implications of Kosovo's decision to declare independence unilaterally, probably in early 2008, the authors state. 

Schmidt and Tolsdorf assert that the signals communicated at the upcoming summit will be "vitally important to the region's future" and urge the EU to use "all available power in pressuring both sides to compromise". 

The paper outlines four guidelines for the upcoming Council to follow: 

• It has to make clear that the Kosovo Albanians cannot expect support should they take unilateral steps without consensus . Any declaration by Kosovo’s leaders on the future of the province should express their political will to implement the Ahtissaari plan in cooperation with the international community. It must clearly invite the EU and the UN to oversee Kosovo's sovereignty in the next few years. The declaration should emphasise the need for special relations with Serbia and invite Belgrade to engage in dialogue. 
• The EU must assume responsibility for Kosovo within the framework of the Ahtisaari plan, namely by dispatching a mission to the province which should be "the largest civil operation ever undertaken" under the umbrella of the EU Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). Massive efforts are also needed to develop a constitutional democracy in Kosovo, requiring the EU to hire qualified personnel for service there. 
• Efforts to facilitate positive developments in Kosovo must be accompanied by a revised EU policy in the Western Balkans . The EU must make concessions to the Western Balkan states beyond those of the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP). A summit should be scheduled in 2008 in Belgrade with the aim of strengthening the accession prospects of the entire region and focusing on a new form of partnership. 
• The EU should engage both Russia and the US in the process. The Union must convince Washington that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence entails too many risks. At the same time, the EU must make clear to the Russian government that leaving the situation unresolved is no solution. 

The authors conclude by saying that it is "imperative" that EU member states reach a consensus on the issue of official recognition. 

In order to gain support of those EU countries which are opposed or undecided about Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, the authors suggest a transition period in which the EU would supervise the development of "viable Kosovar institutions".