( dpa ) - Austria will "neither be the first nor lag behind" regarding the question of whether to recognize newly independent Kosovo, Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik told Austrian public radio on Monday.
Political consensus by the EU on this issue was an "important signal," Plassnik said, expressing optimism that the EU could reach a broad consensus on Kosovo. The EU members were also determined to be "both friends of Belgrade and Pristina," the foreign minister said.
The EU's foreign ministers are meeting Monday in Brussels to discuss Sunday's declaration of independence by the former Serbian province Kosovo.
While a majority of the 27 states support independence, Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania remain sceptical, regarding Kosovo's secession without UN approval as a dangerous precedent.