EU to ramp up political pressure on Kosovo and Serbia to normalise relations

European Union leaders were gathering on Thursday for a two-day meeting (Virginia Mayo/AP)

The European Union is set to ramp up pressure on Serbia and Kosovo to normalise their relations by enlisting the leaders of three heavyweight member countries to make a major push to get the former war foes to set aside decades of differences.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti distrust each other and are not likely to meet face to face. But they are due to hold talks separately with the leaders of France, Germany and Italy, plus the two EU officials supervising a stuttering “dialogue” between them.