EU urged not to reject Serbia's EU bid over Kosovo

(LANY) - The presidents of the Czech Republic and Slovakia on Saturday backed Serbia's bid to become an EU member, saying its recognition of an independent Kosovo must not be the only criterion for its candidacy.

"The EU can't fix (Kosovo) as the only condition. Serbia must be assessed for all the positive things it is doing for its membership," Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic said at a press conference.

"The EU should be an open institution that will give a chance to any country that wants to take part in European integration," added his Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus, a fierce eurosceptic.

Klaus and Gasparovic met with their Serbian and Croatian counterparts, Boris Tadic and Ivo Josipovic, at Lany chateau, the country residence of Czech presidents about 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of Prague.

The European Union is set to decide next month on whether or not to grant Serbia the status of EU candidate, which is a key first step to membership.

But is has conditioned its go-ahead on progress on Kosovo, a mainly ethnic-Albanian region whose split four years ago Serbia refuses to recognise.

A majority of EU states, including the Czech Republic but not Slovakia, recognise Kosovo's independence, along with the United States and dozens of other countries.

"Serbia will not recognise Kosovo's independence, but it will try to help stabilise the situation in southeastern Europe and prevent conflicts in the region," said Tadic, whose country sees the EU as too favourable towards Kosovo.

He added he expected Serbia to become an EU candidate soon as "we have met all conditions".