The summit is addressing issues like EU enlargement and its impact on national economies [AFP]
Kosovo's self-declared independence poses a threat to Balkan stability, the president of neighbouring Macedonia has told a regional summit in Ohrid.
"There are still risks which must not be underestimated," Branko Crvenkosvki said in a speech to leaders from central and southeast Europe.
"In this context, I would particularly mention ... Kosovo, the complexity of which is illustrated by the fact that even the EU could not reach a common position on this issue."
The two-day summit by the Central European Initiative group began on Friday in Ohrid, the Macedonian capital.
The Initiative was formed in 1989 to strengthen ties between the 18 central and southeast European member countries and the EU.
Kosovo 'reality'
Kosovo was a key issue on the agenda, but was not invited to the meeting.
The leaders of the former Serbian province criticized the decision and insisted that an independent Kosovo is a reality that must be recognised.
Crvenkovski however said such an invitation would have required a consensus from all 18 members of the Central European Initiative, and that that was not possible since member Serbia has refused to recognise Kosovo's declaration of independence on February 17.
The EU signed a pre-membership trade-and-aid pact with Serbia this week in an attempt to boost pro-western parties before elections in Serbia on May 11.
Macedonia, with its own large and restive Albanian minority, wants to establish good relations with Kosovo, but has not yet recognised it because of a border dispute.
Bamir Topi, the Albanian president, told the summit that Kosovo should receive a clear signal that it will eventually become part of the EU and NATO expansion process.
"That would guarantee that the political emancipation of the western Balkans has entered an irreversible path," he said.
Integration
A draft summit joint statement says that EU and NATO integration should not be considered completed without inclusion of all western Balkan states.
"However, the region is still not irreversibly on the road to Europe," the draft document said.
The CEI members are: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova,Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
Ten are EU members, three have EU candidate status and five have not joined the bloc.
Turkey, which is not a member of the Central European Initiative or the EU, also attended the summit.
The last CEI meeting was held 2007 in Brno, in the Czech Republic.
![The summit is addressing issues like EU enlargement and its impact on national economies [AFP]](http://mwcnews.net/images/stories/Europe/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/EU-enlargement.jpg "The summit is addressing issues like EU enlargement and its impact on national economies [AFP]")
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