(BRUSSELS) - European backing for Kosovo's independence has been hurt by fears among some EU nations that it could inspire separatists in their own countries.

Britain, France, Germany and Italy, along with the United States, were expected Monday to formally recognise Kosovo's independence from Serbia which is backed by Russia in fighting the breakaway.

The EU on Saturday launched a police and justice mission to Kosovo, a move which was immediately branded an "occupation" by Serbs living there.

The 2,000-strong mission will be fully operational after a 120-day transition period, and will essentially train and mentor police, judges and customs officials.

Britain views Kosovo's declaration of independence as "an important development" but will wait until a crucial meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday to make a formal statement, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on "all parties" to exercise moderation. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he wished Kosovo "good luck" following its declaration of independence on Sunday.

But Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain oppose recognising Kosovo, at least in the short term and others like Malta and Portugal would prefer Kosovo's future be decided at the UN Security Council.

Some see Kosovo as potentially setting a dangerous precedent for other separatist movements, despite reassurances from Brussels that Kosovo is a unique case.

Cyprus is already split, with a Turkey-recognised statelet in the north, and Spain has long been confronted with Basque and Catalan nationalists.

"We do not support a unilateral declaration of independence," Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said on local radio Saturday.

"We think that ... it should have been in agreement with the various parties, which is not the case, or in line with international standards, that is to say with a (UN) Security Council resolution."

The governing British Labour Party's foreign affairs spokesman in the European parliament, Richard Howitt said Kosovo's independence was "Europe's biggest ever credibility test".

"Resistance by Spain and Cyprus... will only be seized on by those who would fuel a return to conflict in the region, and by Russia which wants to question the legality of the move," he said in a statement.

The European Union will want to show as much unity as it can muster, while assuring both Kosovo and Serbia that they have a future within the EU club.

An official with the EU's presidency, currently held by Slovenia, said EU foreign ministers will want to "take note" of the changes in Kosovo, but even this simple task is proving difficult to put to paper in the form of a declaration.

"What's important is the confirmation of the goal the EU has: that Kosovo has a democratic, stable and multi-ethnic future and that this is all based on a European perspective," an EU diplomat said.

Scores of joyous Kosovo emigrants from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, gathered outside European institutions in Brussels Sunday in advance of the announcement.

"We have waited over 100 years for this and we are more than ready to become an independent state, above all a democratic state" said writer-activist Halit Elshani, who fled Kosovo in 1999.

Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, after NATO bombed Belgrade to end a bloody crackdown on Albanian separatists, but the province has officially remained part of Serbia.

Belgrade remains implacably opposed to losing the region which it considers the cradle of its Serbian culture.

The European Union has already taken one major step towards easing Kosovo's independence.

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