Serbia , which is seeking membership of the EU . EU leaders are deeply conscious of their failure in the early 1990s to move early enough to prevent the bloodletting in the Balkans over the break-up of the former Yugoslavia , he said . Although most EU leaders support Serbia becoming a member state to boost stability in the Balkans , French President Nicholas Sarkozy said that Serbia 's membership is dependent on it recognizing Kosovo 's independence and handing over war criminals . Socrates confirmed to CNN that any fast-tracking of Serbia into the EU could only be considered if it agreed to hand over Ratko Mladic , the Bosnian Serb general wanted at the The Hague for suspected war crimes . Two years of negotiations on the future status of Kosovo ended in failure earlier this week , when talks mediated by Europe , the United States and Russia ended without an agreement . The disputed province is dear to the Serbs , Orthodox Christians who regard it as Serbian territory . But it is equally coveted by Kosovo 's ethnic Albanians , Muslims who have a 90 percent majority . Since 1999 the United Nations has been
BRUSSELS , Belgium -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- European leaders agreed Friday to send an 1,800-strong security force to maintain stability in Kosovo , although they stopped short of backing independence for the province . French soldiers at the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo last month . Kosovo is expected to declare independence from Serbia early in the new year . Serbia , however , insists the region should remain autonomous within its borders . Speaking at the end of a one-day summit of European heads in Brussels , Jose Socrates , the Portuguese prime minister currently holding the European Union presidency , said that sending the security mission was a `` political decision . '' The police and security force is expected to be deployed to the Balkan state ahead of an announcement of independence . `` This is the clearest signal that the EU could possibly give that it intends to lead on the whole issue of Kosovo 's future , its status and its role in the region , '' Socrates said . According to CNN 's Robin Oakley in Brussels , European leaders are trying to balance an obvious readiness to back Kosovan independence with incentives to