Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- European Union foreign ministers vowed to prevent chaos in the Balkans as a deadline for the independence of the breakaway Serb province of Kosovo lapsed without a settlement.

The EU, which failed to halt Yugoslavia's slide into civil war and ethnic cleansing in the early 1990s, is groping toward unity over managing Kosovo's bid for statehood without provoking a backlash in Serbia, which considers the territory the cradle of its civilization.

``We have tendencies toward instability in the entire Balkans and we should not go back and repeat the mistakes of the early 1990s when Europe was divided,'' Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told reporters at an EU meeting in Brussels today.

Mostly ethnic-Albanian Kosovo's drive to break free of Serbia is testing the 27-nation EU's ability to handle a crisis in its hinterland in the face of opposition by an ever bolder Russia. NATO peacekeepers are also on heightened alert to prevent clashes between both sides as Kosovo Albanians took to the streets to demand an immediate split.

``Kosovo is in Europe's backyard, it's vital to security,'' U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said. ``The future of the EU will be decided by how it deals with the big challenges beyond its borders.''

Deadline Expired

A United Nations deadline for a settlement negotiated between Serbs and Kosovars expired today, leaving the EU and U.S. without a diplomatic road map as they seek to pry Kosovo free without a flareup of ethnic violence.

Legally part of Serbia, the province of 2 million has been under international control and policed by 16,000 North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops since the alliance's 1999 air offensive pushed out the Serb army.

``We need a solution on status urgently,'' Joachim Ruecker, the UN's special representative in Kosovo, said in an interview today in Pristina. ``Now there is pretty broad consensus in the international community that talks have been exhausted. We are moving to the next stage.''

Western countries planning to grant diplomatic recognition to Kosovo without a UN resolution would violate international law, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

``You can't have independence without following the legal approach to the problems,'' Lavrov told reporters in Brussels after meeting EU officials late today.

Part of the Country

Serb officials today reiterated Kosovo must remain a part of the country. Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said Serbia will not trade Kosovo for closer ties with the EU, Agence France- Presse reported from Belgrade.

At stake in the Balkans is ``the maturity of European foreign policy,'' Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said.

Kosovo's leaders promised to coordinate a legal split from Serbia with the U.S. and EU. The soundest policy will be to wait until after Serbia's presidential-election runoff on Feb. 3, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said.

``We have to avoid a unilateral declaration of independence,'' Asselborn said. ``We have to make every effort to persuade the Kosovars not to proceed this way.''

Kosovo has a 90 percent ethnic-Albanian majority. Kosovo's Serbs are estimated at 100,000, scattered along the province's northern and eastern borders with Serbia and in isolated enclaves. NATO put additional troops on standby to quash any outbreak of violence. NATO almost lost control of the province in anti-Serb riots in 2004.

`Lapse into Violence'

The UN's Ruecker said he does not think there will be any ``lapse into violence'' because ``people are better prepared, institutions are better prepared.''

In Kosovo's capital, Pristina, the government today started consultations over coordinating the bid for statehood with the U.S. and EU and has set no date for an independence declaration, said Skender Hyseni, a member of the negotiating team, AFP reported.

Ethnic Albanians gathered in the streets throughout Pristina, waving Kosovo's flag and setting up a replica of the Statue of Liberty. Roads were festooned with posters celebrating the Kosovo Liberation Army.

``I want independence today,'' said Blerima Gojnovci, a 21 year-old postal worker in Pristina. ``We waited almost nine years, why do we have to wait for more?''

The EU is struggling to forge a united stance on Kosovo, with the strongest doubts voiced by Cyprus, a Mediterranean island partly occupied by Turkey. The Cypriot government fears that diplomatic recognition of Kosovo would bestow legitimacy on the separatist Turkish regime that has controlled the northern tier of Cyprus since 1974.

`Virtual Unity'

Apart from Cyprus, the EU has achieved ``virtual unity'' on Kosovo, Sweden's Bildt said.

Spain, Slovakia and Greece have also expressed reluctance to create a new independent state in Europe without the backing of the UN Security Council.

``There are many countries with specific opinions and my country is among them,'' Slovak Foreign Minister Jan Kubis said in Brussels. ``On the other hand, the process is moving forward. We as the EU will be able to act together. That doesn't mean we will not preserve specific positions.''

The UN's Ruecker said he expects a solution to Kosovo's future will be found ``early in 2008'' and suggested the Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995, could serve as a model for creating a power-sharing agreement. He didn't provide specific details.

To contact the reporters on this story: James G. Neuger in Brussels at jneuger@bloomberg.net; Chris Burns in Pristina, Kosovo, at cwburns@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 10, 2007 16:10 EST