The solution of the Kosovo issue is essential to the future of the EU, a panel on a vision for Europe at the Bled Strategic Forum conference concluded on Sunday. This issue is not impossible to resolve, but it will require a single EU voice, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said.
Gurevski said that as the Kosovo status issue is resolved, the doors of the EU needed to be open for Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina if Europe is to be stable. The Western Balkans would thus be stable, which will be good for the region as well as the whole of EU, he said at the conference "European Union 2020: Enlarging and Integrating".
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili denied links between the Kosovo issue and the situation in Georgia's conflict areas such as Abkhasia. There is no connection, it is mere opportunism, he said.
The panel was also attended by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, Croatia's Ivo Sanader and Lithuania's Gediminas Kirkilas.
Martti Ahtisaari, the UN secretary general's special envoy for Kosovo status talks, meanwhile said in his keynote dinner speech that Europe cannot afford letting Kosovo become another frozen conflict. Doing nothing is not an option, he said, adding that what it takes now is a strong and consistent EU position on the issue at the highest level. To be a global player, Europe needs to solve the conflicts in its backyard, Ahtisaari added, saying that this was primarily an EU issue.
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