In 1999, the European Union, with the aid of the United States and nato, wrenched the province of Kosovo away from Serbian control. Since that time, Kosovo, while technically still a part of Serbia, has been governed by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (unmik). The EU is now ready to come back and finish the job of separating Kosovo from Serbia completely.

Currently, an international trio composed of the European Union, Russia and the United States are overseeing Serbian-Kosovar independence talks. These talks are scheduled to end on December 10. Serbia insists on keeping Kosovo, and Kosovo insists on independence.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has declared that the EU must be ready to assume governance of Kosovo once the province’s independence talks end. The 27-nation EU bloc has prepared a 1,800-man force and set aside €150 million (us$200 million) in order to construct the largest EU civilian mission to date. The purpose of this mission is to boost Kosovo’s police and customs forces in order to secure the province.

While it is not yet known if the EU will, in fact, receive a UN mandate, Solana confirmed that “we will be ready to be deployed from the moment the [UN] secretary general decides it is time to move from the unmik to another type of mission.” He told the European Parliament that with or without a UN mandate, “We have to be prepared, we Europeans, to remain in the driving seat.”

Kosovar Prime Minister Agim Ceku has already declared his willingness to declare independence with or without UN approval. Meanwhile, the Serbian government insists that the key events in Serbian history have taken place in Kosovo and that therefore Kosovo must remain part of Serbia.

Russia is committed to back Serbia, while the United States has affirmed it will recognize Kosovo if it declares independence.

Now the EU has stepped up to say that if the UN cannot solve this crisis, it is more than willing to intervene. Former Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber spoke for many Europeans when he stated that “Kosovo must be led, with the help of the European Union, up to European standard.”

The Yugoslav breakaway provinces of Slovenia and Croatia are already being absorbed into the EU, and it is evident that Europe aims to continue its conquest of the Balkans with Kosovo.

While Germany is now moving cautiously on the issue of Kosovo independence because it does not want to cause a divide within the EU over the issue, it is sure to take on a more aggressive role over time in leading the EU in completing its “conquest” of the Balkans. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has predicted since the 1999 Kosovo war that it would be the German-led EU that would eventually administer Kosovo.

Watch as Germany and the EU move in to replace the UN. For more information on the role of the Balkans in world events, read The Rising Beast—Germany’s Conquest of the Balkans.