KOSOVO’S declaration of independence is a matter of days away, the Serbian province’s prime minister Hashim Thaci said yesterday.

European Union foreign ministers today struggled to agree on how to sanction Turkey for backtracking on a commitment to open its ports to trade with Cyprus, without alienating Ankara, which is negotiating to become the first mainly Muslim country to enter the EU.

The European Union today suspended talks with Serbia on establishing closer ties, because Belgrade has failed to deliver fugitive General Ratko Mladic to the UN war crimes tribunal.

European Union foreign ministers threatened to freeze talks with Serbia on its EU membership bid today.