European Union leaders have agreed to send administrators and police to Kosovo before it declares independence from Serbia. They also offered Serbia a quick path to joining the EU once it meets requirements for a first-level agreement on closer ties. However, Serbia was not pleased with the suggestion that this was meant to compensate for the potential loss of Kosovo. Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic rejected the idea, calling it inappropriate. EU leaders concluded that negotiations on Kosovo's future had reached a standstill and it was time to work towards a resolution. They refrained from fully supporting independence, but instead made a political decision to send an ESDP mission to Kosovo. This decision, according to Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, who chaired the summit, signifies the EU's intention to take a lead role in Kosovo and the surrounding region. The ESDP mission consists of 1,800 personnel including police, justice officials, and civilian administrators. Socrates stated that discussions about recognizing Kosovo's independence were happening at the United Nations when asked about the EU's stance on the issue. He emphasized that the EU was actively addressing the situation and not ignoring it. French President Nicolas Sarkozy acknowledged the EU's struggles with accepting Kosovo's imminent independence. Diplomats revealed that Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, and Romania were against recognizing Kosovo's sovereignty without a UN Security Council resolution. "ON A PLANE"? EU leaders, having recently signed a treaty to overcome a longstanding deadlock, have now shifted their attention to addressing challenges from the Balkans, as well as those posed by globalization and immigration. The final summit communique expressed confidence that progress towards EU membership for Serbia could be expedited. Pro-EU factions in Belgrade hope to achieve candidate status by the end of the following year, a goal that EU Enlargement Commission Olli Rehn has deemed ambitious but attainable. Typically, it takes around two years for Brussels to grant candidate status to a country after signing a Stabilisation and Accession Agreement (SAA). The delay in signing an SAA with Belgrade is due to the failure to transfer Ratko Mladic, a Bosnian Serb wartime general, to a UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague for genocide charges. Outgoing chief war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has urged EU leaders in Belgium's Le Soir to maintain pressure on Belgrade and not to be lenient. She expressed surprise at France, Germany, and Italy for wanting to soften their stance and called on Belgium and the Netherlands to remain firm. Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen stated that he will not sign the SAA until Mladic is sent to the Hague. According to diplomats, EU leaders have appointed former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez to lead a new "reflection group" that will discuss various long-term issues facing the EU, such as enlargement, climate change, and regional stability. Vaira Vike-Freiberga, former Latvian President, and Jorma Ollila, chairman of Nokia, have been named as vice-chairs of the panel, which is expected to present its findings in June 2010. The leaders also addressed concerns about European job markets being affected by immigration and cheap imports, topics that the EU plans to focus on following the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. The treaty, which replaced the failed constitution from 2005, maintains key institutional reforms while eliminating controversial symbols of statehood like a flag and anthem. EU leaders are optimistic that the treaty will help streamline the bloc's operations to accommodate further enlargement after the addition of 12 new member states in 2004 and 2007. Critics argue that it will limit the authority of individual nations and centralize more power in Brussels.