"We took a political decision to send an ESDP (European Security and Defense Policy) mission to Kosovo," Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates told reporters.

"This is the clearest signal that the European Union could possibly give that it intends to lead on the whole issue of Kosovo's future, its status and its role in the region," he said, adding that the EU mission would be deployed "not before Christmas but immediately after."

But Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica branded the mission an attempt to create a "puppet state" on Serbian soil.

"It is especially insulting to offer a crippled Serbia the reward of fast-track to the EU in exchange for its consent to violence," Kostunica said in a statement released in Belgrade.

The European Union's traditional end-of-year meeting on Friday, Dec. 14, came just a day after prime ministers and heads of state gathered in Lisbon to sign a landmark treaty designed to improve the bloc's decision-making process.

Diplomats said Thursday's signing ceremony officially ended months of discussions and years of navel-gazing by EU leaders, allowing them to move on to "deal with real issues."

The main "real issue" on the agenda of Friday's meeting was the potential for unrest in the Balkans after a failed attempt to negotiate a deal between Kosovar and Serbian leaders on the future states of Kosovo.

Political test for the EU

Peace in the Balkans is seen by many observers as a test of the 27-member bloc's strength as a player in international politics.

"We have seen what happened in former Yugoslavia when the European Union did not take things in hand," Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht said, pointing to the Balkans wars in the 1990s that led to thousands of deaths in the region.

In the predominantly ethnic-Albanian province in Serbia, Kosovar leaders are set to declare independence in "coordination" with its US and European allies. Serbia is strongly opposed to anything beyond autonomy for Kosovo. It views the province as an integral part of its country.

German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said on Friday that he received a letter from his Serbian counterpart promising Belgrade would not send troops into Kosovo should the province declare independence.

"He clearly stressed that the Serbian side would not resort to violence in Kosovo, which is, of course, very important for the peaceful development [of the province]," Jung told reporters.

Speed up accession an option

EU leaders are reported to be considering offering Belgrade the option of a fast-track to EU membership as one way of maintaining peace in the Balkans since the status quo is untenable and a decision on Kosovo's future status is essential for stability in the region, a draft of the summit communiqué said, according to the Reuters news agency.

"[The European Council] reiterated its confidence that progress on the road towards the EU, including candidate status, can be accelerated," the draft said.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters ahead of the summit in Brussels that by the end of the meeting it needed to be clear that "Europe will ensure peace and stability in the Balkans" and that "the western Balkans have a clear EU perspective."

Candidate status is a preliminary step in negotiations for future EU members. Serbia, which receives aid from the EU to institute political and judicial reforms, initialed an association agreement with the bloc last month, but the document is mainly of symbolic value since it is not legally binding.

No compromise from Serbia

Serbia, however, would never agree to trade Kosovo in order to speed up accession to the European Union, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Friday.

"A trade-off is out of the question," Jeremic said. "It would be an indecent proposal, and European leaders are decent people, they have not made such an offer."

Some EU countries, including Greece, Slovakia, Romania and the divided island of Cyprus, strongly oppose recognizing an independent Kosovo for fear that it might encourage other ethnic minorities to do the same.

EU leaders were not expected to reach unanimity on how to react to Kosovo's secessionist plans on Friday, but were nevertheless expected to conclude that whatever action they may take would not set a precedent for other minorities in Europe seeking autonomy.