March 1, 2008: A part of the world largely ignored by U.S. news media since the end of NATO’s Balkan engagement in 1999, Kosovo has resurfaced in U.S. news in the last two weeks. Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence and a demonstration in Belgrade that turned violent with the burning of the U.S. embassy made headlines. The United States was among the first countries to recognize Kosovo. Since Russia is Serbia’s strongest supporter and Kosovo’s independence would end Serbian sovereignty in the disputed province, U.S. media – with their usual inward focus – speculate on the effect that an independent Kosovo will have on U.S.-Russian relations.

In reality, the aftermath of Kosovo's declaration of independence has greater importance for the European Union and for relations between the European Union and Russia. To date a total of 21 countries have officially recognized Kosovo, among them the United States and Switzerland. However, the European Union has 27 members, and only ten of them are among the 21 countries having recognized Kosovo. Seven EU countries have declared that they will not recognize Kosovo anytime soon. In a statement immediately following Kosovo’s declaration of independence, the European Union was unable to reach agreement on a common approach to the new situation. Instead, the EU says it will be up to individual member states to decide whether to recognize the new self-proclaimed republic. The "Union" of Europe is again divided on foreign policy.

In December 2007, EU leaders met in Lisbon to sign a treaty outlining a new administrative structure for the European Union. The agreement was declared a major breakthrough, including among its provisions the eventual scrapping of the unanimity principle for most EU decisions and the introduction of a European Union foreign minister, who will supposedly speak for the European Union on foreign affairs.

The inability of EU members to agree today on a common response to Kosovo’s declaration of independence shows that having a foreign minister in the future can only be a farce. The European Union has never had a consistent common foreign policy, and it won’t in the coming years, either. The reason? All EU members would have to give up their national sovereignty in foreign policy matters, and that isn't about to happen. What is more likely is a "core Europe" made up of a smaller group of EU members willing to move toward full political union, including a common foreign policy. The "core Europe" concept also coincides with Bible prophecies of a union of ten kings in a final resurrection of the Roman Empire.

Although Russia’s dismay over the Kosovo situation may now be largely directed at the United States, Russia’s relations with the European Union will not be enhanced by the EU’s involvement in Kosovo. Even though EU members were unable to agree on a joint declaration recognizing Kosovo as an independent country, the day before Kosovo's declaration of independence they did agree to provide additional police security and legal experts to strengthen the "rule of law" in Kosovo. The EU will send 2000 personnel – mostly police officers – to Kosovo. However, since the administration of Kosovo is under United Nations authority, Russia and Serbia consider the EU move to be illegal. According to Russia, without a corresponding UN Security Council resolution, Kosovo's independence is a violation of Serbia's sovereignty. The long-term effect of Serbia's relationship with the EU remains to be seen, but the EU's action will not mean any movement toward EU membership for Serbia anytime soon.

As a side note, France and Germany were among the first countries to recognize Kosovo. Oddly enough, their quick action on recognition is seen by some observers as hypocrisy based on their condemnation of America's military action against Sadam Hussein five years ago. Their position then was based on the lack of UN legitimization via the UN Security Council. Without international legitimization, sovereign borders may not be altered – a principle of international law that France and Germany seem to have forgotten in the last five years.